← Back to Westminster Hall Debates
International Day of Education
23 January 2025
Lead MP
Bambos Charalambous
Southgate and Wood Green
Lab
Responding Minister
Anneliese Dodds
Tags
Climate
Word Count: 10115
Other Contributors: 10
At a Glance
Bambos Charalambous raised concerns about international day of education in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.
Key Requests to Government:
Will the Government bolster financial contributions to global education initiatives like Education Cannot Wait and UNICEF, ensuring funds reach marginalised and crisis-affected children?
How the Debate Unfolded
MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said:
Lead Contributor
Tomorrow marks the United Nations International Day of Education, highlighting education's transformative power as a fundamental human right. However, global progress towards SDG 4 is uneven, with 251 million children and youth still out of school worldwide, despite efforts to expand access since 2015. Conflicts, natural disasters, climate change, and emergencies have led to significant regressions in meeting education targets, particularly affecting low-income countries.
Alice Macdonald
Lab/Co-op
Norwich North
Inadequate access to water and sanitation is a key barrier for children, particularly those with disabilities, in receiving education. She supports targeting SDG6 on water and sanitation.
Anneliese Dodds
Lab
Oxford East
Discussed the decision to count in-donor refugee costs within overseas development assistance, noting different countries' approaches and highlighting the current Government's determination for a longer-term approach.
Lewes
The UK's decision to slash bilateral aid for education from £757 million in 2017 to just £336 million last year is deeply shameful. He calls for commitments to reverse the cuts and prioritise support for women and girls.
Jim Shannon
DUP
Strangford
Emphasised the importance of freedom of religion and belief, highlighting Northern Ireland's charitable giving and faith-based charities supporting education worldwide.
Monica Harding
Con
Esher and Walton
She pointed out that over 250 million children worldwide are out of school, with marginalised groups such as girls particularly affected. In Afghanistan, the Taliban's restrictions impact access to education for 1 million girls and women. The MP highlights the economic importance of education, as well as its role in stability, security, healthcare, and other outcomes.
My hon. Friend the Member for Southgate and Wood Green
Unknown Party
Rightly mentioned disabled children, Myanmar was also mentioned by the Opposition spokesperson.
Honiton and Sidmouth
Sudan faces one of the worst education crises globally, with over 19 million school-age children lacking access to education due to conflict. He highlighted the work of Windle Trust International in providing educational opportunities for refugees. Asked if the Minister agreed with the Chair of the International Development Committee, who called the use of official development assistance for hosting asylum seekers in hotels a 'spectacular own goal'.
Jim Shannon
Talked about freedom of religion and belief, education provides dignity.
The right hon. Member for Aldridge-Brownhills
Unknown Party
Mentioned the international women and girls strategy.
Wendy Morton
Con
Aldridge-Brownhills
Celebrates progress in expanding access to education, particularly for women and girls worldwide since 2015 but questions the Government's plans to build on their work on the international women and girls strategy. The MP raises the situation for women and girls, particularly regarding access to higher and further education.
Government Response
Anneliese Dodds
The Minister for Development
Government Response
The Minister acknowledges that while there have been improvements, many children are still out of school due to issues such as poverty, gender inequality, disability, lack of schools or trained teachers. She mentions the impact of climate crisis and conflict on education, with extreme weather events leading to significant loss of schooling days in low-income countries. The UK aims to work in partnership with like-minded donors and multilateral organizations to address the global learning crisis effectively. Discussed foundational learning as a priority, targeted the most marginalised groups, announced the UK will launch a global taskforce to tackle sexual and physical violence in schools, scaled up finance for education around the world by sharing trusted research and evidence, called on others to join in backing the international finance facility for education, provided funding for UNRWA core budget and Education Cannot Wait, announced £14 million for education programmes in Sudan. Responded to concerns about in-donor refugee costs within ODA, noting the reduction under current government; highlighted UK's investment in education resilience, including action on climate change and AI integration.
▸
Assessment & feedback
Summary accuracy
About Westminster Hall Debates
Westminster Hall debates are a chance for MPs to raise important issues affecting their constituents and get a response from a government minister. Unlike Prime Minister's Questions, these debates are more in-depth and collaborative. The MP who secured the debate speaks first, other MPs can contribute, and a minister responds with the government's position.