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Education Interrupted
Anna Darling leads Plan UK’s policy and advocacy work around global education. Anna’s role is to make sure the UK Government and other leaders prioritise access to good quality education for young people across the world, especially adolescent girls living in crisis such as in war zones and refugee settings.
The right to a quality education is the cornerstone of sustainable development. A quality education is critical to children’s safety and provides opportunities for them to reach their potential. However, education around the world, and the hope that it brings, is facing a generation-defining emergency: COVID-19. The pandemic has obstructed this right on an unprecedented scale. To stem the pandemic, in 2020, schools closed their doors to an estimated 1.6 billion learners globally.
But while unique to this century, COVID-19 is not a one - off crisis. The climate crisis, natural disasters and resource depletion mean children are increasingly on the move and therefore out of education. It is clear that education systems are not as resilient as they should be, often unprepared to deal with large - scale disruption. If COVID-19 was a test paper for the future, climate change will be the final exam.
And it is the world’s most marginalised children that will suffer the most. COVID-19 has laid bare social and economic inequalities worldwide, especially in the poorest countries.
For girls, many may never return to school, further entrenching gender gaps in education, increasing the likelihood of child marriage and exploitation, and undermining girls’ longer term opportunities. The risks are also severe for children with disabilities. Before COVID-19, over half of children with disabilities were out-of-school at the lower secondary level in low and lower-middle income countries.
COVID-19 is unlike any crisis the world has experienced in the last century. But it has also presented an opportunity for a more sustainable approach to quality education. Now more than ever, we have the opportunity to strengthen critical elements of education systems across the world. We have the opportunity to reassess the resilience and stability of our education systems and build back better.
The pandemic has highlighted the critical role that schools play in children’s lives beyond learning. From nutrition to health to child protection, school closures had a significant impact on children, beyond a loss to learning.
Education also has a critical role to play in building children’s resilience and adaptive capacities in the face of non - conflict crises. We need to look no further than the current crisis to see the unpredictability and complexity in the world around us. Education empowers children and young people to create a more sustainable future. Quality, safe and inclusive education provides children and young people with the critical life skills and knowledge to navigate this.
The sustainable goal on education includes a target promising that by 2030 all learners will acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. Education can contribute to a more sustainable world because it can develop the skills and mindsets needed for building and contributing to a green economy and the promotion of sustainable communities.
Education improves the capacity of children and young people to be active citizens and agents of change who are better able to take action on crises that are interrupting their education. Young people can hold governments and other powerful decision makers to account.
The world must now take a systems-based approach to education if we are to ensure their sustainability for the future. As the Government prepares to host the Climate Summit next year, we must learn from the impact of crises – including COVID-19 and the climate crisis – on education across the world. And we must recognise the critical role that education can play in preparing young people for the world around them and creating a more sustainable future for all.
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Anna Darling • March 12, 2021
Sparks Bristol is a collaborative community project initially envisioned by The Global Goals Centre, (GGC) more of which below. A few years ago, GGC took over an empty Marks and Spencer store and that’s how Sparks was born. Sparks is a department store with a difference, co-created by Global Goals Centre and Artspace Lifespace. On the ground floor is a huge range of shops, installations, events and more. Upstairs is a hub for local artists, it offers affordable studios as well as rehearsal and performance space. The Global Goals Centre is a Bristol-based educational charity inspired by the Sustainable Development Goals. (SDGs). GGC believe the SDG’s or Global Goals as they are sometimes known, can be reached, with imaginative solutions and widespread education and engagement. They work with partners to promote creative solutions and deliver ground breaking projects that work towards these ambitious goals. The Steve Sinnott Foundation supported the Global Goals Centre with seed funding when it first started over 5 years ago. This month we went to visit them to see how they are getting on and we were taken aback by the volume of work they have achieved since they started. It is amazing to see how though working together with other local community groups it has grown into the vibrant centre it is today. All of the creative projects they host are linked to the SDGs. They cover topics that tackle poverty, education, climate change, fashion recycling and upcycling, to name a few.
Spring is definitely here, daffodils, blossom and crocuses are all basking in the bright sunshine. There is still a chill in the air in the shade but it's happening and all the seeds that were sown over the last few months are coming to fruition. At the Foundation, we have been planning the year ahead and our Positive Periods and Prevention of Gender Based Violence programmes got underway this weekend in Haiti and Ghana. These projects will have a long-lasting effect on the lives of the women and girls who take part: tackling the root causes of gender-based violence and enabling girls to attend school every day when they have their period, to feel safe at school and know how to take action when they are faced with violence. These are the first of many projects planned for the year ahead as we continue to work towards Education for All children everywhere.
The outlook for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on global education is far from rosy. But a gloomy future isn’t inevitable. Disappointing statistics are the result of political choices that can be shifted and there are thousands of youth, grassroots activists and civil society organisations across the UK advocating for global education to make these changes. We need more people involved to build the momentum, we need to make a difference in challenging circumstances. You can help! Here’s how; Making global education a UK priority The UK is an important donor and champion for global education. However, education has been gradually deprioritised on the development agenda. Global education spending has plummeted from 13.5% of Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2013 to just 3.5% in 2023, and education was one of the sectors hit hardest by the abandonment of the 0.7% gross national income (GNI) target for ODA. With Labour’s annual budget confirming another reduction in the aid budget, funding for global education is under threat of being cut even further unless we stand together to say this can’t happen. While education is a domestic priority for the new Government, it has yet to emerge as a strong theme in their development agenda. As the Labour Party continues to develop their approach there is a unique opportunity for advocates to connect these dots and make the case for why education must be a key part of the Government’s international plans. For the Government to take action it needs to hear demand for change. There are many issues MPs recognise are important, but if they do not hear about these issues from constituents it can be hard for MPs to be vocal about them in Parliament. Following an election where many parliamentary seats were won with tight margins, MPs need to hear from the people they represent that global education must be on their agenda. With over half of MPs elected for the first time this year, many are actively looking for a steer on what issues to work on. We can give them one! How to Get Involved Write to your MP about why global education needs to be a bigger priority for the UK Government and encourage members of groups you are a part of, such as your union branch or a local community group, to do the same. This can have a real impact on your MP’s interest and ability to act for global education. You can also connect with other grassroots activists and get resources for taking action from international development advocacy organisations like Results UK. You can learn more about Results UK’s grassroots network on our website. If you are a teacher, get your school involved in the Send My Friend to School Campaign (SMF). Send My Friend is a UK civil society coalition advocating for SDG4 which supports a mass UK schools campaign to amplify student voices calling for universal quality education in solidarity with their peers around the world. Free campaign packs are available on the SMF website for primary and secondary levels with everything teachers need to run the campaign in their school. Parliamentarians can learn more about education issues and how to act by joining the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education, a cross-party group that brings together Parliamentarians interested in the right to education and provides them with knowledge and resources to be champions of the issue. By joining our voices through collective action, we can make a real difference in moving the needle on this issue. Together we have a chance to rechart the course for the realisation of quality education for all. BIOGRAPHY Hannah Frisch is the Senior Policy and Parliamentary Advocacy Officer for Education at Results UK and a Co-Chair of the Send My Friend to School Policy and Parliamentary Working Group. She is a policy advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Global Education in the UK Parliament.
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