Vox Pop: Future of education: Asia-Pacific responses

http://www.unescobkk.org/news/article/vox-pop-future-of-education-asia-pacific-responses/

My thoughts in UNESCO Website-

18.04.2013

In the run up to 2015, stakeholders across the globe have commenced consultations on the future of education and, in particular, education in the post-2015 development agenda.

In support of this, UNESCO Bangkok together with UNICEF (EAPRO and ROSA) brought together over 120 stakeholders from around 20 countries and about 35 civil society organizations in the Asia-Pacific region, including representatives from governments, non-governmental organizations (international, regional, national and local), universities and academia, teachers’ unions, and youth organizations to share their ideas on education for the future and the post-2015 development agenda.

As part of this Asia-Pacific Regional Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, we asked participants about the most important priority area for education beyond 2015: 1) Equitable and Inclusive Access to and Participation in Learning; 2) Quality of Learning; 3) Global Citizenship, Skills and Competencies for Life and Work, and; 4) Governance, Financing and Partnership/Cooperation.



Raquel Castillo, Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education, based in India

“I would say a convergence of two – learning outcomes and skills for global citizenship. This is not discounting inequality or governance at all; even if we are able to provide access to everyone, without learning outcomes and without skills needed for the 21st century, formal education is simply not enough.”


Govind Singh, Council of Pacific Education, Fiji

“Quality learning is all encompassing, it means that finance, resources and good governance will have to be in place, it means specially trained and qualified teachers will have to be in the classroom, so quality learning takes the cake here.”

Urvashi Sahni, Study Hall Education Foundation, India

“In the context of my country and many others, I think governance is a huge issue. Because of governance, we haven’t been able to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It’s not that people don’t want education; they do. It’s not because they don’t want quality learning; they do. And I’m not even talking so much about financing; it’s about making sure finances are reaching where they should, making sure there are accountable systems, making sure teachers are teaching. It’s just not happening. This is all a matter of governance so governance I would rate as the top priority to help ensure all the other things.”


Sikander Sabeer, National Youth Movement for UN Post-2015 Development, Sri Lanka

“Access, quality, skills, governance, partnerships, they all are important but access is very important – it’s the first opportunity from which we can expand and create a bigger picture.”



Rachana Keo, Global Campaign for Education, based in Cambodia

“I think global citizenship skills and lifelong learning are most important. Learning doesn’t stop at schools. We need to focus on core values.”


Tory Clawson, Save the Children, based in Thailand

“Equitable learning is what I would prioritize, while recognizing that the others are necessary as well. We’ve now moved beyond access but we still can’t ignore it entirely.”

By UNESCO Bangkok