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The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations has called on governments at all levels globally to prioritise education and lead in matters to boost educational development.
The group made the call at the end of the maiden edition of the NgEducators and International Human Rights Commission Model United Nations Conference 2024 held in Enugu State, Nigeria, titled: ‘The Development of Education in Developing Countries.’
The conference, which ended with a draft of the “Enugu Declaration 2024” was attended by heads of delegations and chairs of committees, including Accredited Ambassadors of the International Human Rights Commission and Relief Fund in Special Consultative Status.
At the programme, the UN agency underscored the need to overcome the urban-rural education gap while improving the quality of education in the rural setting.
It said, “Education and training should contribute to sustained, inclusive and equitable economic growth by developing requisite skills, in line with labour market requirements and development needs of countries.”
NgIMUN President and Director-General Global, International Human Rights Commission Relief Fund Trust, Dr. Tivlumun Ahure, made the declaration.
The conference declared, “We emphasize the need to promote and improve the relevance of teaching and learning, including aligning education policies, curricula, training, and teaching and learning approaches with the priorities identified in national development strategies.
“Ensuring that educational curricula, methodologies, and training yield high levels of literacy, numeracy, and life skills.
“Enhancing teachers’ training and their continued professional development to improve their pedagogical capacity to conduct student-centred lessons, as well as promote creative and critical thinking."
The Declaration affirmed the importance of investment in early childhood care and education, recognizing its potential to bolster learning outcomes in later years, as well as its particularly strong effects on reducing economic, social, gender, and learning disparities.
On his part, the Country Director for Congo Brazzaville, Valentine Meri, said, “From what we have seen here, we noticed that Nigeria is a leader in the domain of education. We intend to reproduce or to copy what we have seen here in our various countries.”
