Press Centre 2003/12/17: Girls’ Education

The cover of the State of the World’s Children 2004 shows a group of girls in their classroom.

Girls to School!

Of 121 million children out of school worldwide, 65 million are girls

Ankara, 17 December 2003 -- UNICEF’s annual report The State of the World’s Children 2004 Girls, Education and Development was introduced to the press on December 16th, at the Dedeman Hotel.

Since there continues to be a serious gap between male and female literacy rates, girls’ education is the first essential step towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Each year 9 million girls worldwide are being left out of the school system.

According to data collected as of September 2003, 640,000 girls of school age are out of school in Turkey. The Ministry of National Education (MONE) is leading the Haydi Kızlar Okula! campaign to increase school enrolment and attendance rates for girls. The campaign, conducted in cooperation with all of the relevant sectors, will not only benefit girls themselves but also boys, families and society as a whole. Educated girls grow up to be educated mothers which in turn positively affects the nation’s general state of health, education and economic indicators.

The UNICEF State of the World’s Children report for 2004 was introduced to the press by Mr Edmond McLoughney, the UNICEF Representative in Turkey and was followed by a panel discussion to address field experience of the girls’ education campaign from different angles.

The full content of The State of the World’s Children 2004 can be read online from UNICEF Worldwide headquarters. The full text is available in Turkish on the UNICEF Turkey website.

For further information, please contact:

Sema Hosta, UNICEF Communication Officer:
(+90) 312 454 10 00, Cell: 0533 622 83 46

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