More than 250 million children in the world do not attend school

The number of children and adolescents in school has increased by 110 million since the Sustainable Development Goal on education was adopted in 2015, with more children in school today than ever; However, the amount of children who do not attend school reaches 250 milliona figure that is too high at this point in history, noted the United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO).

In his new Global Education Monitoring Report 2024the organization highlights that study completion rates have also increased and that currently, young people who There are 40 million more people who finish secondary school than those who did so in 2015.

This development shows that global efforts to ensure universal education have reached a worrying impasse, as The out-of-school population has fallen by just 1% in almost ten years.

Quality education, the privilege of a few

The Director General of UNESCO recalled that education “is the fundamental driver of prosperous, inclusive societies and peaceful.”

“However, quality education runs the risk of becoming the privilege of a few if we do not take serious measures to give all children in the world the same opportunity to learn and thrive,” emphasized Audrey Azoulay.

While there has been progress in school enrollment, disparities persist, the report notes.

Alarming gap between rich and poor

Furthermore, the gap between rich and poor countries remains alarming: in developing countries low income 33% of school-age children and young people are out of schoolcompared to 3% of those with high incomes.

Sub-Saharan Africa It is the region of the world with the greatest challenges, as it is home to more than half of all out-of-school children and adolescents in the world, the study highlights.

in a second reportwhich monitors education financing, emphasizes the chronic lack of investment as the great obstacle to achieving universal schooling.

Prepared by UNESCO and the World Bankthe text details that the countries High-income students invest $8,543 per studentwhile low- and middle-income countries only allocate $55 to each student.

Debt and education

The situation is further complicated by the debt burden. Thus, in Africa, countries now spend almost as much on debt service as on education, while global aid to education decreased from 9.3% in 2019 to 7.6% in 2022.

To respond to this situation, UNESCO in collaboration with the Brazilian presidency of the G20 has urged the design of innovative financing mechanisms, including debt-for-education swaps.

Leaders discuss concrete actions to resolve global education crisis in UNESCO World Education Meetingwhich takes place in Fortaleza, Brazil starting yesterday, October 31.

At the end of the conclave, more than 40 Ministers of Education will ratify the Declaration of Strengthwhich calls for prioritizing education as a key tool for a more just and sustainable future.

Likewise, that final document calls for renewed educational approaches to the most pressing challenges by incorporating climate education into school curricula, promoting peace education against the rise of hate speech and discrimination, and promoting gender equality in and through education.