GEM Report Unesco

18/09/2026

More children are entering school. Far fewer are completing it.

Today, only 2 in 3 students worldwide finish secondary school.

At the current pace, universal secondary completion, a global target originally set for 2030, would only be reached in the next century.

Closing this gap will require sustained investment and policies that help students stay in school and complete their education.

Find solutions in the UNESCO 2026 : https://bit.ly/gemreport2026

17/09/2026

Since 2000, global completion rates have increased across all levels of education:
🔹 Primary: 77% to 88%
🔹 Lower secondary: 60% to 78%
🔹 Upper secondary: 37% to 61%
These gains show that sustained policy efforts can improve retention and completion.

Yet millions of learners still leave education early.

At current rates of expansion, the world would only achieve 95% upper secondary completion by 2105.

Explore the data in the UNESCO 2026 on access and equity: https://bit.ly/gemreport2026

16/09/2026

Young people are calling for climate change education to prioritize climate action.

On learn how education and public communication can adapt to these demands in the @‌UNESCO and @‌SEPNetwork report:

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000389801/PDF/389801eng.pdf.multi

15/09/2026

Why does democracy need education?

Democracy depends on active citizens. Education can help build the knowledge, critical thinking, tolerance and sense of agency needed to participate in public life and uphold equal rights.

But civic education is about more than knowing your rights. It is also about having opportunities to debate, deliberate, listen across differences, evaluate evidence and take action. How democracy is taught matters too: schools can model democratic values through participation, equity, dialogue and respect.

On the , explore the links between education and democracy: https://www.unesco.org/gem-report/en/articles/what-are-links-between-education-and-democracy

14/09/2026

What if the search for “what works” in education is distracting us from what really matters?

“What works?” has become the dominant question in education policy, driving the search for interventions that can be measured, replicated and scaled.

But what if lasting progress is less about finding what works, and more about understanding what matters? This is the question at the heart of the GEM Report's series, which takes a long view of how education systems achieve sustained progress.

In a new post Manos Antoninis, GEM Report Director, argues that the biggest breakthroughs in education rarely come from a single intervention. They emerge over time from the interaction of political commitment, strong institutions, equitable financing, effective governance and coherent policy choices and shaped by factors well beyond the education sector itself. The implication is uncomfortable: there may be no universal education solution to scale.

Instead, countries need to understand the conditions that have enabled sustained progress elsewhere and build their own pathways based on their context, challenges and institutions.

Read the full blog post: https://bit.ly/countdown-2030-what-works

14/09/2026

12/09/2026

As children head , how many are returning to the classroom and how many are not, and why?
More children are in school than ever before. Yet, 273 million children and youth were still out of school in 2024.

And getting through the school gates does not necessarily mean staying on track. Some students are enrolled but regularly miss class. Absenteeism can be an early sign of disengagement and, over time, a step towards dropping out.

Others remain in school but repeat grades. Starting school late and repeating grades can also leave children over-age for their grade, making it harder to stay the course.

These setbacks accumulate as children move through education. In 2024, 88% completed primary school and 78% completed lower secondary education. By upper secondary, only 61% did.

And progress is not fast enough. At current rates, the world is not expected to reach 95% upper secondary completion until 2105.

As children return to school, the question is not only who comes back to the classroom, but who keeps coming back, who progresses and who gets the chance to complete their education.

➡️ Explore the data from our series on the : https://world-education-blog.org/

11/09/2026

📵 How many countries have introduced phone bans in schools?
Just three years ago, only 24% of countries had a national policy restricting mobile phone use in schools. By early 2026, that share had risen to 58%, covering 114 education systems.

What are phone bans trying to fix? And what problems could they create?

Concerns about mobile phones in education are growing: from classroom distraction and cyberbullying to their wider impact on children’s well-being.

But countries are responding differently. Some have introduced outright school phone bans. Others have adopted national guidelines while leaving implementation to individual schools.

Restricting smartphones may help protect learning time, but banning phones does not solve the wider challenge of growing up in a digital world. Schools also have a role in helping students develop digital literacy and learn to navigate online environments critically and safely.

As brings the global education community together at UNESCO, the question is not simply whether mobile phones belong in schools. It is how education systems can both reduce harm and prepare students for a digital world.

➡️ Explore the global data on phone bans in schools in the by Anna Cristina d’Addio, : https://bit.ly/4bubRjG

10/09/2026

Generative AI arrived in classrooms faster than the rules meant to govern it. And the debate has often narrowed to one concern: cheating.

But 2 international studies across 6 continents suggest AI governance in education needs to go much further.

Across schools and universities, 6 priorities stand out:
privacy and data protection,
ethical use,
equitable access,
academic integrity,
human oversight
and AI literacy.

And governance cannot be static. Around 9 in 10 experts supported combining firm policies with flexible guidelines that can evolve as the technology changes.

Getting this right will also require resources. Without investment in training, infrastructure and governance, the education systems least equipped to manage AI’s risks may be the most exposed to them.

What should responsible AI governance actually cover?

Dr Adam Edmett, Head EdTech Innovation at the British Council, and Dr Helen Crompton, Executive Director of the Research Institute of Digital Innovation in Learning (RIDIL) and Professor of Instructional Technology at Old Dominion University, explore the question in the latest : https://bit.ly/4xPzH3p


British Council France I ODUGlobal I Old Dominion University

09/09/2026

3,909 attacks on education were reported across 69 countries in 2024*.
According to data collected by the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack, this was the highest number recorded since monitoring began in 2013.

Conflict devastates education systems and makes it much harder to know how many children are missing out on education.

Official education data are often incomplete or delayed during crises. To address this, the 2026 reviewed information from governments, humanitarian organizations and other sources for 10 countries affected by major emergencies.

The analysis suggests that global estimates for 2024 may be missing almost 13 million children and young people. Accounting for them would bring the global total to 286 million.

The country-level data show the scale of the disruption. Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Education reported 5,365 schools closed because of insecurity in February 2024, affecting 834,000 students. In Gaza, Education Cluster data indicate that all 550,000 children aged 6 to 17 were out of school throughout 2024.

On the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, these figures show the scale of the disruption caused by conflict, while reminding us that millions of children affected by crises may still be missing from global education data.

Education should never be a target.

➡️ Explore more: https://bit.ly/3UJI1TA

*The figure covers attacks on schools and higher education institutions, the military use of schools and universities, and attacks on students, teachers and other education personnel. It also includes child recruitment and sexual violence perpetrated in schools or along school routes.

Education Cannot Wait