International Education Day, 2024. Education starts way before the child starts school.

International Education Day, 2024. Education starts way before the child starts school.

The world honors International Education Day on January 24 each year. It seems likely that nations will not succeed in achieving gender equality without being able to educate the masses. It’s also likely that they won’t be able to break the pattern of deprivation. Numerous kids, teenagers, and adults have been left behind by this cycle and are now without access to high-quality education. Everyone has less opportunities throughout their lives as a result when they are not educated much. The world has witnessed that the people’s right to education especially happening in the developing countries that is being violated is unacceptable. It is time for education to evolve.

Children and elders equally believe that education is essential to everyone’s future, safety, health, and happiness during difficult times. Regrettably, COVID-19 school closures and disruptions brought on by conflict and other disasters have caused many children to lag behind in their education or to skip school entirely. The health, safety, and future choices of children are significantly impacted by prolonged school absences. By the end of 2021, the epidemic had made matters worse for rising rates of child labor, child marriage, and poverty—up to 1 in 5 youngsters in some countries had dropped out of school.

The sixth International Education Day is being commemorated on January 24, 2024, with the theme “learning for lasting peace.” Prejudice, xenophobia, homophobia, and hate speech are shockingly on the rise throughout the world, and this rise is correlated with an increase in violent crimes. All boundaries—geographical, gendered, racial, religious, political, and offline/online—are affected by this violence. Today more than ever, there is a pressing need to actively pursue peace. The UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace, Human Rights, and Sustainable Development emphasizes the importance of education in this effort. In order to provide students with the knowledge, values, attitudes, abilities, and behaviors needed to become peace agents in their communities, education for peace must be transformative.

The International Day of Education is being observed by the World Bank with the idea that education begins long before children enter school. Books and storytelling should be able to help every child. To close the achievement gap and provide children with the skills they need to succeed in the workforce of the future, it is imperative to guarantee that every child has access to literature. In observance of The International Day of Education on January 24, 2024, social media users are using the hashtag #StartTheStory to draw attention to the vital role that reading materials, tales, and books play in transforming lives and creating better futures.

In conclusion, International Education Day celebrates education’s contribution to world peace, prosperity, and sustainable development. It proves that all children have the fundamental right to an education, irrespective of their place of birth or race. The theme of the 2024 International Education Day is “Learning for Lasting Peace.” This emphasizes how critical education is to fostering social cohesion and eradicating discrimination. When tragedies like the COVID-19 pandemic strike, organizations like Save the Children play a crucial role. They work to keep kids’ access to education and opportunities for schooling intact. In addition, citizens can help achieve the aim by supporting education at home, giving to charities, and supporting schools and libraries.