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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

Southgate and Wood Green
Opened the debate
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.

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.
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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.