Participants at the second annual Global Education Forum called to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on education to avoid a “generational catastrophe.” UN leaders and organizations are urging financial support to achieve SDG 4 (quality education) ahead of an extraordinary session of the Global Education Meeting in October 2020.

The Global Education Forum convened virtually on 10 September 2020 in the lead-up to the 2020 Global Education Meeting (GEM), an extraordinary session that will convene from 20-22 October. 

Forum participants discussed a white paper from the Save Our Future campaign, which provides a roadmap for education in COVID-19 recovery and across the Decade of Action for the SDGs. The paper builds on the UN Secretary-General’s August 2020 policy brief titled, ‘Education during COVID-19 and beyond.’ That Policy Brief:

• States that the COVID-19 pandemic has affected nearly 1.6 billion learners across all continents, and school closures have impacted 94% of the world’s student population and up to 99% of learners in low and lower-middle income countries;
• Details the impacts to education and learning while stressing that the impacts go beyond education, affecting the provision of essential services to children and communities, access to nutritious food, the ability of many parents to work, and the potential risks of violence against women and girls; and
• Makes concrete recommendations to prevent the “learning crisis from becoming a generational catastrophe,” including: suppressing transmission of the virus and planning for school re-openings; protecting education financing and coordinating for impact; building resilient education systems for equitable and sustainable development; and reimagining education and accelerating change in teaching and learning.

Addressing the Forum, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed urged making education a top priority in the pandemic response and recovery spending in international investments and national budgets. She emphasized the need to ensure that every dollar invested “leads to maximum possible impact, especially for our girls.”

A policy paper released by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in September 2020 cites a USD148 billion annual financing gap in low- and lower-middle-income countries to achieve SDG 4 from now until 2030. COVID-19-related school closures could increase this financing gap by up to one-third, the paper reports.

From 20-22 October, an extraordinary session of the Global Education Meeting (2020 GEM) will convene on the topic, ‘Education post-COVID-19.’ The meeting is co-hosted by UNESCO and the UK. The session aims to be a platform for participants to “protect and rethink education in the current and post-COVID-19 world,” and set priorities for educational recovery and progress in the Decade of Action for the SDGs. The meeting is expected to result in the 2020 GEM Declaration. The Declaration will present an improved global education cooperation mechanism, for adoption at the next GEM in 2021. [2020 GEM session webpage]