UN pessimistic about female literacy target

UNITED NATIONS—At the end of this year, 46 countries will fall short of their goal of getting as many girls as boys into school by 2005, missing a crucial milestone in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a new UN report said.
“This is an achievable goal, as we know from the fact that so many countries have made strides in closing the gap,” United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Deputy Executive Director Rima Salah said.
Among the 180 countries for which data were available, 125 countries 91 developing countries and 34 industrialized countries ­ are on course to reach the school parity target of the MDGs, a series of targets to drastically reduce poverty and other ills by 2015.
Gender parity in primary and secondary education by 2005, and at all levels of education by 2015, is the key target for ensuring the MDG 3 on gender equality and the empowerment of women. The target is also a precursor to the goal of achieving universal primary education by 2015 (MDG 2).
Yet nearly 115 million children, the majority of them girls, remain out of primary school, according to UNICEF, the lead agency in the UN Girls’ Education Initiative.
The exclusion of girls from school not only affects individual girls and their families, but also imperils wider development efforts, the report states, because educating girls is a proven element in social and economic development.
“Education is a fundamental part of growing up,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann Veneman. “Education of children, especially girls, is the cornerstone to national progress, because it leads to greater economic productivity, reduced infant and maternal mortality, and a greater likelihood that the next generation of children will go to school.”
Yet nearly 115 million children, the majority of them girls, remain out of primary school, according to UNICEF, the lead agency in the UN Girls’ Education Initiative. The exclusion of girls from school not only affects individual girls and their families, but also imperils wider development efforts, the report states, because educating girls is a proven element in social and economic development.
“Education is a fundamental part of growing up,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “Education of children, especially girls, is the cornerstone to national progress, because it leads to greater economic productivity, reduced infant and maternal mortality, and a greater likelihood that the next generation of children will go to school.”
The reasons why children are denied an education include poverty, gender discrimination, poor governance and disease, including HIV/AIDS, as well as natural disasters and man-made emergencies, UNICEF said.—Agencies