UN Resident Coordinator a.i. Dominik Bartsch remarks: Post "Transforming Education Summit" Conference

Your Excellency Professor Azmi Mahafzah, Minister of Education,

Distinguished partners,

Young people,

UN colleagues,

Ladies, and gentlemen,

              It is a pleasure and an honour to welcome you today to the “Transforming Education Summit Post-Conference” that we, the UN, are jointly co-hosting with the Ministry of Education.

Today’s conference comes as a direct follow-up to the Transforming Education Summit convened by the United Nations Secretary-General during the last UN General Assembly in September 2022 in response to the global learning crisis. Jordan’s government was represented by the Ministry of Education and committed to transforming education in Jordan through its National Statement of Commitment and to joining global calls to action, such as on education in situation of crisis or on foundational learning.

Today also marks the International Day of Education. This is a great opportunity for us to build on Jordan national statement and global initiatives such as the Youth Declaration, to accelerate transformation and progress towards SDG 4, as well as mobilize further support and partnerships for translating commitments into action.

Education is a fundamental human right. Yet today, beset by inequalities and struggling to adjust to the current urging needs, education faces a universal crisis. Transforming Education is now an urgent global and national imperative for our collective future. We must respond decisively, with conviction, imagination, and in solidarity to transform education.

Jordan, as all the countries in the world, is also affected by this global crisis and, as noted by the former Minister of Education at the Transforming Education Summit last year, Jordan faces three emergencies:

(1) The Syria crisis and the impact on refugee education - Jordan is affected by the various humanitarian crises across the Middle east, hosting the second-highest share of refugees per capita in the world.

(2) The COVID crisis and the impact on children’s learning - The pandemic both exacerbated and illuminated this educational crisis, which is disproportionately impacting younger children, refugees, children with disabilities, and children living in poverty in Jordan.

 (3) The climate crisis – with potential impact on development of the country. 

There can be no going back to the education models of the past. We must reimagine education systems and raise the status of education. We must ensure that learning empowers individuals and societies to both reshape the present and lead us to a more just, sustainable, resilient, and peaceful future.  

Jordan has made significant progress towards achieving SDG4, including to strengthen systems and institutions:

a. We commend Jordan for endorsing the 10-year Inclusive Education Strategy (2020-2030) as well as the Jordan Declaration on Inclusion and Diversity in Education which prioritizes providing enabling, safe, healthy, and accessible learning environments and support systems for all children and youth and especially focusing on vulnerable children including those with disabilities and refugee children.

For instance, the Government of Jordan with the support of partners, ensure that access to quality education continues to be provided within Jordanian schools.

b. Jordan is one of the few countries in the world that has held a national learning assessment in maths and Arabic on the return of students to the classroom after COVID-19 related school closures.   The results of this assessment unfortunately show that most students were far below grade expectations.  I’m aware that the Ministry of Education is now closely examining the policy implications of these results on the education system, and collectively working with us, UN and international partners, to enable children’s learning recovery.  

c. We acknowledge Jordan’s commitment to raising awareness on the impact of human behaviour on climate and the actions that can be taken, by addressing these issues through curriculum and teaching materials.  We all should address the impact of water scarcity and climate change across the region and the world.

d. We also laud Jordan for continuing to build resilient education system that protect the right to education for all, and to strengthen crisis and risk management in education to ensure the safety and well-being of all students, teachers and education staff and safeguard education infrastructure and investments to tackle crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change through developing strategies for Crisis and Risks Management, to assess, prevent, prepare for and mitigate natural and human made hazard risks.

e. Jordan is also dedicated and committed to monitoring gender, disability, and vulnerabilities to respond to specific needs through data disaggregation across all the SDG4 indicators.

However, despite the achievements and the good progress, continued commitment is still urgently needed as well as proactive implementation and coordination for SDG4 to be achieved, by the Government of Jordan and partners including international partners, civil society youth and the private sector.

Here we are today to not just rebuild after an emergency has affected children’s learning, but to transform education to build resilient systems so that they are better able to withstand future shocks.   

Today is a concrete example of the continued joint efforts we are all committing to, building on the Jordanian National Statement of Commitments in line with the Education Strategic Plan’s priorities and SDG4 in Jordan.

With that being said, I would like to thank all stakeholders, international partners, civil society, youth, academia, private sector and all stakeholders for their efforts. Partnership is at the heart of the transforming education agenda which needs to be driven through multiple stakeholders and innovation, including innovative financing.

The global Youth Declaration was adopted during the Transforming Education Summit, which is a reminder for us to listen to and learn from voices of youth. I am really pleased to see some youth members of the United Nations Youth Advisory Council here today and look forward to their reflections on progress and opportunities along with other youth representatives.

The UN Country Team in Jordan will continue to support the Government in its vision to put learners’ inclusion and diversity at the heart of education post Covid-19 and in meeting its commitments to ‘transforming education’. I would like to express a special thank you to UNESCO and UNICEF teams and their representatives, who are also here today, who have led the UN’s support to the Transforming Education Summit and its follow-up within our UN Country Team.

Finally, I would like to take the opportunity to thank His Excellency Professor Azmi Mahafzah, Minister of Education, for your Ministry’s leadership and for co-hosting today’s event and ensuring partners, including civil society organizations and young people, contribute to Jordan’s vision for transforming education and take collective action.

As the theme of this year’s International Day of Education says, ‘To invest in People, prioritize Education’. Young people are the future of our countries. Let’s invest in them and support their learning, their development and aspirations.

Thank you.