A global effort for social change and, more specifically, education is necessary to grow the roots of sustainable development in all regions. The UN understands this, but it is up to us to encourage it.
Currently, the sad truth is that there are still 59 million children that are not getting a primary education, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). The fourth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), that has been initiated by the UN, is to achieve an inclusive and equitable quality education for everyone. The large figures of uneducated youth is largely due to the number of children who have been forced to leave their homes, families and schools behind. Children are a major concern of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) who are focusing on unobstructed educational access for migrant children. These children may comprise an enormous fraction of tomorrow’s leaders and the migrant crisis has hindered their development. It is to prevent such scenarios from occurring that the UNHCR has partnered with the Educate A Child Programme.
The innumerable national and international schemes initiated to accelerate the number of children being enrolled in primary schools has also been subsidised through funds contributed by the UN. Education can play an important role in telling a child that their dreams are attainable.
It is important to analyse the fact that education prevents heinous crimes from spreading in our global community. Education may thus be considered as an essential tool in improvising, restructuring and providing a new direction of hope in the lives of these migrant children and children in poverty.
- The reader is a student based in Dubai.
