Connect with us
Monday,02-November-2026
Breaking News

International News

UN calls for end to education gap

Published

on

The UN’s Transforming Education Summit has offered an opportunity to galvanise global action to recover learning losses and rethink education systems.

With Covid-19 exposing the fault lines of education systems globally, more than 130 countries have committed to rebooting their education systems and accelerating action to end the learning crisis, said the organisers of the summit, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened, reports Xinhua news agency.

Education is in a deep crisis. Instead of being the great enabler, education is fast becoming the great divider, said Guterres in his speech to the opening of the leaders’ meeting day of the summit.

The summit was held on the sidelines of this year’s UN General Assembly high-level week.

Some 70 per cent of 10-year-olds in poor countries cannot read a basic text. Even in developed countries, education systems often entrench rather than reduce inequality, reproducing it across generations. The rich have access to the best resources, schools and universities, leading to the best jobs. At the same time, the poor, especially girls, face huge obstacles to getting the qualifications that could change their lives, said Guterres.

Displaced people and students with disabilities face the highest obstacles of all. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on learning worldwide. But the education crisis began long before, and runs much deeper, he said.

Education systems are failing students and societies. Too often, curricula are outdated and narrow. Education systems take little account of life-long learning. Teachers are under-trained, undervalued and underpaid. The digital divide penalizes poor students. The education financing gap yawns wider than ever, said Guterres.

“We will not end this crisis by simply doing more of the same, faster or better. Now is the time to transform education systems,” he said.

The UN chief called for action in five areas to transform education.

First, more work is needed to protect the right to quality education for everyone, especially girls, everywhere.

He said today’s teachers need to be facilitators in the classroom, promoting learning rather than merely transmitting answers.

“We also need to tackle the global shortage of teachers, and look at increasing their quality by raising their status and ensuring they have decent working conditions and continuous training and learning opportunities and receive adequate salaries,” he said.

Schools must also become safe, healthy spaces with no place for violence, stigma or intimidation. Education systems should promote the physical and mental health of all students, including their sexual and reproductive health, he said, adding that the digital revolution must benefit all learners.

He said that none of the above will be possible without a surge in education financing and global solidarity.

Guterres and Gordon Brown, the UN special envoy for global education, launched the International Facility on Financing for Education during the summit, a first-of-its-kind tool that aims to mobilize $10 billion to help 700 million children in lower-middle-income countries to access quality education.

The tool combines direct grants and guarantees that can multiply donor resources.

It uses donor guarantees to provide a new form of quasi-equity to multilateral development banks, which can raise additional financing in capital markets and provide funding to countries for education.

Setting out a vision statement at the summit, he called on countries to revisit the purposes of education, proposing that curricula must respond to broad purposes, including learning to learn, learning to live together, learning to do and learning to be.

International News

Iran says Strait of Hormuz can be reopened in two days if US meets its demands

Published

on

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that if the United States meets Iran’s “legitimate” demands, it will be possible to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days.

At a weekly press conference in Tehran, Baghaei said the basis for any indirect interaction between Iran and the United States through mediators remains the seven-day plan proposed by Tehran in September, adding Iran has reduced the period for implementing the plan to two days based on its good faith.

He noted, “We have announced that if Iran’s demands are met, the possibility will exist to restore security to the Strait of Hormuz and start the negotiation process in a short period of time,” stressing that all these depend on the American side’s decision on how to proceed regarding the future of the process, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Baghaei said Iran has articulated its demands “clearly, reasonably, and logically,” underlining that unless the United States ends its anti-Iran naval blockade and addresses Tehran’s “legitimate” demands, no agreement will be reached and the Strait of Hormuz will not be reopened or secured.

Iran conveyed the seven-day plan containing its conditions for ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz to the United States through mediators on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 22, following which Tehran and Washington have reportedly continued exchanging messages on the proposal.

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz links the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. It is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, carrying oil and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports from major Gulf producers to international markets.

Continue Reading

International News

274 minor boys subjected to sexual abuse in Bangladesh; madrasas account for majority cases

Published

on

At least 274 minor boys were subjected to sexual violence in 199 incidents across Bangladesh, with the majority of victims being madrasa students, said a leading international human rights organisation, highlighting the alarming scale of abuse against children in the country.

In its ten-month monitoring report, Justice Makers Bangladesh in France (JMBF) stated that the incidents recorded between January 1 and October 31, 2026, took place in classrooms, residential institutions, homes and neighbourhoods, with children often subjected to abuse by people they knew or were expected to trust.

It noted that many children’s experiences never become public, and the actual scale may be substantially greater.

As per the findings, 183 incidents involved allegations of rape affecting 257 children, while 16 cases involved attempted rape against 17 children across 61 districts in all eight divisions of Bangladesh.

Five incidents reportedly resulted in the deaths of children following alleged sexual violence. The report further noted that 136 children experienced repeated abuse in 67 incidents, accounting for nearly half of all recorded victims.

According to the report, madrasa students accounted for 180 victims in 121 incidents, constituting 65.7 per cent of all recorded victims. Madrasas were identified as the locations of abuse in 100 incidents involving 158 victims.

The report further stated that madrasa teachers were named as accused in 93 incidents involving 131 victims. It recorded 115 accused entries involving madrasa teachers, accounting for 49.4 per cent of all accused persons.

Furthermore, madrasa teachers, students, and religious leaders were collectively identified as alleged perpetrators in 107 incidents involving 150 victims.

“Every one of these children deserved to be safe. A child who finds the courage to speak about abuse must be heard and protected — not threatened, silenced, or sent back into danger. It is deeply disturbing that some of the people accused were entrusted with children’s education and care,” said JMBF Founder President Shahanur Islam

“No institution’s reputation is worth more than a child’s safety. Anyone who abuses a child, conceals an offence or pressures a family to remain silent must face investigation and, where responsibility is established, lawful accountability. Arrests cannot be the end of the response. Children need treatment, someone they can trust, support to continue their education and a justice process that does not cause them further harm,” he added.

The JMBF urged the Bangladeshi authorities to take immediate measures to protect children, ensure thorough investigations and accountability for those responsible for the abuse or its concealment.

Continue Reading

International News

Iran defines vast arena to inflict damage on enemy: IRGC spokesman

Published

on

Iranian forces have determined a vast battlefield to inflict damage on the “enemy” and achieve complete deterrence, spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Hossein Mohebbi has said.

Speaking at a conference in Iran’s southeastern Kerman province on Sunday (local time), Mohebbi said Iranian forces are more prepared than ever “to respond decisively to the enemy,” reports Xinhua, quoting the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

He pointed to recent orders from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei to senior military commanders, saying the leader’s guidelines “opened a new chapter of war.”

Mohebbi highlighted Khamenei’s emphasis that “there is no geographical limitation in the war with the United States,” saying the IRGC has placed on its agenda identifying new enemy targets and planning operations in new geographical regions.

On Saturday, a statement announced that Iran’s supreme leader had ordered senior commanders of the armed forces to ensure that any level and kind of threat from the “enemies” must be met with an “immediate and effective” response without geographical limitations.

The warnings come amid heightened US threats of military action against Iran.

According to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), US President Donald Trump was briefed on Thursday by top US military officials on options regarding Iran.

The United States has also informed several Gulf countries to prepare for a possible brief but intense military campaign against Iran after the US midterm elections, according to the WSJ.

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

Continue Reading

Trending