Achieve universal primary education

In the developing countries, millions of children do not go to school. Often the children are kept out of school in order to help at home or to contribute to the family income. Obligatory and accessible primary education is an important part of the fight against child labor. It gives children the chance to develop themselves and create the opportunity for a better life. This ultimately has a positive influence on the entire community. In 2015, all children must have the opportunity to receive and complete primary education.

Current situation:

The number of children in developing countries that go to school has increased from 80 percent in 1990 to 88 percent in 2007. In the Sub-Sahara Africa region, the percentage of children receiving primary education is lowest with 71 percent. This means that in this region, 38 million children do not go to school. In South-Asia, 18 million children do not receive education. The number of children not going to school was greatly reduced from 103 million in 1999 to 73 million in 2006. Political influence from governments and targeted support from donations contributed to this success. Although it is positive that so many more children go to school, there is room for improvement with regards to the quality of education. Some of the problems are lack of teachers with as a result the classes are overfull en there is not enough furniture for the students. Also, many children leave school before receiving a diploma, leaving them with fewer opportunities for the future. Only 54 percent of the children in developing countries receive secondary education, with in Africa, this only covering a quarter of the children.