This blog post was originally published by the Huffington Post:
In 2000, 164 governments met in Dakar, Senegal and pledged to achieve the six “Education for All” goals by 2015 committing to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and adults. This week, education experts from all over the world meet again in Dakar to discuss the best way to ensure education, training and learning is reflected in the post-2015 agenda.
Hosted by the Government of Senegal with support from the governments of Canada, Germany and the Hewlett Foundation, the meeting was led by United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Education and Scientific Organization (UNESCO).
The last two decades have seen remarkable gains in education. Much of it is due to global commitments to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All targets. The number of children of primary age out of school has plummeted from 115 million in 2000 to 61 million in 2010. More than 50 million more children are in education.
Similarly, at the end of the last millennium, two-thirds of the children out of school were girls. Today, more girls are in school than ever before. Gender parity in primary enrolment has improved significantly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, regions that started the decade with the greatest gender gaps.
Yet, it is imperative to move beyond the numbers, to analyze the situation in relation to wealth and other disparities and to look closely at the barriers holding us back from reaching the goals we set out to achieve.
Challenges and incomplete targets
1. Inequalities have limited education opportunities for the most disadvantaged children. People from war-torn zones, those suffering from natural disasters, remote communities, children with disabilities, ethnic minorities and girls still face difficulties accessing a quality education. In some less developed countries, children in the poorest 20 percent of the population are three times less likely to be enrolled in primary school than the wealthiest 20 percent.
2. Despite the progress, of the 61 million primary school age and 71 million children of lower secondary school age who are not in school, more than half — 53 percent — are girls who are left out of the education system due to conflict, poverty, natural disasters, discrimination or a lack of nearby schools among other reasons.
3. There has been less success in giving children a quality education with relevant learning opportunities that helps them stay in school. Far too many are dropping out of primary school or coming out of school vastly lacking the basic tools of being able to read and write. Estimates are that 120 million children do not reach Grade 4 — and an additional 130 million in school are failing to acquire basic reading and numeracy skills. There is an increasing gap between education and the skills needed to thrive in the world of work and society.
4. The shortage of teachers has had a direct impact on the quality of leaning delivered. Currently, an estimated 1.7 million more teachers are required globally to reach the goals of Universal Primary Education by 2015. As we recruit new teachers, we must strive to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Governments should provide teachers with access to training opportunities. Teachers, in turn, must be accountable to their students and communities and be oriented around the goal of teaching all students effectively and equally.
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