In Parliament

Education in the developing world 07 May 2007

International development and Education

Today more than 100 million of the world's children do not go to school. Most are in Africa, more of them are girls, and all are denied the most basic chance to reach their potential. Since 1997 this Labour government has invested over £700 million in education in the developing world in over 30 developing countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia.

The regions that are of priority to the UK are sub-Saharan Africa and West Asia, where seven out of ten out-of-school children live. Whether it is abolishing primary school fees in Malawi, committing £100 million to Bangladesh's education programme, helping to recruit 2,600 new primary teachers or supporting the Gambian Government to purchase thousands of text books, Labour is committed to providing the investment and support to make a difference to the developing world.

In 2000 an agreement was reached to achieve universal primary education by 2015 for all children. The Gleneagles summit of 2005 provided the opportunity for the G8 countries to agree to invest more in better education, extra teachers and new schools.

In April 2007 at Gleneagles the Chancellor and Hillary Benn announced a new initiative to ensure education is an integral part of humanitarian assistance. Education benefits not just children, but families, communities, and whole countries. It improves job chances and prosperity, promotes health and prevents disease.

Education is the single greatest investment we can make to ensure growth and economic development.

To aid the process of meeting these ambitious targets the Fast Track Initiative Scheme was launched to provide predictable aid through regular funding channels and better co-ordination between government and donors. This will be aided by the announcement of a further £150 million to the Fast Track Initiative scheme over the next ten years.

The government wants every schoolchild in the UK to learn about the way our lives are connected to people in poor countries. Which is why the booklet on school linking, ‘The World Classroom, Developing Global Partnerships in Education' was published to promote the programme of linking UK schools with schools in poor countries. The booklet provides all the relevant information on school linking, including access to funding and is available online.

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/world-classroom.pdf

The Chancellor and Hilary Benn have committed £8.5 billion on aid for education over the next ten years. As well as this substantial investment, for the first time the UK Government will enter into 10 year agreements with poor countries to finance 10 year education plans- locking in the long-term commitment vital to delivering high quality education for all.

It is because of Labour's commitment to developing countries that we are able to do this. Every single day British aid now helps lift 5,000 people out of poverty. Labour has tripled aid spending and is the first British government ever to set a date for spending 0.7 per cent of GDP on aid. When they were last in office, the Conservatives halved the aid budget.

For further information please visit www.dfid.gov.uk