Education

Education and Human Development

Objective

Our objective is to contribute to the development of just, democratic and progressive societies and our goal is a world in which every individual has access to high quality universal education regardless of their gender, age, socio-economic status, or ethnicity. We aim to achieve this by working with Commonwealth governments as trusted partners to attain education of good quality for all citizens.

Relevance

We help member countries to provide and manage equitable access to quality education through opportunities in line with the two education related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA) (click here for details).

The Secretariat is mandated by Commonwealth Ministers of Education and Commonwealth Heads of Government to continue focussing on the EFA Six action areas which are to accelerate (i) the achievement of Universal Primary Education; (ii) elimination of gender disparities in education; (iii) improvement of quality in education; (iv) use of Distance Learning to overcome barriers; (v) support to education in difficult circumstances; and (vi) the mitigation of the impact of HIV & AIDS on education.

Impact

We make a difference through our �ABC� role as Advocates, Brokers and Catalysts by promoting the need for expansion of access and improvement in retention and completion of education for all learners. We focus specially on disadvantaged groups, such as girls, children in rural and urban poor areas, the disabled, those that are nomadic and those who may be learning in environments suffering conflicts, natural disasters and other emergencies.

We advocate for enhancement of the quality of education and equality of opportunities, for both boys and girls, through improved teaching and management processes. We engage in brokering for the promotion of respect and understanding and social cohesion in the Commonwealth through education. We are catalysts for the development of evidence-based and informed policies and strategies in education through the convening of workshops, seminars and symposia for the dissemination of information and research within and beyond the Commonwealth.