1GOAL Campaign reveals 10 Point Plan for World Cup Education Legacy
Warns that $70 billion in developing country productivity could be lost
SYDNEY, 25 MAY 2010 – Failure by world leaders to deliver on their promise of education for every child could cost developing countries up to $70 billion per year in lost economic growth, campaigners and leading names in football warned today.
1GOAL, a coalition of charities backed by FIFA and the World Cup along with 150 of the biggest names in football including Tim Cahill, Michael Essien, Rio Ferdinand and Zinedine Zidane and world leaders such as Hillary Clinton, Ban Ki-Moon and Desmond Tutu are calling on all governments to adopt a ten-point action plan for countries to ensure all 72 million children can receive an education by 2015 as committed in the global Millennium Goals.
The warning, part of 1GOAL’s ten-point action plan to deliver Education for All, comes as South Africa prepares to host a high level Education Summit during the World Cup Finals. It calls on leaders to commit to a new contract between rich and poor countries where rich countries increase their spending on basic education and poor countries commit to spending 20% of their national budgets on education.
The UK, Norway, Netherlands, Ireland, New Zealand and Sweden all give more than 70% of their fair share of the $16 million needed. However, the US, Italy, Japan and Germany, some of the world’s richest countries, have shown poor performance in paying their fair share towards basic education aid.
Australia’s recent increases in global aid have improved effectiveness through a focus on education in developing countries, specifically in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Laos as well as increased general aid to African countries. Australia has an important role to play in pressing other countries to boost their aid spending on education and is an important part of the 1GOAL campaign between now and key UN education meetings in July and September.
“Young children are on the streets instead of in the classrooms in many countries,” said 1GOAL Australian Coordinator Jon Edwards. “We are not giving them the opportunity to learn and this will have long-lasting costs on their communities and their countries as a whole.”
“Every government has the responsibility to educate its children but some governments are not spending enough on schools,” Edwards said. “All countries must have high standards of education, not just Australia, Europe and America, and we need to make this a priority.”
The 1GOAL plan includes:
1) Rich countries to deliver $16 billion in aid to basic education, and target it towards Africa and conflict-affected states
2) Rich countries to ensure that aid can be spent on educational essentials like teachers, books and pencils for example in parts of Mozambique teacher shortages mean class sizes are over 150.
3) Poor countries must make sure that school fees do not bar poor children from attendance. In Africa, the cost of sending children to school costs nearly 25% of a family’s income.
4) Ensuring students have access to school meals and uniforms. School feeding programs have increased attendance dramatically in Burkina Faso and Bangladesh.
Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, Co-Founder and Global Co-Chair of 1GOAL said: “Across the world 72 million children are being denied a basic education. The choice for world leaders is clear: Put up the money for education and help all children get into school or seal the fate of millions more young people. We look forward to the Education Summit in South Africa setting out a pathway so that before the next World Cup in Brazil we have every child learning to read and write.”
More than 8 million people have already pledged their support to 1GOAL around the world, while mobile phone companies globally have come together to send 1 billion text messages asking their customers to back the campaign and call on politicians to help every child get into school.
“Politicians all over the world are talking about efficiencies and value for money, investing in education is the engine through which countries can be led out of poverty,” said report author and 1GOAL Policy Manager Lucia Fry. “Just $16bn dollars from rich countries could deliver $70bn per year in growth for developing countries. This World Cup has the opportunity to deliver something that will last for generations.”
“No country has achieved continuous and rapid economic growth without having at least 40% of adults able to read and write,” Edwards said. “Providing one year of schooling to all children in a country is estimated to have the same stabilising effect as an annual economic growth rate of 5%.”
For more information and interviews please call:
Blair Palese, 1GOAL Communications Manager: 0414 659 511, blairat1goal@gmail.com.
Jon Edwards, 1GOAL Campaign Coordinator: 0450 587 625
Find 1GOAL here:
Website: www.join1GOAL.org.au and www.join1GOAL.org.
The full 1GOAL 10-point Manifesto can be seen at: http://www.join1goal.org/uploads/Media/1Goal_10PointPlan_2010.pdf