At tonight’s presidential debate on foreign policy, the candidates
are expected to touch on everything from the rise of China to the
situation in Libya. But one subject that you probably won’t hear about
is education. After all, we’re used to thinking about education as a
domestic policy issue. What does it have to do with foreign policy or
the priorities of the global community? In a word, everything.
Education is the most powerful tool countries have for boosting
economic growth, increasing prosperity and forging more just, peaceful
and equitable societies. Where educational deprivation exists, it breeds
conflict and enables repression.
A 14-year-old Pakistani girl named Malala Yousafzai
illustrated this for the world two weeks ago when she was shot in the
head by members of the Taliban for advocating for the right to get an
education. As she watched the Taliban impose their fundamentalism in the
Swat Valley and destroy 200 schools, Malala dared to dream and write
“of a country where education would prevail.” That idea was threatening
enough to make her a marked woman.
(MORE: Saving Malala)
As Malala fights for her life in a British hospital, her bravery has
awakened people everywhere to the unparalleled power of education to
shape societies for the better. Indeed, education is today’s human
rights frontier.
Yet for too long the international community has put education on the
backburner. Countries have largely been left alone to handle or ignore
their educational problems as they see fit. In part, this was because we
assumed that the contexts and challenges were so different from nation
to nation that education could not be tackled at the international
level.
While there are certainly differences, I’ve seen that similar
educational disparities exist all over the world through my work at Teach For All,
a global network of 26 countries dedicated to ensuring educational
excellence for all. In countries at every stage of development, from
Austria to Argentina, there are vast gaps in the quality of education
children of different races, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds
receive. These inequalities affect children for the rest of their lives,
and hurt us all by perpetuating poverty and prejudice.
(MORE: Barack Obama: Don’t Stop Now on Higher Ed Reform)
The problem is strikingly similar from place to place. Across the
globe, disadvantaged children are not living up to their potential
because if they attend school at all, the schools are usually not
designed to meet their extra needs.
But there is good news. The fact that the problem is so similar means
that solutions can be shared. Social entrepreneurs are already having
an impact by working collaboratively and adapting effective
interventions across borders. But world bodies and leaders have an
important role to play, too. They can facilitate resource-sharing,
convince countries that investing in education is worthwhile, and shine a
spotlight on injustices when countries fail to acknowledge or address
their gaping educational deficiencies.
It is long past time we addressed education as the global issue it
is. Education needs to be the cornerstone of every country, and it
belongs at the top of the international agenda. All over the world
children like Malala are risking ostracism, harassment and even death to
demand an education. We should have their backs.
(MORE: Mitt Romney: Demand Real Change in Higher Education)
In the weeks before Malala’s shooting, there had been signs of
progress. Last month, with too little fanfare, the United Nations
announced an historic initiative called Education First.
Spearheaded by Ban Ki-moon, it marks the first time a U.N. Secretary
General has made education a priority. Education First has three goals:
to put every child in school, to improve the quality of learning, and to
foster global citizenship. Influential global constituencies have been
key to eradicating disease and addressing climate change because we
understood that these are areas where nations’ welfare is intertwined.
The same is true for education.
(MORE: Joel Klein: The New Complacency About Schools is Ill-Informed)
At a time when foreign policy is often defined by conflict and
divisions, President Obama and Governor Romney can trumpet education as a
shared global value — and an issue where countries can work together
despite their differences to move forward faster. It’s the single best
investment we can make to end strife between and within nations.
We would all be better off in a world where more girls like Malala
are allowed to fulfill their dreams and become doctors, social
entrepreneurs and future leaders who will continue to champion the
change we need.
MORE: Eight Ideas to Improve Higher Education
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