UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova has called on governments and donors to redouble their efforts to protect educational gains made over the past decade that she says are under threat from the global economic downturn.The 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, Reaching the marginalized warns that aftershock of the global financial crisis threatens to deprive millions of children in the world’s poorest countries of an education.
Ms. Bokova said “multiple disparities” affect girls particularly. “Girls’ chances of attending and completing school are still unacceptably low,” she said. “I am planning to launch a major initiative in this respect and I count on the support of all EFA partners in understanding and addressing the educational needs of adolescent girls.”