Chairman of the International Commission on the Future of Education of Unesco Sahle-Work Zewde: Distance learning has exacerbated existing inequalities
date：2020-06-25 21:35author：小编source：the PÚBLICOviews：
The crisis of covid-19 exposed a "clear image of the existing inequalities" between the various countries affected by it, denounces the report Nine Ideas for Public Action - Education, Learning and Knowledge in a Post-Covid-19 World, carried out by the International Commission on the Future of Education (CIFE) of Unesco, chaired by Sahle-Work Zewde, president of Ethiopia.
Sahle-Work Zewde's wish is that this report will serve as a guide for countries to reflect and invest more in education, and also that the more developed countries are willing to show solidarity with developing countries. "There is strong evidence that investments in education contribute to more robust economies," she told the PÚBLICO. After this report, CIFE will continue to work towards presenting a new document in 2021.
The following is an excerpt from a newspaper interview.
Q: What are the greatest challenges that this pandemic has brought to education?
A: Due to the widespread closure of schools around the world, the pandemic represents a significant risk to the right to education. Hundreds of millions of students who exercised that right to education by going to school had to find other ways to access formal education. The shift to distance learning has exacerbated existing inequalities. Very few students in the world can continue learning because they do not have access to a computer or smartphone. For the few students who have these devices, they may also lack ways to access online educational resources - whether for cost, geographical location or both. For example, on the African continent, Internet access is less than 40%, while in Ethiopia it is currently only 18.6%. Moreover, only 17.8% of households in Africa have Internet, leaving many without access to distance learning options. The biggest challenge we face is to bridge the gap. There is an urgent need to work together, inside and outside countries, to reinforce the promise of equal opportunities and guarantee the right to education for all.
Q: Are all countries facing the same challenges?
A: Although the pandemic has presented similar challenges, the resources available to each country vary greatly, as do the educational responses. Many countries have closed schools, some have tried to transfer education to online platforms, others have used television and radio almost exclusively or in addition to these platforms. We have to be extremely vigilant with regard to countries where students have not had access to distance learning, especially those in the south, where public education has been most disadvantaged, especially in African countries. The disparities between developed and developing countries are real. Some countries have given schools and teachers autonomy to develop and implement solutions, while others not. What we need to do now - and what CIFE is doing - is a review of what has worked, what has not worked and why. That knowledge will help us reimagine alternatives and improve the resilience of education systems, so that they are better prepared in the future if schools have to close again.
What we know for sure is that the coronavirus has spread because we live in a globalized world, and it is clear that we need to coordinate globally to defeat the disease and create stronger and more equitable education systems. International cooperation, multilateralism and solidarity are needed when it comes to health and education, especially with regard to the financing of education.
Q: Even within the same country, this pandemic has revealed that there are inequalities in access to education. How are these being combated?
A: No doubt this crisis has opened the curtains of inequality. They existed before, but now they have been aggravated and accentuated. The transition to distance learning, in response to the closure of schools, has revealed the differences that have long existed. For example, this gap has occurred in Africa, where in the sub-Saharan region only 11% of pupils have access to computers and only 18% have the Internet at home, compared to the overall averages of 50% with computers at home and 57% with Internet access. Similarly, we find that in all countries, students from wealthy families have been able to progress in their learning during this crisis, while the poorest have not. Unfortunately, these disparities may widen in the coming years, changing the life path of these young people.
Q: What can we do?
A: The good news is that governments and their citizens have firstly recognized the need to create more inclusive and equitable education systems. Second, we should be able to offer equal opportunities to the most marginalized. It takes political determination and public commitment. Indeed, covid-19 has enabled us to understand where investment is most urgent. That is why we must use this crisis as an opportunity to invest in innovation, using technology to our advantage.
Q: Can one computer per student be the solution?
A: The idea of one computer per student is a long way from reality. In most southern countries, few have access to computers or smartphones, let alone the Internet. In this particular crisis, computers have given some students the opportunity to continue studying, to be in contact with their teachers and colleagues. However, we also note that devices alone are not enough. Students and teachers need skills to make learning effective - distance learning platforms and content, that is, educational software, are just as important as hardware. Moreover, such access needs to be accessible, if not free for educational purposes, and this remains a mirage in many contexts. Finally, we need to deal with more complex issues such as trust in commercial platforms that monitor users' personal data or charge fees.
