The fact that the pandemic is affecting the entire world makes it important for us to start working together, globallyJakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesia invites the world to work together in organizing and rebuilding the education system through the G20 EdWG, Chair of the G20 Education Working Group (EdWG) Iwan Syahril stated.
"Through this working group, Indonesia is leading a global movement to reorganize and rebuild the education system," Syahril, concurrently the Director-General of Teachers and Education Staff of the Ministry of Education and Technology, noted in a written statement on Thursday.
Syahril explained that inequality in accessing qualified education and the unpreparedness of students to face the world of work have emerged as issues in the past few decades.
Moreover, the pandemic had worsened the situation by widening socio-economic inequalities and bringing significant changes to the education system and the world of work.
"The fact that the pandemic is affecting the entire world makes it important for us to start working together, globally," he affirmed.
Syahril also urged all parties to start working in an effort to reduce learning loss in students. He emphasized that learning loss is not only a matter of failing a test or absence in class but also the loss of interest in learning among children.
During the first day of the G20 EdWG, the first session discussed the first priority agenda of Qualified Education for All. Thereafter, the next session discussed the second priority agenda of Digital Technology in Education.
The delegates attending the first meeting of the G20 EdWG also expressed their support for the priority agenda.
Policy Officer, European Commission, Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture Adrian Veale affirmed that the G20 EdWG agenda was the right moment to rebuild the education sector and emphasize a holistic approach to ensure no one is left behind.
“We need to explore the topic of solidarity. We need a mix of policies that we want to explore in the other sessions of our Working Group today and tomorrow. Therefore, we are looking forward to these sessions and also our role in developing the policy,” Veale remarked.
The first day of the G20 EdWG was attended by 27 delegates from South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Singapore, Spain, United Arab Emirates, World Bank, UNESCO, and UNICEF in an offline meeting.
Meanwhile, 64 delegates attended the event virtually from the United States, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, India, Italy, Japan, Germany, Cambodia (as Chair of ASEAN), Canada, South Korea, Mexico, Turkey, the European Union, and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
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Translator: Indriani, Resinta Sulistiyanda
Editor: Sri Haryati
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