Political will is the bedrock for achieving and sustaining quality education. When political leaders prioritise education, their vision cascades from policymaking to grassroots implementation, creating lasting impact. Across India, the success of foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) programmes, backed by top political domains, showcases this dynamic.

Globally, the International Parliamentary Network for Education (IPNEd) has been a driving force in galvanising political commitment to education. Since 2019, it has engaged parliamentarians from over 68 countries to champion quality education by signing their global declaration. By becoming signatories, parliamentarians across the globe commit to take action and demonstrate leadership to deliver quality education for all. IPNEd and its civil society partners then support these parliamentarians to help deliver on the commitment they have made.

In this interview, we hear from Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly, Co-founder and Executive Director at IPNEd, on the critical role of political will in education, strategies for coalition-building and the way forward for civil society organisations (CSOs).

Q1. Why is political will among parliamentarians essential for advancing quality education?

To begin with, I think it’s worth being clear on what we mean by political will. A good definition of political will is “the extent of committed support among key decision makers for a particular policy solution to a particular problem.”

A strong political will has a few building blocks. Firstly, there needs to be a recognition of the problem. This must be followed by a sense that the problem is important to solve, both for its own sake and because the public thinks so too. Finally, there needs to be a shared understanding of what the solutions are and a willingness by political decision makers to commit precious time, energy and funds to implement them. 

When these elements converge, decision makers are ready to take risks and overcome challenges to achieve their vision. Unfortunately, in the field of education, the problems are aplenty. Whether it is a lack of access to prospective learners, or a lack of adequate funding for quality education, the spectrum of challenges are wide. 

However, there have been times when consensus was reached and impact was created. For example, the Millennium Development Goal to achieve universal primary education resulted in a dramatic rise in global primary enrollment rates across developing countries, from 83% in 2000 to 91% by 2015. A similar global consensus is needed now, not just to enrol children in school but to ensure they learn.

Q2. Since you have been involved with parliamentarians from over 68 countries to build political will around improving quality education, what, according to you, is the current state of political will to address learning poverty?

It’s growing but remains insufficient. Firstly, many political leaders across developing countries prioritise expanding access to schooling over ensuring learning outcomes. As a result, millions of children attend school without acquiring foundational skills.

Secondly, competing priorities often dilute focus. For instance, many low and middle income countries face urgent and pressing skills shortages which results in them allocating more funds to skilling programs than to early education. 

Lastly, even when foundational learning is recognised as critical, there’s little agreement on how to address it.

Encouragingly, evidence-based interventions are emerging, but a unified political consensus to act on them is still lacking.

Q3. Given that quality education, particularly foundational literacy and numeracy, delivers long-term benefits, politics often prioritises short-term results due to election cycles. How do you encourage parliamentarians to support this cause with a sense of urgency and long-term commitment?

Despite the fact that politics often prioritises short-term results, parliamentarians are well placed to sustain and expand work on quality education by linking education to tangible, long-term goals – such as economic growth, national development and reduced inequalities.

For example, reading is the learned capacity that is most indispensable to students’ overall success, and all of the Sustainable Development Goals depend on having a literate population. Hence, we need to help them understand that investing in effective skills acquisition in the early years is absolutely essential to national economic development. We also need to support members of parliament to be able to exercise their representative, legislative, budgeting and scrutiny functions in support of foundational skills.

Q4. Based on your experience of working with parliamentarians globally, what actions can parliamentarians take to ensure all children have access to quality education and what sort of impact can they expect from their actions?

Supporting parliamentarians to take action to ensure every child learns is an important part of our work at IPNEd. As part of the International Literacy Day on 8 September 2024, we launched a 5-point plan outlining key actions parliamentarians can take to advance foundational learning.

The five actions are:

1. Acknowledge the extent of the challenge

In a recent survey, 80 percent of government officials overestimated literacy proficiency in their countries and underestimated the extent to which this crisis can damage the growth and development prospects of their countries. Recognising the full extent of the learning crisis and the challenges faced if children do not acquire basic skills is a critical starting point.

2. Mobilise society wide support for learning

Without broader societal support, political will is not enough to drive sustained change in learning outcomes. Alliance building with civil society organisations and actors, including teachers and parents, to unite behind a common goal is important to ensure access and for the provision of quality education.

3. Measure children’s learning

If we do not measure children’s learning, we don’t know how and if children are learning, and it’s therefore impossible to take action. Parliamentarians can ensure that assessments are done early, done well through standardised and measurable procedures and inclusive of all children, especially those that are from the most marginalised and vulnerable groups. 

4. Set clear and widely understood targets to focus efforts 

Once a country has a baseline measurement of student learning, it can set targets to advance education outcomes. This should include both student enrollment as well as the quality of learning. The targets should be simple and straightforward to ensure widespread support and understanding. Parliamentarians can play a central role in encouraging governments to set targets and encouraging constituents to rally behind them.

5. Fund learning

Lastly, committing to ensuring quality education outcomes means that learning must be adequately funded. The impact of this action will lead to long term savings on dealing with the cost of school dropout, low skills productivity and widening income inequality. Parliamentarians can shape and take budget-related decisions when it comes to planning, negotiation, spending and review within the budget cycle. Their ability to influence budget decisions is a powerful tool to ensure improved learning outcomes.

Q5. What advice would you give to education organisations seeking to build political will in support of their mission?

An important element to building political will is telling a compelling story backed up by a diverse range of voices with a unified approach that defines the problem and sets out the most effective and viable solutions. 

As an education organisation, it is important to collaborate with other community members working on education, including teachers, parents and community leaders. By building a coalition with diverse voices and a shared vision, it will be more effective in engaging parliamentarians since parliamentarians represent their constituents and part of their role is to understand and voice the concerns of constituents. 

Therefore, engaging with locally-elected parliamentarians is a good way to establish a relationship with them and to highlight specific issues within the constituency. This relationship will allow organisations to position their cause within competing priorities of parliamentarians and to connect to other priorities.