Engage MPs to solve education crisis

UN Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the international community at the Transforming Education Summit.

Following the conclusion of the UN Transforming Education Summit, the International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd) has called for greater engagement of parliaments and parliamentarians in efforts to accelerate educational progress.

The Summit, the first of its kind, was the culmination of months of collaboration, consultation and partnership. It brought together Member States, along with development partners, civil society, the private sector, youth and other partners in education and beyond.

IPNEd facilitated the participation of seven parliamentarians in the Summit. Member of the National Assembly of Pakistan & IPNEd Global Co-Chair Mehnaz Akber Aziz led the delegation which included IPNEd global executive committee member Mike Lake MP along with Arielle Kayabaga MP both from the Parliament of Canada, Preet Kaur Gill MP & Imran Hussain MP from the Parliament of the United Kingdom, Neema Lugangira MP from the Parliament of Tanzania and Member of the European Parliament David Lega.

In addition to participating in the Summit itself, the delegation of IPNEd members met with senior leaders from across the global education sector, including a number of IPNEd’s key partners.

Yasmine Sherif the Director of Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies, briefing parliamentarians on the growing threat to education from conflict, humanitarian crises and climate change.

Summit called to respond to global learning crisis

The Summit was convened to deal with the current crisis in education that has seen some 147 million students missing over half of their in-person instruction, since 2020. 

In 2021, 244 million children and young people were out of school. The pandemic has harmed the learning of more than 90 % of the world’s children – the largest disruption in history – with half of all countries cutting their education budgets, further deepening the crisis.

It is now estimated that 64.3 % of 10-year-olds are unable to read and understand a simple story. 

130 countries commit to prioritize education

During the course of the Summit 130 countries heeded the call to reboot education systems. 

Nearly half of the countries prioritized measures to address learning loss, while a third of countries committed to supporting the psycho-social well-being of both students and teachers. Two in three countries also referenced measures to offset the direct and indirect costs of education for economically vulnerable communities, and 75% of countries underlined the importance of gender-sensitive education policies in their commitments.

These statements underscored the role of education in achieving all the Sustainable Development Goals and linkages with the climate crises, conflict and poverty. Measures addressed COVID-19 recovery and getting back on track on the SDGs, while emphasizing the need for innovations in education to prepare the learners of today for a rapidly changing world.

Implementation requires engagement of parliaments 

“We welcome the UN Secretary General’s leadership in conveying the Summit, the participation of member states and the commitments they made in New York. But real action is only possible and sustainable when these statements are backed by political support at the national level,” said IPNEd Executive Director Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly.

“We need a sustained effort to engage elected officials so that they can undertake their roles as representatives and legislators and have the information necessary to hold their governments to account for the decisions which they made at the Summit.

“With the support of IPNEd including fellow members of parliament both at home and abroad, our members are taking action to drive educational progress and hold their governments to account for the promises they’ve made at international events like the Transforming Education Summit. Building political knowledge and understanding of the challenges and solutions to the education crisis is key to achieving the SDG 4, but is largely neither understood or prioritized.”