Global Stakeholders Call for Safeguarding Educational Funding

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A virtual Global Education Meeting (GEM) is being convened by UNESCO in partnership with the governments of UK, Norway and Ghana to discuss Education in the post Covid-19 World. The second part of the two part meeting is scheduled for the 22^nd of October, 2020.  The first part was conducted on the 20^th of October. The objective of this global meet is to safeguard finances for the education sector. It seeks to gain firm commitment from world leaders that education sector will be included in their Covid-19 recovery plans.  The discussion on the first day featured a priority segment on the role of teachers in tackling the adverse effects of the covid-19 pandemic with regard to the education sector.

Save Our Future Campaign

The second part of the meeting took place on the 22^nd of October, 2020. Investment in the education sector was the central theme of the discussion. This global virtual meet launched a campaign entitled ‘Save Our Future’ that forwards a comprehensive, evidence-based list of recommendations for governments to improve education systems in the post Covid world. The campaign has been sponsored by some of the largest educational multilaterals along with researcher organisations, over 600 NGOs, foundations, individual influencers and media personnel. This discussion on the need to boost funds in the educational sector is very timely, as global governments will try to deprioritize investments in this sector as a fiscal response to manage the damages caused by the pandemic. This projects calls upon the global community to protect educational funding as a pertinent component of the Covid-19 recovery plan.

Role of Teachers in the New Normal

The GEM was scheduled two weeks after the World Teacher’s Day celebrations. These celebrations were sponsored by UNESCO, ILO and Education International, as it marked the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ILO/ UNESCO recommendations regarding the status of teachers. The resilient leadership roles played by teachers globally during these trying times was recognised and applauded on the first day of the meet. The Covid-29 pandemic has severely affected the educational sector disrupting the lives of almost 90% of the global student population. Teachers have been at the center of the fight against Covid-19 in the education sector. Haldis Holst, Deputy General Secretary of Education International was quoted saying that ‘we need to be better at tech’ but it should not replace ‘the human contact of teacher and student’. The discussion also focused on the role of technology in the new normal. While appreciation and acknowledging its effectiveness, most speakers emphasized that such modalities can never replace in-person teaching experiences.