However, today, a decade away from the solemn resolve of Jomtien and some positive developments later, millions still remain deprived of this basic human right. If figures are to be believed, about 125 million children aged between 6 and 11 still have no access to education. Millions others have attended school without achieving primary grades and others have an educational experience of little relevance in quality or income generating skills. This is the single most debilitating and silent menace that confronts Third World Countries across the board. Whatever gains are made in development, get watered down and in some cases, nullified in this race against numbers.
Education is among the first casualties of the spiraling impact of population.
This is primarily because basic needs such as food, water, health, take precedence and push education out of the priority list. Budgets for schools, subsidies on books dwindle as funds are earmarked for other pressing needs. Hundreds of millions face the constant risk of sinking below the poverty line. In a needs versus rights scenario, education again becomes the first casualty. The softer budgets of education, health and housing are the first to be axed, undervaluing the critical importance of education for development.