Not Enough Girls in World’s Classrooms

More than 100 million children in developing nations between the ages of 6 and 11 -- 60% of them girls -- are not in school, according to a report released Tuesday by the Council on Foreign Relations.

An additional 150 million children will drop out of primary school, the council reported.

As countries work toward ensuring a quality primary education for every child, they must take care to address the social, economic and cultural barriers that keep many girls out of school, particularly in Third World nations, the report said.

The report cited substantial benefits to countries when girls are educated, including higher wages and smaller families.

“Increased female education is one of the most powerful tools to empower women within the family and society,” said the report, written by former Clinton administration economist Gene B. Sperling and social scientist Barbara Herz.

In another report released Tuesday, the World Economic Forum chastised world leaders for failing to make progress on a variety of social issues, including education, that are critical to development. The problem, the report said, is of particular concern in regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East and central and southern Asia.

At a U.N.-sponsored education conference in Senegal in April 2000, and again at a U.N. Millennium summit five months later, more than 180 countries made a commitment to ensure that by 2015, every child would receive a quality education, regardless of gender.

Both the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Economic Forum found that more than half the countries are not on target to achieve those goals, largely because of a lack of funds.

In remarks before the council Tuesday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) urged the U.S. to “take the lead on a true global initiative for education that makes special efforts to ensure girls are educated,” and said she would introduce legislation to provide U.S. funding to educational efforts across the world.