58 KM For 58 Million Primary Age Children

UNICEF walking campaign - 58km for 58m primary school-age children out of school in 2019

Let’s help UNICEF to achieve universal primary education by 2030!

Primary education post

• 58 million primary school-age children out of school in 2019

• Recent studies show that quality of education matters as well: many children lack foundational reading and numeracy skills!

• Socioeconomic status and primary education: only 75% of children from the poorest households attend primary school, compared to 94% in the richest ones

• These inequalities can be exacerbated in several regions such as West and Central Africa, where only 29% of the children from the poorest households complete primary education

• More than half of out-of-primary-school children live in emergency countries.

Upper secondary education post

Globally, less than half of upper secondary school- age children are enrolled in or have completed upper secondary education. In countries affected by emergencies or natural disasters, only 26.6 per cent of adolescents reach upper secondary school.

Why?

Poverty is largely responsible for those alarming numbers. Many adolescents face challenges that prevent them completing upper secondary education.

Girls face barriers including:

• Child marriage

• Gender-based violence

• Inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene

• The heavy burden of household chores

Boys face barriers including:

• The pressure to earn money

• Gender-based stereotypes encouraging truancy

The importance of education for children post

➢ Access to primary education is a basic human right. And it should be so for every child.

➢ Education as the ‘single most potent equalizer of opportunity’

➢ Education is at the core of positive social change and reducing inequalities

➢ Part of GOAL 4 of the Sustainable Development Agenda, however no observable progress in the numbers for the last 10 years!

UNICEF action post

UNICEF Education Strategy 2019-2030 ‘Every child Learns’

• Equitable access to learning opportunities

• Improved learning and skills for all

• Improved learning and protection for children in emergencies and fragile contexts

Sources (for all 4 posts):

https://data.unicef.org/topic/education/primary-education/

UNICEF for every child (September 2018) ‘A future stolen: Young and out of school’.