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Police and security stand outside the Center for Jewish Living at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., in early November, after antisemitic threats left the community on edge. Matt Burkhartt/Getty Images hide caption

A former Cornell student is sentenced to 21 months for threatening to kill Jews

August 13, 2024 • Patrick Dai admitted to posting anonymous threats against Jews on campus in October. His lawyer argued it was a "misguided attempt to highlight Hamas’ genocidal beliefs and garner support for Israel.”

The transition back to school can be overwhelming for kids. Explaining the changes and setting expectations can help them feel more prepared to take on the year. Urbazon/Getty Images hide caption

Snuggles, pep talks and love notes: 10 ways to calm your kid’s back-to-school jitters

August 12, 2024 • Teachers, pediatricians and child development experts share loving, creative advice on how to ease children (and their parents!) into a new school year.

Pro-Palestinian students and activists face police officers after protesters were evicted from the library at Portland State University in Portland, Ore., in May. John Rudoff/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

As a new semester looms, students and colleges brace for more protests

August 12, 2024 • The Israel-Hamas war has prompted some of the most volatile campus protests in decades. This summer, student organizers are rethinking strategies, as are counter-protesters and college administrators.

Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students

New to podcasting? Don't panic.

The statue of Alma Mater on the campus of Columbia University in New York. Diane Bondareff/AP hide caption

3 Columbia deans resign over texts that 'touched on ... antisemitic tropes'

August 8, 2024 • The three deans were texting sarcastic and mocking messages about students’ complaints of antisemitism during a panel discussion on Jewish life on campus last May.

Since the new FAFSA launched on Dec. 30, 2023, the form has only been available for short periods of time. That changed this week. On Tuesday, the U.S. Education Department said applicants will now have 24-hour access. Screenshot by NPR hide caption

The rollout for the updated FAFSA application has been delayed — again

August 8, 2024 • The availability of last year's application, and subsequently students' aid packages, was delayed several times while the Department of Education worked to update the form.

Back-to-school season can still be an opportunity for a refresh, even if you're not headed back to the classroom. Maria Korneeva/Getty Images/Moment RF hide caption

6 ways grown-ups can recreate that fresh, buzzy feeling of a new school year

August 6, 2024 • Refreshing ideas that harness the excitement of going back to school -- like learning new things, packing a school lunch and playing at recess -- updated for the adult version of you. 

Bloomington High School South science teacher Kirstin Milks leads a lesson on human-caused climate change and technologies that could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Chris Elberfeld/WFYI hide caption

In the face of global warming, students are dreaming up a better climate future

August 5, 2024 • With heat waves and extreme weather becoming more and more common, one Indiana teacher wants to empower her students with information, and the creative freedom to imagine big ideas.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson led a news conference with Republican committee chairs, including House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Virginia Foxx, on April 30 to decry reports of antisemitism happening at university protests across the country. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

Columbia University threatened with subpoenas over U.S. House antisemitism investigation

August 1, 2024 • A Republican-led House committee says it would issue subpoenas to Columbia University to get documents it requested months ago for its investigation into reports of antisemitism on campus.

He has a badge and a gun — and he investigates school truancy

July 31, 2024 • When students miss lots of school without an excuse, it’s known as truancy — and in Madison County, Ind., it can lead to a visit from truancy investigator Mitch Carroll.

In 1994, young people wearing "True Love Waits" T-shirts hammer pledge cards stating they'll abstain from sex until marriage into the lawn of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Richard Ross hide caption

30 years later, the evangelical purity movement still impacts sex education

July 31, 2024 • In 1994 on the National Mall, thousands of American teens pledged abstinence until marriage. The movement it created has influenced sex education in schools to this day.

30 years of Abstinence pledge

Code Switch

'not a badge of honor': how book bans affect indigenous literature.

July 31, 2024 • For some authors, finding their book on a "banned" list can feel almost like an accolade, putting them right there with classics like The Bluest Eye and To Kill a Mockingbird. But the reality is, most banned books never get the kind of recognition or readership that the most famous ones do.

U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland testifies during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing in May. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images/Getty Images North America hide caption

Nearly a thousand children died at Indian boarding schools funded by the U.S.

July 30, 2024 • The investigation into abuse and mistreatment of Native children at the boarding schools for more than a century proposes $23 billion in funding aimed at healing.

[EMBARGO] Carrillo/Federal Indian Boarding Schools Final Report

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., listens during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Dec. 7, 2023, in Washington. Mariam Zuhaib/AP hide caption

Robert Menendez Elementary School will change its name after the senator's conviction

July 28, 2024 • The New Jersey school will drop the Menendez name it adopted in 2013 now that the senator was found guilty of bribery.

Barb Ibrahim, left, drove half an hour to visit Amber and Matt Luman and their new daughter, Esserley. Ibrahim, a nurse of more than 30 years, is part of new program in Oregon that offers free home visits from a registered nurse for any family with a newborn. Cory Turner/NPR hide caption

Babies don’t come with instructions. But in Oregon, they now come with a nurse

July 23, 2024 • A new state program offers any family with a new baby a no-cost visit at home with a trained nurse. It’s Oregon’s response to the country’s dismal infant and maternal mortality rates.

Turner/ Newborn Home Visits

An ACT Assessment preparation book is seen in 2014 in Springfield, Ill. Seth Perlman/AP hide caption

The science section of the ACT exam will now be optional

July 19, 2024 • Students can now opt between several versions of the test: the ACT core exam (which includes reading, math and English), the ACT plus writing, the ACT plus science or the ACT plus science and writing.

President Biden speaks about student loan debt, April 8, 2024, in Madison, Wis. Evan Vucci/AP hide caption

Federal appeals court blocks remainder of Biden's student debt relief plan

July 19, 2024 • The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals granted a motion for an administrative stay filed by a group of Republican-led states seeking to invalidate the administration's entire student loan forgiveness plan.

‎ LA Johnson/NPR hide caption

35,000 more public servants see their student loan balances reduced or erased

July 18, 2024 • The Biden administration announced $1.2 billion in student loan forgiveness for borrowers who work in public service, including as firefighters, social workers and teachers.

Six-year-old Sam and his mother, Tabitha, attend a virtual class with Sam’s teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing. Cindy Elizabeth/for NPR hide caption

As discrimination complaints soar, parents of disabled students wait for help

July 16, 2024 • The Education Department is handling record numbers of discrimination cases, including those involving disability. The backlog leaves some families waiting for help.

More students with disabilities are facing discrimination in schools

Parents, students, and staff of Chino Valley Unified School District hold up signs in favor of protecting LGBTQ+ policies at Don Antonio Lugo High School, in Chino, Calif., in June 2023. California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Monday barring school districts from passing policies that require schools to notify parents if their child asks to change their gender identification. Anjali Sharif-Paul/The Orange County Register/AP hide caption

California bans school rules requiring parents notification of child's pronoun change

July 16, 2024 • The law, which is the first in the nation, bans school rules requiring school staff to disclose a student's gender identity or sexual orientation to any other person without the child's permission.

Janet Johnson receives her college diploma from Kent Devereaux, president of Goucher College. Jenny Abamu/for NPR hide caption

Women don’t have equal access to college in prison. Here’s why

July 15, 2024 • Many people in prison rely on federal Pell Grants to pay for college courses. But in most states, women's prisons offer less access to Pell-eligible classes than men’s prisons do.

A Pennsylvania school district is grappling with the fallout caused after middle school students created fake TikTok accounts to impersonate their teachers and post lewd and offensive messages. Getty Images hide caption

A school district in Pa. says students made fake TikTok accounts to target teachers

July 9, 2024 • Middle school students in the town of Malvern impersonated teachers and posted crude and offensive language on fake accounts. The superintendent called the incidents a "gross misuse of social media."

