At a high-level session held at the World Summit on Social Development on Tuesday, global education leaders issued an urgent call for a fundamental transformation of education systems, warning that a failure to bridge the gap between schooling and skills is exacerbating inequality and stifling economic growth, particularly in the Global South.
The session, titled “Foundations for the Future: Basic Education as a Pathway to Skills and Jobs,” featured a unified message from government officials, international envoys, and youth advocates: the current model is broken, and incremental change is no longer enough.
“What would life be without the basic skills to learn, read, and understand essential services?” asked Ms. Samantha Umar, a Youth Leader for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), in her opening remarks. She framed education as the non-negotiable foundation for human development and social inclusion, highlighting the urgency of addressing equity, opportunity, and employability for the world’s youth.
