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Worldwide, over 72 million children do not attend primary school. Hundreds of millions of additional children will not continue on to secondary school or will be deprived a quality education. However, a free quality education is one of the single most powerful tools to help children around the world break out of poverty, increase their economic opportunities, promote healthy lifestyles and reduce their risk to disease.
The crisis of out-of-school youth is particularly acute among girls and other vulnerable populations, including orphans, refugees, and children with disabilities. Too often, children and their parents face multiple barriers to education, including extreme poverty, school fees, child labor, conflict or the loss of parents due to HIV/AIDS and other preventable diseases. For those fortunate enough to attend school, the educational environment is often of poor quality, and few options exist to continue on to secondary school.
Despite these challenges, a number of countries and organizations have made substantial progress in recent years. The elimination of school fees for children in countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania has increased enrolment by the millions. Policies such as Bolsa Familia (Brazil) and Progresa (Mexico) have linked parental incentives with those of children, making them more likely to attend and stay in school. Developed countries such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands have stepped up to the plate to provide long-term funding for countries with national education plans. Innovative programs have reached girls in extremely poor, remote areas of South Asia who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn. Model education programs are operating in conflict and post-conflict settings in places such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Colombia and Sudan – giving hope and stability to children living in otherwise chaotic and unpredictable environments.
Learn more about universal education:
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Washington, DC
June 23, 2008
The Center for Universal Education will host Linda Rottenberg, CEO and Co-Founder of Endeavor Global, a leader in supporting emerging entrepreneurs worldwide, and Dina Habib Powell, Director of Global Corporate Engagement at Goldman Sachs, for a lunchtime discussion about the need for financing the development of greater financial and managerial talent in developing countries. In particular, they will examine what type of education is needed and scalable for women in developing and emerging economies to create this new class of entrepreneurs, managers, and financial leaders who will develop and grow small and medium enterprises.
Bloomberg Commentary
Gene Sperling
May 1, 2008
Among the casualties of the food crisis will be the schooling of millions of the world's poorest children. The connection is as simple as a school lunch.
Today, 72 million children worldwide are denied access to a basic education. In addition, over 226 million youth are denied the opportunity to attend secondary school.
Global Education Action Week was April 20-27, 2008.
Through the Council on Foreign Relations, the Center for Universal Education conducted outreach for a youth training that brought over 50 young students from across the country to Washington, DC to learn about education in developing countries.
For more information on the CUE, contact:
Gene Sperling
Senior Fellow for Economic Studies
Director, Center for Universal Education
+1-202-518-3401
Anda Adams
Associate Director
+1-202-518-3404
Victoria Palomo
Research Associate
+1-202-518-3472
Copyright 2008 by the Council on Foreign Relations. All Rights Reserved.