A sign stands in front of part of the Johns Hopkins Hospital complex in Baltimore. Patrick Semansky/AP hide caption

Bloomberg gives $1 billion to Hopkins to make tuition free for most medical students

July 9, 2024 • Most students pursuing medical degrees at Johns Hopkins University will receive free tuition, thanks to a $1 billion gift from businessman Michael Bloomberg's philanthropic organization.

A New York City police officer looks over the center of Columbia University ahead of a large graduation ceremony in May, following weeks of pro-Palestinian protests. Seth Wenig/AP hide caption

3 Columbia deans ousted for texts about Jewish students

July 8, 2024 • The three were texting each other during a panel discussion on Jewish life on campus last May, mocking and disparaging students’ complaints of antisemitism.

Bonnie Boop is now a people lead at Walmart in Huntsville, Ala. She received college credit for a company training program, graduating with a bachelor's degree last year. Andi Rice for NPR/Andi Rice for NPR hide caption

College credit for working your job? Walmart and McDonald’s are trying it

July 8, 2024 • Imagine a world in which your resume relies less on titles or diplomas and acts more like a passport of skills you’ve proven you have.

College credit for job experience

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New advances in technology are upending education, from the recent debut of new artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots like ChatGPT to the growing accessibility of virtual-reality tools that expand the boundaries of the classroom. For educators, at the heart of it all is the hope that every learner gets an equal chance to develop the skills they need to succeed. But that promise is not without its pitfalls.

“Technology is a game-changer for education – it offers the prospect of universal access to high-quality learning experiences, and it creates fundamentally new ways of teaching,” said Dan Schwartz, dean of Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE), who is also a professor of educational technology at the GSE and faculty director of the Stanford Accelerator for Learning . “But there are a lot of ways we teach that aren’t great, and a big fear with AI in particular is that we just get more efficient at teaching badly. This is a moment to pay attention, to do things differently.”

For K-12 schools, this year also marks the end of the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding program, which has provided pandemic recovery funds that many districts used to invest in educational software and systems. With these funds running out in September 2024, schools are trying to determine their best use of technology as they face the prospect of diminishing resources.

Here, Schwartz and other Stanford education scholars weigh in on some of the technology trends taking center stage in the classroom this year.

AI in the classroom

In 2023, the big story in technology and education was generative AI, following the introduction of ChatGPT and other chatbots that produce text seemingly written by a human in response to a question or prompt. Educators immediately worried that students would use the chatbot to cheat by trying to pass its writing off as their own. As schools move to adopt policies around students’ use of the tool, many are also beginning to explore potential opportunities – for example, to generate reading assignments or coach students during the writing process.

AI can also help automate tasks like grading and lesson planning, freeing teachers to do the human work that drew them into the profession in the first place, said Victor Lee, an associate professor at the GSE and faculty lead for the AI + Education initiative at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning. “I’m heartened to see some movement toward creating AI tools that make teachers’ lives better – not to replace them, but to give them the time to do the work that only teachers are able to do,” he said. “I hope to see more on that front.”

He also emphasized the need to teach students now to begin questioning and critiquing the development and use of AI. “AI is not going away,” said Lee, who is also director of CRAFT (Classroom-Ready Resources about AI for Teaching), which provides free resources to help teach AI literacy to high school students across subject areas. “We need to teach students how to understand and think critically about this technology.”

Immersive environments

The use of immersive technologies like augmented reality, virtual reality, and mixed reality is also expected to surge in the classroom, especially as new high-profile devices integrating these realities hit the marketplace in 2024.

The educational possibilities now go beyond putting on a headset and experiencing life in a distant location. With new technologies, students can create their own local interactive 360-degree scenarios, using just a cell phone or inexpensive camera and simple online tools.

“This is an area that’s really going to explode over the next couple of years,” said Kristen Pilner Blair, director of research for the Digital Learning initiative at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, which runs a program exploring the use of virtual field trips to promote learning. “Students can learn about the effects of climate change, say, by virtually experiencing the impact on a particular environment. But they can also become creators, documenting and sharing immersive media that shows the effects where they live.”

Integrating AI into virtual simulations could also soon take the experience to another level, Schwartz said. “If your VR experience brings me to a redwood tree, you could have a window pop up that allows me to ask questions about the tree, and AI can deliver the answers.”

Gamification

Another trend expected to intensify this year is the gamification of learning activities, often featuring dynamic videos with interactive elements to engage and hold students’ attention.

“Gamification is a good motivator, because one key aspect is reward, which is very powerful,” said Schwartz. The downside? Rewards are specific to the activity at hand, which may not extend to learning more generally. “If I get rewarded for doing math in a space-age video game, it doesn’t mean I’m going to be motivated to do math anywhere else.”

Gamification sometimes tries to make “chocolate-covered broccoli,” Schwartz said, by adding art and rewards to make speeded response tasks involving single-answer, factual questions more fun. He hopes to see more creative play patterns that give students points for rethinking an approach or adapting their strategy, rather than only rewarding them for quickly producing a correct response.

Data-gathering and analysis

The growing use of technology in schools is producing massive amounts of data on students’ activities in the classroom and online. “We’re now able to capture moment-to-moment data, every keystroke a kid makes,” said Schwartz – data that can reveal areas of struggle and different learning opportunities, from solving a math problem to approaching a writing assignment.

But outside of research settings, he said, that type of granular data – now owned by tech companies – is more likely used to refine the design of the software than to provide teachers with actionable information.

The promise of personalized learning is being able to generate content aligned with students’ interests and skill levels, and making lessons more accessible for multilingual learners and students with disabilities. Realizing that promise requires that educators can make sense of the data that’s being collected, said Schwartz – and while advances in AI are making it easier to identify patterns and findings, the data also needs to be in a system and form educators can access and analyze for decision-making. Developing a usable infrastructure for that data, Schwartz said, is an important next step.

With the accumulation of student data comes privacy concerns: How is the data being collected? Are there regulations or guidelines around its use in decision-making? What steps are being taken to prevent unauthorized access? In 2023 K-12 schools experienced a rise in cyberattacks, underscoring the need to implement strong systems to safeguard student data.

Technology is “requiring people to check their assumptions about education,” said Schwartz, noting that AI in particular is very efficient at replicating biases and automating the way things have been done in the past, including poor models of instruction. “But it’s also opening up new possibilities for students producing material, and for being able to identify children who are not average so we can customize toward them. It’s an opportunity to think of entirely new ways of teaching – this is the path I hope to see.”

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The turning point: Why we must transform education now

Global warming. Accelerated digital revolution. Growing inequalities. Democratic backsliding. Loss of biodiversity. Devastating pandemics. And the list goes on. These are just some of the most pressing challenges that we are facing today in our interconnected world.

The diagnosis is clear: Our current global education system is failing to address these alarming challenges and provide quality learning for everyone throughout life. We know that education today is not fulfilling its promise to help us shape peaceful, just, and sustainable societies. These findings were detailed in UNESCO’s Futures of Education Report in November 2021 which called for a new social contract for education.

That is why it has never been more crucial to reimagine the way we learn, what we learn and how we learn. The turning point is now. It’s time to transform education. How do we make that happen?

Here’s what you need to know. 

Why do we need to transform education?

