Over 272 million children out-of-school across the globe: Global Education Monitoring report

THE global out-of-school population is now estimated to be 272 million, over 21 million more than the last estimate, according to UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring Team (GEM).

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The team, in its latest report, has pointed out that by 2025, countries will be off-track by 75 million relative to their national targets.

"Two reasons explain this upward adjustment. First, new enrolment and attendance data account for eight million, or 38 pe, of the increase. The ban on girls attending secondary school age in Afghanistan in 2021 also contributes to this increase," the report said.

"Second, updated UN population estimates account for 13 million, or the remaining 62 pe, of the increase. Compared to the estimates last used in the out-of-school model, the 2024 World Population Prospects estimate that the number of 6to 17-year-olds in 2025 (a proxy of the school-age population) is higher by 49 million (or by 3.1 pe),” it added.

The report also noted that the impact of conflicts on out-of-school populations which can be underestimated as conflicts hamper data collection.

The change in the global population estimates impacts out-of-school rate and population estimates, but the magnitude of that impact depends on the source of data on enrolment and attendance.