World not on track to provide education for all: Ban Ki-moon
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Ban Ki-moon visits classroom in Liquica district, Timor-Leste
The world is not on track to provide education for all by 2015, according to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Mr. Ban, who is visiting Timor Leste, told university students in Dili, the capital, that globally there are 775 million illiterate adults and 61 million children out of primary school.
He added that less than 40 per cent of countries provide girls with equal access to education.
Mr. Ban said he is launching a new initiative, called "Education First" to raise the importance of education on the global agenda.
"The rationale is clear: the world is not on track to meet the goals we set to provide quality education for all. Even more worryingly, progress is slowing down and the great advances we made since 2000 are at risk of being reversed. We need today a bold new push for education". (Duration: 24")
The Special Envoy for Global Education, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, accompanied Ban Ki-moon to Timor-Leste.
