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Convened by the United Nations Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres, the summit is scheduled for 19 September 2022, at the outset of the high-level week of the UN General Assembly in New York.听

Mr. Sengeh and the UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed co-chair the Summit Advisory Committee.

Preceding the summit, events on Mobilization and Solutions on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 September, respectively, will help anchor one of the biggest-ever gatherings of world leaders on education.

鈥淚t is a moment that is bringing us all together 鈥� world leaders, civil society, students, young people鈥攖o reimagine education, to think about how we address our greatest challenges through education,鈥� Mr. Sengeh tells听Africa Renewal.听

At a pre-summit in Paris last June, Mr. Guterres identified three crises facing many education systems: these听听are听听equity, quality and relevance: -

• On equity, 258听million听children, the majority girls, are out of school;听
• On quality, half of 10-year-old students in low and middle-income countries cannot read basic text; and听
• On relevance, current education systems are outdated.

The health and the learning crises are something the world should not joke with.

Meeting SDG targets off track

Mr. Guterres听听is also concerned that countries may not meet the targets for听听which is to 鈥淓nsure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.鈥�

Based on 鈥渁ssessments of their [countries] commitments to SDG 4, by their own benchmarks, we are not going to meet the targets,鈥� Mr. Sengeh maintains, adding that Mr. Guterres decided 鈥渢o invite world leaders to say to them, 鈥榣ook, hold on a minute: something needs to happen differently.鈥欌�澨�

Progress toward SDG 4 is 鈥渂adly off track,鈥� echoes a听conceptual framework听for the event, and mentions that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the crisis.

The pandemic鈥檚 impact on learning has been severe. While global lockdowns severely affected economies, healthcare systems, lives and livelihoods, Mr. Sengeh says a stiff challenge, which was not anticipated, was a learning crisis.

鈥淎t its peak, about 1.2 billion - 1.6 billion children were out of school globally. For some countries, it took up to two years to return to school,鈥� he laments. 鈥淲hat used to happen [in education] is no longer working for most people.鈥澨�

Education in Africa

What is happening to education in Africa is best told through many grim statistics. Some 100 million children are out of school on the continent, the highest level ever. And girls are 10 per cent less likely to complete lower secondary school in sub-Saharan Africa.听

While 1 in 5 children and adolescents of primary and secondary school age live in sub-Saharan Africa, the region is home to a third of those who cannot read.听

UNICEF reports that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, about 80 per cent of African children in school could neither read, understand or respond to questions related to a 150-word piece, which they should do by age 10. That figure is likely higher because of the pandemic.

鈥淚t is a double whammy for kids,鈥� Mr. Sengeh says. 鈥淭he health and the learning crises are something the world should not joke with.鈥�

Momentum for the summit began earlier in the year with consultations in about 100 countries on commitments to transform education, public engagement, and how countries鈥� actions could roll along five tracks.听

Five action tracks

The first听of the听five action tracks鈥攐r priority areas鈥攊s听having听inclusive, equitable, safe, and healthy schools, which refers to building an inclusive society and ensuring everyone鈥檚 right to education. UNESCO鈥檚听听reinforces that the gaps in access today stem from yesterday鈥檚 exclusion and oppression.

The second听action track focuses on听learning and skills for life, work, and sustainable development, which aims for learning that is relevant for today鈥檚 workforce and prepares children for the future.听

UNICEF describes such skills as 鈥渂asic literacy and numeracy; transferable skills including life skills and socioemotional skills; digital skills; job-specific skills; and entrepreneurial skills.鈥�

The third听track pertains to听teachers, teaching and the teaching profession听and addresses teacher shortages, qualifications and emerging professional development needs. The Futures of Education report highlights that teachers in sub-Saharan Africa lack basic qualifications and training.听

The fourth听action track is听digital learning and transformation. While the pandemic accentuated the need for digital learning, low connectivity in poor countries and digital divides persist.听

鈥淚n at least 1 in 3 low-income countries with available data, more than 85 per cent of young people are off-track in the secondary-level, digital, and job-specific skills attainment,鈥� notes a July听听by UNICEF and its partners.

Globally two-thirds of the 1.3 billion school-age learners lack internet access at home, and girls and women are 鈥渓ess likely than boys and men in their households to have digital skills, access to computers and the internet to benefit equally from remote learning.鈥澨�

The fifth听action track is听education financing. With high population growth (half of the African population will be 25 and under by 2025) dampening the impact of increases in education spending in developing countries, 鈥渞eaching the SDG 4 targets will require significantly increased financial resources,鈥� notes the UNICEF report.

Reforms in Sierra Leone

In Africa, Sierra Leone鈥檚 education policy dubbed 鈥淩adical Inclusion in Schools鈥� seems tailored to these action tracks; initiating and implementing the policy provide for Mr. Sengeh valuable experience with which he is now canvasing global support for education systems.听

For example, allowing pregnant teenagers to return to the classroom and abolishing corporal punishment have fostered inclusion. More than 2,000 pregnant girls who might have dropped out of school sat for the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination.听

Yet, Mr. Sengeh concedes that transforming education is not often a smooth-sailing affair, asserting on the need to gain the support of the President, Cabinet colleagues and civil society.听

If there is one piece of听advice for fellow education ministers听it is for them to internalize that 鈥淭he path of least resistance is not often the optimal choice. Just getting people to agree when you want to transform society does not often work鈥� You have to build movements, coalitions.鈥�

A supportive coalition or movement will inoculate reforms against future setbacks, such as another political administration reversing course, he believes.听

At the summit, Mr. Sengeh hopes to join world leaders, Mr. Guterres, young people and others in laying the foundation for a global coalition that will reimagine and transform education.