The current state of the world calls for a major transformation in education to repair past injustices and enhance our capacity to act together for a more sustainable and just future. We must ensure the right to lifelong learning by providing all learners - of all ages in all contexts - the knowledge and skills they need to realize their full potential and live with dignity. Education can no longer be limited to a single period of one’s lifetime. Everyone, starting with the most marginalized and disadvantaged in our societies, must be entitled to learning opportunities throughout life both for employment and personal agency. A new social contract for education must unite us around collective endeavours and provide the knowledge and innovation needed to shape a better world anchored in social, economic, and environmental justice.  

What are the key areas that need to be transformed?

• Inclusive, equitable, safe and healthy schools

Education is in crisis. High rates of poverty, exclusion and gender inequality continue to hold millions back from learning. Moreover, COVID-19 further exposed the inequities in education access and quality, and violence, armed conflict, disasters and reversal of women’s rights have increased insecurity. Inclusive, transformative education must ensure that all learners have unhindered access to and participation in education, that they are safe and healthy, free from violence and discrimination, and are supported with comprehensive care services within school settings. Transforming education requires a significant increase in investment in quality education, a strong foundation in comprehensive early childhood development and education, and must be underpinned by strong political commitment, sound planning, and a robust evidence base.

• Learning and skills for life, work and sustainable development

There is a crisis in foundational learning, of literacy and numeracy skills among young learners. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, learning poverty has increased by a third in low- and middle-income countries, with an estimated 70% of 10-year-olds unable to understand a simple written text. Children with disabilities are 42% less likely to have foundational reading and numeracy skills compared to their peers. More than 771 million people still lack basic literacy skills, two-thirds of whom are women. Transforming education means empowering learners with knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to be resilient, adaptable and prepared for the uncertain future while contributing to human and planetary well-being and sustainable development. To do so, there must be emphasis on foundational learning for basic literacy and numeracy; education for sustainable development, which encompasses environmental and climate change education; and skills for employment and entrepreneurship.

• Teachers, teaching and the teaching profession

Teachers are essential for achieving learning outcomes, and for achieving SDG 4 and the transformation of education. But teachers and education personnel are confronted by four major challenges: Teacher shortages; lack of professional development opportunities; low status and working conditions; and lack of capacity to develop teacher leadership, autonomy and innovation. Accelerating progress toward SDG 4 and transforming education require that there is an adequate number of teachers to meet learners’ needs, and all education personnel are trained, motivated, and supported. This can only be possible when education is adequately funded, and policies recognize and support the teaching profession, to improve their status and working conditions.

• Digital learning and transformation

The COVID-19 crisis drove unprecedented innovations in remote learning through harnessing digital technologies. At the same time, the digital divide excluded many from learning, with nearly one-third of school-age children (463 million) without access to distance learning. These inequities in access meant some groups, such as young women and girls, were left out of learning opportunities. Digital transformation requires harnessing technology as part of larger systemic efforts to transform education, making it more inclusive, equitable, effective, relevant, and sustainable. Investments and action in digital learning should be guided by the three core principles: Center the most marginalized; Free, high-quality digital education content; and Pedagogical innovation and change.

• Financing of education

While global education spending has grown overall, it has been thwarted by high population growth, the surmounting costs of managing education during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the diversion of aid to other emergencies, leaving a massive global education financial gap amounting to US$ 148 billion annually. In this context, the first step toward transformation is to urge funders to redirect resources back to education to close the funding gap. Following that, countries must have significantly increased and sustainable financing for achieving SDG 4 and that these resources must be equitably and effectively allocated and monitored. Addressing the gaps in education financing requires policy actions in three key areas: Mobilizing more resources, especially domestic; increasing efficiency and equity of allocations and expenditures; and improving education financing data. Finally, determining which areas needs to be financed, and how, will be informed by recommendations from each of the other four action tracks .

What is the Transforming Education Summit?

UNESCO is hosting the Transforming Education Pre-Summit on 28-30 June 2022, a meeting of  over 140 Ministers of Education, as well as  policy and business leaders and youth activists, who are coming together to build a roadmap to transform education globally. This meeting is a precursor to the Transforming Education Summit to be held on 19 September 2022 at the UN General Assembly in New York. This high-level summit is convened by the UN Secretary General to radically change our approach to education systems. Focusing on 5 key areas of transformation, the meeting seeks to mobilize political ambition, action, solutions and solidarity to transform education: to take stock of efforts to recover pandemic-related learning losses; to reimagine education systems for the world of today and tomorrow; and to revitalize national and global efforts to achieve SDG-4.

• More on the Transforming Education Summit
• More on the Pre-Summit

Related items

• Future of education
• SDG: SDG 4 - Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

This article is related to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals .

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Columbia’s president resigns after months of turmoil, including protests over the Israel-Hamas war

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These kids never returned to school after the pandemic – because of paperwork and a broken phone

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New metal detectors delay students’ first day of school in one South Florida district

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Education leaders in montana are preparing students for the world of finance, texas’ youngest students are struggling with their learning, educators say.

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Columbia university deans resign after exchanging disparaging texts during meeting on antisemitism, an estimated 1,800 students will repeat third grade under new reading law.

Utah bans 13 books at schools, including popular “A Court of Thorns and Roses” series, under new law

University of Georgia panel upholds sanctions for 6 students over Israel-Hamas war protest

Protesters rally outside Bulgarian parliament to denounce ban on LGBTQ+ ‘propaganda’ in schools

Investigator says ‘fraudulent’ gift to Florida’s only public historically Black university is void

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Greater Good Science Center • Magazine • In Action • In Education

Our Best Education Articles of 2021

Our most popular education articles of 2021 explore how to navigate some of this year’s challenges—including grief, boredom, and isolation—while uplifting our capacity for connection, belonging, and healing. Several articles also highlight how character, conscience, and kindness can guide us toward greater meaning in our lives.

If you are looking for specific activities to support your students’ and colleagues’ social and emotional well-being in 2022, visit our  Greater Good in Education website, featuring  free  research-based practices, lessons, and strategies for cultivating kinder, happier, and more equitable classrooms and schools. And for a deeper dive into the science behind social-emotional learning, mindfulness, and ethical development, consider our suite of self-paced online courses for educational professionals, including our capstone course, Teaching and Learning for the Greater Good .

Here are the 12 best education articles of 2021, based on a composite ranking of pageviews and editors’ picks.

How to Help Students Feel a Sense of Belonging During the Pandemic , by Mary C. Murphy, Kathryn Boucher, and Christine Logel: Belonging and connection in the classroom contribute to success and well-being, particularly for marginalized students.

Four Ways Teachers Can Help Students Develop a Conscience , by Vicki Zakrzewski: How do kids develop a sense of right and wrong—and what can educators do to help them act on their conscience?

How to Help Students of Color Find Their Power , by Brandy Arnold: Project Wayfinder is helping Black and Latino students explore their identities and goals.

What a Children’s Book Taught Me (and My Students) About Grief , by Lauren McGovern: Teaching sixth graders about grief helped teacher Lauren McGovern after the loss of her son.

36 Questions That Can Help Kids Make Friends , by Jill Suttie: A question-and-answer exercise may help middle schoolers build friendships, including with kids of different ethnicities.

How to Make This Hard Transition Back to School With Your Students , by Amy L. Eva: Here are three ways educators can support their students (and each other) this fall.

A Different Way to Respond When Kids Do Something Wrong , by Joanne Chen: Restorative practices—taking responsibility, making amends, and seeking forgiveness—are an alternative to strict punishments and blame.

What Do Kids Mean When They Say They’re Bored at School? , by Rebecca Branstetter: Boredom can be a temporary emotion or a sign of a deeper issue, says a school psychologist.

How to Help Students Be the Best Version of Themselves , by Karen E. Bohlin and Deborah Farmer Kris: When students are facing challenges, educators can help them reflect on—and act on—what matters to them.

