IPU, Alm.del - 2021-22 - Bilag 12: Leveraging Information and Communication Technology as an enabler for the education sector, including in times of pandemic

Dansk Interparlamentarisk Gruppes bestyrelse 2021-22
IPU Alm.del Bilag 12
Offentligt

144th IPU Assembly

Nusa Dua, Indonesia

20-24 March 2022

Leveraging Information and Communication Technology

as an enabler for the education sector,

including in times of pandemic

Resolution adopted unanimously by the 144th IPU Assembly

(Nusa Dua, 24 March 2022)

The 144th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Welcoming

Sustainable Development Goal 4, the Incheon Declaration and

the United Nations Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation that all

recognize the importance of equitable access to information and communication

technology (ICT) in education,

Encouraging

the use of ICT to support, enhance and optimize the delivery of

information to create new teaching methods and improve learning results while paying

attention to challenges in terms of human rights, equity and inclusion, security and

privacy, infrastructure, connectivity and the financing of expensive digital capacities,

Recognizing

the fact that the world had been facing a global learning crisis

long before the COVID-19 pandemic started,

Aware

that, according to the Institute for Statistics of the United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), in 2016, over 600 million

children and adolescents were estimated to be not reaching minimum proficiency levels

in reading and mathematics, and that an estimated 53 per cent of children in low- and

middle-income countries cannot read proficiently by age 10, a phenomenon the World

Bank defined as “Learning Poverty”,

Welcoming

the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) call to address

the learning crisis and urgently increase finance for education for children, with special

attention to the disadvantaged and marginalized – children living with disabilities, migrant

and refugee children, and children in remote areas,

#IPU144

Highlighting

Sustainable Development Goal 10 and the fact that the

COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated gaps between rural and urban areas, with a critical

impact on the education of children, especially the disadvantaged ones, and that Africa

and Asia account for nearly two-thirds of the 463 million school children unable to access

remote learning,

Noting

that learning is the right of every child,

Bearing in mind

that remote learning can open up vast opportunities in

bridging disparities between urban and remote areas, by bringing new applications to

classrooms, as well as by reaching out to families in times of pandemic, but that it can

also expose children to a myriad of risks including cyberbullying, and online abuse and

exploitation,

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Welcoming

technological development that creates more opportunities with smaller and

more effective devices, more inventive applications, and more interactive solutions,

Acknowledging

that digitalization is pivotal in accelerating the achievement of the

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but aware that unequal access to broadband internet can

deepen inequalities between and within countries, between the poorest and richest households,

women and men, girls and boys, and among different communities, including indigenous communities,

in rural, remote and urban areas,

Welcoming

the efforts of the United Nations Technology Bank for Least Developed

Countries to help low-income countries build their science, technology and innovation capacity,

Noting

that in-person social interactions are important to children and adolescents,

Acknowledging

that countries come from very different starting points in terms of their

capacity to acquire technological devices and in terms of teaching staff, and emphasizing the

importance of stakeholders, including the international community, to provide adequate capacity-

building and technology transfer on mutually agreed terms to developing countries, particularly the

least developed countries,

Reminding

parliaments and governments that, according to the estimates of UNICEF,

every dollar invested in increasing enrolment in pre-primary education returns US$ 4 to 9 in benefits to

society,

Recognizing

that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

affirms the fundamental rights of indigenous peoples and their right to their own language, culture and

religion, and that the realization of these rights must be supported by education systems and

institutions that reflect their cultural methods of teaching and learning,

Noting

that remote learning requires more self-discipline from pupils and their families,

the lack of which is a major contributing factor to the digital divide between pupils,

Stressing

that digital and remote learning can never fully replace in-person learning as

vocational teaching in many fields requires in-person learning on site,

Recognizing

the critical role of the private sector in ICT infrastructure, content and

services, and also the importance of public-private partnerships and other approaches to that end,

Recognizing also

that realizing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls

will make a crucial contribution to advancement of all the SDGs, and emphasizing the need to promote

and target iSTEAM-subjects (Innovation, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) to narrow

the gender digital divide,

Stresses

that device access (computers, laptops, mobile phones and others), digital

literacy and skills, and affordable and well-functioning internet connections are the basis

of an infrastructure necessary to leverage ICT as an enabler for the education sector;

Underlines

that the pedagogical skills and ICT literacy of teachers and assisting staff are

of key importance in all learning, including in the use of ICT devices and applications, and

in teaching methods that support the introduction of ICT skills, and therefore that

learners, teachers and assisting staff’s ICT skills require constant updating and training;

