It is generally accepted that education is a good thing. Much of the debate in committee will consist not of whether or not it should be improved, but rather of how it should be improved.
Pretend that you are the Minister of Education (or equivalent position) for your country. What would you say is the most important issue regarding education reform, today?
The answer to this question will be different, to varying degrees, for different countries. Some countries might argue that global efforts should be channeled toward improving early childhood education and maternity care; others might argue that the biggest issue is lack of investment in higher education institutions. Frame your answer like how your country’s Minister of Education would frame it.
I value concise, clear answers much more than long, rambling, flowery answers. As Mark Twain said, “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.’ Answer the question substantively, with research to support your position. Please use in-text citations for any sources you draw upon.
I look forward to reading your responses!
Best,
Kalos Chu
Director
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
The Economic and Social Council Blog 
According to my research, the number of the teachers in Libya is too many. Nevertheless the quality of education which is given to students from teachers is much lower. So I think Libya’s government should improve quality of teachers in any way, for example improving the test which people who wants to be a teacher should take or improving facilities for education of teacher.
I have another idea. Libya has had wars even now. Therefore it is dangerous for students to go to school by theirself. I think that can be a cause of a lack of people who has or had taken education. For this reason government should improve security.
I can’t still make up my mind which one to choose.
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The delegation of El Salvador shares some concerns with the delegation of Libya regarding the lack of security for students going to educational centers. Instead of wars, El Salvador has to deal with gangs and organized crime that harm children on their way to school. In response, El Salvador wants to implement safety protocols that basically consists in the presence of police officers in school’s routes.
Our delegation also considers that tackling professor’s quality is important, but we firmly believe that this approach is not enough. Quality education is achievable only if it’s improved constantly, and we do not think that by only improving teachers admission tests or facilities we’re going to reach a quality educational model. Quality involves curriculum improvement, accuracy of textbooks, interactive dynamics, inspiring students to learn and other factors that go beyond just professors.
Instead of admission tests, we should focus on training the teachers, and we should provide tools that encourage them to always keep learning new topics and experiences. Qualifications are valuable but not pivotal, pedagogical skills instead are necessary. As tests and requirements doesn’t necessarily measures people’s qualities, the only way to ensure good teachers is by enforcing their constant improvement.
Thank you for writing about these points, we consider them really important for committee. The delegation of El Salvador is looking forward to meeting you and debate on it to achieve a solution that all member States can benefit from.
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I am a delegate from Libya.
According to some resources, literacy rate is not low (86.1% in 2004)and the system of free education has already made.(11th December 1696)But there is a radical problem.
Now Libya is struggling to restore public order that was damaged by internal conflict.And the internal conflict causes danger for children to go to school and preventing them from having education.
I recognized that this is the most important issue regarding education reform in Libya today.
Resources
https://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Libya-EDUCATION.html
uis.unesco.org/fr/country/my
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The issue about education in Libya is shortage of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE).
Its aim is the development of social, emotional, cognitive, and physical requirements to build a strong foundation for life and happiness in childhood, which includes infants and children up to eight years of age. Numerous research show that early childhood education, focusing on providing infants and kids up to eight years old, improve people’s lives by lowering unemployment and crime rate, increasing literacy rate, and improving people’s quantity of life.
While Gaddafi has done a lot of things to improve Libya’s education, he neglected ECCE. In fact, one of the most pressing problems of Libya is their recruitment of many child soldiers. Children don’t have the maturity to make important decisions in their lives at a young age. Exposing them to violence and war has far-reaching consequences which can be seen from the case of ISIS and the way it involves child soldiers. This inevitably destroys not only the child’s life but impacts his environment and the people around him. Recruiting of child soldiers indirectly prevent development of country because, the number of children who can’t receive education increase.
According to our research, UNICEF recommends that the Libyan government use $61,980,000 which is 23 % of the total national budget for education by 2020. If the Libyan government increases the funds for ECCE considerably, an institution capable of carrying out its duties fully could be established. We strongly believe that focusing on early childhood education will significantly improve not only Libya’s education but will also impact its economy and political milieu.
