International Day of Education 2025

History of International Day of Education

In December 2018, January 24^th was announced by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Day of Education. The adoption was meant to be a declaration of the role that education plays in peace and development.

In fact, the General Assembly is responsible for designating all particular dates as an International Day, including dates like World Refugee Day, World Food Day and World AIDS Day.

According to the UN, “international days are proposed to the UN General Assembly by Member States. The General Assembly then decides by consensus whether to adopt the resolution establishing the particular day.”

Significance of International Day of Education

In tough times, children see education as the key to their safety, health, happiness and their future. That’s why Save the Children does whatever it takes to keep children learning. 

Sadly, many children have fallen behind or missed out on education altogether because of COVID-19 school closures and disruptions due to conflict and other crises. Extended time out of school has a drastic impact on children’s health, safety and future life choices. At the end of 2021, up to 1 in 5 children in some countries had dropped out of school because of rising poverty, child marriage and child labor, pressures exacerbated by the pandemic.  

To address this learning gap, Save the Children supports Catch-up Clubs throughout many of our global programs. These clubs have been successful in improving children’s literacy in just 13 weeks.