A year ago, world leaders set a deadline on universal education, which was aimed to be completed by 2030. This plan was part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that would allow all girls and boys to complete quality K-12 education for free, but the U.N. reported that progress has been slow.
Based on a United Nations report on Tuesday, the world was foreseen to miss the deadline to ensure all children will have access and receive quality primary and secondary education for free by more than five decades. According to Reuters, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said universal primary education will be achieved in 2042 while universal lower secondary education will be reached in 2059.
Moreover, UNESCO revealed that college education will be achieved in 2084. The United Nations' educational organization also stressed that education funding and support need to increase six-fold to reach its goal of providing quality universal education by 2030.
Due to the report, economist and U.N. adviser on the SDGs Jeffrey Sachs said global governments should amplify its actions to achieve the global development goals. He also emphasized the "appalling reality" on educational attainment gaps between the rich and the underprivileged within and between nations.
Sachs' statements was also echoed by UNESCO's director general Irina Bokova, saying the world must act with a "sense of heightened urgency" and with a longstanding commitment to achieve the U.N.'s Sustainable Development Goal in education. What's more alarming was the fact that even the world's most affluent nations and regions have been unable to achieve the universal K-12 by 2030, Time reported.
The U.N. report also underscored the effects and impacts of war and conflict on education systems, where almost 500 million schoolchildren are affected, The Telegraph revealed. In fact, the proportion of children who couldn't attend school because of armed conflicts have increased by six percent in 2014.
The report also found children in war-affected nations are expected to lag behind their pals when it comes to their education.Unfortunately, the world can't rely on aid alone to bridge the gap. That's why, both the non-government organizations (NGOs) and the private sectors are urged to share as well.
Governments, on the other hand, are advised to take the inequality issues seriously. Educational institutions should also concentrate on economic, environmental and sociocultural programs to help nurture more mindful, empowered and competent individuals, Huffington Post noted.
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