Four Character Strengths That Can Help Kids Learn , by Carol Lloyd: Research suggests that fostering character strengths can help children be better students.

How Educators Can Help Make a Kinder World , by Vicki Zakrzewski: By integrating character education, SEL, and mindfulness, schools can cultivate the inherent goodness in students.

Three Strategies for Helping Students Discuss Controversial Issues , by Lauren Fullmer and Laura Bond: Here are research-based ways to facilitate civil discourse in the classroom.

Bonus: Science of Happiness Podcast Episodes

Episode 94: How to Craft Your Life : When the world around you changes, so can your goals. Our guest, Patty Brown, tries a practice to tap into a new sense of purpose.

Episode 96: Don’t Be Afraid of Your Anger : What happens when we suppress our anger? And what if we tried to work with it instead? Our guest, Soraya Chemaly, tries a practice to harness her inner fierceness to care for herself.

About the Author

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What Do Kids Mean When They Say They’re Bored at School?

What a Children’s Book Taught Me (and My Students) About Grief

How to Help Students Feel a Sense of Belonging During the Pandemic

Our Best Education Articles of 2019

Our Best Education Articles of 2020

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The World Bank Group is the largest financier of education in the developing world, working in 94 countries and committed to helping them reach SDG4: access to inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all by 2030.

Education is a human right, a powerful driver of development, and one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty and improving health, gender equality, peace, and stability. It delivers large, consistent returns in terms of income, and is the most important factor to ensure equity and inclusion.

For individuals, education promotes employment, earnings, health, and poverty reduction. Globally, there is a  9% increase in hourly earnings for every extra year of schooling . For societies, it drives long-term economic growth, spurs innovation, strengthens institutions, and fosters social cohesion.  Education is further a powerful catalyst to climate action through widespread behavior change and skilling for green transitions.

Developing countries have made tremendous progress in getting children into the classroom and more children worldwide are now in school. But learning is not guaranteed, as the  2018 World Development Report  (WDR) stressed.

Making smart and effective investments in people’s education is critical for developing the human capital that will end extreme poverty. At the core of this strategy is the need to tackle the learning crisis, put an end to  Learning Poverty , and help youth acquire the advanced cognitive, socioemotional, technical and digital skills they need to succeed in today’s world. 

In low- and middle-income countries, the share of children living in  Learning Poverty  (that is, the proportion of 10-year-old children that are unable to read and understand a short age-appropriate text) increased from 57% before the pandemic to an estimated  70%  in 2022.

However, learning is in crisis. More than 70 million more people were pushed into poverty during the COVID pandemic, a billion children lost a year of school , and three years later the learning losses suffered have not been recouped .  If a child cannot read with comprehension by age 10, they are unlikely to become fluent readers. They will fail to thrive later in school and will be unable to power their careers and economies once they leave school.

The effects of the pandemic are expected to be long-lasting. Analysis has already revealed deep losses, with international reading scores declining from 2016 to 2021 by more than a year of schooling.  These losses may translate to a 0.68 percentage point in global GDP growth.  The staggering effects of school closures reach beyond learning. This generation of children could lose a combined total of  US$21 trillion in lifetime earnings  in present value or the equivalent of 17% of today’s global GDP – a sharp rise from the 2021 estimate of a US$17 trillion loss. 

Action is urgently needed now – business as usual will not suffice to heal the scars of the pandemic and will not accelerate progress enough to meet the ambitions of SDG 4. We are urging governments to implement ambitious and aggressive Learning Acceleration Programs to get children back to school, recover lost learning, and advance progress by building better, more equitable and resilient education systems.

Last Updated: Mar 25, 2024

The World Bank’s global education strategy is centered on ensuring learning happens – for everyone, everywhere. Our vision is to ensure that everyone can achieve her or his full potential with access to a quality education and lifelong learning. To reach this, we are helping countries build foundational skills like literacy, numeracy, and socioemotional skills – the building blocks for all other learning. From early childhood to tertiary education and beyond – we help children and youth acquire the skills they need to thrive in school, the labor market and throughout their lives.

Investing in the world’s most precious resource – people – is paramount to ending poverty on a livable planet.  Our experience across more than 100 countries bears out this robust connection between human capital, quality of life, and economic growth: when countries strategically invest in people and the systems designed to protect and build human capital at scale, they unlock the wealth of nations and the potential of everyone.

Building on this, the World Bank supports resilient, equitable, and inclusive education systems that ensure learning happens for everyone. We do this by generating and disseminating evidence, ensuring alignment with policymaking processes, and bridging the gap between research and practice.

The World Bank is the largest source of external financing for education in developing countries, with a portfolio of about $26 billion in 94 countries including IBRD, IDA and Recipient-Executed Trust Funds. IDA operations comprise 62% of the education portfolio.

The investment in FCV settings has increased dramatically and now accounts for 26% of our portfolio.

World Bank projects reach at least 425 million students -one-third of students in low- and middle-income countries.

The World Bank’s Approach to Education

Five interrelated pillars of a well-functioning education system underpin the World Bank’s education policy approach:

• Learners are prepared and motivated to learn;
• Teachers are prepared, skilled, and motivated to facilitate learning and skills acquisition;
• Learning resources (including education technology) are available, relevant, and used to improve teaching and learning;
• Schools are safe and inclusive; and
• Education Systems are well-managed, with good implementation capacity and adequate financing.

The Bank is already helping governments design and implement cost-effective programs and tools to build these pillars.

Our Principles:

• We pursue systemic reform supported by political commitment to learning for all children. 
• We focus on equity and inclusion through a progressive path toward achieving universal access to quality education, including children and young adults in fragile or conflict affected areas , those in marginalized and rural communities,  girls and women , displaced populations,  students with disabilities , and other vulnerable groups.
• We focus on results and use evidence to keep improving policy by using metrics to guide improvements.   
• We want to ensure financial commitment commensurate with what is needed to provide basic services to all. 
• We invest wisely in technology so that education systems embrace and learn to harness technology to support their learning objectives.   

Laying the groundwork for the future

Country challenges vary, but there is a menu of options to build forward better, more resilient, and equitable education systems.

Countries are facing an education crisis that requires a two-pronged approach: first, supporting actions to recover lost time through remedial and accelerated learning; and, second, building on these investments for a more equitable, resilient, and effective system.

Recovering from the learning crisis must be a political priority, backed with adequate financing and the resolve to implement needed reforms.  Domestic financing for education over the last two years has not kept pace with the need to recover and accelerate learning. Across low- and lower-middle-income countries, the  average share of education in government budgets fell during the pandemic , and in 2022 it remained below 2019 levels.

The best chance for a better future is to invest in education and make sure each dollar is put toward improving learning.  In a time of fiscal pressure, protecting spending that yields long-run gains – like spending on education – will maximize impact.  We still need more and better funding for education.  Closing the learning gap will require increasing the level, efficiency, and equity of education spending—spending smarter is an imperative.

• Education technology  can be a powerful tool to implement these actions by supporting teachers, children, principals, and parents; expanding accessible digital learning platforms, including radio/ TV / Online learning resources; and using data to identify and help at-risk children, personalize learning, and improve service delivery.

Looking ahead

We must seize this opportunity  to reimagine education in bold ways. Together, we can build forward better more equitable, effective, and resilient education systems for the world’s children and youth.

Accelerating Improvements

Supporting countries in establishing time-bound learning targets and a focused education investment plan, outlining actions and investments geared to achieve these goals.

