A permanent global debate
ICTs and education and learning for all
Education is a public good. This simple statement is central to UNESCO's mission, to national laws and international agreements concerning the right to education.
Among informed and affluent groups educational choices are wide and rich. At the same time, many groups and individuals are poorly served or not served at all, and pressing needs are not being met. Educational responsibilities and prerogatives of the state vis-a-vis the private sector are being challenged.
As more and more educational software and entire courses of study become available over the Internet, whether for free or against payment, the need for a closer look at quality becomes obvious. What is more is that, over time, the relative balance of power and capacity favouring a few gatekeepers and a limited number of languages can have a negative impact on the diversity of education materials. Smaller-scale, local, and specifically targeted materials may disappear.
UNESCO will not itself intervene as a labelling and accreditation agency but examine the legal issues involved, look at the regulatory mechanisms in place, and consult widely on what the main needs are when it comes to quality assurance. It will develop and test guidelines and consider work on a declaration or recommendation that could form the basis of an international agreement. The aim is to find ways to provide information about quality, and to encourage the production of educational software that respects cultural specificity, diversity, and those universal values on which UNESCO is founded.