Out-of-school Children

UNICEF/UIS global initiative to reduce the number of children out of school

http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/Pages/out-of-school-children.aspx
Data show that progress on reducing the number of children out-of-school has stalled. As of
2012, 58 million children of primary school age and another 63 million children of lower
secondary school age were still out of school. There are also indications that progress towards
universal primary education is slowing and that the goal will not be met by 2015 if current trends
continue.
What is the role of the UIS and UNICEF in reducing the number of children out of school?
The UNICEF/UIS Global Initiative on Out-of-school Children is designed to accelerate efforts
towards the goal of universal primary education by 2015. Policies and programmes to address
the problem of exclusion from education and reduce inequalities remain inadequate in many
countries. Moreover, there has been no systematic analysis to identify the bottlenecks on the path
to universal primary education and explain why well-intentioned policies are not yielding robust
results.
Underlying the policy gap is a data gap arising from the lack of adequate tools and
methodologies to identify out-of-school children, monitor progress towards universal primary
education, measure the scope of and assess the reasons for exclusion, and inform policy and
planning. Above all, greater consensus is needed on estimates of the number children out of
school. This requires improving the quality and consistency of data collected through
administrative records and household surveys

Literacy among youth is rising, but young women lag behind

Literacy rates among youth (aged 15 to 24) and adults are the test of an educational system, and
the overall trend is positive, thanks to the expansion of educational opportunities. Globally, the
youth literacy rate increased from 83 per cent to 89 per cent over two decades, while the number
of illiterate youth declined from 168 million to 123 million. Regional and gender disparities
persist, however. Literacy is lowest in least developed countries and higher among males than
females. In the most recent years for which data are available, young women accounted for 61
per cent of the total illiterate youth population.

About 60 per cent of the countries and areas for which data are available have eradicated or
nearly eradicated illiteracy among youth. In several countries in West and Central Africa,
however, youth literacy rates remain less than 50 per cent. These are countries that have
struggled to increase school enrolment at both primary and secondary levels. However, even
when universal primary education is within reach, some countries, such as Malawi and Zambia,
show low youth literacy rates. This suggests that enrolment as well as retention in school is
important, as is the quality of education.
Literacy rates among youth are lowest in West and Central Africa and in South Asia

Youth literacy rate (percentage)

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics global databases, 2013, based on survey data for the most recent year available
during the period 20052011.

GENDER EQUALITY
In about two thirds of countries, literacy among youth is about the same for young men and
women. In many countries, however, particularly in West and Central Africa and South Asia,
illiterate women far outnumber their male counterparts. The gender parity index stands at 0.77
and 0.85 for West and Central Africa and South Asia, respectively. In Niger, the gender parity
index is 0.44, meaning that there are 44 literate women for every 100 literate men.
- See more at: http://data.unicef.org/education/literacy#sthash.BVcAoePc.dpuf