The Regional Centre for Educational Planning (RCEP) is a UNESCO Category II Centre hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in accordance with the agreement signed between the UAE government and UNESCO in 2003.

In the context of this agreement, RCEP is entrusted to build national and regional capacities in the field of educational planning, policies, leadership, and dissemination of related knowledge. RCEP also provides consultation services and technical assistance to improve the efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, and quality of education systems in Arab and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

The vision of the Centre is to strengthen the Arab countries’ capabilities in quality educational planning. To this end, the Centre prepares summaries of education policies aimed at improving the efficiency and quality of educational systems outputs, provides specialized training, consultations and specialized studies, produces and disseminates knowledge in support of education policies and implements short, specialized training programmes.

In recent years, RCEP shifted to digital transformation to expand the circle of its programme beneficiaries. It has provided (18) specialized programmes to more than (700) beneficiaries in the education sector in 10 Arab countries, including more than 15 institutions operating in the field of education, as well as UNESCO Category II Centres and regional offices.

One of RCEP’s main tasks is to facilitate the use and management of information related to educational planning and produce and disseminate English and Arabic knowledge products that support education policies and enable educational planning.

The Centre's publications vary from research studies and papers to working papers, policy briefs, and professional technical guides. Within the framework of its Strategic Plan 2017-2022, the Centre issued around 150 publications on its website.

The Arab region has made remarkable progress towards Sustainable Development Goals 4 over the years. Since then, a number of new challenges and opportunities arose, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, despite the unforeseen effects of COVID-19, Arab countries continue to prioritize quality education by strengthening teacher training and continuous professional development, reforming curricula - mainly by integrating STEAM subjects, improving inclusion and safety in the classroom, and increasing funding for education.

Arab States have proven, through their initiatives and activities, their continued commitment and potential to support their education sector and achieve SDG4. For example, in 2022, the United Arab Emirates established the Federal Authority for Early Childhood Education which was mandated to develop and implement comprehensive plans to follow up on child development in the country. Despite its many crises, Lebanon launched a child protection policy in 2018 to help protect children in schools from violence and other risks. The policy was a collaborative effort between the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE), the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, UNICEF and other partners.

RCEP’s third strategic objective is to strengthen its partnership with relevant national, regional and international institutions, universities, centres and organizations. Since its establishment, the Centre has been keen to build a network of strategic partners at various levels to facilitate the adoption of many projects, initiatives and strategies that would upskill talent, propagate and publish best practices in the field of educational planning. RCEP also has a network of planning experts that contribute to RCEP’s surveys at the local, regional and international levels, provide expertise and support the implementation of the Centre’s programmes and goals.

The Centre’s activities vary between capacity development, production and dissemination of knowledge, and support for Arab countries in implementing SDG4, which is also one of the Centre's top priorities and strategic objectives. Nearly 40 initiatives with 20 partners at the national, regional and international levels within the framework of its Strategic Plan 2017-2022. Some examples include:

The development of national educational plans and policies that are consistent and flexible to cope with various changes in all fields is the main focus of improving the quality of education. It is equally important to translate these plans and policies into successful and effective projects and initiatives that offer equitable quality education opportunities for all.

Here, governments have a fundamental responsibility and a pivotal role. They should develop comprehensive policies and plans that meet national needs and ensure continuous evaluation of educational outcomes. This is done by increasing financing for education, providing the appropriate infrastructure and technology for schools, providing and improving the efficiency of teacher professional development programmes, developing curricula and digital content, and establishing national frameworks and institutions specialised in measuring the quality of education.

RCEP can support countries by providing professional development programmes that meets their education planning needs. The Centre’s support can also take the form of technical support and specialized consultations that help countries evaluate the outputs of their education systems and build educational plans and strategies that are compatible with their national goals and visions.

The only constant in life is change. This was confirmed by the challenges that the whole world endured during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, we must accustom ourselves to continuous change and always adapt by developing our skills and competencies and by learning throughout life to overcome challenges.

Graduation is not the end, but rather the beginning of a new path to serve the nations. This path requires skills renewal and continuous learning in order to achieve our goals on the personal and country levels.