Action 2030 Blog

Costa Rica, the UN and the Transforming Education Summit: An opportunity to reaffirm education as a core global priority

19 September 2022
Four children and an adult reading educational material seated behind a wood table in a semi-roofed space.
Caption: Enoc Hidalgo and his family had to adapt to the new conditions of the educational system during and after COVID-19 in Costa Rica.
Photo: © UNICEF Costa Rica
2030 Agenda

Costa Rica has historically been a beacon for educational development in the Latin American and Caribbean region, thanks to the country's longstanding social, political and economic commitment to guaranteeing access to quality education and learning opportunities for all.  

However, recent challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic recession and deepening social inequalities have set back Costa Rica’s progress towards achieving SDG 4 and improving educational outcomes across the country.  

With these challenges in mind, the Transforming Education Summit convened by the UN General Assembly in New York provides an unprecedented opportunity to regain and mobilize trust in education systems around the world, as well as reaffirm the commitments of world leaders to elevate education to the heart of the global political agenda. 

The context of the education field in Costa Rica at a glance

In Costa Rica education is recognized as central pillar of social mobility and inclusion, sustainability, and civic engagement. The Costa Rican model of educational success has been made possible by a strong social welfare system that promotes a human-rights-based and people-centered approach to public policy.   

These achievements, however, are not secure today. Efforts to ensure high levels of school attendance, strong literacy rates and educational success for every child across the country have been hindered by a complex set challenge over the last few years.  

Public investment in education in recent years has decreased from 8% of GDP – following constitutional regulations – down to 6.9% today. Public spending devoted to education has declined too – 21.54% in 2020 compared to 24.3% in 2019[1]. 

Another major challenge that we observed across the country was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the suspension of face-to-face teaching which that entailed. Like other countries in Latin America and around the world, Costa Rica was not fully prepared for the rapid adoption of hybrid learning models. This transition to online learning platforms exposed the significant digital divide across the country. According to the last report of the Ministry of Public Education for the second quarter of 2021, only 35% of the total number of enrolled students had access to a virtual platform to continue their studies. 

A girl wearing her school uniform smiles at the camera and stands in front of a colourful mural and a shelf full of books.
Caption: Mariana Flores and her brothers, Pablo and Israel, are part of a group of more than 800 migrant children and adolescents in Costa Rica who were able to regularize their situation thanks to a pilot plan that granted them an immigration identity document for foreigners.
Photo: © UNICEF/Cesar Arroyo

The lack of connectivity and access to digital devices has had a negative impact on digital literacy rates across Costa Rica, affecting not only current learning but also future employment opportunities for young people.  

The stagnation of these learning journeys represents a significant challenge for communities and young people across Costa Rica; half of which are now leaving the education system without completing secondary school.  

To narrow this growing digital divide and achieve greater levels of learning inclusion and equality, the education sector in Costa Rica needs to adapt urgently.  

A group of school-age children sit next to one another in their classroom and raise their hands to participate in the lessons.
Caption: Costa Rican children started the 2022 school year in person after COVID-19. UN and its agencies supported the Ministry of Public Education in achieving this.
Photo: © Costa Rican Ministry of Education

Scaling up UN cooperation and integrated action 

To tackle these immense learning challenges, the UN system in Costa Rica has worked together to scale up its support across multiple sectors of the education system.  

Interagency cooperation has been a fundamental part of these efforts, enabling our UN team in Costa Rica to avoid duplication of resources and programming, strengthen our shared learning curve and demonstrate to key partners on the ground the value of the UN’s joined-up, multidisciplinary approach.  

Under the leadership of a strong Resident Coordinator, we were able to build a Cooperation Framework with the Government of Costa Rica for the next four years which set out our more integrated, ‘ONE UN” approach to early childhood education.  

During this process, the whole UN system in Costa Rica worked closely with the Ministry of Public Education, the national network for Early Care and Early Childhood Development and other state entities to promote a more inclusive childhood education experience, guided by the principles of gender equality, human rights, and social justice.  

A group of students sitting in front of computer screens in a classroom.
Caption: One of the major challenges identified in Costa Rica is access to connectivity for students in rural areas and vulnerable populations.
Photo: © Julieth Mendez / Government of Costa Rica

As schools began to close during the outset of the pandemic in 2020, we adjusted our programming to align more closely with national priorities of scaling up social protection services, ensuring educational continuity away from the classroom and helping connect more children and adolescents to digital learning platforms. In addition to this, we provided a range of education-based socio-emotional and psychosocial care for communities and offered comprehensive sexual education courses.  

Ensuring that students still had access to quality and relevant education in the areas of gender-based violence, discrimination, racism and xenophobia during the pandemic was also a key priority for our UN team. To do this, we provided a range of trainings for teachers and supported them with the development of emergency curricula and educational resources. 

The DSG Ms. Amina J. Mohammed standing next to a group of school girls and holding hands with one of them at the library of Colegio de Señoritas in Costa Rica.
Caption: The DSG Amina J. Mohammed visited Colegio de Señoritas in Costa Rica to promote gender equality and the fulfilment of girls' rights.
Photo: © RCO in Costa Rica

Restoring confidence in the education system

When the COVID-19 pandemic first unfolded over two years ago, the UN system and its education partners were already deeply engaged in discussions about how to improve educational pathways around the world and deliver a high-quality, sustainable learning experience for every child and young person.  

The Transforming Education Summit is an opportunity to continue these debates at a global level, bringing back confidence and credibility in our education system and ensuring that education is at the heart of recovery and development strategies worldwide.  

In Costa Rica, transforming the education system requires active engagement and commitment from all stakeholders, including the UN family as a whole, national authorities and other civil society actors on the ground. Together with this coalition of partners, we are determined to move towards a more equitable education system in Costa Rica, which provides relevant skills, opportunities and life-long learning for all. 

[1] UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). UIS database, available at https://on.unesco.org/3vnhYT5, date of extraction: September, 2022.

To learn more, visit: CostaRica.UN.org. 

Data about the work of the UN Country Team on education is available in Costa Rica Country Results Report (available in Spanish: Informe de Resultados de la Cooperación ONU 2021). 

Op-ed co-written in Spanish by: 

  • Allegra Baiocchi 
    Resident Coordinator in Costa Rica 
    baiocchi@un.org
     
  • Patricia Portela de Souza 
    UNICEF Representative in Costa Rica
    ppsouza@unicef.org 
     
  • Alexander Leicht 
    Director of the UNESCO Cluster Office in San Jose, Costa Rica
    UNESCO Representantive to Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panamá
    a.leicht@unesco.org 

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