Malawi President Mutharika tells world leaders: Invest in education or perish

Malawian President Peter Mutharika has called upon world leaders to invest in education or else the world will always be moving in cycles of poverty.

Mutharika made the remarks in New York on Sunday when he and other four co- Conveyors of the Global the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity received a report on investing in education for a changing world titled ‘‘ The Learning Generation’’.

The Malawi leader said although financing education is becoming a serious challenge worldwide, with concerted efforts the goal of education for all can be achieved.

‘‘Together, our collective will cannot fail our collective responsibility. And, financing education is a collective responsibility for all’’, said Mutharika.

Mutharika further added that governments throughout the world  face urgent priorities but that  should not compel them to compromise on education.

‘‘Unless we prioritize investing in education, our developing world will always move in a vicious cycle of poverty. And the vicious cycle of poverty can only be broken by having inclusive and quality education for all,” he said.

The report of the commissioners of the Global International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity has among others called upon world leaders to come up with proven building blocks of delivery to strengthen the performance of the education system; develop new and creative approaches to achieving results, capitalizing on opportunities for innovation in who delivers education, where and how.

The report has since been forwarded to the United Nations. United Nations Secretary-General Ba Ki Moon attended the report handover ceremony.

The International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity was set up in 2015 to reinvigorate the case for investing in education and chart a pathway for increased investment in order to develop the potential of all of the world’s young people.

The body has five co-Convers globally namely; President Michele Bachelet of Chile, Prime Minister of Norway Erna Solberg, President Joko Widodo of Indonesia and Unesco Director- General Irina Bokova and President Peter Mutharika of Malawi.

Below the co-Conveners, the organization has six commissioners which includes Africa’s richest entrepreneur Aliko Dangote of Nigeria; Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Gordon Brown and Former President of the European Union Jose Mauel Barroso.

President Peter Mutharika is in New York to attend the 71st United Nations General Assembly.