Page 5 - Education Feature Issue 1 2021

Education in a

post­COVID world

Nine ideas for public action

ducation is UNESCO’s top priority because it The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides
is a basic human right and the foundation on many of the necessary signposts and guidelines. In this
which to build peace and drive sustainable report, the International Commission on the Futures of
Edevelopment. UNESCO is the United Nations’ Education, established by UNESCO in 2019 and
specialised agency for education and the Education composed of thought leaders from the worlds of
Sector provides global and regional leadership in academia, science, government, business and education,
education, strengthens national education systems, presents nine ideas for concrete actions today that will
and responds to contemporary global challenges advance education tomorrow.
through education, with a special focus on gender
equality and Africa. Commit to strengthen education as a common
1 good. Education is a bulwark against inequalities.
“The global health pandemic has shone a harsh In public education, as in public health, the focus
light on the vulnerabilities and challenges humanity must be on cooperation not competition. We are safe when
faces. It has provided a clear picture of existing everybody is safe; we flourish when everybody flourishes.
inequalities - and a clearer picture of what steps Resilient societies that maximise human potential require a
forward we need to take, chief among them broad distribution of capabilities and a diversity of talents.
addressing the education of more than 1,5 billion
students whose learning has been hampered due The COVID-19 crisis has revealed the massive
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to school closures. importance of digital connectivity and online
platforms, to the extent that we need to begin
It is evident that we cannot return to the world considering access to information, itself also a fundamental
as it was before. One of the strongest messages right, connected to the right to education in ways that were
is that our common humanity necessitates not foreseen even a decade ago.
global solidarity.
Value the teaching profession and teacher
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COVID-19 has the potential to radically reshape our collaboration. There has been remarkable
world, but we must not passively sit back and observe innovation in the responses of educators to the
what plays out. Now is the time for public deliberation COVID-19 crisis, with those systems most engaged with
and democratic accountability. Now is the time for families and communities showing the most resilience.
intelligent collective action.” Many parents now obliged to follow and supervise their
children’s learning at home have acquired a clearer
Her Excellency Sahle-Work Zewde, Chair of the awareness of the complexity of teachers’ work. Teachers
International Commission on the Futures of Education. have gone beyond the call of duty. They have responded to
their students’ needs with compassion and extra efforts
that reinforce the value that parents and communities
❝We cannot return attach to their action. All of this underscores the importance
of an overarching educational framework of trust and
to the world as it cooperation. Teachers need to be more recognised and

was before ❞ more highly valued; they are essential participants in
defining the futures of education.

Education | February 2021 | 3