KNH appeals to politicians to ensure education for children worldwide

(Duisburg, 23 January 2025) 244 million children and young people are still unable to attend school. Yet the UN member states have committed themselves to providing all girls and boys worldwide with access to education and a high-quality school leaving certificate by 2030. On the International Day of Education on 24th January, KNH is calling on politicians to take decisive action against the violation of the right to education affecting millions of people and is urging greater investment in global education.

Every day, the human right to education is being violated. Millions of children are denied access to school. According to UNESCO, 87 percent of children worldwide attend primary school, but only 58 percent attend secondary school. Poverty, the consequences of the climate crisis and the growing number of wars are further exacerbating the situation. Never before have so many children been displaced as today. Malte Pfau, political advisor for education at Kindernothilfe and spokesperson for the Global Education Campaign: "Global education is in crisis, which is closely linked to the unfair distribution of resources. High-income countries receive 63 percent of global education investment, even though only ten percent of the world's school-age population lives there. Low-income countries have less than one percent of global investment available to educate 25 percent of the world's school-age population."

Considering the upcoming federal elections in Germany, KNH is appealing to politicians to recognise education as the key to development cooperation. The children's rights organisation believes that the drastic cuts to the development budget announced for 2025 are irresponsible, particularly with regard to education, and must not be implemented.

For Kindernothilfe, the right to education is a core issue. Around 70 per cent of its 503 projects in 36 countries are related to education. Over decades of successful work, the children's rights organisation has developed projects that have brought about lasting improvements in the educational situation in many countries.

As one of the largest children's rights organisations in Europe, Kindernothilfe has been supporting children and young people in difficult life situations worldwide for more than 60 years. Kindernothilfe's approach to children's rights is based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.