Education for all goals cannot be met by 2015

Despite progress made over the last decade in achieving six goals, set by Bangladesh and 163 other countries, for ensuring education for all, none of the goals will be met globally by 2015, according to a Unesco report.
In 2011, 57 million children and 69 million adolescents were still out of school, said the report, adding that insufficient financing for education is one of the main obstacles to achieving the Education for All (EFA) goals.
Unesco in collaboration with Bangladesh National Commission for Unesco and Save the Children launched the Bangla version of the report titled "Education For All Global Monitoring Report-2013/14" at BANBEIS Bhaban in the capital yesterday.      
EFA is a global movement led by Unesco, aiming to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults.
The countries had set the targets in 2000, aiming to meet them by 2015.
Mentioning Bangladesh's statistics, the report said young people from poorer households are less likely to be able to read. One in three people from the poorest households are literate compared to the almost 9 out of 10 of the richest.
"Unequal distribution of teachers is one reason some children leave school before learning the basics," the report said.
Speaking as the chief guest, Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid said although the Unesco declaration states the allocation for education should be at least six percent of the GDP, Bangladesh is far behind it.
Although the net enrolment rate at primary level is 99.47 percent, retaining the children in schools is a major challenge, the minister said.
"The main challenge is to ensure quality education and for that we need quality teachers," he said.
The Unesco report called on the governments to redouble efforts to provide learning to all who face disadvantages -- whether from poverty, gender, where they live or other factors.
Education Secretary Muhammed Sadique and Primary and Mass Education Secretary Quazi Akter Hossain also spoke.