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The new Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM) launched today (September 6, 2016) by UNESCO in London shows the potential for education to propel progress towards all the global goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, but warned of the tall challenges ahead to reach the learning targets.
The 2016 GEM entitled Education for people and planet: Creating sustainable futures for all, is the first of a new 15-year series and the first official monitoring report for SDG4. It shows that education will not fulfil its potential to propel progress unless there is greater participation across sectors, learning becomes truly lifelong and education systems fully embrace sustainable development. And education itself must transform becoming a holistic solution to global challenges, which include growing urbanization and refugee populations.
The 2016 GEM shows that, on current trends, universal primary education will only be achieved in 2042; universal lower secondary completion in 2059; and universal upper secondary completion in 2084. These dates are far later than the 2030 deadline for global commitments outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals.
Speaking at the launch, which took place in London with other events in Kigali, Jakarta and Medellin, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova affirmed The power of education is our message today. Education saves lives, education is the path sustainability. This is why we need to act...