“This is a once-in-generation opportunity” - Kamalesh Sharma
Education ministers from six Commonwealth countries will meet in London on Thursday, 13 December to conclude their recommendations on the post-2015 development agenda for education.
Outcomes from the education ministers working group - set up last August - will feed directly into discussions taking place at the United Nations on new global anti-poverty targets to succeed the Millennium Development Goals.
Following the meeting, ministers will hand over their submission to the office of the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, who co-chairs the UN High-Level Panel on the post-2015 development agenda.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said the ministers' proposals will help shape the development landscape currently being deliberated at the UN and the UNESCO Global Education For All meetings.
"This is a once-in-generation opportunity for the Commonwealth to see the collective education priorities of our member countries considered by the wider international community at the highest level.
"These recommendations will seek to consolidate and to build on achievements made since 2000 when the Millennium Development Goals were adopted. They will provide fresh thinking and ideas for innovative action on how we can work together towards overcoming challenges that still remain, and will propose practical approaches on newly-emerging issues in education," he said.
The working group, chaired by Vasant Bunwaree, Mauritius Minister of Education and Human Resources, was a key outcome of the 2012 Commonwealth Education Ministers Meeting held in Mauritius from 29 to 31 August 2012.
Members of the working group are: Bangladesh, Barbados, Cyprus, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda.
The proposals for the structure and content of the post-2015 framework were informed by discussions at the meeting in Mauritius and include input from civil society organisations and strategic partners in education.
Senior officials from 13 Commonwealth countries will convene at the Commonwealth Secretariat on Wednesday prior to the ministerial meeting, to finalise recommendations for consideration by the ministers. This will be followed by a joint session with high commissioners and education and development experts.
