251 million children and youth are out of school worldwide, of which 71 million are not in primary school, 57 million in lower secondary, and 120 million in upper secondary education.
Of these, 122 million are girls and 129 million are boys, with the starkest inequalities evident in poorer countries. While only 3% of children in wealthier countries are out of school, that figure jumps to 33% in the poorest nations.
Over half of this out-of-school population is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.
Global progress rates in reducing out-of-school children fell to just 1% since the fourth Sustainable Development Goal on education was set in 2015. Although an additional 110 million children are enrolled in school, there has been just a 1% rate of improvement in out-of-school rates.
If the same rate of progress had been maintained from 2010-2015 to today, there would be 27 million more children in school.
Education Finance Gaps Driving the Crisis
For every $100 spent per child in high-income countries, less than $1 reaches children in low-income countries, further exacerbating inequalities (EFW 2024)
Low-income countries face overwhelming debt pressures, with six out of ten nations at risk of debt distress. In Africa, countries spent almost as much on debt servicing in 2022 as they did on education.(EFW 2024)
The 2024 GEM Report stresses the pivotal role of leadership in addressing the education crisis. Strong, empowered leaders are essential to transforming education outcomes, yet only half of school principals globally receive training in core areas like teaching, collaboration, and personnel development.
Leadership accounts for over a quarter of the variation in school performance, emphasizing the urgent need to invest in leaders at all levels, from ministries to schools.
Politics is sometimes standing in the way, with over half of minsters of education out of post within two years of being appointed, and 29% of countries still making teacher hiring and firing decisions based on political views, including Indonesia, Brazil, and Russia.
Close political ties can be detrimental for education outcomes, with short-term considerations taking precedence over transformational goals in education.
Manos Antoninis, Director of the GEM Report, said:
Good schools require good school leaders who can inject new momentum into learning. These leaders, second only to teachers in influencing student outcomes, must be supported with training and resources. We’re not empowering our leaders to help take education where it needs to be. Four in ten countries do not even give university leaders the ability to take academic and organisational decisions by law.
Some key findings of the reports include:
Progress Toward SDG 4
- Severe Setback: Global progress in reducing out-of-school children slows only 1% since 2015, leaving 251 million behind (Source: UNESCO).
- Staying the Course: While numbers of youth completing secondary school have improved by 40 million since 2015, 650 million still leave school without a secondary school certificate. (Source: 2024/5 GEM Report)
Education Funding Gaps (Source : Education Finance Watch 2024)
- Stagnant Spending: Education spending per child has largely remained unchanged since 2010
- Extreme Disparity: A 155-fold difference in per-child education spending exists between low and high-income countries (US$100 in high-income countries vs. less than US$1 in low-income).
- Debt Pressures: 6 out of 10 low-income countries face debt distress. In Africa, countries spent almost as much on debt servicing in 2022 as they did on education.
- Falling Aid: The share of official development assistance to education dropped from 9.3% to 7.6% in 2019-2022.
- Massive Funding Gap: UNESCO estimates a nearly $100 billion annual investment gap in developing countries (Source: GEM Report).
Leadership in Education (Source : 2024 GEM Report)
- Crucial Role of Leaders: Leadership accounts for up to 27% of the variance in student outcomes
- Inefficient Recruitment: Under two-thirds of countries have competitive recruitment for principals. Gaps in management and diversity also persist.
- Training Deficits: Barely half of principal training programs focus on key leadership dimensions. Half of principals in high income countries have no preparation training before taking post.
- Limited Autonomy: Autonomy positively correlates with better student outcomes. Currently, 37% of principals have control over school content, and 28% have input on teacher salaries. Almost 40% of all countries do not recognize higher education institutions’ autonomy by law.
- Overburdened Principals: Principals in low- and middle-income countries spend 68% of their time on administrative tasks. 1/3 one third of public school principals in the richest countries report lacking sufficient time to focus on teaching and learning.
- Political Influence: 29% of countries base teacher hiring and firing decisions on political views, adding to instability in education systems.
