Today is Blog Action Day (#BAD13). Bloggers around the globe are posting on the topic of Human Rights, which — believe it or not — is a very appropriate topic for a Frugal Dad post on AffordableSchoolsOnline.com. More than six decades ago, the United States, along with other UN member nations, adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document makes clear that education is considered a basic right of everyone on the planet.
According to the UN, education is a right, like the right to have proper food or a roof over your head. Article 26 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to education”. Education is not only a right but a passport to human development. It opens doors and expands opportunities and freedoms. It contributes to fostering peace, democracy and economic growth as well as improving health and reducing poverty. To this end, the United Nations began an initiative to make the universal right to education more of a global reality. Coined Education for All (EFA), the ultimate goal of the program is sustainable development.
In the year 2000, the world’s governments adopted the six EFA goals and the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the two most important frameworks in the field of education. The education priorities of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) are shaped by these objectives.
The two sets of goals are an ambitious roadmap for the global community to follow. They offer a long-term vision of reduced poverty and hunger, better health and education, sustainable lifestyles, strong partnerships and shared commitments.
The EFA goals and MDGs are complementary: as Irina Bokova, UNESCO’s Director-General, says: “When you fund education, you are securing progress towards all the Millennium Development Goals”.
The two sets of goals, as laid out by UNESCO are:
Education for All Goals Goal 1: Expand early childhood care and education Goal 2: Provide free and compulsory primary education for all Goal 3: Promote learning and life skills for young people and adults Goal 4: Increase adult literacy Goal 5: Achieve gender parity
Goal 6: Improve the quality of education