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The delegation of China really appreciates your ideas, and praise you for bringing this issue to the attention of UNESCO. Education reform is a serious topic that affects the lives of everyone, and requires a lot of attention in order for it to be solved correctly and thoroughly through diplomacy.
Considering that there have been reports of increased recruitment and use of children as soldiers in Libya, which has resulted in an alarming 30 children being reportedly killed and 44 children being injured, how can the Early Childhood Care and Education system in Libya be strengthened and improved so that this kind of recruitment can be prevented in the future? China has made a series of long term efforts that have been aimed at promoting the development of ECCE. For example, China has created Goals for the Development of Early Childhood Programs in China, which has helped guide the Chinese government to increase funding and preschool enrollment in ECCE programs. By preventing this recruitment, more children can be able to attend these ECCE programs and, in the future, Libya’s future generations will be able to develop and improve its government and economy.
Acknowledging the current problem of child soldier recruitment in Libya, how else can this recruitment of children be prevented? Spreading awareness on this issue should be beneficial, as parents of these young children should know about the recent surge in recruitment, which may help parents reconsider not sending their children to ECCE. Spreading awareness in Libya might also bring this problem to the attention of the Libyan government. This can lead to ECCE no longer being neglected by Libya and can lead to an increase in funds for ECCE.
Best,
Delegation of China
Works Cited:
“Libya – United Nations Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict | To Promote and Protect the Rights of All Children Affected by Armed Conflict.” United Nations, United Nations, 20 June 2019, childrenandarmedconflict.un.org/libya/.
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Education is a human right. Portugal strongly supports Education, infact, it even established a law making school obligatory until the age of 16. Portugal not only promotes Education, but, it also integrated key institutions in its education system to support and facilitate its Development Education.
Thankfully Portugal doesn’t have the same problem as Libya, since all the parents bring their children to school. Portugal agrees with Libya’s statement concerning Early Childhood Care and Education. The problem of child soldiers is one of the many problems that prevent Global Education.
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Education in Nepal has faced many difficulties and has much room for improvement. Education is deeply valued in Nepal and continues to expand and grow, although at the moment the biggest issue stems from the elementary education system.
In the current system only half of students in elementary school meet academic requirements, attendance for children in schools is at a mere 51%, and there is an extreme disparity between the upper and lower class. The upper class families are able to receive a much better education and the children show much higher success rates, while children of lower class families are often seen struggling more and not benefiting fully from their schooling. (1) Additionally, there is a lack of funding for many public schools and the government has trouble subsidizing them and supplying adequate textbooks and materials. (2) Finally, one of the biggest problems that Nepal’s education system faces is because of the country’s vulnerability to earthquakes. Many schools are not safe against such conditions and have to close down often, causing major gaps in children’s learning because of their missed classes.
Nepal has recently made the decision to make education its main priority and the government has made many strides in making this possible. Nepal believes the main focus must be primarily on elementary education since that is where the biggest disparities are seen today. In addition, every other type of education will be able to grow as well if elementary education is improved since children in the future will be more inclined to keep advancing with their education if they are succeeding from an early age.
One of Nepal’s main goals in advancing its education system is to grow from a developing country by strengthening their education system by 2022.(3) Education is essential in the development and future of a country and the government of Nepal recognizes that this is an issue that once improved will help elevate their country. Since 2016 Nepal’s Ministry of Education has implemented the School Sector Development Plan (SSDP) in hopes that it will tackle the issues of elementary education and other types of education as well. SSPD focuses on issues such as equity, quality of schooling, efficiency, and government management. SSPD’s main goal is helping children become literate, numerate, and developing basic life skills. This will allow for people to become active members of their society and help the country grow dramatically. (4)
The main strategies are maximizing graduation rates and minimizing lack of attendance and drop out rates, focusing on basic education, strengthening engagement in communities, and mandating local governments to operate programs.
