At the initiative of the United Nations, January 24 is annually celebrated as the International Day of Education. It was established on December 3, 2018 by a resolution of the General Assembly, which was supported by 58 Member States.
The document emphasizes that education plays a key role in the formation of a viable society and contributes to the achievement of sustainable development goals.
The right to education is enshrined in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It calls for free primary education. In turn, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, contains a provision on the obligation of states to make higher education accessible to all.
However, today every fifth child in the world is deprived of the opportunity to learn. According to UNESCO, 262 million minors are out of school and 617 million children and adolescents lack basic reading and numeracy skills.
At the same time, it is the provision of inclusive, equitable and high-quality education that is the key to overcoming poverty and social inequality in the world. International Day of Education helps to draw attention to this issue.
