7 Things to Remember on Universal Children’s Day

Posted: 20 Nov 2013 , Education for All Blog | Global Partnership for Education

Education is a right for every boy and girl around the world

By Livia Barton, GPE Secretariat
On December 14, 1954, the United Nations General Assembly recommended that all countries institute a Universal Children’s Day, to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children.
Here are 7 things to remember about children’s education on this special day:

1. 1 in 10 children worldwide lacks a basic primary education

Credit: GPE/David K. Bridges

That’s 57 million children who are denied an education despite the world’s promise to put every child in school by 2015. Learn more about how you can support full funding for education worldwide

2. When we educate girls, we educate a nation

Credit: Educate a Child

But some countries lose more than $1 billion per year by failing to educate girls to the same level as boys. Learn more in the infographic “Investing in Girls’ Education Delivers Results”

3. Children suffer when countries are dealing with political conflict and humanitarian crises

Credit: GPE/Michelle Mesen

More than half of the world out-of-school children live in fragile and conflict-affected countries and therefore miss out on critical years of learning. Learn more in Save the Children’s Report “Attacks on Education: the impact of conflict and grave violations on children’s futures”

4. Every child deserves the right to learn

Credit: GPE/Paul Martinez

But 250 million are still failing to learn the basics such as reading, writing, and counting even after 4 years of school. Learn more in the infographic about the “Global Education First Initiative”

5. Too many children are not completing primary school

Credit: Bill Lyons/ World Bank

In GPE’s 59 developing partner countries, 1 in 4 children are not completing primary school. Learn more about how we are addressing the most vulnerable children andadding value, country by country

6. Children benefit when teachers’ working conditions are a priority

Credit: GPE/Alberto Begue

A manageable class size is considered to have a maximum of 40 students per teacher but in many low-income countries, class sizes are sometimes double or more. Learn more in the infographic “A Global Partnership to Teach Every Child”

7. When people who care about education work together, children benefit

Credit: GPE/Natasha Graham