The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) warned that unless urgent measures are taken, 12 million primary school age children will never set foot in a school. \u00a0In view of such figures, it will be difficult to ensure inclusive quality education for all, one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the international community for 2030.<\/p>\n
According to new UIS data on the world\u2019s out-of-school children, roughly 258 million children, adolescents and youth were out of school in 2018; around one sixth of the global population of school-age children (6 to 17 years old).<\/p>\n
The new data on out-of-school children confirms recent UNESCO projections showing that, at the present rate, one in every six children will still be out of primary and secondary school in 2030, and that only six out of ten young people will complete secondary education.<\/p>\n
The data also highlights the gap between the world\u2019s richest and poorest countries. According to UIS data, 19% of primary-age children (roughly 6 to 11 years old) are not in school in low-income countries, compared to just 2% in high-income countries. The gap grows wider still for older children and youth. About 61% of all youth between the ages of 15 and 17 are out of school in low-income countries, compared to 8% in high-income countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cGirls continue to face the greatest barriers,\u201d says Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO. \u201cAccording to our projections, 9 million girls of primary school age will never start school or set foot in a classroom, compared to about 3 million boys. Four of those 9 million girls, live in sub-Saharan Africa, where the situation gives cause for even greater concern. We must therefore continue to centre our actions on girls\u2019 and women\u2019s education as an utmost priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have just 11 years to make good on the promise that every child will be in school and learning. \u00a0Yet the new data shows us an unchanging and persistent picture of poor access and quality year after year,\u201d says UIS Director Silvia Montoya. \u201cThese challenges are not inevitable. They can be overcome by a combination of intensive action and greater funding. We need real commitment from every single government, backed by resources, to get the job done.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the number of out-of-school children appears to have dropped from 262 million in 2017, the fall is largely due to a methodological change in the way the indicators are calculated. As shown in a new paper, whereas primary school age children enrolled in pre-school, were previously included in the total, they are no longer counted as being out of school.\u00a0\u00a0However, this does not change the overall rates of children out of school.<\/p>\n
The new data is released by the UIS \u2013 the custodian of SDG 4 data \u2013 a week before the United Nations General Assembly meets to examine progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and to discuss the funding needed to achieve them. \u00a0The data demonstrates the pressing need for more action to achieve quality education for all.\u201d This goal can still be reached, provided we renew our efforts while collecting more complete and reliable data to monitor progress on education access, completion and quality.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) warned that unless urgent measures are taken, 12 million primary school age children will never set foot in a school. \u00a0In view of such figures, it will be difficult to ensure inclusive quality education for all, one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the international community for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":410,"featured_media":42766,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6029,984,6030],"tags":[6511,6402,6166],"yoast_head":"\n