Catholic schools serve close to 62 million students globally at the preschool, primary, and secondary levels, with in addition more than 6 million students enrolled at the post-secondary level. By managing the largest non-governmental network of schools and universities in the world, the Catholic Church plays an important role in efforts to achieve SDG4, especially in low-income countries. In 2020, OIEC released the first Global Catholic Education Report. The second edition of the report for 2021 under the new collaborative Global Catholic Education project (www.GlobalCatholicEducation.org) focuses on learning poverty, education pluralism, and the implications of the COVID-19 Crisis. The report explores the impact of the crisis on educational attainment and learning across countries, as well as the issue of education pluralism, suggesting that education pluralism should be taken into account when considering state support for nonprofit faith-based schools and universities. The report also discusses regulatory framework for Catholic schools and universities, as well as interventions that could improve educational outcomes. Finally, the report includes an updated statistical annex on enrollment trends in Catholic schools and universities in more than 100 countries. After a presentation summarizing the main findings from the Global Catholic Education Report 2021, panelists will share their views on how Catholic schools and universities globally could improve the education they provide and confront some of the most pressing challenges they face.
Free and open to the public. The event will be held online over Zoom and will be livestreamed on YouTube. This event is organized with the Catholic Research Economists Discussion Organization (CREDO), Global Catholic Education, Global Researchers Advancing Catholic Education (GRACE), the International Federation of Catholic Universities (IFCU), the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), and the International Office of Catholic Education (OIEC). This event is cosponsored by America Media, and the Roche Center for Catholic Education.
Presentation:
Quentin Wodon, International Office of Catholic Education
Discussants:
François Mabille, Secretary General, International Federation of Catholic Universities
Augusta Muthigani, National Executive Secretary, Commission for Education and Religious Education, Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops
Halsey Rogers, Lead Economist, World Bank, Washington, DC