This is a serious issue that Nepal faces and continues to work on in hopes to improve the education of children and eventually grow from a developing country. Nepal feels it is essential to focus on childhood education. The main approach is through the SSDP that is constantly working on bettering all education in the country.
(1). https://www.unicef.org/nepal/education
(2). https://thehimalayantimes.com/opinion/education-in-federal-nepal-what-are-challenges-ahead/
(3). https://wenr.wes.org/2018/04/education-in-nepal
(4). https://www.slideshare.net/gsofnnta/ssdp-final-draft-april-4-2016
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The delegation of South Africa agrees tremendously with your position associating with the reformation of education; specifically the lack of government funding towards education programs and the fact that we both believe that education is crucial for all children. Education is a human right, especially for elementary students who will make up the future of our countries. South Africa is currently facing large issues with wealth distribution, as it is one of the top countries on the Gini Index for income inequality. This leads to a greatly unequal opportunity for education for children, especially when race is brought into the discussion. South Africa is still struggling with the aftermath of the apartheid, therefore there is still a large gap in wealth division between races. We hope to further discuss this issue with you during the conference, and possibly working together on crafting a resolution.
All the best,
The Delegation of South Africa
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Panama recognizes several of the challenges if Nepal in it’s own educational system. For example, it also experiences a disparity between upper class and lower class students. Children in rural areas, specifically those of indigenous and Afro-Panamanian descent, often attend underfunded schools without the proper supplies. It also experiences environmental difficulties like Nepal. Frequent flooding and unsafe roads make traveling to school difficult and dangerous for some students.
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Austria.
Austria has a free public schooling system, and all students are required to complete 9 years of schooling (3). Students in Austria have performed above the OECD average in math and science, but fall below the average in reading (2). Nevertheless, Austria’s population seek secondary degrees at much higher rates (2), and our Vocational Education and Training (VET) is one is the largest in best-performing OECD countries (1).
Given this, Austria’s perspective suggest that the most important issue in education reform is reducing the achievement gap between advantaged children and disadvantaged children (2). For example, Austria has a large number of immigrant families, and on average, these children score lower (1). Austria has institution is place (e.g. Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)), which are supposed to provide a smooth transition to primary education, and for the most part they do. The issue, therefore is enrollment in such programs (2).
Austria has enacted education reform in 2013 and 2015 (2), and adopted its first reform package to manage the transition between ECEC and primary schooling in 2016 (2). These changes have yet to show significant results, and Austria’s enrollment in ECEC programs is still below average (2).
Austria understands that there is work to be done but still firmly believes that robust early childhood education is the foundation upon which all other education is built (3). If countries can build strong institutions with high enrollment rates, they will not be fighting a losing battle in primary, secondary, and tertiary education (3).
A secondary suggestion, which Austria exemplifies, is the benefits of vocational training (3). Austria has a well-defined vocational track, which students may choose after their ninth year of mandatory schooling (3). This system continually produces skilled laborers, which have been essential to the country for decades.
While every country’s situation may be different, these are two specific universal goals, which can represent meaningful education reform in any country.
1. https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice/content/national-reforms-school-education-1_en
2. http://www.oecd.org/education/Education-Policy-Outlook-Country-Profile-Austria.pdf
3. https://www.austria.org/education
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I wish to congratulate you on this very well written blog entry. I found the approaches to the problems given to be reasonable and achievable. However, I have a small query. Does Austria think that aiding the enrollment process for students entering primary school is enough to reduce the performance gap present between advantageous students and non advantageous students? Thank you, and again, very good blog entry.
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The delegation of the United Kingdom would like to thank the delegation of Austria for their informative post.
