UN Deputy Secretary-General, Ms Amina Mohammed, has warned that many education systems are under significant pressure.
She noted that in some countries, the pandemic has meant a worsening of a crisis in foundational learning.
Mohammed spoke to Member States on Friday on preparations for the Transforming Education Summit, according to UN Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, briefing journalists in New York.
She said that the Summit, to be convened by the Secretary-General in September on the sidelines of the General Assembly, will turbo-charge the efforts to set Agenda 2030 back on track.
“We have just seven months until September,” she told the delegates.
But together, she said ”we can make the Transforming Education Summit, not just a gathering about education, but a turning point for education – and a hefty boost for Sustainable Development Goal four.’’
Also, Dujarric told journalists that the deputy secretary-general arrived from Haiti on Thursday where she concluded her two-day visit.
He said while in Haiti, Mohammed learned more about the problems that Haitian children and their families face as they fight for the right to education.
“She heard from students, teachers and parents how recurring acts of violence and pressure from gangs in some urban neighbourhoods have led to the closure of more than 200 schools.
“Before leaving the country, she also spoke to journalists on the success of the International Event for the Financing of the Reconstruction of the Southern Peninsula of Haiti.
“She stressed that, learning the lessons from the past, we now have to ensure that those resources lead to improvements in the everyday lives of people in the southern peninsula.
“She emphasised that the UN continues to be at the disposal of the government and of the people of Haiti in their quest for a bright future,’’ he said. (NAN)
