Policy > Children out of School - Summary

Children out of School - Summary

This paper is designed to provide a clear understanding of the circumstances of children who are not in school, in order to provide a background for a step-change in national and international efforts to make progress against the Education Millennium Development Goals.

The analysis draws on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation's Education for All 2000 Assessment.

This paper assesses what we know of children out of school by region and country, by gender and circumstance. It then suggests how to make a reality of the international pledge made at World Education Forum (2000), Dakar, that:

"no countries seriously committed to education for all will be thwarted in their achievement of this goal by lack of resources."

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Children out of school

Children who are not enrolled in school

The Education for All Assessment estimated that 113 million children were not enrolled in primary school in 1998. Some 60% of the total are girls. Nearly 87% of the total live in three regions: sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia and the Arab States and North Africa.

Circumstances affecting children who are not enrolled in school

The population of school-age children who are not enrolled in school is characterised by a range of interrelated factors:

Poverty
Children who do not attend primary school or drop out at an early stage are overwhelmingly from poor households in poor countries.

Above average rural location
School enrolment and attendance is much lower in rural than urban areas.

Disability and special needs
Most children with disabilities are out of school where there is no inclusion of those with physical , emotional or learning impairments within the education system.

Living with conflict
Upwards of 70 countries in the world are affected by conflict. One estimate suggests that 50% of children who do not attend school live in countries in crisis or emerging form conflict.

Living with HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is changing the lives of millions of children. Some evidence suggests that children whose parents have died from AIDS are less likely to attend school than those who have not lost a parent.

Needing to work
Worldwide 250 million children between the ages of 5 and 14 are estimated to be engaged in some sort of work - part time or full time.

Children who do not complete five years of primary education

Many countries have relatively high initial enrolment figures but poor primary school completion rates - completion rates can provide a much stronger test of Universal Primary Education (UPE) than enrolment alone.

Learning outcomes

The ultimate test of UPE is whether all children are achieving acceptable, minimum learning outcomes. However, there is a growing body of international evidence that suggests that the quality of teaching and learning in the schools of many developing countries is of a very low standard.

Accelerating progress

A real step change is needed in those countries which do not accord appropriate priority to investment in primary education and gender equality. Much is already known about measures that need to be taken to achieve UPE. A proven range of strategies exists - this paper focuses on some of the key requirements:

• Making primary education free and compulsory
• Primary education budgets will need to grow and be used more efficiently
• Improving the equity & quality of the governance and management of education
• Gender equality requires more intensive action
• To meet the needs of children in disadvantaged rural communities
• Inclusive education policies that provide for disabled children
• New approaches are needed to meet the needs of children affected by conflict
• Meeting the educational needs of children affected by HIV/AIDS
• Reducing the poverty that encourages child labour
• New and expanded partnerships in education (e.g: NGO/civil society/religious links)
• Investments in quality education

Stepping up international action

The international community has a responsibility in meeting the commitment of the Dakar framework for Action that: "...no countries seriously committed to education for all will be thwarted in the achievement of this goal by lack of resources".

How can international action be stepped up in a coherent, well-organised and supportive way? An eight - point plan of action is proposed:

• All Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers should indicate how the Education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be met
• Detailed analysis of the funding implications for achieving the Education MDGs is required
• A step change in the level of international financing
• Agreement on the meaning of "seriously committed"
• Regional initiatives to ensure that the EFA, Dakar commitments are met
• A scoping study to identify opportunities for private sector involvement
• Careful monitoring of progress towards the Education MDGs
• All internationally supported commitments should also address how to meet the educational needs of out of school children
• All Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers should indicate how the Education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be met
  

The momentum towards the MDGs much be maintained. A clear demonstration of the range and the scale of international commitment is vital.

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