These are some of the findings in Unesco’s Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report on out-of-school populations.
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The report attributes India’s woeful performance to, among other things, the largest cuts in aid to basic education effected by any country. Its aid to the sector fell by a massive $278 million between 2010 and 2012.

The Unesco data shows little overall improvement in out-of-school figures since 2007. Pointing out that the EFA will miss its 2015 deadline for putting all children in school, Unesco director-general Irina Bokova said, “Combined with the news from Unesco that aid to education has fallen yet again, the lack of progress in reducing out-of-school numbers confirms our fears – there is no chance whatsoever that countries will reach the goal of universal primary education by 2015.”
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The new policy paper however highlighted that improvements are possible. It highlighted how policies like fee abolition in Burundi, social cash transfer in Nicaragua, attention to ethnic and linguistic minorities in Morocco, increasing expenditure in Ghana, improving curriculum in Vietnam can improve enrolment significantly.

For example, India’s neighbour Nepal overcame conflict and after the civil war ended – children in the regions most affected by conflict – which originally were lagging behind – had the same level of access to school as those in less affected regions.

“These countries face very different circumstances but all share the political will to bring about real change in education,” said Bokova, “While they have brought about momentous change, their task is far from complete – they must now ensure that every child starts and finishes school while learning the relevant skills needed for a productive life. But today, others can learn from the experiences of countries like Burundi and Ghana: real progress is possible.”