On the verge of the 21st Century, some 130 million children most of them girls have no access to basic education, while a good proportion of schools are eventually closed due to lack of funding.
Poverty forces many children to drop out of school in order to help support their families.
The problem lies not only in school access, but also in teacher training and provision at all levels of schooling, both of which are severely hindered by lack of funding in poor countries. Furthermore, severe criticisms have been formulated against the policies advocated by the World Bank, the main actor in the international stage devoted to funding educational programmes in developing countries. The conference focused on education's crucial role in support of democracy and sustainable development, touching on a wide variety of issues, including illiteracy, access to education, the link between education and work, moral and citizenship education, decentralization, financing of education and education for social development. In his inaugural speech, President Zedillo emphasised the role of education as the foundation of democracy, justice and prosperity. He also acknowledged that, while much has been achieved, there is still much to be done.