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Introduction

Access to inclusive and equitable quality education is a fundamental human right. Education is like a “midwife”: it facilitates the development of the full potential of men and women. At the same time it may serve as one of the most powerful tools to address inequality in education. As the slogan goes: “leave no one behind”. Education may also contribute to narrowing the gender gap, which is still existing in many countries.

The two main principles why the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs puts education high on the development aid policy agenda are:

the human rights argument for education
the link between education and (human & economic) development.

In general, the right to education is safeguarded by (1) normative international instruments; and (2) national governments’ political commitments. These two means are embedded into international treaties and protocols aiming to respect and fulfill this right. One of the main organizations monitoring and advocating for education is UNESCO. The organization requires all member states to report their progress and shortfalls regularly to establish continuous reporting on their developments in the field of education. National governments adhere to UNESCO’s Education 2030 Framework for Action, which is a roadmap supporting countries to reach the ambitious 4th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 4), i.e. “to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030.

The Dutch government is committed and motivated to achieve all SDGs by 2030, and as such provides substantial financial contributions to various initiatives in education, the main ones being the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), Education Cannot Wait (ECW), and the Orange Knowledge Program (Higher Education: bursaries and scholarships administered through NUFFIC). Through these programs, the Dutch administration in 2020 contributed to the participation of more than 2.9 million children in educational and training programs (as well as more than 14 thousand in crisis regions), supported 238 classrooms with infrastructure, and provided 76 000+ children with learning materials.876 This paper aims to give a chronological overview of the key policies and initiatives of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs from a "gender lens".