Launched in 2020, the  Accelerator Program  works with a set of countries to channel investments in education and to learn from each other. The program coordinates efforts across partners to ensure that the countries in the program show improvements in foundational skills at scale over the next three to five years. These investment plans build on the collective work of multiple partners, and leverage the latest evidence on what works, and how best to plan for implementation.  Countries such as Brazil (the state of Ceará) and Kenya have achieved dramatic reductions in learning poverty over the past decade at scale, providing useful lessons, even as they seek to build on their successes and address remaining and new challenges.  

Universalizing Foundational Literacy

Readying children for the future by supporting acquisition of foundational skills – which are the gateway to other skills and subjects.

The  Literacy Policy Package (LPP)   consists of interventions focused specifically on promoting acquisition of reading proficiency in primary school. These include assuring political and technical commitment to making all children literate; ensuring effective literacy instruction by supporting teachers; providing quality, age-appropriate books; teaching children first in the language they speak and understand best; and fostering children’s oral language abilities and love of books and reading.

Advancing skills through TVET and Tertiary

Ensuring that individuals have access to quality education and training opportunities and supporting links to employment.

Tertiary education and skills systems are a driver of major development agendas, including human capital, climate change, youth and women’s empowerment, and jobs and economic transformation. A comprehensive skill set to succeed in the 21st century labor market consists of foundational and higher order skills, socio-emotional skills, specialized skills, and digital skills. Yet most countries continue to struggle in delivering on the promise of skills development. 

The World Bank is supporting countries through efforts that address key challenges including improving access and completion, adaptability, quality, relevance, and efficiency of skills development programs. Our approach is via multiple channels including projects, global goods, as well as the Tertiary Education and Skills Program . Our recent reports including Building Better Formal TVET Systems and STEERing Tertiary Education provide a way forward for how to improve these critical systems.

Addressing Climate Change

Mainstreaming climate education and investing in green skills, research and innovation, and green infrastructure to spur climate action and foster better preparedness and resilience to climate shocks.

Our approach recognizes that education is critical for achieving effective, sustained climate action. At the same time, climate change is adversely impacting education outcomes. Investments in education can play a huge role in building climate resilience and advancing climate mitigation and adaptation. Climate change education gives young people greater awareness of climate risks and more access to tools and solutions for addressing these risks and managing related shocks. Technical and vocational education and training can also accelerate a green economic transformation by fostering green skills and innovation. Greening education infrastructure can help mitigate the impact of heat, pollution, and extreme weather on learning, while helping address climate change. 

Examples of this work are projects in Nigeria (life skills training for adolescent girls), Vietnam (fostering relevant scientific research) , and Bangladesh (constructing and retrofitting schools to serve as cyclone shelters).

Strengthening Measurement Systems

Enabling countries to gather and evaluate information on learning and its drivers more efficiently and effectively.

The World Bank supports initiatives to help countries effectively build and strengthen their measurement systems to facilitate evidence-based decision-making. Examples of this work include:

(1) The  Global Education Policy Dashboard (GEPD) : This tool offers a strong basis for identifying priorities for investment and policy reforms that are suited to each country context by focusing on the three dimensions of practices, policies, and politics.

• Highlights gaps between what the evidence suggests is effective in promoting learning and what is happening in practice in each system; and
• Allows governments to track progress as they act to close the gaps.

The GEPD has been implemented in 13 education systems already – Peru, Rwanda, Jordan, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sierra Leone, Niger, Gabon, Jordan and Chad – with more expected by the end of 2024.

(2)  Learning Assessment Platform (LeAP) : LeAP is a one-stop shop for knowledge, capacity-building tools, support for policy dialogue, and technical staff expertise to support student achievement measurement and national assessments for better learning.

Supporting Successful Teachers

Helping systems develop the right selection, incentives, and support to the professional development of teachers.

Currently, the World Bank Education Global Practice has over 160 active projects supporting over 18 million teachers worldwide, about a third of the teacher population in low- and middle-income countries. In 12 countries alone, these projects cover 16 million teachers, including all primary school teachers in Ethiopia and Turkey, and over 80% in Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam.

A World Bank-developed classroom observation tool, Teach, was designed to capture the quality of teaching in low- and middle-income countries. It is now 3.6 million students.

While Teach helps identify patterns in teacher performance, Coach leverages these insights to support teachers to improve their teaching practice through hands-on in-service teacher professional development (TPD).

Our recent report on Making Teacher Policy Work proposes a practical framework to uncover the black box of effective teacher policy and discusses the factors that enable their scalability and sustainability.

 Supporting Education Finance Systems

Strengthening country financing systems to mobilize resources for education and make better use of their investments in education.

Our approach is to bring together multi-sectoral expertise to engage with ministries of education and finance and other stakeholders to develop and implement effective and efficient public financial management systems; build capacity to monitor and evaluate education spending, identify financing bottlenecks, and develop interventions to strengthen financing systems; build the evidence base on global spending patterns and the magnitude and causes of spending inefficiencies; and develop diagnostic tools as public goods to support country efforts.

Working in Fragile, Conflict, and Violent (FCV) Contexts

The massive and growing global challenge of having so many children living in conflict and violent situations requires a response at the same scale and scope. Our education engagement in the Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV) context, which stands at US$5.35 billion, has grown rapidly in recent years, reflecting the ever-increasing importance of the FCV agenda in education. Indeed, these projects now account for more than 25% of the World Bank education portfolio.

Education is crucial to minimizing the effects of fragility and displacement on the welfare of youth and children in the short-term and preventing the emergence of violent conflict in the long-term. 

Support to Countries Throughout the Education Cycle

Our support to countries covers the entire learning cycle, to help shape resilient, equitable, and inclusive education systems that ensure learning happens for everyone. 

The ongoing  Supporting  Egypt  Education Reform project , 2018-2025, supports transformational reforms of the Egyptian education system, by improving teaching and learning conditions in public schools. The World Bank has invested $500 million in the project focused on increasing access to quality kindergarten, enhancing the capacity of teachers and education leaders, developing a reliable student assessment system, and introducing the use of modern technology for teaching and learning. Specifically, the share of Egyptian 10-year-old students, who could read and comprehend at the global minimum proficiency level, increased to 45 percent in 2021.

In  Nigeria , the $75 million  Edo  Basic Education Sector and Skills Transformation (EdoBESST)  project, running from 2020-2024, is focused on improving teaching and learning in basic education. Under the project, which covers 97 percent of schools in the state, there is a strong focus on incorporating digital technologies for teachers. They were equipped with handheld tablets with structured lesson plans for their classes. Their coaches use classroom observation tools to provide individualized feedback. Teacher absence has reduced drastically because of the initiative. Over 16,000 teachers were trained through the project, and the introduction of technology has also benefited students.

Through the $235 million  School Sector Development Program  in  Nepal  (2017-2022), the number of children staying in school until Grade 12 nearly tripled, and the number of out-of-school children fell by almost seven percent. During the pandemic, innovative approaches were needed to continue education. Mobile phone penetration is high in the country. More than four in five households in Nepal have mobile phones. The project supported an educational service that made it possible for children with phones to connect to local radio that broadcast learning programs.

From 2017-2023, the $50 million  Strengthening of State Universities  in  Chile  project has made strides to improve quality and equity at state universities. The project helped reduce dropout: the third-year dropout rate fell by almost 10 percent from 2018-2022, keeping more students in school.

The World Bank’s first  Program-for-Results financing in education  was through a $202 million project in  Tanzania , that ran from 2013-2021. The project linked funding to results and aimed to improve education quality. It helped build capacity, and enhanced effectiveness and efficiency in the education sector. Through the project, learning outcomes significantly improved alongside an unprecedented expansion of access to education for children in Tanzania. From 2013-2019, an additional 1.8 million students enrolled in primary schools. In 2019, the average reading speed for Grade 2 students rose to 22.3 words per minute, up from 17.3 in 2017. The project laid the foundation for the ongoing $500 million  BOOST project , which supports over 12 million children to enroll early, develop strong foundational skills, and complete a quality education.