As another country with free schooling for all children, we believe that the ability of every child to go to school is essential. Nevertheless, we recognize the difficulty in establishing an effective public schooling system without infringing on their sovereignty and without adequate funds; schooling costs a significant amount when salary for teachers, finance of curriculum development, cost of textbooks, and other cost school materials are taken into account. We hope to work together with other delegates to establish a fund to help support developing nations to organize and build a public schooling system monitored by UNICEF. Unfortunately, you failed to mention how Austria strives to help refugees and asylum-seekers attain a quality education given your somewhat flexible immigration policy. The UK is at the forefront of this, with only 20 school-days missed on average between arrival to the UK and enrollment at school and is also providing up to £90 million to those in crisis countries overseas [1 & 2]. Despite our current political climate, we are striving to be a global leader in education by providing equal access to education. Additionally, we hope to magnanimously help other nations develop a process for aiding refugees and asylum-seekers to acquire education and develop a universal curriculum for refugees who might have missed essential years of school. We hope to work together with you to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal #4 – Quality Education for all.
[1] https://downloads.unicef.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/UNICEF-UK-POLICY-POSITION-England-2.pdf?_ga=2.78086166.380872441.1579554029-75917112.1579554029
[2] https://theirworld.org/news/uk-funding-boost-means-emergency-education-for-girls
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Regarding education, Kyrgyz Republic uses a humanistic approach, in which the interest of the individual , the society, and the State is reinforced and trained. Education in this country, as well as in other countries is based on principles set in international agreements and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Some of these, according to Article 3 of the Law on Education, are that all citizens no matter their religion, ethnics, or economics have the right to education. Nevertheless, it is considered mandatory and must be free. Both for primary and basic education. And for secondary education, there is free general access.
The educational system is humanistic and follows international standards, but always giving priority on national cultural heritage and respect for human rights. Scientific achievements are taken in notice. The education system must be organized in a way that it is continuous it is completely segregated from both political and religious matters, and lastly remarkable students shall be either supported or rewarded.
The Kyrgyz Republic has faced plenty of key problems in education. This problems are linked to the historical context. Kyrgyz Republic (also known as Kyrgyzstan) is an ex-soviet country, which reached its independence on 1991 with the dissolution of the USSR. On spring 2005 Kyrgyzstan had started its first revolution, ending in the overthrow of the at that time president Askar Akayev (period of presidency:from December 10 1991 to March 24 2005). Finally in 2010 after the reelection(that was thought faulty by the international community) of the president Kurmanbek Bakíev violent marches were held, on December 2011 there was a pacific transference of the presidential power between Kurmanbek Bakiyev and Almazbek Atambayev. Due to those episodes, education quality faced with lack of materials (such as textbooks and other supplies ), lack of qualified teachers,
embezzlement of funds, and social and economic crises. However, improvement has been seen in economics( EX. the GDP in 1999 was the amount of 1.249 billion when in 2018 it uppered to 8.093 billion) as in education (EX. the school enrolment number has happened to be in crescendo from its lowest point in 2002 with a cipher of 96.063 to 107.565 in 2018) .
https://datos.bancomundial.org/indicador/SE.PRM.ENRR?locations=KG
https://data.worldbank.org/country/kyrgyz-republic
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/kg.html
Click to access Kyrgyzstan.pdf
Click to access education_development.pdf
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DELGATE BLOG POST IN RESPONSE
COMITTE: united nation, educational, scientific and cultural and organization
TOPIC: Global education reform
COUNTRY: The Republic of Congo
SCHOOL: Cathedral International School
A: The Global Education Reform Movement (GERM) is a metaphorical concept that Indi- cates that most educational reforms being currently adopted worldwide respond to similar problems and priorities, and follow a very similar policy rationale. Accountability, standards, decentralization and school autonomy are the main policy principles of the GERM (Stahlberg, 2016). As we show in this paper, national large-scale assessments are the policy instrument that brings these three policy principles together in a coherent reform package
the origin of the GERM is usually associated with the neo-liberal education reforms adopted since the 1980s in countries such as the US, the UK and Australia (Stahlberg, 2016). These reforms -or some of their main components -would later be exported to lower- income countries and to transition economies by international development banks through lending conditionality (Hargreaves, Earl, Moore, & Manning, 2001; Klee’s, 2008). …
These reforms -or some of their main components -would later be exported to lower- income countries and to transition economies by international development banks through lending conditionality (Hargreaves, Earl, Moore, & Manning, 2001; Klee’s, 2008). The GERM is a globalizing phenomenon, although according to Stahlberg (2016) not all education systems have become “infected” by the GERM yet -and, in fact, some of them have even expressed reservations on the potential and suitability of this approach. According to this author, this would be the case of East Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, and European countries such as France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and, of course, Finland
In other words, the ideas and solutions from the business context are mobilized to the educational one. This process has been mediated and facilitated by international development organizations, new philanthropy and consultants, who adopted these policies as an “evidence-based policy agenda”, which was adopted in Anglo-Saxon countries and embedded in the third way and spread globally (Stahlberg, 2016). Thus, together with the emergence of these policies there is the emergence of a global education policy field increasingly populated by private players, from both business and philanthropy.
