Education changes lives. Without it, nothing changes. Disadvantage lingers. Poverty continues. When a child completes their education, a whole new world of opportunity opens up. When you educate a child, you don’t just change one life, but the life of their family, their community, and future generations. When every child receives an education, the whole of society benefits. For girls the benefits are especially profound – if all women completed secondary education, there would be 49% fewer child deaths, 7 64% fewer early marriages, 8 and 59% fewer young pregnancies, 9 and they would earn up to 45% 10 more than a woman with no education.
Children with disabilities have the same right to education as any other child. They also have the same hopes and dreams, and potential to live a good and productive life. As with all children, education is the key to unlocking that potential.
Education enables people to access higher-paying jobs or other earning opportunities, helping to break the intergenerational cycle of poverty.
Education helps reduce vulnerability to natural disasters.
For children in fragile contexts, education builds resilience and safeguards against violence, abuse and exploitation.
Good quality education reduces the risk of war, and protects children from recruitment by armed groups.
With 262 million children out of school, what is at stake is not just 262 million futures, but 262 million generations of children who can be born healthier, raised in a household that supports their education, and ultimately have the opportunity to live a better life than their parents, free from extreme poverty, forced marriage, exploitation, or undignified labor.
Worldwide the number of children out of school has dropped by almost half since 2000, but progress has slowed with almost no improvement since 2012. Action is needed to ensure that every child, adolescent, and youth attends school and completes their education so they can fulfil their God-given potential.
Help every child gain access to the life-changing power of education.
References
7 UNESCO, “Education for All: Global Monitoring Report 2013/14” (accessed 01/03/2019)
8 UNESCO, “Education for All: Global Monitoring Report 2013/14” (accessed 01/03/2019)
9 UNESCO, “Education for All: Global Monitoring Report 2013/14” (accessed 01/03/2019)
10 World Bank, ‘Missed Opportunities: The High Cost of Not Educating Girls’ (accessed (01/03/2019)
Help us get to
1 million signatures
I want world leaders to commit to ensuring that all children,
adolescents and youth have access to free,
equitable and quality primary and secondary education.
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