How to address the challenges of education?
The lack of education access serves as a catalyst for social inequality, perpetuating economic disparities across generations. Ensuring access to education is crucial for empowering future generations to become active and informed participants in society.
250 million
children worldwide are out of school
according to UN studies, due to various factors such as conflicts, political crises, and economic instability, especially prevalent in impoverished nations.
75%
of 10-year-olds in the poorest developing countries are illiterate.
35.8%
of GPD is lost due to the non-inclusion of people with disabilities
in Europe and Central Asia, according to UNESCO.
Promoting girl’s education and access to education for all
Pandemics such as Zika or COVID-19 have exacerbated the challenges of access to education by closing schools, particularly affecting the most vulnerable, including girls, children living in poverty and those fleeing conflict. According to UNICEF, this could result in 10 million more girls being forced into early marriage by 2030. Education is critical to addressing social, climate and political crises, while empowering children to shape their own futures.
More specifically, girls’ education would be a significant lever for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The mechanism behind this claim lies in the impact of girls’ education on birth control.
Rethinking holistic student development
For decades, education in Western countries has been based on the vertical, standardized transmission of knowledge. 4 million young people in Europe drop out of school. We need to rethink education by focusing on the holistic development of skills, valuing individual talents and respecting each person’s pace, while fostering creativity, critical thinking, autonomy and resilience in an ever-changing world.
Making school disability-friendly
Neurotypicals, such as autistic, dyslexic, dyspraxic and hyperactive children, make up almost one in four. Yet school can be a challenge for them. Inclusive education aims to avoid stigmatization by integrating these children into mainstream Classes as far as possible, with appropriate teaching support and better training for accompanying staff to promote their independence.
Education about climate change
Only 14% of high school and university students feel adequately informed about climate change, despite 80% expressing significant concern, with nearly 1 in 6 losing sleep over it. It is crucial that teachers across all levels receive training on climate issues to empower students.
According to France Stratégie, only 5% of finance courses cover environmental topics, highlighting a significant gap in training for financiers despite the need for substantial investments t address the climate crisis.
Did you know?
In response to the urgent need for access to education, an open letter signed by more than 500,000 people, and activist Vanessa Nakate, was sent to world leaders in september 2022. The letter calls for a new global treaty guaranteeing the right to free education for all up to secondary level.
The ChangeNOW x Les Echos Start school ranking
In partnership with Deloitte, Identifies, analyzes, and ranks the best business and engineering schools in France that are preparing for ecological and social challenges.
