What is it?

Late last year, the United Nations (UN) issued a statement that resolution number 73/25 had been adopted. The resolution was put forward by Nigeria, and co-sponsored by 58 UN member states.

The statement read as follows: “On 3 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly adopted with consensus a resolution proclaiming 24 January as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for peace and development.”

Students at the Akilah Institute in Rwanda

The resolution calls for a day of international cooperation and reflection on the importance of education. It further speaks of:

“[The] importance of working to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels — early childhood, primary, secondary, tertiary…— so that all people may have access to lifelong learning opportunities that help them to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to access opportunities to participate fully in society and contribute to sustainable development.”

It is certainly a worthy cause

UN, UNESCO and World Bank statistics show that:

• 11% of all primary school-age children in the world do not attend school (the figure is double in Africa — 21%). Source.

• 20% of all secondary school-age children in the world do not attend school (in Africa, the figure is more than 30%). Source

• Well over more than 50% of adults worldwide have no access to higher education opportunities. Source.

Increasing worldwide access to education at every level is a priority in both the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — due to it being a key success factor for numerous important outcomes, from better environmental stewardship to gender equality, to the eradication of armed conflicts.

Students at the Akilah Institutes in Rwanda

However, with the launch of the International Day of Education, there are now 52 official UN “International Days of…”.

These include dates marking important global causes such as International Women’s Day (8 March), International Day of Peace (21 September), and World Aids Day (1 December). It also includes days for more specific interventions such as the World Book and Copyright Day and International Jazz Day, which are both in April.

The question then arises — do we need an International Day of Education?

The answer is yes, most definitely.

SDG 4 reads: “ Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”.

Investment and resources remain the main challenges in ensuring that this target is met. According to the United Nations:

“ It is estimated that an increase in annual spending on education from $1.2 trillion today to $3 trillion by 2030 will be required to achieve SDG 4. In order to expand education systems and achieve SDG 4, governments should allocate 20 per cent of national budgets to education.”

These measures are simply beyond the reach of many developing countries. This is where civil society, the private sector, and social enterprises must step in to make a contribution. For this to happen, public awareness is a key requirement.

Initiatives like an international day help drive this awareness. #InternationalDayofEducation, #EducationDay and #DayofEducation were all trending topics on social media — gathering hundreds of thousands of posts. There was also a significant spike in Google searches.

The challenge now is to sustain the momentum

Sustaining the conversations around education and its importance is vital in order to ensure that the many organizations involved in furthering this cause be able to continue to sustain their operations.

You can support by sharing this story — so that more people understand the International Day of Education and why it matters. You can also tell them about the Akilah Institute, an award-winning institution for higher learning for women in East Africa.