UNESCO reports 251 million children remain out of school worldwide
The findings show that global efforts to ensure universal education have reached worrying levels, with the number of out-of-school children falling by just 1% in nearly 10 years.
Progress and challenges
“Education is a key driver of prosperous, inclusive and peaceful societies,” speak UNESCO General Manager Audrey Azoulay. “Not yet, Quality education risks becoming a privilege of the few if we do not take serious measures to give every child across the globe equal opportunities to learn and develop.,” she added.
Although there has been progress in education enrollment – with 110 million children enrolling since the adoption of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on Education in 2015 – disparities persist.
School completion rates show improvement, with 40 million more young people finishing secondary school compared to 2015.
However, the gap between rich and poor countries remains particularly alarming. According to the report, in low-income countries, 33% of school-age children and adolescents are out of school, compared with just 3% in high-income countries.
The report highlights that sub-Saharan Africa faces the greatest challenges, where more than half of all children and adolescents are out of school globally.
Funding for the future
A second report on Thursday, World Bank Education Financing Tracker-UNESCO 2024points to chronic underinvestment as the main obstacle. The disparity in education spending is huge, with the report revealing that high-income countries invest $8,543 per learner while low- and middle-income countries manage just $55 per student .
The situation is further complicated by the debt burden. According to the report, in Africa, countries now spend almost as much on debt repayment as on education, while global education aid has fallen from 9.3% in 2019 to 7.6%. in 2022.
In response, UNESCO, working together with Brazil’s G20 Presidency, is calling for innovative financing mechanisms, including debt-for-education swaps.
Brazilian Education Minister Camilo Santana said at the UNESCO Global Education Conference in Fortaleza, where leaders are working to turn discussions into concrete action to address this global education crisis. : “Equity and inclusion in and through education are fundamental to Brazil’s social development vision.”
