UNESCO, Thai EEF sign new regional MoU on equitable education

UNESCO and the Equitable Education Fund (EEF) signed a new memorandum of understanding in Bangkok on Saturday (May 16, 2026) to strengthen regional cooperation on equitable education among ASEAN countries and partner countries under a two-year framework.

The cooperation aims to tackle the issue of children and young people outside the education system through three main pillars:

• Developing flexible learning systems
• Creating financial innovation to expand educational opportunities
• Exchanging regional policy knowledge

UNESCO says inequality and displacement leave millions of children outside of education

Soohyun Kim, Regional Director of UNESCO Bangkok, said millions of children and young people across Asia and the Pacific still face barriers to accessing education, including poverty, displacement and inequality. Strong regional mechanisms are therefore essential, she said.

EEF promotes Thailand’s “Zero Dropout Plus” model as a regional example

Kraiyos Patrawart, Managing Director of EEF, said Thailand’s experience in driving the Thailand Zero Dropout Plus policy had shown that reducing educational inequality required cooperation from all sectors, together with flexible learning approaches and continued investment. The cooperation with UNESCO would help build on this at the regional level in concrete ways, he said.

Key activities during the two years include the 4th International Conference on Equitable Education in Bangkok in October 2026, the ASEAN+4 Regional Conference on Learning Cities in Ho Chi Minh City in November 2026, and the development of a flexible learning guide for the ASEAN Plus region.

UNESCO and EEF have worked together since 2018, with a key achievement being the establishment of the Equitable Education Alliance (EEA), a community of practice on equitable education comprising 34 organisations across the region.

To date, it has reached more than 650,000 education stakeholders across Asia and the Pacific.