Latest progress

The New Seekers recorded ‘I’d like to teach the world to sing’ nearly 40 years ago.  MDG 2 aims to teach the world and has 4 years to reach its targets [1].  Some incredible progress has been made, vast numbers of children that would not have had education just 15 years ago have now gone through primary education.  In 2002, for example, Tanzania made primary education free for all whilst Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Malawi have followed suit since [2]. These initiatives contributed greatly to the 18% rise in primary enrolment in sub-Saharan Africa between 1999 and 2008 [3].

It is not all perfect harmony however.  Even in those countries that now have free primary education, the net enrolment rate is not nearly 100% as hoped, and the number of children completing the full primary course is still low.  Only 3 in 4 children in Malawi complete the 5 years of primary education, whilst 17% still miss out on primary education altogether.

It is crucially important that children have the opportunity to go through primary school, and failure to reach the MDG 2 targets has knock on effects on the other MDGs.  Oxfam reports that the rate of HIV/AIDS infection doubles amongst young people who fail to complete primary education [5].

One of the major problems with reaching the targets is a lack of teachers.  In the Philippines, a governmental initiative is looking to combat this problem by setting up a volunteer workforce [6]. The idea is that by inspiring the whole of society about education, the culture will change to see education as of crucial importance and people will volunteer to help provide educational services.  There is a great need to do something to speed up the provision of education in the Philippines [7].

In Peru, a UK NGO has been working for a number of years to provide education on a similar voluntary basis. Their video shows their work and some of the challenges faced when providing education [8].  Without more government spending however, the provision of education for girls and boys will not be sufficient to help all Peruvian children to go to school and learn basic skills [9].

Continued efforts from governments around the world are needed to get closer to the target of universal primary education for boys and girls.  Aid interventions such as one in Laos by Australia aid shows that simple steps can be taken to provide whole villages with new opportunities [10].  Read about MDG 3 to find out about the continuing inequality between school provision between boys and girls [11].

[1] Targets and Indicators of MDG 2

[2] End Poverty 2015 website

[3] UN MDG Official Report 2010

[4] UN Report in Malawi

[5] Oxfam Report

[6] Philippines Information Agency

[7] Philippines National Statistics

[8] SKIP: Supporting Kids in Peru website

[9] nationmaster.com peru education statistics

[10] Australia Aid in Laos Youtube Video

[11] Micah Challenge MDG3 Information