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Worldwide, 250 million children and youth are out of school and there remains a global shortfall of 44 million teachers, including 15 million in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, only 40% of primary schools and 50% of lower-secondary schools are connected to the internet. And, even after receiving training, only 45% of lower secondary school teachers feel prepared to use technology to teach.

Opening the event, Ms Stefania Giannini, UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Education, reiterated that “Partnerships are the best way - indeed, the only way - to achieve SDG 4.” 

“Today, more than ever, we need to develop creative solutions and build sustainable partnerships to overcome [these global challenges],” said Ms Giannini. “Establishing trust and a mutual understanding of our diverse needs and approaches is crucial.”

During the event, the Coalition, which now has 222 members working across 112 countries, launched its 2024 annual report -  The report highlights how the Coalition, through its Missions – Global Skills Academy, Global Learning House and Global Teachers Campus - and the Digital Transformation Collaborative (DTC) is facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve education goals.

The DTC is a group of experts in education technology from the Global Education Coalition, representing multilateral organizations, the private sector, Telcos, NGOs, funds and foundations. Following a recent workshop in Egypt, hosted by the DTC in partnership with the country’s Minister of Education and Technical Education, Dr. Ahmed Daher, the Deputy Minister for Technology Development, joined the event online to share insights on digital education in Africa. He noted the importance of a mechanism, similar to the DTC, to help coordinate efforts around digital transformation in education between partners and government sectors.

“As a decision maker from the government perspective, we need a common language,” said Dr. Daher. An entity such as the DTC can provide this common language, he explained, as well as involve more partners from the private sector and help replicate the successes of other countries in areas such as financing technology.

Ms. Adeleh Mojtahed, Giga Programme Coordinator for the UNICEF-ITU global initiative to connect every school to the Internet, added that a “common vision” is important to unify collaboration. In some countries, government entities still work in silos, she cautioned, but “build[ing] a cross-communication collaboration between the ministers [and] also including the private sector in the discussion could have a major impact.” 

Throughout the day, sessions and workshops addressed various themes of education transformation, including sustainable transformation, innovative financing for education, an international alliance of EdTech coalition for SDG 4, and artificial intelligence in education. 

While AI-powered tools are increasingly being integrated into education services and digital learning platforms and applications, the digital divide restricts the transformative potential of AI in education. Globally, 2.6 billion people remain offline, while one in four primary schools still lack electricity.

Discussions centered on how the Coalition can support the establishment of guidance and principles for the use of AI in education, as well as build the capacities of governments in adopting these technologies while ensuring solutions are representative and affordable in all countries.

However, there remains a significant lack of research and evidence around education technology tools, noted Dina Ghobashy, Global Lead on Education Transformation at Microsoft. She called for greater dissemination of research and knowledge sharing of both the pitfalls and successes.

"We could collaborate together on some of these research initiatives to actually explore the impact of AI learning on our future education,” said Ms. Ghobashy, “[then] we can have [a greater] evidence base on the ways for us to leverage artificial intelligence in an effective way for education.”

Since 2020, the Coalition has helped over 850,000 youth develop skills for employment through the Global Skills Academy, while nearly 800,000 teachers have been trained through the Global Teacher Campus. Meanwhile, the Global Learning House has provided resources and support to more than one million learners, and over two million women and girls were reached through the Gender Mission. 

As the Coalition progresses with its 2024 work plan, the Missions aim to renew and scale upon successful initiatives, while forging new strategic partnerships. With the Summit of the Future coming up in September 2024, and the forthcoming Global Digital Compact, the Global Education Coalition will also work this year to align with these critical milestones for education, seeking out additional opportunities for collaboration and further solidifying its commitment to the transformation of education.

• More on UNESCO’s Global Education Coalition