- The Convention on the Rights of the Child says that all children have the right to a good primary education and should have equal access to secondary education (Article 28).
- Around the world, more than 115 million children of primary-school age are not in school.
- During the 1990s, the proportion of children attending primary school increased slightly – from 80 per cent to 82 per cent. However, because the world's population has increased, the total number of children not in school has stayed about the same, at around 120 million.
Around the world, more than 115 million children of primary-school age are not in school.
- Nearly 53 per cent of the children currently not in primary school are girls. The gender gap is even bigger in some countries of the world, and is often even bigger in secondary schools.
- Some of the main reasons why so many children are not currently in primary school include:
- Poverty: families may have difficulty affording school fees or the cost of uniforms, or may need children to work to contribute to the family income
- Safety: families may keep their children at home if they feel the journey to school is too long or that it's dangerous to walk to school alone. They may also be worried about bullying and sexual harassment or violence, especially for girls.
- Local traditions: in some countries, families place more emphasis on the education of boys, and may not believe it is important to send their daughters to school. Girls may also be forced to marry young, drop out of school, and dedicate themselves to housework.
- Emergencies, such as conflict, economic crises and natural disasters, prevent millions of children around the world from getting an education.
- Uneducated girls grow up to be disadvantaged women. For instance, more than half (64 per cent) of the 771 million adults in the world who cannot read or write are women. Without an education, women have fewer employment options and often earn less than men. In fact, on average, women earn only three-quarters of what men earn.
- The United Nations Millennium Development Goals set the target of making equal rights to education a reality preferably by the year 2005, and definitely by 2015.
- The United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children, held in May 2002, set the interim target of getting 90 per cent of children into primary school by 2010.
- To help achieve equal access to school for girls and boys, UNICEF is focusing its efforts in 25 countries – of which 15 are in Africa and 6 in South Asia – where urgent help is required.
- Education is not just a good thing in itself. The evidence shows that it is crucial to reducing poverty, improving general health, halting the spread of HIV and AIDS, and enabling people to play a full part in their communities and nations.
