On 28 and 29 July 2021, the global community came together and supported quality education for all children.

The UIS, the World Bank and UNESCO presented the Learning Data Compact during a side event of the Global Education Summit: Financing GPE 2021-2025.

 

The PowerPoint presentation of the event is available here.

The video of the presentation can be found at the links below:

 

We knew before 2020 that attaining Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 targets was off-track. It is evident that learning gaps have widened with COVID-19.

The importance of data to deliver the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been repeatedly emphasised since the adoption of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Yet now – six years after the SDG commitments were adopted, significant data gaps still exist, impeding informed policymaking to ensure needed progress. As estimated by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the World Bank, 97 countries in the world do not have the necessary learning or schooling data needed to measure learning poverty.

The Mission Recovery plan, implemented by UNESCO with UNICEF and the World Bank, aims to help countries recover learning losses accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic. To that end, the three organizations have launched a global commitment towards a “Learning Data Compact” (LDC) to ensure that all countries have quality learning data by 2025. The compact offers a menu of evidence-based methodologies, tools, and solutions developed by and with developing countries.

A holistic and programmatic LDC aims to:

  • leverage existing learning assessment data
  • Improve the availability and quality of new learning assessment data
  • Foster innovation in the creation and collection of complementary sources of learning data.

This virtual event will feature the voices of the international organizations behind the LDC as well as representatives from the countries involved in its development. Speakers will share their experiences and insights into how the LDC can support countries to ensure that all their children acquire the necessary skills they need to function as productive citizens.

Objectives of the event

  • Present the Learning Data Compact (LDC) – a partnership between UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank to produce and use timely and relevant learning data.
  • Discuss how the LDC initiative can support countries in assessing learning and using the assessment data to drive change.
  • Discuss how the LDC initiative can improve coordination, quality, oversight, and transparency of global efforts to measure student learning.
  • Connect a large audience of national, regional and international education policy makers to build a culture of learning, knowledge generation and evidence-based alternatives to accelerate progress towards SDG 4.

Moderator:

Ramya Vivekanandan,  Senior Education Specialist,  Global Partnership for Education

 

Presenters and panelists:

  • Silvia Montoya, Director, UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
  • Joao Pedro Azevedo, Lead Economist, World Bank
  • Manuel Cardoso, Education Specialist, UNICEF
  • Ung Chinna, Director, Education Quality Assurance Department, Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport, Cambodia
  • Asumpta Matei, Ag. Coordinator, National Assessment Center and Deputy National Research Coordinator, Kenya National Examinations Council, Kenya
  • Methalali Nkuebe Khoarai, Director- Product Development and Standards, Examinations Council of Lesotho
  • Michael M. Chilala, Director, Examinations Council of Zambia