Education System Transformation that Leaves No One Behind in GPE Partner Countries

• In Event: Fostering Agency and Resistance in Out-Of-School and At-Risk Children Claim their Right to Education through Alternative and Innovative Education Programs

Proposal

‘Leaving no one behind’ is central to the Sustainable Development Goals and the Global Partnership for Education’s (GPE) mission that focuses on reaching the most marginalized and vulnerable populations. Yet in many GPE partner countries, large numbers of children remain out of school or unable to complete even primary education. Progress on this front has stalled since 2010 and even reversed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This presentation will discuss what leaving no one behind means in practice for countries attempting to transform their education systems with support from GPE and other development partners, and present new findings on accelerated education and similar interventions to help out-of-school children learn. It will highlight the ongoing exclusion from education of large numbers of children across the more than 80 predominantly low-income countries that are GPE partner countries. It will discuss the key barriers to participation and completion, the tensions countries face between enabling all children to participate in and complete education and improving low learning outcomes for those who are already in school and offer suggestions for how development partners and governments can address both.

Author

• Anna-Maria Tammi, Global Partnership for Education