What is doing the Congo for the global education reform?
Over the last two years the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has doubled the proportion of the national budget going to education from 6.5 percent to 13.8
Percent. Such a large increase is uncommon. More than doubling the percent of the national budget appropriated to education is indicative of a greater shift in national priorities to move education up the ladder of importance. Still, for this commitment to translate into positive outcomes for the millions of children who are in school but currently not learning, and the
7 million primary school-age children who are out of school, the DRC and its partners must address challenges made more complex by on-going conditions of insecurity.
In 2012 the ministry of education finalized a new strategy that outlines its national objectives for the next three years. Knowing that the depth of the problem is too great to address without support, the government has made a concerted effort to reach out to international partners, including through two trips to Washington D.C. and New York in the last three months – one by Minister of Education Mwangu in December 2012 and a second by Prime Minister Mapon this past February. The Brookings Center for Universal Education, together with the Africa Growth Initiative, co-hosted the prime minister and his delegation and engaged in a discussion about economic stabilization and education policy and partnerships.
Despite the step change in recent budget allocations to education, the country has a long way to go in reaching universal primary enrollment and improving the quality of education available to all the children in its country. On the 2011 Human Development Index, the annual rankings of national achievement in health, education and income in 187 countries, the DRC was ranked last. Ravaged by over 15 years of conflict that ended in 2008, the country faces the threat of on-going violence and instability in the eastern region that prevents broader economic and social development. Although 11 heads of state signed a
peace accord on February 24th at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, the government and the M23 rebels remain locked in tense
negotiations. Rebel tactics in the DRC have been particularly brutal, including widespread rape of girls and women.
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Congo.
In Congo primary education is neither compulsory nor free. This factor, with the civil war, prevented 5.2 million children from the right to education. In recent years there has been an increase, in 2014 the number of children who attended elementary school was 13.5 million. Despite this growth, we are far from being a totally schooled country, just think that only 12.6 percent of the Congolese budget is invested in the school system. In many ways the Congolese situation is very similar to that of Libya, for example the problem of child soldiers.
https://peaceaccords.nd.edu/provision/education-reform-agreement-ending-hostilities-republic-congo
Click to access ED509144.pdf
https://www.unicef.org/drcongo/en/what-we-do/education
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_Republic_of_the_Congo
https://www.usaid.gov/democratic-republic-congo/education
https://whatiseducationreform.com
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo
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Committee: United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Topic: Improving Global Education and Curricula Quality
Country: Republic of Croatia
School: Andover High School
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation has long sought to secure universal peace and respect by promoting collaboration in education, science, and culture. Whilst progress has been made in the decades since its establishment, the UNESCO has failed to eradicate educational issues such as illiteracy, gender and economic inequalities, outdated curriculums, and a lack of student input in education. It is therefore imperative that nations recognize the work ahead and to cohesively combat the aforementioned issues.