Q: One of the proposals in the report is that students should have a say in the educational process. How is this done in practice?
A: Students should be heard, but they should also lead. Ultimately, it is their education and their future that are at stake. In the past, we have not heard enough of the voices of young people. Understandably, they are deeply concerned not only about the prospects of future work, but also about sustainability, climate change, inequality and injustice. Education systems must adapt to allow students to propose ideas and solutions. For example, young people in Ethiopia and around the world are hungry for global approaches to global challenges. Our education systems must do more to build the global and intergenerational solidarity needed to preserve the health of our planet.
Q: How can CIFE ask for solidarity between countries when they all face economic problems because of the pandemic?
A: National borders mean little to a global pandemic. In the same way, in this globalized world, economic problems travel fast and do not stop at borders. We are not currently facing localized economic crises, but a global recession. Therefore, a global response will be needed.
There is strong evidence that investments in education contribute to more robust economies. I recognize that xenophobia and competition can increase in tense times like these, but I hope that the importance of solidarity will be recognized, even for reasons as simple as what it means to be human. Solidarity and international cooperation are the way to tackle this pandemic in a holistic way.
Q: After the release of this report, what are the next steps?
A: This report proposes broad principles and values that can serve as policy guidelines. With Unesco, we are identifying ways to act that translate into commitments to human rights and education as a global common good. The stakes are high because decisions taken now, in the short term, will have long-term implications. The next step will be for governments, international organizations, education authorities, but also for families and communities to debate these ideas and transpose them into their local realities in order to implement them.
Sahle-Work Zewde's wish is that this report will serve as a guide for countries to reflect and invest more in education, and also that the more developed countries are willing to show solidarity with developing countries. "There is strong evidence that investments in education contribute to more robust economies," she told the PÚBLICO. After this report, CIFE will continue to work towards presenting a new document in 2021.
The following is an excerpt from a newspaper interview.
Q: What are the greatest challenges that this pandemic has brought to education?
A: Due to the widespread closure of schools around the world, the pandemic represents a significant risk to the right to education. Hundreds of millions of students who exercised that right to education by going to school had to find other ways to access formal education. The shift to distance learning has exacerbated existing inequalities. Very few students in the world can continue learning because they do not have access to a computer or smartphone. For the few students who have these devices, they may also lack ways to access online educational resources - whether for cost, geographical location or both. For example, on the African continent, Internet access is less than 40%, while in Ethiopia it is currently only 18.6%. Moreover, only 17.8% of households in Africa have Internet, leaving many without access to distance learning options. The biggest challenge we face is to bridge the gap. There is an urgent need to work together, inside and outside countries, to reinforce the promise of equal opportunities and guarantee the right to education for all.
Q: Are all countries facing the same challenges?
A: Although the pandemic has presented similar challenges, the resources available to each country vary greatly, as do the educational responses. Many countries have closed schools, some have tried to transfer education to online platforms, others have used television and radio almost exclusively or in addition to these platforms. We have to be extremely vigilant with regard to countries where students have not had access to distance learning, especially those in the south, where public education has been most disadvantaged, especially in African countries. The disparities between developed and developing countries are real. Some countries have given schools and teachers autonomy to develop and implement solutions, while others not. What we need to do now - and what CIFE is doing - is a review of what has worked, what has not worked and why. That knowledge will help us reimagine alternatives and improve the resilience of education systems, so that they are better prepared in the future if schools have to close again.
What we know for sure is that the coronavirus has spread because we live in a globalized world, and it is clear that we need to coordinate globally to defeat the disease and create stronger and more equitable education systems. International cooperation, multilateralism and solidarity are needed when it comes to health and education, especially with regard to the financing of education.
Q: Even within the same country, this pandemic has revealed that there are inequalities in access to education. How are these being combated?
A: No doubt this crisis has opened the curtains of inequality. They existed before, but now they have been aggravated and accentuated. The transition to distance learning, in response to the closure of schools, has revealed the differences that have long existed. For example, this gap has occurred in Africa, where in the sub-Saharan region only 11% of pupils have access to computers and only 18% have the Internet at home, compared to the overall averages of 50% with computers at home and 57% with Internet access. Similarly, we find that in all countries, students from wealthy families have been able to progress in their learning during this crisis, while the poorest have not. Unfortunately, these disparities may widen in the coming years, changing the life path of these young people.
