Unicef: Only 1 in 5 children enrolled in pre-primary education in low-income countries

Staff Reporter

On Tuesday the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef) released its first ever global report on pre-primary education. It reported that 175-million children globally do not have access to pre-primary education, stifling their future educational growth. The report stated that children from low-income countries suffered the most.

It also found that children who attended at least one year of pre-primary schooling were more likely to attain critical literacy and numerical skills, and less likely to drop out of school in future.

Unicef Executive Director, Henrietta Fore, said: “Pre-primary schooling is our children’s educational foundation – every stage of education that follows relies on its success. Yet, too many children around the world are denied this opportunity. This increases their risk of repeating grades or dropping out of school altogether and relegates them to the shadows of their more fortunate peers.”

It noted that the three key determinants for