The Post-2015 Education Agenda

Sabine Detzel EFA and Global Agenda Coordination Team

UNESCO

Arab States Regional Conference on Education Post-2015

Sharm-el-Sheik, 27 January 2015

Post-2015 development agenda Aim: achieve sustainable development, and end extreme

poverty in all its forms

3 interconnected objectives:

• Economic development

• Social justice and inclusion

• Environmental sustainability

Universally-relevant

Implementation-context-specific

Education is key

2

UNESCO’s role in the process

UNESCO as EFA coordinating agency

• Facilitating since 2011 consultations of Member States, civil society

and other key stakeholders around the existing EFA mechanisms

• UNESCO Position Paper 2013

UNESCO and UNICEF

Co-leads of the UN Thematic consultation on education in the post-2015

development agenda

EFA Steering Committee

Convened by UNESCO, composed by key EFA stakeholders: provides

guidance to the EFA process and the post-2015 development agenda

> Saudi Arabia represents the Arab Region

Vision of the proposed post-2015 education agenda

Four principles:

1. Education is a fundamental human right

2. Education is a public good – states as custodians

3. Education is a foundation for human fulfilment, peace,

sustainable development, economic growth, decent work,

gender equality and responsible global citizenship

4. Education contributes to the reduction of inequalities

and poverty

Scope of the proposed post-2015 education agenda

• Beyond access - focus on quality and relevant

learning outcomes;

• Beyond primary education – education at all

levels;

• Holistic and lifelong learning approach

• Multiple and flexible pathways of learning;

• Universally relevant - Context specific

implementation

Muscat Agreement

Overarching Goal

“Ensure equitable and inclusive quality

education and lifelong learning

for all by 2030”

+ 7 Targets

Target 1: Early childhood care and education, leading to school

readiness

Target 2: Basic education of at least 9 years (primary and lower

secondary) leading to relevant learning outcomes

Target 3: Youth and adults reaching a proficiency level in literacy and

numeracy

Target 4: Knowledge and skills for decent work and life through TVET,

upper secondary and higher education

Target 5: Education for Sustainable Development and Global

Citizenship Education

Target 6: Qualified, professionally-trained, motivated and well-

supported teachers

Target 7 : Education Financing, domestic and financial cooperation

Muscat Agreement - Seven targets

Several inter-linked processes aimed at shaping

the post-2015 development agenda:

United Nations global consultation “The World We

Want”

Rio + 20 follow-up

Open Working Group on Sustainable

Development Goals established by UNGA

Support provided by Technical Support Team:

UNESCO and UNICEF co-led education inputs

8

Key outcomes

Open Working Group Outcome Document ‘Proposal of

the Open Working Group for Sustainable Development

Goals’ (July 2014) 17 goals adopted, including one on

education

•Goal ‘Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education

and promote life-long learning opportunities for all’

• 7 targets, 3 means of implementation

Adoption by the UN GA as main basis for integrating the

sustainable development goals into the future development

agenda (Sept. 2014)

Synthesis Report of the UN SG on the post-2015

sustainable development agenda (December 2014)

OWG - Seven targets Target 1. Primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective

learning outcomes

Target 2. Early childhood development, care and pre-primary education

leading to school-readiness

Target 3. Technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university

Target 4. Skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship

Target 5. Gender equality, equity and inclusion, focusing on vulnerable

groups

Target 6. Youth and adult literacy and numeracy

Target 7. Knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development

Three means of implementation Target a. Education facilities and effective learning environments

Target b. Scholarships for developing countries to enrol in higher education in developed countries and other developing countries

Target c. Increase the supply of qualified teachers

10

Intergovernmental negotiations (Jan – Sept 2015 )

Question: Possibility for adjusting some of the

education targets?

Key concerns:

• A financing target - for domestic financial commitment

• A teachers’ target - not only a MoI; beyond increasing

supply

• The adult literacy target - proficiency levels in a given

context based (literacy as a continuum of learning)

Current work at UN Level

11

• UNESCO Regional Conferences on education post-2015

• World Education Forum: Incheon, Republic of Korea, 19-

22 May 2015

• International Summit on Education for Development, 7 July,

Oslo

• Third International Conference on Financing for Development

13 – 16 July, Addis Ababa

• UN Special Summit on Sustainable Development (25-27

September 2015, UN New York)

> Adoption of the post-2015 sustainable development

agenda

Timeline – main events

12

Education in the wider context

Rethinking: Which education for future societies?

Enabler for other areas of development

Content, programmes, skills and competencies

Education ministries and stakeholders to connect

with ministries of Foreign Affairs/ UN missions

Promote the current vision and targets of the education

agenda in the UN negotiations

Promote the outcomes of the World Education Forum

2015 in the global conferences and the UN Summit

Intergovernmental negotiations (Jan – Sept 2015)

13

http://www.unesco.org/en/efa

THANK YOU !

14