The $40 million  Cambodia  Secondary Education Improvement project , which ran from 2017-2022, focused on strengthening school-based management, upgrading teacher qualifications, and building classrooms in Cambodia, to improve learning outcomes, and reduce student dropout at the secondary school level. The project has directly benefited almost 70,000 students in 100 target schools, and approximately 2,000 teachers and 600 school administrators received training.

The World Bank is co-financing the $152.80 million  Yemen  Restoring Education and Learning Emergency project , running from 2020-2024, which is implemented through UNICEF, WFP, and Save the Children. It is helping to maintain access to basic education for many students, improve learning conditions in schools, and is working to strengthen overall education sector capacity. In the time of crisis, the project is supporting teacher payments and teacher training, school meals, school infrastructure development, and the distribution of learning materials and school supplies. To date, almost 600,000 students have benefited from these interventions.

The $87 million  Providing an Education of Quality in  Haiti  project supported approximately 380 schools in the Southern region of Haiti from 2016-2023. Despite a highly challenging context of political instability and recurrent natural disasters, the project successfully supported access to education for students. The project provided textbooks, fresh meals, and teacher training support to 70,000 students, 3,000 teachers, and 300 school directors. It gave tuition waivers to 35,000 students in 118 non-public schools. The project also repaired 19 national schools damaged by the 2021 earthquake, which gave 5,500 students safe access to their schools again.

In 2013, just 5% of the poorest households in  Uzbekistan  had children enrolled in preschools. Thanks to the  Improving Pre-Primary and General Secondary Education Project , by July 2019, around 100,000 children will have benefitted from the half-day program in 2,420 rural kindergartens, comprising around 49% of all preschool educational institutions, or over 90% of rural kindergartens in the country.

In addition to working closely with governments in our client countries, the World Bank also works at the global, regional, and local levels with a range of technical partners, including foundations, non-profit organizations, bilaterals, and other multilateral organizations. Some examples of our most recent global partnerships include:

UNICEF, UNESCO, FCDO, USAID, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:  Coalition for Foundational Learning

The World Bank is working closely with UNICEF, UNESCO, FCDO, USAID, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as the  Coalition for Foundational Learning  to advocate and provide technical support to ensure foundational learning.  The World Bank works with these partners to promote and endorse the  Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning , a global network of countries committed to halving the global share of children unable to read and understand a simple text by age 10 by 2030.

Australian Aid, Bernard van Leer Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Canada, Echida Giving, FCDO, German Cooperation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, Conrad Hilton Foundation, LEGO Foundation, Porticus, USAID: Early Learning Partnership

The Early Learning Partnership (ELP) is a multi-donor trust fund, housed at the World Bank.  ELP leverages World Bank strengths—a global presence, access to policymakers and strong technical analysis—to improve early learning opportunities and outcomes for young children around the world.

We help World Bank teams and countries get the information they need to make the case to invest in Early Childhood Development (ECD), design effective policies and deliver impactful programs. At the country level, ELP grants provide teams with resources for early seed investments that can generate large financial commitments through World Bank finance and government resources. At the global level, ELP research and special initiatives work to fill knowledge gaps, build capacity and generate public goods.

UNESCO, UNICEF:  Learning Data Compact

UNESCO, UNICEF, and the World Bank have joined forces to close the learning data gaps that still exist and that preclude many countries from monitoring the quality of their education systems and assessing if their students are learning. The three organizations have agreed to a  Learning Data Compact , a commitment to ensure that all countries, especially low-income countries, have at least one quality measure of learning by 2025, supporting coordinated efforts to strengthen national assessment systems.

UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS):   Learning Poverty Indicator

Aimed at measuring and urging attention to foundational literacy as a prerequisite to achieve SDG4, this partnership was launched in 2019 to help countries strengthen their learning assessment systems, better monitor what students are learning in internationally comparable ways and improve the breadth and quality of global data on education.

FCDO, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation:  EdTech Hub

Supported by the UK government’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), in partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the EdTech Hub is aimed at improving the quality of ed-tech investments. The Hub launched a rapid response Helpdesk service to provide just-in-time advisory support to 70 low- and middle-income countries planning education technology and remote learning initiatives.

MasterCard Foundation

Our Tertiary Education and Skills  global program, launched with support from the Mastercard Foundation, aims to prepare youth and adults for the future of work and society by improving access to relevant, quality, equitable reskilling and post-secondary education opportunities.  It is designed to reframe, reform, and rebuild tertiary education and skills systems for the digital and green transformation.

Bridging the AI divide: Breaking down barriers to ensure women’s leadership and participation in the Fifth Industrial Revolution

Common challenges and tailored solutions: How policymakers are strengthening early learning systems across the world

Compulsory education boosts learning outcomes and climate action

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Collapse and Recovery: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Eroded Human Capital and What to Do About It

BROCHURES & FACT SHEETS

Flyer: Education Factsheet - May 2024

Publication: Realizing Education's Promise: A World Bank Retrospective – August 2023

Flyer: Education and Climate Change - November 2022

Brochure: Learning Losses - October 2022

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Trump's Agenda47 on education: Abolish teacher tenure, universal school choice, patriotism

With former teacher Gov. Tim Walz rounding out the Democratic ticket, education could become a talking point in this election.

Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump has laid out his education policy plans in Agenda47 . Separate from the oft-mentioned Project 2025 , Agenda47 covers Trump's official policy platform on issues including crime, health care and immigration. Agenda47 on education proposes 10 ideas for "great schools leading to great jobs" that range from curriculum requirements to preferential funding for schools with internship programs.

This election comes at a pivotal time for educators, says Jon Valant, director at the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. Between the pandemic and the culture wars, teachers have had a rough few years and he says Trump's proposals are unlikely to alleviate the core of those issues.

"All of these are politics more than policy," Valant said in an interview. "My worry is distraction, these types of proposals... they're averting people's eyes from what we should actually be talking about."

The National Education Association , the largest teachers' union in the U.S., has thrown its support behind Vice President Kamala Harris and Walz. NEA President Becky Pringle said Trump's agenda is rooted in his time in office, appointing Betsy DeVos as Education secretary . Pringle said she hopes for an administration that will help teachers get more resources and respect to alleviate the teacher shortage.

"When I started teaching many years ago... I didn't really have a clue every decision that was made about my kids, my classroom, my colleagues, was made by someone who was elected or appointed to some position of power," Pringle said, explaining that they want more educators in public office. "We will have an educator in the White House."

Here are some of Trump's proposed education policies that impact teachers and school systems, as quoted in Agenda47:

Tim Walz career timeline: From high school teacher to Kamala Harris' vice-presidential pick

Give preference to schools that abolish teacher tenure

"To reward good teachers, President Trump will  implement  funding preferences and favorable treatment for states and school districts that abolish teacher tenure for grades K-12, adopt Merit Pay to reward good teachers and give parents the right to vote for the principals who direct their children’s education."

◾ How we got here: Valant called this proposal "an oldie but a goodie for conservative education reform," as it tends to be popular among conservatives. About a decade ago, several states sought to reform teacher tenure by extending the probationary period, but in recent years the push has been more muted as other education battles took the forefront.

◾ In today's context: Valant said union politics come into play here, as teachers unions want to protect tenure as a way to defend against unfounded firings. "This one is primarily the... direct shot at teachers unions," Valant said. He also said teacher recruitment and retention after the last few years is already under stress, and he worries taking away tenure could exacerbate that.