The Republic of Croatia has long recognized the importance of universal education. Article 66 of the Croatian Constitution, established in 1990, states that every Croatian has the right to a free, compulsory, and equal education in accordance with their aptitude. The Ministry of Education funds most primary and secondary schools in Croatia, making it essentially free and accessible to everyone regardless of ethnicity, gender, or economic income.1 As such, Croatia has seen its number of out-of-school children drop by half, its graduation rate increase to ninety-seven percent and its literacy rate surpass ninety-nine percent since its declaration of independence.2 In spite of this, the Government Ministry’s Council of Education had identified several flaws in the education system, such as an inconsistent grading system, poor facility quality, and an overly-authoritarian atmosphere. Whilst efforts have been made to reform the system, such as a resolution in October of 2014 that called for comprehensive curricular reform and the modernization of Croatia’s education system, concerns continue to persist which, along with poor treatment and pay of education workers, culminated in the recent protests in Croatia.3 As such, Croatia believes that educational reforms must continue, and must grow to include education beyond merely mathematics and language.
Croatia believes the universal inclusion of educational training beyond merely mathematics and language will help to enrich and prepare students for the 21st century. Croatia itself has recently reformed its curricula to expand scientific education to younger students, whilst adding enriching courses, such as vocational training, to the schedules of students across the nation.4 Croatia would therefore strongly advocate and support resolutions that expand biology, chemistry, and other vocational training into the curricula of younger students, whilst promoting the inclusion of subjects such as human rights in primary and secondary education. In doing so, students across the world will be better prepared to enter the workforce, solve modern-day issues, and promote peace through education as per the UNESCO charter.
1 Glavin, Chris. “Education in Croatia.” Education in Croatia | K12 Academics, 26 Jan. 2017, http://www.k12academics.com/Education%20Worldwide/education-croatia.
2 “Croatia.” UNESCO UIS, 12 Apr. 2017, uis.unesco.org/country/HR.
3 Vladisavljevic, Anja. “Croatian Protesters Back Higher Pay for Education Sector.” Balkan Insight, 28 Nov. 2019, balkaninsight.com/2019/11/25/croatian-protesters-back-higher-pay-for-education-sector/.
4 “Najčešća Pitanja i Odgovori.” Škola Za Život, skolazazivot.hr/najcesca-pitanja-i-odgovori/.
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Committee: UNESCO
Topic: Education Reforms
Delegation: The Kingdom of Lesotho
Discussion Question: “Most important issue regarding the education reforms (Minister of Education Perspective)”
– Establishing priorities regarding education reforms is an exponentially onerous situation. Therefore, taking into consideration the general comment No. 13 of the Twenty-first session of 1999 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) the right to education is one of the most importants, nevertheless having access to education not only means the improvements of infrastructure or providing material aid for students. The Minister of Education of the Kingdom of Lesotho strongly believes that illiteracy is the foremost issue for having a successful access to education, bearing in mind the high amount of communities that solely communicate with their own dialect inside the African continent, being one of the biggest issues to tackle for an accurate transmission and understanding of information not only in Africa but all over the international community. Likewise, according to the UNESCO 102 million of the illiterate population were between 15 and 24 years old. The global adult literacy rate was 86% in 2016, while the youth literacy rate was 91%. Furthermore, according to UIS data, unfortunately the majority of countries missed the Education for All (EFA) goal of reducing adult illiteracy rates by 50% between 2000 and 2015, these ratios convey that illiteracy rates increase from one generation next to another. In the case of the African continent, illiteracy is the major issue for the transmission of information, making clear the needs of the education reforms for the understanding of non-common dialects reflected, due to the fact that 38 % of African adults (approximately 153 millions) are illiterate, and two-thirds of these are women. As Africa is the only continent where more than half of parents are not able to help their children with homework due to illiteracy and are not able to afford an education, it only makes bigger our priority to change education reform.
Links used for this comment:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/dakar/education/literacy/
Click to access fs45-literacy-rates-continue-rise-generation-to-next-en-2017_0.pdf
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As a fellow African nation, Togo is in a unique position to advise other countries, especially others from Africa. Speaking directly to other nations in Africa with minimal infrastructure, spending more money, though it is a solution, is not the best solution. Seeing Togo’s success in just a few years with our new system has seen tremendous success without just throwing money at the problem. The extreme growth witnessed by Togo is without explanation, aside from our recent policy change. This policy change is a mandatory primary education and then moving on to an optional secondary education.
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