The Hon Julia Gillard, Chair of the Global Partnership for Education, calls for the global mobilisation of resources to deliver quality education.
A new era beckons us, one in which we have addressed the interconnected challenges of sustainable development. This is an era that can only be reached by working together – an era in which we live together in peace and security, on a planet we nurture; in which we realise opportunity for all. The good news is that we know that improving access to education, and enhancing its quality, are both possible.
In the 15 years that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have galvanised the world we have seen the number of children not in primary school halve to 59 million. The number of children not enrolled in primary or lower secondary dropped by almost halve, 41 per cent to 124 million.
But the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) present a greater challenge. To address it by pursuing ‘business as usual’ will not be enough. Business as usual will mean we do not see the first cohort of sub-Saharan African girls to universally attend primary and lower secondary school until 2111…
*Statistics within article correct at original publication date of CHOGM 2015 Report.
The Hon Julia Gillard
Chair of the Global Partnership for Education