Universal school choice

"President Trump supports universal school choice so that parents can send their children to the public, private, or religious school that best suits their needs, their goals, and their values... President Trump commends Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, and West Virginia for leading the American school choice revolution – and he looks forward to working with other states, as well as the U.S. Congress, to provide for universal school choice for every American family."

◾ How we got here: School choice can include a range of policies that give parents the ability to use public money for private school tuition or homeschooling. Valant said there was once bipartisan agreement on limited school choice policies that allowed for charter schools. But more expansive school choice policies, like providing vouchers that give money to parents for their kids to attend private school, dramatically expanded in the last few years. According to Education Week, proponents of school choice say it helps provide another option for kids in underperforming schools.

◾ In today's context: Many outcomes of expanding school choice policies have yet to be seen. But Valant said vouchers are often not enough to cover tuition costs for private schools, and as a result they mostly end up helping relatively wealthy families, many of whom already have kids in private school. He said it could also change the landscape of school enrollment if wealthy kids end up in private schools and low-income kids end up in public schools. "To me...it feels like incredible risk for the damage they may do to their public education systems."

Create a credentialing body to certify patriotic teachers

"President Trump will reinstate the  1776 Commission , which he originally created but was disbanded by Joe Biden on his first day in office, to ensure America’s children learn the truth about their country’s history and the timeless principles of liberty and equality... President Trump will  veto  any effort to weaponize or nationalize civics education. And he will create a credentialing body to certify teachers who embrace patriotic values and support the American Way of Life."

◾ How we got here: Trump created the 1776 Commission in November of 2020 as part of the backlash to the New York Times' 1619 Project, which examines the history of slavery in the U.S. That backlash also included conservatives passing "critical race theory" curriculum bans, as a key part of the erupting culture wars. The report the commission produced days before Trump left office excused America's history of slavery and undercut the legacy of the civil rights movement.

◾ In today's context: Political messaging on critical race theory and history curriculums seems to have waned in the last year. Valant said creating a new credentialing body would be politically driven, yet derails from traditional conservative values of stripping down government regulation.

Pringle also said this type of body would be politically driven, and this credentialing body could be made up of unqualified appointees.

"They don't know what our kids need, they haven't trained to be able to teach the diverse learning needs and the skills and meet kids where they are, let alone the preparation of educators," Pringle said. "So we know that anything he does has a political nature to it."

Contributing: Kayla Jimenez, Matthew Brown

Project 2025 Wants To Kill US Department of Education

"my son is one of millions of disabled kids that will lose access to education when the department of education is destroyed," one user on x said., anna rascouët-paz, published aug. 14, 2024.

About this rating

This education proposal has become a campaign promise of Republican candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump.

A rumor that Project 2025, a conservative coalition's plan for a future U.S. Republican presidential administration, had called for the closure of the U.S. Department of Education spread online in the summer of 2024 ( archived ):

The claim in this X post, which had more than 1.3 million views and 27,000 likes as of this writing, was echoed in several other posts on the social media platform.

This claim is true. Furthermore, shutting down the Department of Education has become a campaign promise of the 2024 Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump.

Looking at the official Project 2025 webpage that seeks to quickly confirm or debunk information circulating about the program, we found the following paragraph:

Shut Down the Department of Education: TRUE Project 2025's Mandate for Leadership calls for the end of the Department of Education. Since the Department was created, educational outcomes have not improved, and the American school system has increasingly fallen behind other countries. Giving more control back to state and local governments, and expanding school choice, would improve education outcomes for all Americans, especially underprivileged communities. Some functions of the Department of Education would be moved to other departments including Labor, Justice, and Commerce.

This education plan has become one of Trump's campaign promises, something he mentioned several times in the summer of 2024. In early June, in an extensive interview on the Fox News program "Fox and Friends," he said: "We're going to cut the Department of Education, let it be run locally." On Aug. 12, in a conversation with Tesla founder and X owner Elon Musk, he said, "I want to close the Department of Education." The presidential campaign of Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris shared a clip of the conversation in which he says this quote:

This is not the first time Republicans have advocated for the closure of the Department of Education in their campaigns. In fact, they've talked about closing the agency since then-President Jimmy Carter opened it in May 1980, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education .

In July 2024, Snopes published an in-depth report on Project 2025 , confirming that it planned on shutting down the Department of Education.

Bauman, Dan, and Brock Read. 'A Brief History of GOP Attempts to Kill the Education Dept.' The Chronicle of Higher Education, 21 June 2018, https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-brief-history-of-gop-attempts-to-kill-the-education-dept/. https://archive.is/xW7RI.

'Full Exclusive Interview With Former President Donald Trump | Will Cain Show | Fox News Video'. Fox News, 3 June 2024, https://www.foxnews.com/video/6354224797112.

Ibrahim, Aleksandra Wrona, Nur. 'Project 2025: What To Know About the Pro-Trump Plan To Overhaul US Government'. Snopes, 8 July 2024, https://www.snopes.com//news/2024/07/08/project-2025/.

'Project 2025: The Truth'. Project 2025, https://www.project2025.org/truth/.

By Anna Rascouët-Paz

Anna Rascouët-Paz is based in Brooklyn, fluent in numerous languages and specializes in science and economic topics.

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After Botched Rollout, FAFSA Is Delayed for a Second Year

Despite months of troubleshooting the college aid application process, the Education Department said the form would not be fully ready for next year’s students until Dec. 1.

By Zach Montague

Reporting from Washington

The Education Department announced on Wednesday that availability of the federal student aid application form would be delayed for a second year in a row, after months of last-ditch troubleshooting and contingency planning failed to fully fix significant problems with last year’s revised application.

Instead, the form, known as the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, will go live for “testing with a limited set of students and institutions” in October to iron out issues before launching fully on Dec. 1 for the 2025-26 academic year. The form is traditionally available on Oct. 1.

The FAFSA form has been the source of continuing dread for officials, students and college administrators since the department introduced a shortened and redesigned version last year that was intended to streamline the application process.

Far from becoming easier, however, the process has been plagued by a steady stream of bugs and data entry issues that locked students out, returned inaccurate aid calculations and severely tied up the enrollment process that plays out in the spring, when colleges typically notify accepted students how much they can expect to pay.

The delay announced on Wednesday mirrored the problematic launch last year, when initial delays in October foreshadowed much deeper problems that affected the form for months after it became fully available.

As recently as last month, the department was still running into problems with 2024-25 applications.

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• Department of Economic and Social Affairs Social Inclusion
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Article 24 - Education

  1. States Parties recognize the right of persons with disabilities to education. With a view to realizing this right without discrimination and on the basis of equal opportunity, States Parties shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels and lifelong learning directed to:  

a. The full development of human potential and sense of dignity and self-worth, and the strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity;

b. The development by persons with disabilities of their personality, talents and creativity, as well as their mental and physical abilities, to their fullest potential;

c. Enabling persons with disabilities to participate effectively in a free society.

2. In realizing this right, States Parties shall ensure that:

a) Persons with disabilities are not excluded from the general education system on the basis of disability, and that children with disabilities are not excluded from free and compulsory primary education, or from secondary education, on the basis of disability;

b) Persons with disabilities can access an inclusive, quality and free primary education and secondary education on an equal basis with others in the communities in which they live;

c) Reasonable accommodation of the individual's requirements is provided;

d) Persons with disabilities receive the support required, within the general education system, to facilitate their effective education;

e) Effective individualized support measures are provided in environments that maximize academic and social development, consistent with the goal of full inclusion.

