Background and context
The human right to education is the foundation of the principles of development, peace and security on which the 2030 Agenda is based. It also enables and accelerates progress in all the Sustainable Development Goals, promoting the exercise of human rights, improved productivity and quality employment, the fight against poverty, the construction of democratic and equitable societies, gender equality, cultural diversity and well-being. In addition, education raises awareness about climate change, sustainable practices and facilitates the implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies to this phenomenon.[1].
On January 25 and 26, the Extraordinary Meeting of Ministers of Education of Latin America and the Caribbeana space in which a broad debate was generated on the effective strategies to achieve the goals of SDG 4 and the commitments raised in the Summit on the Transformation of Education (TES). One of the most important consensuses reflected in the Santiago Declaration 2024 was the need to offer a systemic response to the educational challenges of the 21st century, promoting the comprehensive development of learning and skills, both cognitive, socio-emotional, digital and civic, and guaranteeing the financial sustainability of education as an enabling condition.
Education financing has been included in global agreements in recent years. The Education 2030 Framework for Action recognized that achieving SDG 4 would require increased investment in education, especially in those dimensions where gaps and inequities are identified. The TES also urged countries and partners to mobilize greater domestic and international resources to increase investment in education, improve equity and spending efficiency through sustainable financial management, regular monitoring and evaluation, and the provision of more data and accountability.
Recognizing that education is a catalytic investment for the sustainable future of society and the planet, countries are challenged to deepen their efforts to expand fiscal space and free up more resources for public education, through progressive tax reforms, innovative financing, debt relief and public-private cooperation. Donors should also increase financing for long-term investments in education and support countries in improving their capacity to mobilize domestic resources.
Education is a smart investment to get out of the low-growth and high-inequality development trap in which the region finds itself. Moving towards inclusive, equitable and quality education is a political decision that is related to the type of development that is to be achieved. However, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean face great challenges in consolidating financing strategies that enable this transformation. For example, in 2022, although the region met at least one of the internationally agreed minimums – public spending on education of at least 4% of GDP (minimum achieved by the Caribbean) and at least 15% of total public spending (minimum achieved by Latin America) – compared to more developed economies, all countries in the region showed relatively low spending per student, especially at the pre-primary level.[2]
Financial sustainability in education is necessary to implement stable policies in the medium and long term, which also focus on distribution mechanisms, which compensate for inequalities in the origin of students and guarantee the right to education. In addition, inefficiencies must be identified and corrected and the allocation of resources must be prioritized in areas where evidence shows greater returns, such as improvements in teacher quality, and the development of public information and management systems, which include monitoring of the use of resources.
Latin America and the Caribbean have committed to ensuring that educational financing does not regress and that it achieves and surpasses the financing targets already established at the international level. At the same time, an important consensus has been reached in conceiving the reactivation, recovery and transformation of education as accelerators of the goals of SDG 4, with emphasis on the promotion of fundamental learning and competencies, both cognitive and socio-emotional and civic, including digital skills, the construction of a culture of peace and non-violence, education for global citizenship and education for sustainable development.
Against this background, in the framework of the beginning of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly and after the celebration of the Future Summit, the Government of the Dominican Republic, with the support of the Ministry of Education of Chile, UNICEF, UNESCO, ECLAC, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the World Bank, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI), the Latin American Campaign for the Right to Education (CLADE) and the Varkey Foundation, are convening a special high-level event on the enabling conditions and sustainable financing strategies to achieve SDG 4 in the region.
Objective of the Event
Convene the region’s top authorities to consolidate and mobilize a common position to guarantee the enabling conditions and financing strategies that allow for a sustainable transformation of public education, the achievement of the educational goals of the 2030 Agenda, and thus progress towards guaranteeing the human right to education for all.
Specific Objectives
● Reflect on the need to advance in guaranteeing the enabling conditions and sustainable financing strategies for educational reactivation, recovery and transformation.
● Reflect on the importance of regional cooperation and the role of multilateralism to promote a concrete commitment by all actors to sustainable financing of education, establishing regional spaces for dialogue and learning between education and finance authorities.
● Present successful and innovative initiatives that have contributed to improving education in diverse contexts, based on sustainable, equitable, inclusive, transparent and efficient financing.
● Position the Latin American and Caribbean region in the global context and in the implementation of the TES and Pact of the Future agreements as a benchmark of commitment and mobilizing capacity of its leaders in favor of guaranteeing the human right to education.
Expected result
Commitment at the highest level to promote and mobilize with governments, international cooperation, civil society and the private sector, actions that guarantee the enabling conditions and sustainable financing strategies for a transformation of education and the achievement of the goals of SDG 4.
[1] Contributions prepared by the SDG 4 High-Level Steering Committee for the Future Compact
[2] https://www.cepal.org/es/publicaciones/68806-desafio-la-sostenibilidad-financiera-la-educacion-america-latina-caribe
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