International Education Day, Time For Commitment To Education – UN

The International Education Day 2022 was observed worldwide last Monday,24th January.It was an occasion to mark the fourth year of celebration with the theme, “Changing ourselves, Transforming Education.”
The Secretary-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO), Antonio Guterres in a broadcast stated that the time had come to reignite the collective commitment to education.
He noted that transforming the future required urgent rebalancing of relationships with each other, with nature as well as with technology that permeates lives, beating breakthrough opportunities while raising serious concerns for equity, inclusion and democratic participation.
Guterres also stated that, UNESCO hoped to convene a summit on Transforming Education later this year for the first time where world leaders, young people and all educational stakeholders would come together to consider essential questions on education.
“Education is a family tool for recovery and beyond and we need to put education as the heart of society,” he added.
Objectives of the International Education Day, among others included spotlighting student voices on what changes and innovations they want to see to make their education more fit for purpose. Also, spotlighting teacher’s voices on the future of their profession, from integrating technology in their practice to orienting teaching and learning around new skills and mindsets for people and planet.
Here in Nigeria, in Lagos State, it would be recalled Save the Children  International, a Civil Society Organization(CSO), had called on the Federal Government to increase education funding to 14 percent in the 2022 Federal budget in order to fast track the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country.
In another vein, the CcHUB EdTech Centre of Excellence (CoE) at Tai Solarin University of Education(TASUED) as part of celebration of the day had designed EdTech Festival to promote the application of technology  to education in an atmosphere of dialogue, fun and hands-on experience with various EdTech Products they have at CcHUB and iHub EdTech Ecosystems in Nigeria and Kenya respectively.

The International Education Day is observed every year on January 24 to celebrate the role of education for peace and development.The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the day on January 24, 2018.