Education Day: Over 760 million need education worldwide — UIL

Over 760 million people in the world are without literacy skills. This is according to the United Nations Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL).

The institute in an article published Monday, January 23rd, 2023 to promote universal right of education. The institute posited that about 244 million children and youths across the globe are not in school.

UIL called for increase efforts in the local communities to promote the universal right to education irrespective of age, background or location.

In his remarks, the Director of the institute, Mr. David Atchoarena, noted that if communities invest in lifelong learning, it will usher in immense benefits for the society at large.

He said “Against the backdrop of a global recession, growing inequalities and the climate crisis, lifelong learning must be prioritized to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Only lifelong education, starting in the earliest years in life, can break the cycle of poverty, improve health outcomes, prepare people for decent jobs with opportunities to reskill and upskill, and mitigate climate change”.

Giving the rising urban migration rate, Mr. Atchoarena said that over half of humanity currently living in cities and an estimated two-thirds of the population expected to reside in urban areas by 2050.

He said local communities were critical to ensuring lifelong learning opportunities are available to all by 2030.

“We must drastically scale-up our efforts and translate commitments into actions!”

According to the release, “in line with the 2023 International Day of Education theme, ‘Invest in people; prioritize education’, 294 UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC) have positioned lifelong learning at the top of their agendas, thereby advancing inclusive learning from early childhood to the third age”.

As such, the learning cities from around the world will host local events to celebrate the power of lifelong learning.

There are two UNESCO learning Cities in Nigeria. Both offices are situated in Abuja, the federal Capital Territory, and Ibadan, Oyo State.