UNESCO emphasizes the importance and urgency of educating every person in a world that still faces significant challenges in this regard, even after more than two decades of the 21st century.

Education is fundamental for human development, social progress and building a sustainable future. However, despite global efforts and commitments set out in the 2030 Agenda, the goal of educating every person is still far from being achieved.

The 2030 Agenda, adopted by the United Nations in 2015, established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include a specific goal to ensure inclusive, equitable and quality education for all.

The lack of access to education is still a reality for millions of people around the world. Many children and young people are deprived of their basic right to quality education due to factors such as poverty, armed conflict, gender inequalities, discrimination and geographic barriers. Furthermore, the pandemic has further exacerbated these disparities, with school closures and the transition to remote learning, leaving many students without adequate access to learning.

By educating each person, we invest in human potential, in the development of skills and in the promotion of citizenship. Education is not just limited to the acquisition of academic knowledge, but also encompasses values, socio-emotional skills, critical thinking and creativity. It is a continuous process that must accompany social, economic and technological changes, preparing individuals to face the challenges of the contemporary world.

Furthermore, placing education at the center of the global agenda requires inclusive education policies, significant investments, teacher training, effective partnerships and innovative approaches, as well as addressing existing inequalities and promoting equal opportunities.

As called for in the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Statement (HLSC), cooperation and coordination in the field of education will play a crucial role in the pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goals.

To drive this collaboration forward, the HLSC proposes five pillars of action. First, Member States are encouraged to incorporate commitments to SDG 4 into their socio-economic and educational plans, policies and frameworks, and to regularly report on progress at global meetings convened by UNESCO. This integration of education into national plans can inform Member States' contributions to the 2023 SDG Summit.

Second, transforming education is seen as essential to prepare societies to deal with an uncertain future. Therefore, Member States are encouraged to give due attention to transforming education into the 2024 Future Summit outcomes.

Third, several actions are planned to sustain and strengthen the global movement that emerged from the Summit, led by youth, teachers and other stakeholders in the education community. This includes advancing the Global Youth Initiative to continue the Youth Declaration recommendations at all levels.

Fourth, the UN and the HLSC will work with Global Champions, leading global institutions, civil society partners and teachers to advocate, take strategic action and monitor the recommendations contained in the Call to Action on Financing Education.

Ultimately, the conveners of each of the Summit's five thematic meetings are expected to develop roadmaps and undertake advocacy efforts to ensure effective implementation of initiatives arising from the Summit at the national level, reporting progress to the HLSC. In addition, consideration is being given to establishing a panel of high-level experts to address the global teacher shortage and ensure the crucial role of educators as well as the evolution of teaching to meet the demands of education in the 21st century.

These actions proposed by the HLSC and the collaboration between Member States, international organizations, civil society and stakeholders are key to driving education forward and advancing the achievement of SDG 4. Sierra Leone will play an important role in this process, strengthening cooperation on field of education and integrating the Summit outcomes to ensure that education is a global priority for sustainable development.

Therefore, all human beings have an innate capacity to learn and are destined to constantly seek knowledge and skills in order to survive, live and prosper. Throughout lives, learning takes place in many forms, including institutionalized, planned and intentional education, as well as in non-formal and informal environments such as families, communities and cyberspaces.

Ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education, together with lifelong learning, is essential, not only as a specific objective of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but also as an intrinsic component of collective efforts to achieve all other SDGs and guarantee the human rights of all.

Education and lifelong learning are intertwined with all the SDGs. For example, quality education is linked to poverty eradication (SDG 1), health promotion (SDG 3) and gender equality (SDG 5). Furthermore, education plays an important role in promoting sustainable development by equipping people with the knowledge and skills to address environmental and climate challenges (SDG 13 and SDG 15).

Ensuring inclusive, equitable and quality education for all requires collective efforts, involving governments, educational institutions, communities, civil society and the private sector. This implies adequate investment in educational infrastructure, training and valuing teachers, promoting inclusive policies, accessing educational resources and technology, and removing barriers that may prevent certain groups from accessing education. Therefore, education is a catalyst for eradicating poverty, promoting health, gender equality, protecting the environment and strengthening communities.

