Preamble

We, the Ministers of Education representing 86 partner countries of the Global Partnership for Education, provide this communique at a critical time. Our countries are deeply affected by the slow global recovery from the impacts of COVID-19, an uncertain global economy, food and energy shortages, supply chain disruptions, historically high displacement, rising debt burdens, conflicts and a worsening climate crisis. These overlapping crises continue to exacerbate learning losses for more than 650 million children and young people in the countries we represent, particularly affecting girls and those marginalized by poverty, disabilities and displacement.

Education has a unique multiplier effect. It unlocks the door to opportunity and prosperity for individuals, their families, and future generations. It increases economic, political, and community participation, which are essential for economic and social development and for peaceful and stable societies. Education also has enormous potential to mobilize youth for action on climate and build resilience, and to foster the innovation and skills necessary for the transition to a greener and more equitable future.

Neglecting the plight of education in our countries poses a grave threat to our collective prospects for more equitable and sustainable development.

Keeping global promises to invest in education

In this context, we renew our call for urgent action to transform education at scale. We welcome the Transforming Education Summit Call to Action on Educational Investment and urge all countries and all partners to invest more, more equitably and more efficiently in education. We call on the international community to prioritize financial solutions and reforms that will increase lower-income countries' fiscal space to invest in education as an accelerator of progress towards all the other UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Recalling the Incheon Declaration, we urge all governments to allocate at least 15-20% of public expenditure to education, and welcome the political leadership demonstrated by the signatories of the Heads of State Declaration on Education Financing.

In complement to national efforts, we reiterate the urgent need to protect and increase external financial resources which support countries' own investments in education, including by increasing the share of aid to education to 15-20% of ODA and capitalizing existing education funds as called for by the Secretary-General in his Vision Statement for Transforming Education.

Reorienting education aid financing to accelerate country-led progress

Given the pressing challenges our countries face, we call for the education aid financing architecture to better support us in our efforts to transform our education systems by:

• Reinforcing country-led transformation by harmonizing and aligning external aid behind national priorities and commitments, eliminating fragmentation and reducing transaction costs, in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.
• Generating concrete commitments to direct more resources to the countries with the highest needs and the greatest numbers of marginalized children, in particular in low- and lower-middle-income countries and small island states.
• Strengthening and diversifying local, national and global partnerships that support context-specific solutions particularly to address the adverse impacts of climate change, protect education in conflict and crises, and improve countries' capacities to deliver digital learning, especially for the most marginalized children.
• Hardwiring gender equality, as called for in the Freetown Manifesto for Gender-Transformative Leadership in and through Education.

From commitment to action

We are steadfast in our commitment to guarantee the right to a quality education for every child. We are confident that with the right support from the international community, we can deliver on this promise.

We request the SDG4 High-Level Steering Committee, as the apex body for global education cooperation, to oversee a coordinated effort to reform the education financing architecture guided by country needs and inclusive of the voices of our youth.

We thank the United Nations Secretary-General for his championing of education, and request that he reflect this vision in his proposals for the transforming education, international financial architecture, towards a new agenda for peace and UN 2.0 tracks of Our Common Agenda, among others.

We encourage all Member States to make this critical exercise a centerpiece of the Education track of Our Common Agenda and part of the scope of the Summit of the Future. These processes must also seize the opportunity to recognize financing education as an investment in our common future a critical component of the international financial system. We also encourage all Member States to ensure that the SDG Political Declaration and the SDG Summit concretely call for increased investment in inclusive, quality, and equitable education, especially for girls and young women, and recognize education as a prerequisite for the full achievement of Agenda 2030. Recalling the Incheon Declaration, we recommend that the Global Partnership for Education, as a multi-stakeholder platform supporting the implementation of the 2030 education agenda according to the needs and priorities of our countries, be actively engaged in these processes.

We call on global education champions including the UN Special Envoy for Education, the five Heads of State champions on Transforming Education, the HLSC Co-Chairs, Heads of UN agencies, funds and programs, heads of civil society organizations and young leaders to support our vision for a reformed and transformed financial architecture.

Together we can unlock the transformative promise of education to create a more peaceful, prosperous and sustainable future for all.