Global education is civil rights struggle of our age, says Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown has described funding education in the world’s poorest countries as “the civil rights struggle of our generation”.
Almost half of the world’s children face the prospect of growing up without proper schooling unless there is a transformation in education funding, the former Labour prime minister said.
Brown, who heads the international commission on financing global education opportunity, said the shortage of schooling represented a ticking timebomb that could trigger new protest movements among a generation frustrated by a lack of life chances.
Presenting the commission’s findings at the UN in New York on Sunday, Brown said $30bn (£23bn) in additional funding was needed if the goal of ensuring every child receives a full primary and secondary education by 2030 is to be achieved.
Much of the funding will have to come from within the countries concerned, but he acknowledged more would also be needed from the international community, including institutions such as the World Bank and donor governments.