THAILAND ON TRACK TO ACHIEVE GENDER PARITY MDGBut up to 1 million children are still out of primary school BANGKOK, Thailand, 27 April 2005 — Thailand is among nine countries in the East Asia and Pacific region on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for gender equity in primary education by 2005, according to a new UNICEF report. The recently launched report, Progress for Children: A Report Card on Gender Parity and Primary Education, notes that for every 100 boys enrolled in primary schools in Thailand there are only 97 girls. This is within the margin of error allowed for measuring achievement of the MDG, although it still means that 90,000 fewer girls than boys are in school. The report also measures advances towards the Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015. It states that Thailand has made significant progress towards getting all children of primary school age into school and that, over the last 15 years, total net primary enrolment has risen from 76% to 87%. This is largely due to sustained economic growth and the provision of nine years of free education. Nonetheless, while this progress is to be applauded, the enrolment rates lag behind other countries in the region, including China (96%), the Philippines (94%) and Viet Nam (96%). This means that nearly 1 million primary school-aged children are still out of school. The national-level data also hide sub-national disparities and the fact that certain groups are much more likely to be excluded from school, including children with no birth registration; the children of ethnic minorities, migrants and seafarers; homeless children; and children with HIV/AIDS. “Although improvements have been made, we are very concerned that large numbers of marginalized children in Thailand are still being denied their basic right to an education,” says UNICEF Representative, Inese Zalitis. This is confirmed by data from a recent UNICEF-supported study mapping children from a primarily ethnic minority area in Mae Hong Son. This study found that some 20% of primary school-aged children were not in school. The study also highlighted for the first time the significance of late enrolment, meaning that children start school at the age of seven or eight or later instead of six and are therefore not in school during years that are vital for their intellectual development. “We need to look more closely at which children are out of school and why,” said Ms Zalitis. “If Thailand is to achieve the Millennium Development Goals of gender parity and universal primary education, even the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in the country must be reached. This is still a significant challenge,” she added. For more information, please contact
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