UN chief urges investing in people, prioritizing education

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday called for investing in people and prioritizing education in his message for the International Day of Education, to be observed on Jan. 24.

"Investment is critical to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4," and education is "the bedrock of societies, economies and every person's potential," said the top UN official.

Guterres urged all countries to translate their commitments made at last year's Transforming Education Summit into concrete actions to create supportive and inclusive learning environments for all students.

"Now is also the time to end all discriminatory laws and practices that hinder access to education," he said.

"I also encourage countries to place education at the heart of preparations for the Sustainable Development Goals Summit in 2023 and the Summit of the Future in 2024. Most of all, I urge civil society and youth to continue calling for more and better investment in quality education," the secretary-general noted.

This year marks the mid-point since the UN adopted the 2030 Agenda for people, planet and prosperity, with a set of 17 interlocked goals that will come up for review at the Sustainable Development Goals Summit in September on the theme of investing in people.