G20 leaders must invest in education

1GOAL is a global campaign that aims to ensure education for all. The campaign, that was officially launched at the beginning of the World Football Championships in South Africa, has captured unprecedented support and political will across the world with a multitude of global football stars, celebrities and world leaders, all working to achieve the shared vision of education for all.
But 1Goal spokesmen have expressed disappointment that world leaders meeting in South Korea at the G20 summit, are focusing solely on global finance and economics and ignore development’s role in tackling poverty and helping those most in need. Basic education – they say – has been squeezed off the agenda, and despite the creation of a G20 Development Working Group, the UN Millennium Development Goals are being sidelined as the world’s economic powers meet. Sam Barratt, media director for the Global Campaign for Education told Linda Bordoni he thinks the G20 has decided to put development right in the corner, which is a real worry because he says, if you invest in getting children into school, you have huge dividends in growth. So, he says that, while focussing on the banking crisis, leaders have the responsibility to also consider fixing the problems that the banking crisis has created, not just fixing the banks. Barratt said that 69 million children in the world are still denied the chance for an education. He said that this week the Global Campaign for Education revealed that 20 countries will need $1billion in the next year to help them pay for children to go to school, and failing to help them – he said – could see millions of children denied a chance for a better future. Just last week, he said, Mozambique had to rely on a last minute bail out from the World Bank as it was set to fire 1500 teachers. So the Global Campaign for Education is asking everyone to add his or her voice to help restore development and education to their rightful place at the heart of the G20’s programme of action by joining the Campaign, something you can do by simply signing your support, because the bottom line is: Education beats poverty – and gives people the tools to help themselves.
Listen...