Calls for

teachers’ ICT skills to be constantly improved and developed to adapt to new

information technology to effectively apply and unlock its full benefits, including to

maximize the quality of behavioural learning during the digital education process;

Calls upon

parliaments and governments to pass necessary legislation on adequate

support and needed infrastructure to enable effective ICT training of teachers and digital

solutions to be part of curricula in their countries based on their national digital situations,

while bearing in mind that funding for learning conditions and more basic teaching

equipment should not be compromised;

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Welcomes

holistic thinking to create ecosystems which integrate ICT, digital content and

digital skills with the capacities of teachers and policy makers to build resilient education

systems;

Emphasizes

that hybrid teaching arrangements, including both in-person and remote

learning, significantly increase the workload of teachers, which must be taken into

consideration when compensating the salary and benefits of the teaching staff, and that

sufficient measures must be taken to avoid overburdening teachers;

Calls for

parliaments to encourage their respective governments to develop effective tools

for tackling all forms of online security risk, harassment and bullying, and legal

frameworks for zero-tolerance policies against such offences to create a safe and non-

discriminatory learning environment;

Stresses

the importance of evaluating and monitoring of education results as one of the

cornerstones of measuring the success of education policies and teaching methods;

Encourages

governments to keep the number of pupils in classes small if necessary to

curb the spread of pandemics, and to ensure efficient teaching and learning processes;

Emphasizes

the key role of families in supporting children, especially in the early stages

of education, in learning, both in the learning process itself and in understanding the

importance of education;

Stresses

that digital and remote learning can never fully replace in-person learning as

vocational teaching in many fields requires in-person learning on site, but also that there

are demonstrable benefits to remote learning for students for whom in-person learning on

site is problematic and that it is therefore important to recognize the benefits of remote

learning to engage these students;

Urges

parliaments to pay special attention to equity, language, local content and

accessibility, particularly for persons living with disability, when legislating in the

education sector, including in the use of ICT;

Also urges

governments and the private sector to work together to remove technological

barriers by investing in digital infrastructure and lowering connectivity and device costs,

and to support open educational resources and open digital access;

Invites

parliaments and governments to support the United Nations Technology Bank for

Least Developed Countries in its efforts to bridge the digital divide;

Underlines

that women are a large, untapped learning resource as women and girls are

often prevented from using ICT and particularly the internet, and, at the same time, that

educated women have a great impact on societal development by contributing to more

stable, resilient societies that give all individuals – including boys and men and

marginalized citizens – the opportunity to fulfil their potential;

Calls upon

parliaments and governments to ensure policies and resources allocated to

encourage the use of ICT in education and ICT-related training and employment serve to

empower women and girls, including by setting targets, quotas and other positive

measures;

Encourages

governments to include in their development cooperation programmes

assistance in technology transfer in the education sector and support in teacher training

to empower students to learn from practical experiences and motivate creative and

innovative mindsets;

Also encourages

governments to invest more in ICT learning, research, development and

innovation, which are an essential cornerstone in modern human resource development;

Further encourages

governments to provide vitally important support functions, such as

free meals in schools, because well-nourished pupils can concentrate better and get

better learning results, and also because free meals in schools can be an added incentive

especially to poorer families for sending their children to school;

10.

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20.

Invites

governments to engage the youth in the development of plans and strategies in

the short and medium term, to chart the obstacles that may arise, and to look for new

opportunities in introducing ICT in education;

Invites

parliaments and governments to look into possible partnerships with United

Nations organizations such as UNESCO and UNICEF, as well as industries and

businesses, to accelerate the use of ICT in the post-pandemic education system;

Encourages,

in federated and decentralized states where education may be a

responsibility shared by more than one level of government, the various legislative and

executive bodies to find ways to collaborate on the measures and initiatives highlighted in

the present resolution;

Emphasizes

the importance of sustainable digital skills and digital literacies in narrowing

the digital divide and enhancing inclusion to empower students and build a modern,

interactive and flexible learning environment for a better tomorrow;

Calls upon

parliaments to enact legislation and standards that regulate the process of

remote education and e-learning, including the recognition and adoption of certificates at

all levels;

Calls upon

parliaments and governments not to compromise or reduce budgets for

education, including e-learning, and to share good strategies and practices to support the

key role of the educational system for the state and all members of society.

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