Q: What can we do?
A: The good news is that governments and their citizens have firstly recognized the need to create more inclusive and equitable education systems. Second, we should be able to offer equal opportunities to the most marginalized. It takes political determination and public commitment. Indeed, covid-19 has enabled us to understand where investment is most urgent. That is why we must use this crisis as an opportunity to invest in innovation, using technology to our advantage.
Q: Can one computer per student be the solution?
A: The idea of one computer per student is a long way from reality. In most southern countries, few have access to computers or smartphones, let alone the Internet. In this particular crisis, computers have given some students the opportunity to continue studying, to be in contact with their teachers and colleagues. However, we also note that devices alone are not enough. Students and teachers need skills to make learning effective - distance learning platforms and content, that is, educational software, are just as important as hardware. Moreover, such access needs to be accessible, if not free for educational purposes, and this remains a mirage in many contexts. Finally, we need to deal with more complex issues such as trust in commercial platforms that monitor users' personal data or charge fees.
Q: One of the proposals in the report is that students should have a say in the educational process. How is this done in practice?
A: Students should be heard, but they should also lead. Ultimately, it is their education and their future that are at stake. In the past, we have not heard enough of the voices of young people. Understandably, they are deeply concerned not only about the prospects of future work, but also about sustainability, climate change, inequality and injustice. Education systems must adapt to allow students to propose ideas and solutions. For example, young people in Ethiopia and around the world are hungry for global approaches to global challenges. Our education systems must do more to build the global and intergenerational solidarity needed to preserve the health of our planet.
Q: How can CIFE ask for solidarity between countries when they all face economic problems because of the pandemic?
A: National borders mean little to a global pandemic. In the same way, in this globalized world, economic problems travel fast and do not stop at borders. We are not currently facing localized economic crises, but a global recession. Therefore, a global response will be needed.
There is strong evidence that investments in education contribute to more robust economies. I recognize that xenophobia and competition can increase in tense times like these, but I hope that the importance of solidarity will be recognized, even for reasons as simple as what it means to be human. Solidarity and international cooperation are the way to tackle this pandemic in a holistic way.
Q: After the release of this report, what are the next steps?
A: This report proposes broad principles and values that can serve as policy guidelines. With Unesco, we are identifying ways to act that translate into commitments to human rights and education as a global common good. The stakes are high because decisions taken now, in the short term, will have long-term implications. The next step will be for governments, international organizations, education authorities, but also for families and communities to debate these ideas and transpose them into their local realities in order to implement them.
Education in a post-COVID world: Nine ideas for public action
Abstract：Decisions made today in the context of COVID-19 will have long-term consequences for the futures of education. Policy-makers, educators and communities must make high-stakes choices today—these decisions should be guided by shared principles and visions of desirable collective futures.
COVID-19 has revealed vulnerabilities; it has also surfaced extraordinary human resourcefulness and potential. This is a time for pragmatism and quick action, but it is also a moment when more than ever we cannot abandon scientific evidence. Nor can we operate without principles. Choices must be based on a humanistic vision of education and development and human rights frameworks.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides many of the necessary signposts and guidelines. In this report, the International Commission on the Futures of Education—established by UNESCO in 2019 and composed of thought leaders from the worlds of academia, science, government, business and education—presents nine ideas for
concrete actions today that will advance education tomorrow.
1. Commit to strengthen education as a common good. Education is a bulwark against inequalities. In education as in health, we are safe when everybody is safe; we flourish when everybody flourishes.
2. Expand the definition of the right to education so that it addresses the importance of connectivity and access to knowledge and information. The Commission calls for a global public discussion—that includes, among others, learners of all ages—on ways the right to education needs to be expanded.
3. Value the teaching profession and teacher collaboration. There has been
remarkable innovation in the responses of educators to the COVID-19 crisis, with those systems most engaged with families and communities showing the most resilience. We must encourage conditions that give frontline educators autonomy and flexibility to act collaboratively.
4. Promote student, youth and children’s participation and rights. Intergenerational justice and democratic principles should compel us to prioritize the participation of students and young people broadly in the co-construction of desirable change.
