A New Opportunity to Increase Children’s Access to Education — Global Issues
NEW YORK, Jan 23 (IPS) – World Education Day, January 24, reminds us of the power of education to transform children’s lives, and build vibrant, sustainable communities.
One of the most important—and easiest—things governments can do to ensure children’s education is to make it free. In the 1990s, when many countries began to remove school fees at the primary level, they saw amazing results.
For example, Malawi abolished primary school fees in 1994, and within a year, enrollment had increased by 50 percent, with one million additional children enrolled. After Kenya abolished primary school fees in 2003, two million new children enrolled.
The sudden influx of new students disrupted education systems, challenging countries to train more teachers, build more schools, and ensure quality. But today, almost every child in the world enjoys free primary education, and nearly 90 percent of children worldwide complete primary school.
But it’s a different story for children at primary and secondary levels, where cost often remains a significant barrier to schooling.
Fewer than 60 percent of the world’s children complete high school, and nearly half miss out on pre-primary education, which occurs during the early years when children’s brains are developing rapidly, and offers profound long-term benefits. Existing international law—more than 70 years old—guarantees only free education for all children at the primary level.
For example, in Uganda, our recent investigation with the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights found that many children miss out on primary education altogether, because the government does not provide money for children’s education, and families cannot afford the fees charged. for private preschools.
Without access to primary education, children often do poorly in primary school, are twice as likely to repeat grades, and are more likely to drop out. Many of these children never meet their peers, which increases income inequality.
According to the World Bank, every dollar invested in pre-primary education can bring benefits of up to $14. Youth education increases tax revenue and GDP by improving children’s employment opportunities and earnings, and enables parents—especially mothers—to increase their earnings by returning to work sooner.
The EC concluded that “investment in early childhood has a much higher rate of return than any other humanitarian intervention.”
As part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), all countries have agreed that by 2030 they will provide everyone with access to primary education, and that all children will complete free secondary education. But political commitment to free education is not enough, and progress is too slow.
A growing number of countries see the expansion of free education beyond primary school as a valuable investment.
Ghana, for example, became the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to extend free education to preschool age in 2008, guaranteeing two years of free and compulsory education.
In 2017, it committed to fully free education, and according to the latest statistics, it now has the third highest enrollment rate in Sub-Saharan Africa in pre-primary and secondary schools. Its policy of free secondary education has reduced the national poverty rate, especially in households headed by women.
Not surprisingly, UNESCO reports that countries with laws guaranteeing free education have the highest rates of children in school. When Azerbaijan adopted a law providing three years of free pre-primary education, for example, the participation rate rose from 25 percent to 83 percent in four years.
Given the proven benefits of free education, it is puzzling that nearly 70 percent of the world’s children live in countries that have not yet guaranteed free primary education by law or policy.
In July 2024, the UN Human Rights Council approved a proposal from Luxembourg, Sierra Leone, and the Dominican Republic to consider a new international agreement to explicitly guarantee free public preschool education (starting at one year) and free secondary education for all children.
To be sure, the new deal will not soon get every child to school. But it will provide a powerful incentive for governments to move quickly to expand access to free education and an important tool for civil society to hold themselves accountable.
Negotiations for the proposed agreement are expected to begin in September. Governments should seize this opportunity to advance free education for all children, without exception.
Jo Becker He is the children’s rights advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.
© Inter Press Service (2025) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
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