3 March 2013: The online consultations as part of the Global Thematic Consultation on Education have concluded. This Global Thematic Consultation considers: lessons learned from reviewing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Education for All (EFA) Initiative; persistent and emerging challenges and their future implications; and input into the nature of the post-2015 framework.

Online consultations took place from 10 December 2012 to 3 March 2013, on the World We Want 2015 platform, in four key areas: equitable access to education; quality of learning; global citizens, skills and jobs; and governance and financing for education. Summary reports are available online for the first two topics.

According to the summary, the consultation on equitable access to education discussed, inter alia: education access, quality and relevance; poverty as hindering education; the role of education in development and rural empowerment; equal opportunities for girls; and education governance, financing and training. Participants supported a continued focus on free, universal and compulsory education with a shift to focus on quality, retention, enrollment and inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable groups.

The consultation on quality of learning discussed, inter alia: balancing foundational skills with broader outcomes on learning quality; obstacles to the quality of learning, including poverty, political will, shortages of quality teachers and cost; and policies and interventions, especially to support marginalized groups and promote gender equality; and the role of different actors. Participants supported free-standing, specific education goals that recognize education as a basis for achieving human rights and other goals and include qualitative and quantitative indicators.

A High-level Meeting (HLM) on Education, convening on 18-20 March 2013, in Dakar, Senegal, will review the consultation findings, identify gaps and opportunities and examine education policies. The HLM is expected to produce a final summary report to contribute to the UN High-level Panel on the Post-2015 Development Agenda (HLP) and intergovernmental consideration of the post-2015 agenda.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) co-lead the thematic consultation on education, which is supported by the Governments of Senegal and Canada. The Education Consultation is one of 11 consultations on key topics related to the post-2015 agenda. [Education Consultation Website] [Summary Report of the e-Discussion on Equitable Access to Education] [Summary Report of the e-Discussion on the Quality of Learning] [Education for All Initiative] [UNESCO Website on Education in Post-2015]