3. States Parties shall enable persons with disabilities to learn life and social development skills to facilitate their full and equal participation in education and as members of the community. To this end, States Parties shall take appropriate measures, including:

a) Facilitating the learning of Braille, alternative script, augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication and orientation and mobility skills, and facilitating peer support and mentoring;

b) Facilitating the learning of sign language and the promotion of the linguistic identity of the deaf community;

c) Ensuring that the education of persons, and in particular children, who are blind, deaf or deafblind, is delivered in the most appropriate languages and modes and means of communication for the individual, and in environments which maximize academic and social development.

4. In order to help ensure the realization of this right, States Parties shall take appropriate measures to employ teachers, including teachers with disabilities, who are qualified in sign language and/or Braille, and to train professionals and staff who work at all levels of education. Such training shall incorporate disability awareness and the use of appropriate augmentative and alternative modes, means and formats of communication, educational techniques and materials to support persons with disabilities.

5. States Parties shall ensure that persons with disabilities are able to access general tertiary education, vocational training, adult education and lifelong learning without discrimination and on an equal basis with others. To this end, States Parties shall ensure that reasonable accommodation is provided to persons with disabilities.

Next: Article 25 - Health

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Welcome to the United Nations

From refugee to trailblazer: Monicah Malith's Journey to leadership

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Monicah Malith's story is about resilience, determination, and personal achievements. Fleeing conflict in South Sudan at 12, Monicah's journey took her from the harsh realities of refugee life to the prestigious role of the first-ever female refugee and non-Kenyan President of the University of Nairobi Students Association.

I was born and raised in South Sudan, where my family lived as nomadic pastoralists. From a young age, my life was marked by constant movement in search of pasture and water for our cattle. However, escalating conflict across the country gradually disrupted that life.

In my case, it changes my life trajectory.

Journey to Kenya

In 2008, when I was around 12 years old, my aunt decided to seek safety from the conflict in South Sudan and took me with her to Kenya. The journey from South Sudan to Kenya took about two days, and we travelled on a lorry transporting soda crates.

I vividly remember our arrival in the Kakuma refugee camp. It was July 13, 2008.

Initially, I was expected to help my brothers, who were also on the journey, with household chores. I was not to attend school. When they were leaving for Kenya, my aunt wanted me to come along and insisted that I should not be left behind, and my mother was determined to provide me with an education.

Traditionally, boys ‘education is favoured over that of girls. Nevertheless, my aunt and mother would not go along. Despite these challenges, my mother wanted me to have the same education as my brothers. 

By empowering us through education, we can break the cycle of hardship and provide a path towards a brighter future.

I enrolled in primary school, a year after arriving in Kenya. I could not read and only spoke Dinka, my mother tongue. Yet, with determination and the support of my family and mentors, I quickly caught up with my classmates. 

By the end of my first year in school, I was top of my class and was awarded the title of "most improved pupil" across all classes. 

I got a lot of help and support from my family and mentors. Dr. Bok Chol Bok, a mentor and family member, tutored me daily, helping me learn the basics and catch up academically.My teacher also supported me by helping me with spelling and writing my name for the first time.

My mother, who ran a small restaurant back in South Sudan, worked hard to pay for my school fees and constantly motivated me by emphasizing the power of education.

I will always remember what she told me: 'I'm sending you to Kenya, and I will suffer for you. I'll do anything to make sure that you study.'

Higher education

Completing primary and secondary education made my determination to pursue higher education stronger. Despite financial constraints and societal pressures to marry, I remained focused on my studies. The loss of my father during my final year of high school was a significant emotional challenge, but it also strengthened my resolve to succeed.

I applied for and received the DAFI (Albert Einstein German Academic Refugee Initiative) scholarship, which provided financial support for my university education. This scholarship was a turning point, giving me the peace of mind to focus on my studies without worrying about school fees.

Driven by my aspiration to hopefully improve the justice system in South Sudan, I enrolled in the University of Nairobi to study law. There, determined to succeed and impact changes, I run for the presidency of the University of Nairobi Students Association. 

Many of my fellow students did not believe I would make it because I was a refugee and a female. Then, no refugee, no female and no foreign national student candidate has ever been elected.

Yet, the more I was being reminded of the reasons why I couldn’t be elected, the more I was determined.

I wanted to prove to them that a refugee and a female South Sudanese have equal chances, and can compete just like any other other student.

My campaign was guided by thorough preparation, including reviewing the university's student association constitution to ensure my eligibility, and building an extensive network. I campaigned across the university's 13 campuses, using social media platforms like Twitter to reach a wider audience.

My efforts paid off, and I became the first-ever female refugee and non-Kenyan President of the University of Nairobi Students Association.

Advocacy and mentorship

Beyond my role in the student association, I founded the Youth Uplift Network and the Gender Inclusive Community. 

These initiatives are aimed at supporting and mentoring other students, particularly refugee girls because I am a passionate advocate for increased financial support for refugee students and promoting kindness towards them.

I strongly believe education is the only thing that can transform your life, break free from societal constraints, and chart your own path.

My personal experiences and the support I received from my family and mentors deeply motivate my choices. 

My desire to break stereotypes associated with being a refugee, a foreigner, and a female in leadership drives me to achieve my goals and I am committed to proving that refugees and women can lead and succeed.

Looking to the future, I aim to improve the justice system in South Sudan and continue advocating for the education and empowerment of refugee girls. I believe that by sharing my story and serving as a role model, I can inspire others to overcome challenges and achieve their dreams because if you seize every opportunity, no one and nothing can hinder you from achieving what you want.

My life story is a testament to the power of education, resilience, and determination. My journey highlights the importance of support systems, mentorship, and unwavering commitment to one's goals. My advocacy and leadership continue to inspire and drive positive change for refugee girls and students worldwide. By empowering us through education, we can break the cycle of hardship and provide a path towards a brighter future.

Also in this issue

The Manor: A home for Africa's greatest stories

Famine now prevalent in parts of war-torn Sudan

UN General Assembly recognizes Kiswahili Language Day

Empowering Africa's Youth: A Commitment to Our Future

• Device Encryption
• BitLocker Drive Encryption
• Find your recovery key
• Back up your recovery key

Device Encryption in Windows

Device Encryption is a Windows feature that enables BitLocker encryption automatically for the Operating System drive and fixed drives. It’s particularly beneficial for everyday users who want to ensure their personal information is safe without having to manage complex security settings.

When you first sign in or set up a device with a Microsoft account, or work or school account, Device Encryption is turned on and a  recovery key is attached to that account. If you're using a local account, Device Encryption isn't turned on automatically.

Unlike BitLocker Drive Encryption, which is available on Windows Pro, Enterprise, or Education editions, Device Encryption is available on a wider range of devices, including those running Windows Home. 

Enable Device Encryption

If your device didn't automatically enable Device Encryption, here are the steps to enable it:

Sign in to Windows with an administrator account

In the Settings app on your Windows device, select Privacy security > Device encryption or use the following shortcut:

Device encryption

Note:  If Device encryption doesn't appear, it's either unavailable on your device, or you might be signed in with a standard user account.

Use the toggle button to turn Device Encryption On

Why isn't Device Encryption available?

Here are the steps to determine why Device Encryption might not be available:

From Start    type System Information , right-click System Information  in the list of results, then select  Run as administrator

In the System Summary  - Item 's list, look for the value of  Automatic  Device Encryption Support  or  Device Encryption Support

​​​​​​​ The value provides the reasons why Device Encryption can't be enabled

​​​​​​​ If the value says Meets prerequisites , then Device Encryption is available on your device. 

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