As part the international pledge to secure education for the 72 million children who are out of school, some £300m of Britain's contribution will go to war-torn countries
Rachel Williams
guardian.co.uk
'We cannot help make significant breakthroughs in education unless we start helping those in some of the most difficult-to-reach places,' said iInternational development secretary Douglas Alexander. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Half of Britain's budget for education in the developing world is now to be spent on schooling in war-torn countries, the Department for International Development (Dfid) announced today.
As part the international drive to secure education for the 72 million children who are out of school, some £300m will be targeted at fragile and conflict-affected countries, including Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The UK will devote a total of £600m for bilateral spending on education, while another £400m will go through organisations such as the World Bank and the European commission.
Dfid's new strategy outlines proposals to support 5.5 million children to go to school every year, build 15,000 new classrooms in a year and train 130,000 teachers annually.
The announcement comes ahead of an international conference organised by the department, to examine how to keep the millennium development goals on track. Agreed by developed countries 10 years ago, the goals include ensuring that all children receive at least a primary education by 2015.
The international development secretary, Douglas Alexander, said: "Countries affected by conflict and fragility are those with some of the worst rates of poverty. We cannot help make significant breakthroughs in education unless we start helping those in some of the most difficult-to-reach places."
Source: Guardian