Developed countries have repeatedly committed themselves to greater development co-operation effort in order to achieve the goals set at international summits during the 1990s. Unfortunately, their performance has fallen far short of the pledges made.
International action is imperative.
It is wrong that so many developing countries are spending more on debt than on the education of their children. It is wrong that the IMF frequently presses developing-country governments into cutting education spending. And it is wrong that aid donors have failed to back their policy commitments on education with increased assistance. The international community must address each of these wrongs if the goal of universal primary education is to be achieved. Although the autumn meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank last year resulted in some positive steps towards poverty-focused policies, reform must go further, and do so right away, if the 2015 education target is to be met.