UNESCO Report: Global School Attendance Declines, Urgent Action Needed

UNESCO Report: Global School Attendance Declines, Urgent Action Needed
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A new UNESCO report warns that the number of children out of school has risen for the seventh consecutive year, reaching 273 million worldwide, highlighting persistent gaps in early and secondary education.

While nearly 90 percent of children complete primary school, 194 million out-of-school children are of secondary age, and roughly one-third of young people do not finish secondary education. At current trends, UNESCO estimates that 95 percent secondary school completion will not be achieved until 2105.

Early childhood education is also lagging, with only 60 percent of primary students having received at least one year of pre-primary schooling. Enrollment is particularly low in sub-Saharan Africa, where fewer than one in four children of pre-primary age attend school.

Cost remains a key barrier: while primary education is free in most countries, preschool and secondary education often require tuition. In Uganda, for example, lack of public preschool funding leaves most children unable to afford private options, according to Human Rights Watch and the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights.

UNESCO emphasizes the need for a new international treaty guaranteeing free pre-primary and secondary education for all children. Current international law only guarantees free primary schooling. Over 60 countries have expressed support for the proposed treaty, which is being considered as an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.