Education has been severally defined but the fundamental seems to come from the Oxford dictionary, which says that it is "the process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, eREMMY NWEKE in this piece underscores the importance of education in peace building and sustenance.
specially at a school or university and could be an enlightening experience.”
It was the importance of education that led the United Nations (UN) to institute the International Day of Education as an annual international observance day held on January 24 and dedicated to education.
Precisely on December 3, 2018, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution proclaiming January 24 as International Day of Education, in celebration of the role of education for bringing global peace and sustainable development.
Ever since then, UNGA’s message spread globally with sincere efforts promising results in the betterment of an educated individual that constitute a cultured society, which is supported with optimism and opportunities.
For instance, in 2019 the global theme was International Day of Education; 2020: Learning for People, Planet, Prosperity and Peace; 2021: Reclaiming and Revitalizing Education for the COVID-19 Generation; 2022: Turning the tide, transforming education; 2023: Investing in People, Prioritizing Education; and 2024 came as "Learning for Lasting Peace."
This year's edition held on Wednesday, 24 January 2024 with special event on the release of the new research entitled "Education: A path to a peaceful future" by the collaboration of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), affirmed the potential for education to build peaceful societies.
According to the research, education's potential for a peaceful future speaks to inclusive, quality education which promotes understanding, tolerance and peaceful coexistence among individuals and communities.
Experts who contributed to the study agreed that the results cannot be interpreted causally, as such, there were a number of statistically significant correlations that associate quality education with more peaceful and stable societies.
They underscored the fact that countries where more children finish school have fewer conflicts. This is especially true when more children graduate from secondary education. Also, they pointed out that countries with higher rates of female school completion, particularly at the primary level, tend to experience less conflicts.
Equally, they noted that higher completion rates in both primary and lower-secondary schools are positively correlated.
While improving the quality of education can decrease conflict risk by fostering economic development and social equality. Stressing that quality education is also linked to shorter conflicts.
On average, the study revealed, countries that have higher secondary school completion rates have higher peace levels. Whereas the number of years learning in school is the strongest correlation on reducing various forms of violence.
Practically, education as path to peace was evident in the case of Timor Leste, that transitioned from conflict to stability, culminating in the withdrawal of UN peacekeepers in late 2012, successful elections and peaceful transfers of power most recently in 2022.
The study alluded that concurrently, school completion rates for lower secondary education rose significantly from 67 per cent (2010-2015) to 91 per cent (2017-2022). This progress, supported by over US$32m from GPE since 2006, suggested a parallel between educational achievement and peace stabilization.
Also, Nepal which approved a new constitution in 2015, established a democracy after a civil war between 1996-2000. Over the past two decades, Nepal has reportedly doubled its education spending per capita, focusing on improving learning outcomes and equitable access. In tandem with school completion rates, Nepal gained 30 places in the global peace rankings since 2008 and improved its ongoing conflict score in the Global Peace Index by 15.3 per cent. Investments in education, including GPE support of $236 million since 2009, have likely contributed to Nepal's easing of internal conflict and increased peace over time.
Worthy of note is that there are a few challenges in pursuit of education, including violence and conflict which disrupt learning for millions of children each year. Yet a quarter of a billion children in lower-income countries are out of school.
Thus, education holds potential to reduce the likelihood of conflicts by fostering critical thinking, encouraging open dialogue and creating economic growth opportunities.
So, education could also be part of the solution, considering the vital strategic role it could play in building lasting peace, the relationship between the contributions of education to more peaceful societies is grossly under-investigated, providing only a partial picture for governments and donors when making critical investment decisions.
Today, the world starting from various communities, towns and local councils, urgently need to recognize the role of education in fostering more peaceful societies and vastly increase support to education systems.
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