Over 250 million children are out of school worldwide, according to a new report from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Given their age, the 2024 Global Education Monitoring Report shows that over 70 million of these children should ideally be in primary school, close to 60 million in lower secondary school and 120 million in upper secondary school.
Globally, 10% of the children who should be attending primary school, almost 15% who should be at a lower secondary school and 30% at an upper secondary do not go to school.
The percentage of children who are not participating in education in low-income nations is over 30%, close to 20% in lower-middle-income states, and less than 10% in upper-middle-income countries. The study found that the population of children who do not attend school has fallen by only three million (1%) between 2015 and 2024 whereas it had declined by nearly 45 million (14%) in the eight years before 2015.
See also: A generation left behind: Number of out-of-school children in Africa still on rise
In many countries, the number of children who are out of school has not changed since nine years ago when world leaders approved the sustainable development goals with various targets, including ensuring that all girls and boys completed primary and secondary education by 2030. The greatest increase in the population of children who are not going to school is in sub-Saharan Africa, where this number has surged from over 30% in 2000 to more than 50% in 2023.
Poverty, conflicts, and harmful social customs are the major factors that keep children out of school in many countries. Six out of 10 children are not in school in Niger and Afghanistan. The study by the UN education agency indicates there seems to be no relationship between the population of children out of school now and the coronavirus pandemic as the world had already started to experience a reduction in enrolment in around 2015.
In sub-Saharan Africa, starting school late combines with other factors to keep large numbers of children away from school. UNESCO states that numerous children in the region begin school late and have to repeat classes. For example, over 25% of the children in primary school are two years older than they should be for the school curricula they are studying, and more than 30% in lower secondary are above the normal age for the level they are studying.
A study conducted in Uganda and Bangladesh in 2017 indicated that many children drop out of education because they start school late and are then forced to repeat classes. It notes that failure to progress from primary to secondary rises with the increase in the child’s age and number of classes repeated at primary school.
More girls than boys fail to complete secondary school education in sub-Saharan Africa. Although many countries have eradicated gender disparities in the completion of secondary school education, the gaps remain wide in sub-Saharan Africa where the speed of progress over the last decade has been slower than in Central and Southern Asia – the only other regions where boys are ahead of girls.
However, there are also positive aspects in the UNESCO report. For instance, there are more students attending primary and secondary education institutions now than ever before. In addition, the number of children below the age of three in school has grown worldwide, with an over 10% increase observed in sub-Saharan Africa over the past 10 years.
Overall, over 100 million children have attended school globally since 2015 and the population of children completing primary and secondary education today is greater than in 2015, increasing by 3% and 4%, respectively. The population of students completing upper secondary is up by nearly 6%.
Even Central and South Asia, which is home to Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan – four of the 12 nations with the biggest population of children out of school – are experiencing progress in the number of children going to school. This region’s share of the worldwide population of children out of school has fallen by more than half today from nearly 45% in 2000.
Unfortunately, with investment in education declining as debt-burdened low-income countries spend more critical resources on loan servicing and tackling climate disasters, the provision of quality education could fall several places further down the priority lists of several nations, with more children leaving school without completing their education and it could take several decades for all girls and boys to achieve this.