Global Education Monitoring(GEM) Report 2020 is titled and focusses on Inclusion and Education.
Even before Covid-19, one in five children, adolescents and youth were entirely excluded from education. Stigma, stereotypes and discrimination mean millions more are further alienated inside classrooms. The current crisis will further perpetuate these different forms of exclusion.
With more than 90 per cent of the global student population affected by Covid-19 related school closures, the world is in the throes of the most unprecedented disruption in the history of education.
The commitment of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) to ensure ‘inclusive and equitable quality education’ and promote ‘lifelong learning for all’ is part of the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development pledge to leave no one behind. The agenda promises a ‘just, equitable, tolerant, open and socially inclusive world in which the needs of the most disadvantaged are met
Global Education Monitoring(GEM) Report 2020-Inclusion and Education
- The Report is motivated by the explicit reference to inclusion in the 2015 Incheon Declaration, and the call to ensure an inclusive and equitable quality education in the formulation of SDG 4, the global goal for education.
- The 2020 GEM Report assesses progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) on education and its ten targets.
- A complementary new online platform, Profiles Enhancing Education Reviews, (PEER) prepared by the GEM Report has been launched describing countries’ laws and policies on inclusion and education.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed and deepened these inequalities and the fragility of our societies. More than ever, we have a collective responsibility to support the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, helping to reduce long-lasting societal breaches that threaten our shared humanity.
Report Highlights:
Poverty and inequality are major constraints. Poverty affects attendance, completion and learning opportunitiesDespite progress in reducing extreme poverty, especially in Asia, it affects 1 in 10 adults and 2 in 10 children – 5 in 10 in sub-Saharan Africa. Income ine
Discrimination, stereotyping and stigmatization mechanisms are similar for all learners at risk of exclusion.
While 68% of countries have a definition of inclusive education, only 57% of those definitions cover multiple marginalized groups. There is a long way to go before education laws are disability-inclusive
Despite progress, many countries still do not collect, report or use data on those left behind. Since 2015, 41% of countries, representing 13% of the global population, have not had a publicly available household survey to provide disaggregated data on key education indicators; the region with the lowest coverage is Northern Africa and Western Asia.
Millions are missing out on the opportunity to learn.
Global Education Monitoring report finds that In middle income countries, despite a 25-percentage point increase in the past 15 years, only three quarters are still in school by age 15. Of those, only half are learning the basics, a rate that has been stagnant over the period.
While some countries are transitioning towards inclusion, segregation is still prevalent.
In the case of students with disabilities, laws in 25% of countries (but over 40% in Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean) make provisions for education in separate settings, 10% for integration and 17% for inclusion, the remainder opting for combinations of segregation and mainstreaming. In OECD countries, more than two‑thirds of all immigrant students attend schools where at least half the students are immigrants
Financing needs to target those most in need.
Across 32 OECD countries, socio-economically disadvantaged schools and classrooms are more likely to have less qualified teachers. Conditional cash transfers in Latin America since the 1990s have increased education attainment by between 0.5 and 1.5 years. One in four countries has some form of affirmative action programme to help the marginalized get access to tertiary education. About 40% of low- and lower-middle-income countries have not taken any measures to support learners at risk of exclusion during the Covid-19 crisis.
Teachers, teaching materials and learning environments often ignore the benefits of embracing diversity.
Some 25% of teachers in 48 education systems report a high need for professional development on teaching students with special needs. Just 41 countries worldwide recognize sign language as an official language. In Europe, 23 out of 49 countries do not address sexual orientation and gender identity explicitly in their curricula.