On 22 September, the German-language summary of this year’s UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report was presented in Berlin. Entitled ‘Access and Equity’, the report analyses the state of educational opportunities and equity worldwide.
The UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report is published every one to two years and assesses the progress made globally in implementing the education goal (SDG 4) of the United Nations 2030 Agenda. At the joint event organised by the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the German Commission for UNESCO, representatives from the ministries and UNESCO ,including Serap Güler, Member of the Bundestag (MdB) and Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, Johann Saathoff, Member of the Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development; Michael Brand, Member of the Bundestag and Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth; and Prof. Dr Maria Böhmer, President of the German UNESCO Commission, analysed the findings and discussed them with experts from the fields of politics, academia and practice. The German Adult Education Association (Deutscher Volkshochschul-Verband, DVV), a member of the Education Expert Committee that supports the implementation of UNESCO’s education programme in Germany, was represented by its Director, Julia von Westerholt.
Social background remains a key barrier to social mobility
What does the report reveal about the issues highlighted in its title – access and equity? This year’s Global Education Monitoring Report paints a mixed picture in this regard: Despite global progress, for example in access to primary and secondary schools, major inequalities persist – both between and within countries. According to the report, the main reasons are population growth, global crises and declining education budgets. Within the countries examined, individual factors such as income, social background and gender also play a significant role. Germany is no exception in this regard. For instance, local data show that the socio-economic status of the family of origin continues to be a major determining factor in educational pathways and qualifications.
Adult learning and education worldwide
The report also addresses adult learning and education as part of lifelong learning, looking, for example, at access to technical, vocational and tertiary education, as well as digital skills among young people and adults and literacy rates. Overall, the findings are sobering: worldwide, the proportion of people aged 25 to 64 participating in education or training increased only marginally, from 2.0 per cent in 2000 to 2.4 per cent in 2024. Opportunities for participation vary considerably here – depending on the countries’ level of economic development. High-income countries have both the highest participation rate and the sharpest increase: from 4.6 per cent to 6.7 per cent. In contrast, the participation rate in lower-middle-income countries stagnated at a low level – at just 1.2 per cent. A similar trend can be seen in literacy. While the literacy rate among young people rose from 87 per cent in 2000 to 93 per cent in 2024, and among adults from 81 per cent to 88 per cent, this was primarily due to significant progress in lower-middle-income countries. Low-income countries, however, continue to lag behind: according to estimates, one in four young people in these countries was illiterate in 2024.
Long-term and targeted funding is essential
Against this backdrop, the authors of the new UNESCO report emphasise that individual measures alone are not sufficient to achieve greater educational equity. Rather, what is needed are long-term packages of measures tailored to the specific conditions in each country, as well as sufficient and targeted funding. Julia von Westerholt, Director of DVV, also highlights the importance of sufficient funding and a united front among those responsible for education policy in light of the report’s publication: “The global perspective shows once again that educational equity is a matter of starting opportunities and, at the same time, of consistent lifelong learning. In Germany, too, ensuring effective structures for adult education remains the responsibility of all education policy stakeholders.”
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