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The New Humanitarian has published a long article about the declining education system in Venezuela.

“Venezuela once pioneered access to education in Latin America, registering notable achievements under former President Hugo Chávez, who implemented a series of successful reforms – including a mass literacy campaign and meal programmes for students. But years of mismanagement under his successor, President Nicolás Maduro, has led to a severe decline in the quality of education and unprecedented levels of absenteeism. This has come amid an all-encompassing and relentless humanitarian crisis that has marked Maduro’s increasingly authoritarian 12-year rule – pushing nearly eight million Venezuelans to migrate.”

“For this special report, The New Humanitarian travelled to public schools in three different areas of historical and social relevance in Venezuela: the western oil city of Maracaibo; Ciudad Guayana, in the southeastern state of Bolívar; and Margarita Island, up in the north. We spoke with students, parents, grandparents, teachers, and principals to find out how they’re coping with the dramatic decline of the education system. We heard a long laundry list of concerns, but also found slivers of hope.”

Read the article.

“Imagine a school where everyone feels safe, valued, and inspired to learn. At UNESCO, we believe education should foster happiness and well-being. And scientific research confirms our belief: students and teachers thrive in environments that are safe, respectful, and filled with active, joyful learning.”

This video introduces UNESCO’s Global Framework for Happy Schools, built on four pillars: people, process, place, and principles.

Watch the video.

In this blog, the authors share key learnings and strategies of their project in Pakistan. The authors write,

“At the start of the research project, most school leaders were aware of disparities in students’ access to education and some were taking steps to address these through attending to students’ basic needs – school uniforms, shoes and books. However, these practices were often ad hoc; few school leaders were investigating, analyzing and promoting inclusion.”

During the project, the authors witnessed the change the project made:

“In the Islamabad and Lahore districts of Pakistan, we observed school leaders gaining confidence to implement meaningful changes in their schools, particularly in addressing issues of enrollment, attendance, and learner engagement for vulnerable children, working children, children with disabilities, girls, and refugee children.”

Read the blog.

The Brookings Institute published several articles on “perspectives on agency from adolescent girls” in countries like Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya, Vietnam and Bangladesh.

“Research with girls in marginalized contexts points to the critical need for sustained, collective, and coordinated efforts to address the root causes of oppression and exclusion at multiple levels, fundamentally shift social norms and power dynamics, and expand girls’ ability to more fully exercise agency in their lives and in their communities. Agency is fundamental to full and equal participation, emotional well-being, and improved outcomes—in education, in work, in relationships, and in life.” (Jennifer L. O’Donoghue)

Read a short summary of the findings for each country.

This report from the Center for Global Development highlights that despite rising school access in low- and middle-income countries, learning outcomes remain poor, prompting a shift toward foundational literacy and numeracy. This study uses longitudinal data from Indonesia to link early-grade skills to adult earnings, finding that a one standard deviation increase in foundational skills correlates with an 11% rise in income. The effect is only partly explained by completed schooling and suggests strong economic returns on early education investment.

Read the report.

This new report from Inclusive Futures and Humanity and Inclusion explores how to transform education for refugee children with disabilities, drawing on practical lessons from early childhood development projects in Kenya’s Kakuma and Kalobeyei refugee settlements.

It highlights four key strategies: multi-sectoral collaboration, inclusive classroom practices, community-led inclusion teams, and caregiver support groups. The findings underscore that inclusive education in refugee contexts must be holistic, locally adapted, and rooted in community empowerment to overcome systemic barriers and ensure meaningful learning outcomes.

Read the report.

In May 2025, NORRAG hosted the online launch of its eleventh NORRAG Special Issue (NSI11), titled “Multilingualism and Language Transition: Innovations and Possibilities”.

The NORRAG Special Issue, drawing on research and practice from 21 contexts across four continents, offers a robust exploration of the role of language in transforming education systems. The publication and the recording of the launch event are available online with captioning in multiple languages. 

Read the publication and access the recordings.

This blog reflects on a panel discussion marking the REAL Centre’s 10th anniversary. It highlights the lived experiences of educators and learners with disabilities, emphasizing that inclusion must be intersectional, context-driven, and rooted in practice, not just policy. The panel collectively argues that inclusive education is already being practiced in overlooked spaces, and real progress lies in centering those experiences and dismantling structural inequities.

Read the blog.

This policy brief developed by the Global Education Cluster (GEC), the Geneva Global Hub for Education in Emergencies (EiE Hub) and the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) assesses the consequences of recent aid cuts on education. It sets out recommendations for policy makers, donors and practitioners. Its key points include:

• The aid cuts in 2025 have had a devastating impact on education services in crisis contexts, while education faced steeper cuts than most other sectors. Humanitarian actors were forced to reduce their funding requests by 33% for education, leaving more than 33 million people in need outside the scope of aid planning.
• Frontline education providers in crisis contexts have already been forced to scale back, and the majority have had to slash education budgets. In practice, this has led to fully or partially closed schools, reduced or unpaid teacher salaries, increased dropout rates, and a reduction in services to students.
• Donors should sustain and increase humanitarian funding towards Education in Emergencies, with an emphasis on local leadership. Local communities, teachers and civil society are already stepping in to fill gaps left by aid agencies – they should be supported through more decision-making power and funding.

Read the report.

The Global Partnership for Education hosted a gathering of education leaders in Hanoi.

“During the meeting, country representatives reflected on tough questions: how do we recover from learning loss? What does equity really look like in the classroom? How can technology and teaching work together to unlock every learner’s potential? Participants, with a collaborative spirit, candidly tackled systemic education issues like teacher shortages, inclusive education and early childhood learning.”

For each region, different themes were identified. Across all regions, partner countries emphasized the priorities of foundational literacy and numeracy, early childhood education as well as a focus on equity and inclusion. Many also raised concerns about high dropout rates and the need to improve access to quality education, especially in rural and underserved areas.

Read the blog.