By Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), and the authors* of The Handbook on Measuring Equity in Education
This blog was also published by the Global Partnership for Education
It is something we have come to see as self-evident: education is a fundamental right, and without it, our lives – and indeed our world – would be greatly diminished. It is something we even take for granted.
But as the most recent data show, one in every five children, adolescents and youth worldwide is denied this right, shut out of the education that could, or should, transform their lives. They are often the poorest of the poor, the children with disabilities, the refugee or migrant children. They are often girls, but in some countries – and at some levels of education – they are also boys. Continue reading
By Manos Antoninis, Director of the Global Education Monitoring Report, and Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics
This blog was also published by the Global Education Monitoring Report
From the cocoa farmer in Ghana using a mobile phone to market crops to the nurse in Sweden using telehealth to check on patients at home – digital literacy is considered an essential set of skills needed to find information and communicate in today’s world.
This is why one of the monitoring indicators of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 4.4, which focuses on “relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship” among youth and adults, looks at digital literacy. In particular, it calls on countries to track the percentage of youth and adults who have achieved at least a minimum level of proficiency in digital literacy skills.
Both the target and indicator reflect the commitment and forward-thinking of countries. But what exactly does it mean to achieve a minimum level of digital skills? Clearly the contexts will vary from one country to another. The challenge lies in finding a sufficiently broad definition that reflects these different contexts and priorities of countries while developing a measurement approach to generate the internationally- comparable data needed to monitor progress towards SDG 4. Continue reading
By Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics
The UN Statistical Commission is meeting in New York this week (6-9 March) to discuss a range of data related to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). While the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) is clearly recognized as the official data source for SDG 4 on education, the Commission will also be reviewing the role of the UIS in helping to monitor progress towards SDG 9 on innovation.
As part of Target 9.5 countries have pledged to: enhance scientific research, upgrade the technological capabilities of industrial sectors in all countries, in particular developing countries, including, by 2030, encouraging innovation and substantially increasing the number of research and development workers per 1 million people and public and private research and development spending.
To monitor progress towards this target, the UIS is producing two global indicators related to research and development (R&D): R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP, and researchers per million population. At the same time, the Institute is developing a thematic set of indicators on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), given their vital role in reaching each and every SDG. Continue reading
By Tanya Guyatt, 60 million girls Foundation
This blog was also published by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE)
International Women’s Day on March 8 is a time for reflection on the successes that women and girls around the world have made in pursuit of gender equality. But as the theme of the day, ‘Press for Progress’, suggests, we must also consider the challenges ahead.
Past progress does not in itself imply a better future – we have to guard against complacency and continue to press forward for change.
In global education, that means all children should be in school, learning, and developing the skills they need to boost incomes and contribute to their communities. Continue reading