Achieve universal primary education

More than 100 million primary school age children remain out of school.

Since 1990 the world has promised that all children would be able to complete a full course of primary education. Primary completion rates, the proportion of each age group finishing primary school, directly measure progress towards this goal.

To reach universal primary education by 2015, school systems with low completion rates will need to train teachers, build classrooms, and improve the quality of education. Most important, they will have to remove such barriers to attendance as fees and lack of transportation, and address parents’ concern for the safety of their children.

Education is the foundation of all societies and globally competitive economies. It is the basis for reducing poverty and inequality, improving health, enabling the use of new technologies, and creating and spreading knowledge. In an increasingly complex, knowledge-dependent world, primary education, as the gateway to higher levels of education, must be the first priority.