 

Connecting the World: Addressing the Challenge of the 2.9 Billion Unconnected

 

The call to action aims to secure and improve quality public digital learning for all by harnessing the power of the digital revolution in education. Recognizing the importance of quality education as a public good and a human right, with a focus on minority groups, various efforts and documents highlight the need to promote digital cooperation.

Mobilizing the strengths of digital technology is critical to driving national development and international aspirations for education and lifelong learning. Such action can catalyze beneficial transformations in many aspects of education, including pedagogy, curriculum, assessment, social care and learning organization, both within and outside formal educational institutions. The aim is to improve student learning outcomes by ensuring that everyone, whether children, youth or adults, has access to basic literacy skills, develops knowledge and skills relevant to their lives and contributes to a more sustainable future.

It is essential to make high-quality, curriculum-relevant digital teaching and learning content available through digital learning platforms. These platforms have the potential to transform the learning experience for children, youth and adults, but it is necessary to ensure that content is accessible on mobile devices, well organized and free of practices that compromise students' privacy or expose them to inappropriate advertisements.

In addition, it is imperative to invest in robust digital infrastructure and ensure connectivity for all students and educators. Lack of internet access and adequate infrastructure are significant obstacles to digital learning. Therefore, actions must be promoted to reduce the digital divide, including the expansion of connectivity in remote areas and the provision of adequate devices to students.

Educators and caregivers play a key role in promoting digital learning. It is necessary to invest in their training and provide the necessary support so that they can effectively use digital tools in their pedagogical practices. This includes developing digital skills, ongoing training and access to quality educational resources and materials.

This call to action highlights the importance of ensuring quality public digital learning for all by providing access to relevant content, adequate digital infrastructure and empowering educators and caregivers.

Unfortunately, across the world, a lack of digital skills is one of the most commonly cited barriers to using the internet in education and other contexts. This lack of skills often trumps even cost barriers. Surprisingly, one in three people lack the most basic digital skills. Even for those with digital skills, there is a dearth of training available for teachers to improve their pedagogical practices in the effective use of technology. Furthermore, gender gaps in digital skills remain unacceptably high, with women and girls 25% less likely to know how to leverage digital technology for basic purposes.

Digital connectivity plays a crucial role in ensuring that all schools and individuals can benefit from the educational advantages provided by quality internet connections. However, globally, 2.9 billion people are still offline, with 90% of them living in developing countries. Furthermore, there are significant differences in internet accessibility across the world, often experiencing high mobile data rates. This unequal access to connectivity reduces opportunities for many young people and adults to learn and reach their full potential.

To unlock the power of digital learning, it is essential to establish national strategies and budgets with short, medium and long term goals, addressing the three keys: capacity, content and connectivity.

With regard to capacity, it is critical to establish and enhance public digital learning platforms with high-quality, curriculum-aligned educational resources. These platforms must be free, open and accessible to everyone, ensuring the privacy and security of user data.

Strengthening capacities and connectivity is key to ensuring inclusive and equal learning for all. Achieving universal digital literacy, with a special focus on women and girls, is necessary to overcome persistent gender digital skills gaps.

For this, it is imperative to train all teachers and education professionals so that they can take advantage of the power of digital resources and help their students in the learning process. This will be done through existing alliances and initiatives such as the UNESCO ICT Competency Framework for Teachers and the Global Coalition on Education.

The Investment Needed: Governments Need to Commit Massive Resources to Education

 

Building on the SDG4-Education 2030 commitments and existing frameworks on financing for development, it is essential that all countries and education partners take concrete action at both national and international levels. This Call to Action on Educational Investment aims to boost efforts in that direction.

It is up to national governments to adequately finance education, identifying and overcoming the main obstacles to achieving the goals agreed internally and internationally, mainly related to SDG4. Country leadership is critical to achieving these goals.

In addition, there is a need to increase the fiscal space for education and protect funds for social protection and education systems. Governments must allocate at least 4-6% of GDP and at least 15-20% of total public expenditure towards education, ensuring that education budgets are preserved even in times of fiscal constraints caused by the pandemic and the global economic crisis.

To ensure a more equitable and efficient distribution of educational investment, it is crucial to establish specific targets in relation to the percentage directed to lower-income families (40%) and vulnerable groups, such as those living in rural or remote areas, children with disabilities or in vulnerability situation.

