UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned on Monday that unequal education was dividing the planet rapidly and he urged to keep development on the agenda ahead of a week of diplomacy focused on global crises, reports AFP.
The UN chief told this in a special summit on education he called on a day before world leaders meet for the annual General Assembly.
"Education is in a deep crisis. Instead of being the great enabler, education is fast becoming the great divide," Guterres told the summit.
He warned that due to the devastating impact on learning Covid-19 pandemic brought, poor students lack technology at a particular disadvantage, and conflicts further disrupting schools.
Guterres appealed to all countries to prioritize increasing spending per student even amid question marks over the global economy.
Guterres also called out Afghanistan's Taliban, who have deprived more than one million teenage girls of education since the Islamist militants returned to power in August 2021.
"I appeal to the authorities in Afghanistan: Lift all restrictions on girls' access to secondary education immediately," he said.
Addressing the summit, Somaya Faruqi, who was part of Afghanistan's celebrated girl's robotics team, said the Taliban are "slowly erasing our existence in society."
"Thousands of girls may never return back to school. Many have been married off. The promises of reopening schools came and went," she said.
Appealing to world leaders, she said, "You must not forget those who are left behind, those not lucky enough to be at school."
"Show your solidarity with me and millions of Afghan girls."
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
