UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has announced that new data available to it clearly shows that no fewer than 98 million children and youth between the ages of six and 18 worldwide are still out of school in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Africa Today News, New York reports that this is even as the new school year begins in many parts of the world this month.
UNESCO, in new data published online on Thursday, shows that Sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the most children and youth out of school, with a total of 98 million children.
‘It is also the only region where this number is increasing, out-of-school rates are falling more slowly than the rate at which the school-age population is growing.
‘The region with the second highest out-of-school population is Central and Southern Asia, with 85 million,’ it stated.
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Globally, the new UNESCO data shows that 244 million children and youth between the ages of six and 18 worldwide are still out of school.
‘No one can accept this situation,’ Ms Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO Director-General said, underlining the need to respect every child’s right to education.
‘In view of these results, the objective of quality education for all by 2030, set by the United Nations, risks not being achieved,’ she warned.
‘We need a global mobilisation to place education at the top of the international agenda.’
Azoulay will renew her call at the landmark Transforming Education Summit on Sept.19, at UN Headquarters in New York.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has convened the Summit to mobilise action and solutions, including to reverse learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic
On a more positive note, the UNESCO data has confirmed that the difference in the rate of girls and boys out of school has closed worldwide.
Back in 2000, the gender gap was 2.5 percentage points among primary school age children, and 3.9 percentage points among their upper secondary school counterparts.
These gaps have been reduced to zero, although regional disparities persist.
Relatedly, four million boys and girls in Ukraine are facing the start of an uncertain school year, the head of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Thursday.