It is essential to monitor and report educational investment and its results in a disaggregated and systematic way, ensuring that investment is distributed equitably, with special attention to the most vulnerable groups. In addition, it is important to integrate gender responsiveness into the monitoring of public expenditures in order to identify the impact of education spending on girls and boys, correct imbalances and promote gender equality.

Building on the commitments set out in SDG 4 – Education 2030, the 2021 GPE Partners' Call to Action for Education in Finance, the Paris Declaration on Financing for Education and other existing development finance frameworks, it is critical that all countries and partners adopt concrete actions at the national and international level in relation to educational investment.

Governments at the national level have a responsibility to:

 

• Make a commitment to adequate education financing, working to identify and overcome the main obstacles that may arise in order to achieve the internally agreed priorities and internationally established goals for education, especially those related to SDG4. Country leadership plays a key role in achieving these goals.

 

• Increase fiscal space for education and commit to protecting funds for social protection and education systems. According to the Incheon and Paris Declarations, governments must allocate at least 4-6% of GDP and at least 15-20% of total public expenditure to education.

 

• Commit to protecting and increasing real investment per student and per school-age person, setting an ambitious benchmark in line with the national and regional context. This implies ensuring adequate resources for each student, considering their specific needs.

 

• Commit to achieving an adequate tax-to-GDP ratio by adopting ambitious and progressive tax reforms that are linked to financing educational investment. It is necessary to establish fiscal policies that promote justice and guarantee adequate resources for education.

 

• Allocate educational investment more equitably and efficiently, starting with early childhood education. It is essential to direct resources to achieve efficient advances towards quality education for all. Establish specific targets in relation to the portion of educational investment destined for lower-income families (40% and 20%), those living in rural or distant areas, children with disabilities or in vulnerable situations.

 

• Monitor and report educational investment and its results in a detailed and systematic way, ensuring that investment is distributed equitably, with special attention to the most vulnerable groups. It is important to integrate a gender perspective in monitoring public spending to identify the impacts of education spending on girls and boys, redirecting spending to correct imbalances and promote gender equality.

 

• Commit to investing in requalification and learning opportunities, preparing young people and adults to face the demands of the economy of the future and stimulating new opportunities for decent work in the growing green and digital economies.

 

By adopting these measures, countries and partners will strengthen investment in education, ensuring greater equity and efficiency.

 

Teachers Under Pressure: Dealing with Rising Expectations Amid Lack of Support

 

The teaching profession is experiencing significant challenges, as the changes and expectations imposed on schools and teachers are not being accompanied by transformations that allow them to respond adequately.

In addition, teachers still rely on traditional approaches, such as transmitting information, memorizing content and a passive attitude towards educational innovations. They are still seen as executors of curricula and reforms, acting in a role predetermined by others, and are formed based on traditional models that do not keep pace with curricular changes. All this occurs without regard to the results of educational systems.

Currently, when talking about teaching, one usually addresses training, salaries and performance evaluation. In-service training has been the strategy of reforms to improve teacher performance, often accompanied by performance evaluations. On the other hand, wage demands arise as a consequence of the proletarianization of the teaching profession over the last few decades. However, investments in training have not achieved the expected results, and salary increases, when they occur, are small and rare, not significantly improving the quality of life of teachers.

It is necessary to adopt a renewed perspective on the teaching profession and its new dimensions. Two certainties are fundamental to building a solid proposal: teaching is one of the most important factors to guarantee quality education for all, and training, salary increases and teacher evaluation, by themselves, do not improve performance or promote motivation. and professional satisfaction. It is necessary to go beyond these measures.

Teaching is a profession with deep meaning and human commitment, but it is also a profession in every sense of the word. As such, it should be a public policy priority. The development and strengthening of the teaching profession are responsibilities shared by several actors committed to building intersectoral alliances and consensus. The teaching profession needs to be seen in an integral perspective. The teaching profession must be placed at the center of public and educational policies, making it a priority on the government's agenda. That is, it is essential to invest adequately and efficiently in strengthening the teaching profession.

On the other hand, seeing the teaching profession in an integral way means recognizing the different factors that influence the performance of teachers, such as initial training, continuing training in service, performance evaluation, working conditions, salaries, organizational culture , social recognition and health.

Teachers play a crucial role in the educational system and must be supported and empowered to become change agents, knowledge producers, facilitators and guides for understanding complex realities. To achieve these goals, action is needed in four key areas.

