Mahama Calls for Education Justice at Doha Summit: “Education Must Be Seen as Life-Saving, Not Optional”
Doha, Qatar - At the Global Education Summit in Doha, Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama called on world leaders to treat education not as a privilege but as a form of justice and, in times of crisis, as a lifeline. “Education must become the battleground for justice,” President Mahama said. “It is justice when a child uprooted by conflict does not lose her dreams or her future, when a child living with disability receives targeted support in order to thrive.”
President Mahama’s remarks came against a backdrop of multiple global crises from conflict and economic instability to pandemics and climate shocks which he said not only destroy infrastructure but disrupt childhoods and the dreams of our children.
In Doha, President Mahama tied his message directly to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4, which calls for “inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.”
He argued that education serves as the backbone connecting all other goals. “Without education, we cannot end poverty (SDG 1), achieve good health (SDG 3), attain gender equality (SDG 5), build decent work and economic growth (SDG 8) strengthen climate adaptation (SDG 13) or secure peace and justice (SDG 16),” he said. “Education illuminates the path to every other goal.”
His reference to education as justice drew wide attention at the summit, where leaders discussed how conflict, displacement, and inequality threaten the futures of millions of children worldwide.
In highlighting Ghana’s progress, President Mahama referenced some of the reforms in Ghana’s education sector such as the Free SHS program among others, which have enabled millions of children to attend school.
According to the World Bank (2024), nearly 90 percent of children are enrolled in primary school, and female enrollment continues to rise. Yet challenges such as overcrowded classrooms, teacher shortages, limited digital access, and declining literacy levels in rural regions persist.
A 2022 UNESCO report found that 53 percent of Ghanaian 10-year-olds cannot read or understand a simple text, a crisis President Mahama has previously called alarming and needs urgent improvement.
“Education must be transformational, not transactional,” President Mahama said. “It must be equitable, not exclusive forward-looking, not outdated. This is the justice we owe our children.”
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