UNESCO
According to the Digest, boys and girls in only 85 countries will have equal access to primary and secondary education by 2015, if present trends continue. Seventy-two countries are not likely to reach the goal – among which, 63 are far from reaching parity at the secondary level.
“This new data tells us that we need to re-affirm our commitment to education and gender equality,” said UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova. “The advances made in improving girls’ and women’s access to education and training over the past decades risk being undermined by reductions in international aid and national investments as the world struggles to cope with inter-locking crises. Yet, we all know that compromising the education of girls and women will only lead to more vulnerability and reinforce the vicious cycle of poverty.”
UNESCO Institute for Statistics for more