A panel discussion on the second day of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) discussed the need for inclusion and gender equality in transforming education in least developed countries Monday.
Education should be meaningful, has to be inclusive and youth should be an integral part of the changes in their educational ecosystem, it was pointed out during the session featuring ministers and experts.
Delivering the opening remarks virtually, Unesco’s assistant director-general for education Stefania Giannini observed that many of the participants are directly or indirectly involved and committed to the process and are taking lead of providing the international community with the right approach and the right support to make this process go ahead with concrete results.
Dr Dipu Moni, Minister for Education, Bangladesh, in her presentation highlighted the steady progress her country has made in the recent decades. “We have the firm conviction that none should be left behind in education and today Bangladesh is recognised a champion in girls’ education. It is on the top agenda of our government and now we have more girls than boys in the schools.
“Bangladesh was no different when it came to the usual socio-economic barriers that girls face in many other countries and regions. While girls’ education was only for the few financially solvent, we promoted girls’ education as a means of financial support. Tuition fees for girls were made free up to the tertiary level. Our secondary school stipend programme was not a programme per se, but rather a policy strategy to mitigate the socio-economic challenges. Parents now realise the benefit of educating their girls, there has been a sea change in their mindset,” the minister said.
Rana Tanveer, Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training of Pakistan, noted how the education scenario is constantly upset by the natural disasters such as flood. “About 6.2mn students were affected by the floods in 2022 and the entire education ecosystem has been hit hard.
Huge amount of educational institutions have been hit hard and it is a sad reality that the education of millions of students has been affected badly,” he noted.
“Rebuilding the educational infrastructure is the top priority for the government and to make the education system a resilient one is the top agenda for us. We have been offered international assistance in this regard and we are hopeful that these resources will be realised soon so that the path ahead will be smoother for the young students,” he added.
During the session, Leonardo Garnier, special advisor on the transforming education summit, interacted with several young learners who raised many issues pertaining to the learning ecosystem in their countries. The session was moderated by Armel Sly-Vania, SDG4 youth network representative.