Learning losses resulting from Covid-19 pandemic and sustainable development goals seek global attention
HE the Minister of Education and Higher Education Buthaina bint Ali al-Jabr al-Nuaimi, said that despite the progress made by Qatar in basic and higher education, and the recent reforms and commitments it made to improve learning processes and outcomes, "we must now, in light of the recent challenges that education faced in Qatar and the rest of the world, to move towards reviewing our plans and policies to discuss ways of transforming education in order to achieve the goals of the 4th goal of sustainable development and the comprehensiveness and quality of education, and to consider what should be changed, what should be strengthened, and what should be developed."
This came in a speech delivered by HE the minister at the opening of the national consultative meeting for Qatar in preparation for the Education Transformation Summit, which was organised by Qatar National Commission for Education, Culture and Science and Education Above All Foundation, over two days, in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).
Holding the aforementioned summit comes in recognition that education is a human right and a basis for peace and sustainable development, and seeks to renew the global commitment to education as a priority public good, in addition to mobilising ambition and solidarity for joint action and finding solutions towards forming a new concept of education, as well as its goal of accelerating efforts to recover from learning losses resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic and revitalise efforts to achieve the 4th goal of the sustainable development related to education and its quality, and better prepare societies for the future.
The opening event was also attended by HE the Deputy Speaker of the Shura Council Dr Hamda bint Hassan al-Sulaiti and other dignitaries and officials. A pre-summit conference to prepare for it is scheduled to be held in the French capital, Paris, on June 29-30. HE the minister reviewed the task of the consultative meeting to identify priority areas to achieve the transformation in education, including transformational measures to enroll all children in schools, ensure their acquisition of reading, writing and arithmetic skills, and appropriate psychological and social skills, and pay attention to the needs of the most marginalised groups, including children with disabilities and discussing how to enhance the capabilities of teachers, and providing them with the necessary tools and capabilities to enable them to teach according to the highest quality standards, whether in Arabic or any of the many other languages used in teaching in Qatar.
HE the minister noted that the objectives of the consultative meeting include supporting the achievement of the goal of the Education Transformation Summit, which aims to develop a common vision, achieve international commitment, harmonise the measures to be taken at all levels to transform education from now until 2030, and identify and document the experiences of Qatar in a comprehensive way with regard to the great achievements, the mission, good practices, and important drivers of education transformation, and building on them for a better future.
She said that the national consultative meeting brings together more than 50 stakeholders under one roof, to discuss the urgent measures needed "to recover and transform our education system in ways that restore hope to an entire generation of children and youth whose future may be challenged, especially in the context of the Coronavirus pandemic.
The most important objectives of the national consultations revolve around the exchange of innovative ideas and strategic plans, to develop a common vision in developing the field of education for Qatar in a manner that suits the 21st century, from now until 2030 and beyond, and to work on designing appropriate programs to raise the level of educational outputs, and to improve educational systems to ensure comprehensive foundations that help achieve Qatar National Vision 2030.
HE the minister explained that to this end, and in preparation for the preparatory meeting in Paris, and for the Education Transformation Summit itself, Qatar held a regional consultative meeting with ministers of education, and with development partners, including representatives of Unesco and Unicef, and representatives from West Asia last May, to help identify the perspectives of countries and partners in the region, in particular on three central and fundamental questions in education transformation.
The Ministry of Education and Higher Education participated in the plenary session of the consultative meeting entitled 'Education Transformation in Qatar', and was represented by the Director of Educational Policies and Research Department Dr Nouf al-Kaabi. The ministry's participation aimed at defining the role of education in the trend towards forming a common future that contributes to the transformation of education, reviewing practices and concepts, and looking forward to setting effective goals for 2030 and beyond, while providing some examples and solutions to achieve this goal.
Dr al-Kaabi pointed out that the Coronavirus pandemic has significantly increased absenteeism and dropout rates, not to mention the challenges faced by the most vulnerable students such as speakers of a non-native language, students with disabilities, and students from economically disadvantaged families. It also affected the economies of countries, marginalized entities and low-income families.
She cautioned that there are many practices and misconceptions that we must abandon immediately, including the idea that learning takes place only in the classroom, and that in this context, we must look at some successful models and focus on development and research, and work on recovery from the pandemic, bridging the gender gap and promoting technology in the classroom, and called for putting the human element at the core of work.
The ministry also participated in the session concerned with raising the ambition of national education goals and standards with several other parties participating in the meeting, with the aim of identifying the revisions -- based on lessons learned -- that must be made regarding the goals and standards of national education, to highlight a higher level of ambition required to recover from the pandemic crisis. and accelerating progress towards achieving the fourth goal of the sustainable development goals on quality education.
It is scheduled to prepare a report on the outputs and desired outcomes of the consultative meeting, on the commitments of Qatar in the field of education transformation, to be presented and discussed at the ministerial preparatory meeting for the summit in Paris at the end of June, to enrich in this regard the report of the summit to be prepared by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, which in turn will feed the work of the high-level steering committee for the fourth goal of sustainable development goals.
The results will also be at the heart of preparations for the 2023 high-level political forum under the auspices of the United Nations General, and the proposed United Nations Summit for the future, as well as obtaining a comprehensive national document of important achievements, good practices and motivation for education transformation, achieving balance and compatibility with the requirements of the labour market. (QNA)
