Getting the education MDG back on track

69 million children continue to be out of school. We know that a bit more than half are in conflict-affected fragile states, and almost half are girls. These are quite scandalous figures; yet progress is possible.

At the last day of the MDG Summit, we’re co-hosting a high-level event with the Government of Qatar, UNICEF and UNESCO on ‘The Central Role of Education in the MDGs’ to get world leaders and experts to meet to find ways to make school a part of every child’s life and to get MDG2, the primary education goal, back on track.

We decided to get practical about suggestions to achieve the MDG2 target to get every boy and girl into school by releasing our report: ‘Making it Count: Providing education with equity and quality in the run-up to 2015.’ This is our call to both donors and governments to ensure that they look at the kind of primary education children are receiving.

As a child, you expect a lot from your schooling. So, what use is there sitting in a classroom when you’re really not learning anything? Or when the education you are receiving is not adequate to your way of life? Governments must of course make sure children have access to education, but they’ve got to start looking beyond just enrolment figures.

To avoid failing children, we have highlighted areas where states must make sure they are not failing. They shouldn’t jeopardise quality to increase the number of children enrolled in school and they should recognize the need to include all children—the poorest, the hardest to reach, those that are discriminated against by the educational system—by guaranteeing education includes all children.

Read the report and let us know what you think