The first area of action involves improving teachers' capacity, agency and autonomy through comprehensive initial and continuing education. This training should enable teachers to effectively manage the curriculum, adopt innovative pedagogies and use assessment strategies that promote transformative education based on experience, inquiry, curiosity and joy. Training teachers in this way contributes to improving the quality of teaching and learning.

The second area of action concerns the global shortage of teachers. It is essential to address this issue comprehensively, ensuring decent working conditions, a valued status for teachers, and the implementation of fair and equal mechanisms for teacher recruitment and promotion. Investing in the teaching profession and offering appropriate incentives can attract and retain talented professionals.

The third area of action is the monitoring and evaluation of teaching, aiming at accountability and learning outcomes. Establishing effective monitoring and evaluation systems is critical to identifying areas for improvement and boosting student learning. By using data and evidence, education systems can make informed decisions and efficiently allocate resources, seeking to continually improve the quality of education.

Finally, it is essential to involve teachers in the formulation of educational policies. Teachers have a unique and valuable perspective on the needs and challenges faced in the classroom environment. Through social dialogue, educators can actively contribute to the elaboration of curricular and pedagogical reforms, sharing their experiences and ideas.

 

The Power of Youth in Education: Breaking Barriers and Shaping the Future

 

Nowadays, it faces several and tumultuous crises, and it is important to recognize the relevance of education as a primordial source of hope and solution to achieve a global environment of peace and fair equality. In seeking to transform education, it is necessary to ensure that voices are heard, experiences are valued, demands are met and efforts, leadership and agency are recognized.

The transformation of education should not be expected as an invitation. On the contrary, young people are at the forefront of this change, driving pioneering innovations, mobilizing their communities and peers, championing universal and quality education, working tirelessly from the grassroots to transform the educational landscape.

The Youth Declaration presented is the result of a broad consultation process that involved the diverse participation of nearly half a million young people from more than 170 countries and territories. They contributed through face-to-face and online projects, global, regional, national dialogues, online surveys, social media campaigns and other forms of engagement.

This Youth Declaration builds on and complements the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in particular Sustainable Development Goal 4. It is also grounded in the purposes and principles set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter of the United Nations, recognizing education as a fundamental human right, a global public good and a public responsibility. In addition, it is based on relevant documents, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Youth Strategy – Youth2030 and others.

As an example of investment, institutions of technical and professional post-secondary education appear, which play a crucial role in the training of trained professionals, but it is important to recognize them not only as places of training, but also as centers of applied research. These institutions must highlight the importance of productive skills in individual and collective lives, as well as the effective functioning of learning societies. In addition, they should highlight the different paths to meaningful work and the potential for integration, partnerships and cooperation between different sectors and communities.

The local character of these institutions, often closely linked to the communities in which they are embedded, provides an opportunity to foster thriving local learning cultures. Local communities have unique connections to common knowledge, and technical and professional institutes can contribute to the development of ideas about their application in different and relevant ways, taking into account the specific context.

Furthermore, it is essential that higher education defend free and open access to knowledge and science. By doing so, a greater democratization of knowledge can be promoted, allowing more people to benefit from scientific discoveries and innovations. This strengthens the knowledge base and contributes to social and economic progress more broadly.

Therefore, it is necessary to establish a new social contract for education. This implies recognizing the evolution of curricula and common knowledge, seeking a more dynamic and adaptive approach that reflects the changing demands of society.

 

Gender Equity in Education: Transforming Lives and Empowering Future Generations

 

This call to action is based on important documents such as Action Track 1 on inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools, the Freetown Manifesto for Transforming Gender Leadership in Education, G7 and G20 declarations, the Generation Equality Forum and other commitments and regulatory frameworks related to girls' and women's education and gender equality.

As a fundamental part of Transformative Education, it is essential to promote and advocate for gender equality and the empowerment of girls and women in and through education. To this end, governments at national and subnational levels must:

 

• Prioritize gender equality in education sector plans, budgets and policies, identifying and addressing disparities from an early age through increased resources, strategies and commitments that transform harmful gender norms into inclusive pedagogical practices. In addition, it is essential to strengthen the capacity of education professionals and promote other priorities specific to each context.

