New report says 130 million girls are out of school — so how did that number get so high?
And this is good news, mostly.
If you’ve followed Malala Fund for awhile, you’ve heard us say “more than 63 million girls” are out of school around the world. The “more than” clarification is an important one — we knew that, while UNICEF was reporting at least 63 million girls out of school, there were many girls in developing countries who had not been counted.
If girls count, count girls
Yes, there is a BIG difference between 63 million and 130 million. So why is this good news? Because, while the fight for girls’ education isn’t any easier, it’s now a lot clearer.
This doesn’t mean tens of millions more girls have lost their place in school — it means we now have a better count of those denied an education. We can only gauge how much progress we’ve made if the data is clear.
Right now, statisticians are arguing over how to measure progress toward getting all girls in school by 2030. Malala Fund gets involved in technical debates like this one because we believe that if you say girls count, you must count girls.
Hold governments accountable
We need more reports to address the serious gaps in data on women and girls. Without data, how can governments and donors know their efforts are working?
The answer is: they can’t. For some governments, that’s an advantage. If you don’t know how big a problem is, it’s a lot easier to ignore it. Reports like these hold governments accountable to their commitment to provide 12 years of school for every girl.
Accurate data also informs policy decisions and helps determine how much funding will be dedicated to education initiatives.
The bad news
While updated numbers of out of school girls is good news, there’s some bad news, too. 130 million doesn’t include every girl — the new number still leaves out many girls in refugee camps and conflict countries. So while we’re closer today to an accurate count, we’re not there yet.
Until we get updated information, Malala Fund will use “more than 130 million out of school girls.”
Better data, better advocates
We will keep fighting for better data — and continue to share the numbers with you. Knowing the facts can help us all become better advocates for change — and remind us that we’re not giving up until every girl gets the education she deserves.
