French speaking parliamentarians resolve to support education in crisis contexts

Plenary session of the Francophone Parliamentary Assembly.

The historic disruption to education caused by COVID-19 prompted recognition by the international assembly of French-speaking parliaments of the impact of other crises on education.

The issue was brought to the L'Assemblée parlementaire de la Francophonie by members of the Swiss delegation in the form of a comprehensive report on education in emergencies, “L’éducation en situations de crise”. (Executive Summary available in English here)

“While all countries still share unanimous concerns about the impact of the health crisis on education, the Swiss delegation thought it was important to reflect on the urgent need to ensure, everywhere and in all circumstances, inclusive education” said the report’s presenter Mathias Reynard, then a member of the lower house of the Swiss National Assembly.

“We wanted to recognise that the education crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic remains the daily lot of 127 million children affected by conflict, violence, natural disasters or population displacements.”

Following consideration of the report by the Francophone Parliamentary Assembly’s Commission for Education and Cultural Affairs and its Network of Young Parliamentarians a resolution on education in crisis (EN | FR) was agreed upon by the full assembly.

The resolution:

SUPPORTS CALLS from international initiatives to strengthen education in emergency and protracted crisis contexts; States and governments of the French-speaking world, despite the global economic crisis, to maintain or increase the funds allocated to public education and to international cooperation; 

CALLS for support for aid programs devoted to education, including those intended for education in emergencies;

CALLS the States and governments of the French-speaking world to ensure that the investments made in public education are directed towards strengthening equal opportunities and the fight against dropping out of school;

“It was incredibly exciting to see such a strong consensus emerge among members of parliament from French-speaking countries which both recognises the threat to education from crises and calls for concerted action to prevent and mitigate the impact of those crises on education systems, especially in the poorest parts of the world,” said Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly IPNEd’s Executive Director.

“I was delighted to join Swiss Federal Assembly and IPNEd member Nicholas Walder to discuss the resolution at a meeting hosted by the Geneva Hub for Education in Emergencies earlier this year.

“In February 2023 Switzerland will host Education Cannot Wait’s High-Level Financing Conference. The leadership of Swiss parliamentarians on this issue has helped lay the foundations for the government of Switzerland’s role as the conference host and for the engagement of French-speaking parliaments and their governments.

“The calls in the resolution to increase development cooperation in general and for education in emergencies are important demonstrations of the growing political recognition of and support for education in emergencies.

“We are planning to build on this Swiss and French-speaking parliamentary leadership with the launch of an exciting initiative during the High-Level Financing Conference, which we will say more about on the International Day of Education on January 24,” said Mr Nhan-O’Reilly.

Find out more about IPNEd’s work on the ECW replenishment here.