Oxfam's response to the publication of UNESCO's Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2012

In response to the publication of UNESCO's Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2012, Sandra Dworack, education expert for Oxfam, said:

"The report shows a worrying trend of stagnating aid for education and future cuts whilst the number of children out of school in Sub-Saharan Africa is rising. This could be a disaster for millions of children and young people, whose futures rely on being able to go to school and to develop their skills.

"Last year aid fell for the first time since 1997 and the future looks bleak because of the economic crisis. The findings show we are a long way off reaching the Education for All goals and MDG 2 (achieving universal primary education). 132 million children are missing out on primary and lower secondary education. Now more than ever, we need more and better aid to basic and secondary education and to address the shortage of qualified teachers.

"Despite the report findings there has been some significant progress in the last 10 years thanks to the commitment of governments and aid donors. The Report says that for every dollar spent on a person’s education it will bring back $10 -15 in economic growth over that person’s working lifetime. Investing in education is a way of investing in a future generation who won’t need aid, because they have the skills and education to build a life free from poverty."