18:39
On Sunday, The UN
chief made the remarks when launching the International Commission on Financing
Global Education Opportunity report, titled ‘The Learning Generation: Investing
in Education for a Changing World.’
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| United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon |
The launching ceremony was held at the UN headquarters
in New York and was attended by the commissioners of the Education Commission,
including former President Jakaya Kikwete.
“Experience
from countries such as Tanzania, Vietnam and my own country, South Korea, shows
that where there is political will, plus opportunities and financial resources
something positive can be done in education,” the UN chief said.
The report points out that with more than 250 million
children out of school and another 330 million children failing to achieve the
most basic learning outcomes, the world cannot hope to achieve the promise of
the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The report sets out the commission’s four-stage plan
that will, among others, aim to generate the reforms and investment that will
get every child on track to enter school by 2030; increase the number of
qualified high school graduates in low and middle-income countries from 400
million to 850 million by 2030 and raise the numbers even further to 1.2
billion during the next decade.
The secretary general said the report makes the case
for investment in education as a prerequisite for economic growth, sustainable
development and global stability.
He noted that while the crisis of education is
eminently solvable, if current trends continue; “we will not achieve universal
primary education until 2042, and upper secondary education until 2084. We will
miss SDG 4 by half a century.”
Contributing to the launching of the report as one of
the Commissioners, former President Kikwete said achievement in education means
that every child, including those living in difficult conditions and
marginalised, especially girls, have access to education.
He said one out of 20 girls living in poverty in
Sub-Saharan Africa finish primary school education while 75 million children in
school going age face various dangers. The figure includes one million Syrian
refugee children who are not in schools.
“The report points out a vision of providing
opportunities to future generation with a focus on children refugees, street
children, girls, children in labour and other groups,” former president Kikwete
stressed.
The report is a culmination of a one year analysis
work that involved 30 research institutions and consultations that involved
more than 300 contributors from 105 countries.
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