 

• Ensure gender parity and non-discrimination at all levels and subjects of education, as well as in teaching, education and ministerial leadership positions. This includes supporting female teachers through fair and equal pay, safe housing, transportation and other resources needed to work in remote areas. Barriers to women's rise to educational leadership and administration also need to be removed.

 

• Eliminate gender biases and stereotypes from curricula, teaching and learning materials, ensuring that all teachers and students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to challenge and transform harmful gender norms, attitudes and practices, as well as broader inequalities and discrimination. This approach should start from early childhood, as evidence shows that gender stereotypes are internalized by children as young as two years old.

 

• Promote access, participation and completion of post-secondary and vocational education for girls and women, overcoming financial, cultural and social barriers. This includes providing appropriate support and guidance in choosing non-traditional careers.

 

• Engage men and boys as allies in promoting gender equality and deconstructing harmful norms and stereotypes.

 

Promoting gender equality and empowering girls and women through education is an urgent and crucial mission to build an equal society. By placing gender equality at the center of education policies, ensuring gender parity across all levels and subjects, removing gender biases and stereotypes from curricula, and promoting a safe and inclusive educational environment, a solid foundation can be created for social transformation.

By taking a comprehensive and inclusive approach, ensuring girls' and women's access to and participation in education, a path to social transformation, the realization of human rights and sustainable development is created.

Therefore, it is necessary to implement effective policies and practices and invest in education as a powerful instrument to promote gender equality and women's empowerment. This call to action is essential for advancing gender equality and empowering girls and women through education.

 

Green Education: The Movement of Schools Towards Green Accreditation

 

The climate crisis is an urgent global challenge, and the UN does not hesitate to call it “a battle for our lives”. Achieving the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, as recommended by the Paris Agreement, requires a rapid and radical transformation in all aspects of our lives. In this context, education plays a key role as a powerful means of supporting adaptation and strengthening the resilience of students and societies.

The UN-led Transformative Education Summit highlighted the importance of transforming education to respond to the global climate and environmental crisis. Through the knowledge and practice accumulated in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), a new green education partnership is being established. This partnership aims to promote coordinated and comprehensive action, with the aim of preparing each student to face climate change and promote sustainable development.

Green education aims to equip students with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to deal with the challenges of the climate crisis. It seeks to integrate climate and environmental issues in a transversal and systematic way in the curricula, promoting a deep understanding of the problems and encouraging positive actions in favor of the environment.

Furthermore, it is essential that education systems become more resilient to climate change. Schools must be designed to be safe, able to withstand extreme events and provide a safe learning environment for students.

Transforming education in response to the climate crisis is not just a matter of raising awareness and information, but also empowering students to become agents of change. It is necessary to promote a culture of sustainability and respect for the environment, encouraging individual and collective actions that contribute to a more sustainable future.

The green education partnership is a demonstration of the global commitment to addressing the climate crisis through the transformation of education.

Under this premise, green schools are a key vision for the future of education. From early childhood through adult education, it is essential to work to ensure that all schools achieve green school accreditation. This includes not only the schools themselves, but also teacher training and higher education institutions.

The goal is for all countries to adopt a green school accreditation scheme, where at least 50% of schools, colleges and universities have achieved green accreditation and are operating sustainably. This goal represents a global commitment to transform the education system to become more aligned with sustainability principles and practices.

Green accreditation involves several aspects, such as energy efficiency of facilities, use of renewable energy, proper waste management, water conservation, promotion of biodiversity, use of sustainable materials, integration of ecological practices in curricula and students' awareness of environmental issues.

Green learning is essential to address environmental challenges and build a sustainable future. It is critical to adopt a lifelong learning approach that integrates climate education into all educational levels, from school curricula to professional training and skills development in the workplace.

The vision is that all countries recognize the importance of climate education and incorporate it into school, technical and vocational curricula. This involves developing teaching materials, adopting appropriate pedagogies and implementing assessments that address environmental issues.

The target is that the number of countries that include climate education in pre-primary, primary and secondary school curricula is at least double the current number, which is around 45%. This represents a global commitment to strengthen climate education and ensure that students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to understand and address environmental challenges.

Another important aspect is the fundamental green capacity and readiness to drive climate education and promote sustainability in schools. It is crucial to support teachers and policy makers by integrating climate education into both initial teacher education and in-service training, empowering school leaders and all those involved in education.

