Just over a year into his position, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in his address to the General Assembly said, "In fundamental ways, the world has gone in reverse." But for the education movement, now more than ever, it is time to push forwards, despite barriers and delays.

The education community looks to Dakar, Senegal, the host of the Global Partnership for Education Financing Conference next week, as an answer to the global education crisis that has continued despite ambitious goals set out by the Education 2030 agenda.

It is time to take definitive action for education

Indeed, the world stands united in acknowledging the importance of education as inspired by the late former South African President and global icon Nelson Mandela, when he said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. But now is not the time for speeches and empty promises – we cannot remain ignorant or passive in the fight for the implementation of the right to education for all. It is time for sustainable and definitive action.

Expectations are high: many believe that the Financing Conference in Senegal will greatly help to deliver the much awaited promise for governments to #FundEducation and #LeaveNoOneBehind.

Increased financing is crucial

According to the Education Commission, current levels of investment in education are critically low. To reach the Sustainable Development Goal for quality education (SDG 4), global spending on education must rise annually from $1.2 trillion per year to $3 trillion by 2030. If we do not act urgently, we are likely to miss the 2030 deadline for these goals by more than 50 years.  A failure by world leaders and governments to act by pledging boldly and credibly to increase financing towards education in 2018 will definitely delay SDG 4 2030 target.

The 2017/2018 GEM Report: "Accountability in Education: Meeting Our Commitments" reminded the world on the challenges of access and quality of education - these cannot be resolved without adequate and sustained financing to the sector. The GEM report further states that households are now contributing close to 30% of their income towards paying for school, a worrying trend that is highest in middle and low-income countries.

Unfortunately, most middle and low-income countries that depend on domestic resources to #FundEducation have continued to grant huge tax holidays to profitable multinational companies from rich nations. It is evident that households are now paying more taxes than multinationals towards funding education and national development.

The OECD estimates that as much as $240 billion every year is lost in tax revenue as a result of tax avoidance techniques. The Global Campaign for Education has actively joined efforts with the Global Tax Justice Alliance in advocating for global tax reforms as a window for unlocking the much needed revenue to meet SDG4 by 2030.

Alongside domestic financing for education, aid has an important role in delivering SDG 4. That said, over 97% of resources for education must come from the domestic budgets of low- and lower-middle-income countries themselves.

Accordingly, the Global Campaign for Education advocates for a global partnership that will unlock resources at national, regional and global levels while providing an inclusive space for the advancement of education and the attainment of SDG 4 by 2030, remembering that the fundamental principle on which the SDGs were founded is to #LeaveNoOneBehind.

In order to do so, education must be public, free, inclusive and of a high quality.

A day for civil society to gather and prepare

GCE, through its national coalitions, regional secretariats and wider membership has continued to remind governments to keep their promises in order to achieve SDG 4 and Education 2030 Framework for Action by making bold and credible pledges at the Dakar GPE conference.

GCE intends to remain focused on the complex challenges that education financing presents. As such, GCE is hosting an all-day Civil Society Event in Dakar on January 31 in anticipation of the GPE conference, which we urge members from the civil society community to attend. The event seeks to prepare civil society for the conference and beyond, by discussing issues related to fair and equal financing of education, as well as threats to public education systems around the world. You can register for this event, and see the full program here: http://bit.ly/2Dr8DAc

GCE is also participating in the GPE conference itself through a panel discussion during the Partnership Platform event. Here, GCE will discuss the importance of accountability in the education financing process, and what successes and challenges civil society organizations have faced while holding their governments to account for education. We urge you all to attend, engage, and learn at these events.

The question we hope the GPE Financing Conference will answer is “Will the result of sustained government engagement and lobbying by GCE and other partners lead to bold and ambitious pledges at the conference, and the timely achievement of SDG 4?”

We remain hopeful and resolute for good answers and positive change.