5. Protect the social spaces provided by schools as we transform education. The school as a physical space is indispensable. Traditional classroom organization must give way to a variety of ways of ‘doing school’ but the school as a separate space-time of collective living, specific and different from other spaces of learning must be preserved.
6. Make free and open source technologies available to teachers and students. Open educational resources and open access digital tools must be supported. Education cannot thrive with ready-made content built outside of the pedagogical space and outside of human relationships between teachers and students. Nor can education be dependent on digital platforms controlled by private companies.
7. Ensure scientific literacy within the curriculum. This is the right time for deep reflection on curriculum, particularly as we struggle against the denial of scientific knowledge and actively fight misinformation.
8. Protect domestic and international financing of public education. The pandemic has the power to undermine several decades of advances. National governments, international organizations, and all education and development partners must recognize the need to strengthen public health and social services but simultaneously mobilize around the protection of public education and its financing.
9. Advance global solidarity to end current levels of inequality. COVID-19 has shown us the extent to which our societies exploit power imbalances and our global system exploits inequalities. The Commission calls for renewed commitments to international cooperation and multilateralism, together with a revitalized global solidarity that has empathy and an appreciation of our common humanity at its core.
COVID-19 presents us with a real challenge and a real responsibility. These ideas invite debate, engagement and action by governments, international organizations, civil society, educational professionals, as well as learners and stakeholders at all levels.
Download link：http://sli.bnu.edu.cn/uploads/soft/200625/2_2129107451.pdf
COVID-19 has revealed vulnerabilities; it has also surfaced extraordinary human resourcefulness and potential. This is a time for pragmatism and quick action, but it is also a moment when more than ever we cannot abandon scientific evidence. Nor can we operate without principles. Choices must be based on a humanistic vision of education and development and human rights frameworks.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provides many of the necessary signposts and guidelines. In this report, the International Commission on the Futures of Education—established by UNESCO in 2019 and composed of thought leaders from the worlds of academia, science, government, business and education—presents nine ideas for
concrete actions today that will advance education tomorrow.
1. Commit to strengthen education as a common good. Education is a bulwark against inequalities. In education as in health, we are safe when everybody is safe; we flourish when everybody flourishes.
2. Expand the definition of the right to education so that it addresses the importance of connectivity and access to knowledge and information. The Commission calls for a global public discussion—that includes, among others, learners of all ages—on ways the right to education needs to be expanded.
3. Value the teaching profession and teacher collaboration. There has been
remarkable innovation in the responses of educators to the COVID-19 crisis, with those systems most engaged with families and communities showing the most resilience. We must encourage conditions that give frontline educators autonomy and flexibility to act collaboratively.
4. Promote student, youth and children’s participation and rights. Intergenerational justice and democratic principles should compel us to prioritize the participation of students and young people broadly in the co-construction of desirable change.
5. Protect the social spaces provided by schools as we transform education. The school as a physical space is indispensable. Traditional classroom organization must give way to a variety of ways of ‘doing school’ but the school as a separate space-time of collective living, specific and different from other spaces of learning must be preserved.
6. Make free and open source technologies available to teachers and students. Open educational resources and open access digital tools must be supported. Education cannot thrive with ready-made content built outside of the pedagogical space and outside of human relationships between teachers and students. Nor can education be dependent on digital platforms controlled by private companies.
7. Ensure scientific literacy within the curriculum. This is the right time for deep reflection on curriculum, particularly as we struggle against the denial of scientific knowledge and actively fight misinformation.
8. Protect domestic and international financing of public education. The pandemic has the power to undermine several decades of advances. National governments, international organizations, and all education and development partners must recognize the need to strengthen public health and social services but simultaneously mobilize around the protection of public education and its financing.
9. Advance global solidarity to end current levels of inequality. COVID-19 has shown us the extent to which our societies exploit power imbalances and our global system exploits inequalities. The Commission calls for renewed commitments to international cooperation and multilateralism, together with a revitalized global solidarity that has empathy and an appreciation of our common humanity at its core.
COVID-19 presents us with a real challenge and a real responsibility. These ideas invite debate, engagement and action by governments, international organizations, civil society, educational professionals, as well as learners and stakeholders at all levels.
Download link：http://sli.bnu.edu.cn/uploads/soft/200625/2_2129107451.pdf
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