The vision is that all school leaders and at least one teacher per school will be trained on how to integrate climate education into school-wide teaching and learning. This involves developing specific skills and competencies to address climate-related issues, providing educators with the necessary tools to impart knowledge and encourage action on behalf of sustainability.

Training school leaders is key to creating an environment conducive to climate education. These leaders play a crucial role in setting guidelines and creating a school culture that values ​​sustainability and promotes climate-related action. By being empowered, they become agents of change, driving sustainable initiatives and integrating climate education into all aspects of the school.

Therefore, by promoting education in green communities, individuals and groups are trained to understand climate issues and act sustainably in their daily lives. This creates a solid foundation for a society that is conscious and committed to sustainability, capable of facing the challenges of climate change and working towards a green and resilient future.

 

240 Million Voices: The Fight for the Inclusion of Children with Disabilities

 

Inclusive education for people with disabilities is an urgent call to action to ensure quality, equitable and inclusive education for all learners, at all stages of development. This call to action, launched during the Transforming Education Summit, aims to support global efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4, which seeks to ensure universal access to quality education.

The UN Transformative Education Summit highlighted the importance of transforming education in order to ensure that all the world's children, including those with disabilities, have access to quality education throughout their lives. Unfortunately, children with disabilities face significant disparities in access to education.

Inclusive education is not just about ensuring that students with disabilities have access to the same learning opportunities, it is also a way to promote the well-being and success of all students.

Promoting inclusive education requires a concerted effort by governments, multilateral institutions, civil society and advocates around the world. There is a need to invest in inclusive education systems and ensure that the approaches adopted promote the full and equal participation of all students, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.

Transforming education to meet the needs of people with disabilities is a human rights issue and a demonstration of commitment to equality and social justice.

Recognizing the transformative power of inclusive education, it is crucial that everyone is aware of the importance of meeting the needs of the 240 million children with disabilities worldwide. Therefore, they have a fundamental right to receive a quality education, just like their non-disabled peers.

Achieving truly inclusive education requires collective commitment and concrete action. In this regard, it is essential to gradually increase budget allocations for inclusive education for people with disabilities. This measure would ensure adequate resources to support educational programs and infrastructure needed to promote inclusion.

In addition, medium to long-term goals need to be established to ensure that all students with disabilities are covered in all educational programs. Recognizing that at least 10% of students in each country have disabilities is an important step towards promoting equal access to education.

The inclusion of a disability perspective in all educational programs and grants is also essential. This implies integrating disability inclusion criteria and goals, ensuring that diversity and individual needs are considered in all aspects of the educational process.

 

Building Bridges: The Power of Finance in Quality Education for All

 

Adequate financing of education is critical to ensuring universal access to quality education. Recognizing the importance of this aspect, it is necessary to support national efforts to finance education and seek global actions that can strengthen countries' capacity to increase their tax revenue progressively and efficiently.

A bold and progressive approach to tax reforms is essential to change the dialogue at the global level and avoid harmful “race to the bottom” strategies in terms of taxes and tax incentives. This includes global actions to establish a global asset register, reduce illicit financial flows, combat tax evasion and promote fair global tax rules. It is important to ensure that global rules do not pressure countries to adopt harmful tax practices.

In addition, there is a need to review the international financial and debt architecture to ensure that sufficient finance is available to support long-term sustainable development goals. This involves removing conditionalities that require cuts in education spending as a prerequisite for obtaining new funding and exploring innovative tools such as debt-for-education investment swaps.

Supporting debt relief, restructuring and, in some cases, debt cancellation is critical to ensuring that countries have available resources to invest in education. Countries that spend more on debt service than on education should be supported to address this situation.

It is also important that international financial institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), address obstacles that prevent increased spending on education, such as public sector wage restrictions, and advocate for policies that allow significant hiring of professional teachers where needed.

In addition, there is a need to explore new solutions and mechanisms that could unlock funding for education, including a new allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and reallocation of existing SDRs to countries that most need to invest in education.

Finally, it is essential to create new norms and formulas that allow Ministries of Finance and governments as a whole to understand the long-term return on investment in education. Spending on education should not be viewed just as consumer spending, but as a strategic investment in medium-term planning and budget documents.