The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals related to poverty, education, gender equality, health, environmental sustainability and development set in the year 2000 at the UN Millennium Summit, and adopted by 189 nations. The eight MDGs are associated with 21 quantifiable targets, tracked by 60 statistical indicators in annual reports issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The goals target attainment in the year 2015. Country-by-country data is also available.

Universal primary education in the context of the Millennium Development Goals means that all children have access to free, compulsory education from grades 1 through 5. Statistical indicators include net enrollment in school by children of the appropriate age, the proportion of pupils enrolled in first grade who reach grade 5, and the literacy rate of 15 to 24-year-olds.

The first chart tracks achievement of the goal based on the percentage of school-age children currently enrolled in school by world region. It shows that the most significant gains during the past seven years covered in the 2009 MDG report have taken place in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Smaller gains were achieved in Western Asia, Northern Africa, and the CIS, or Commonwealth of Independent States, the former Soviet Union. No significant gains were recorded in Southeastern Asia and Latin America/the Caribean, both of which are near 95% school enrollment. Eastern Asia and developed regions of the world in the aggregate showed slight declines in enrollment.

The second chart looks at the roughly 10 percent, or 72 million children, who are not in school. Three groups are identified, including those who dropped out of school for some reason, such as inability to pay for uniforms or books, child labor, distance from the school or unsafe conditions for travel to school. Northern and Southern Asia show the largest percentages of drop-outs. Another group represents delayed school entry, which is highest in Eastern Asia, Southeastern Asia, and Latin America. The third group shows the percentage of children who are not expected to have the opportunity to enroll. Over 60% of those not in school in Western Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa may never attend school. In Northern and Eastern Asia, in contrast, school enrollment is expected for all but 5 and 2 percent of school-age children, respectively. The chart masks gender differences in those who are out of school, where dropout rates are higher for boys, but more girls in certain regions may not have access to education. Ethnic minorities often have decreased access to education.

The report concludes that at current rates, it is unlikely that the 2015 goal can be met, especially with the current global economic decline. Falling rates of investment in school construction, less aid to education, and scarcity of teachers make improvement difficult. Failure to meet education goals is worrisome because education levels impact child mortality, health, employment, and income prospects for youth and adults.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals related to poverty, education, gender equality, health, environmental sustainability and development set in the year 2000 at the UN Millennium Summit, and adopted by 189 nations. The eight MDGs are associated with 21 quantifiable targets, tracked by 60 statistical indicators in annual reports issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The goals target attainment in the year 2015. Country-by-country data is also available.

Compared with a century ago or more, when female education was rare, girls’ access to education has improved dramatically. The charts measure gender parity by the number of girls enrolled per 100 boys in tertiary education such as colleges, universities, and technical training programs. A figure of 100 represents a 1:1 ratio, or parity. The charts show a higher proportion of girls than boys taking advantage of higher education after completing secondary schooling. In four world regions—Northern Africa, Southeastern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), significant gains for young women in higher education took place, their enrollment even overtaking that of young men. If this cohort completes higher education programs, it will have significant implications for the employment picture in these regions in the near future. Elsewhere in the world, fairly significant gains in girls’s participation in higher education took place, but fell short of achieving parity. Only in Sub-Saharan Africa was there a slight decline in gender parity during the period. Further, in developed regions, young women are enrolled in higher education at 129% of young men’s enrollment, and in developing regions they have achieved 96% of parity.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals related to poverty, education, gender equality, health, environmental sustainability and development set in the year 2000 at the UN Millennium Summit, and adopted by 189 nations. The eight MDGs are associated with 21 quantifiable targets, tracked by 60 statistical indicators in annual reports issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The goals target attainment in the year 2015. Country-by-country data is also available.

The charts illustrate the aggregate data on gender parity in the world at three levels of education—primary, secondary, and higher, or tertiary education. Sixty-four percent of countries have achieved or exceeded gender parity in primary education, and less than a third of countries lagging behind in basic schooling. Sixty-five percent of countries have achieved or exceeded gender parity at the secondary education level, with more than a third still unable to offer secondary schooling to all girls. Only 6 per cent of countries have achieved parity in tertiary education for girls, but the disparity in favor of young women in higher education reflects the situation in developed countries. The 32 percent of countries that have not achieved gender parity in higher education include poorer countries where opportunities for higher education are relatively scarce, and girls remain at a disadvantage.

To further reveal the disparity among population groups, the second chart focuses on differences in residence and wealth related to gender parity in education, based on available data for 108 developing countries. In rural communities, only 39 percent of girls attend secondary education, in comparison with 45 percent of boys. By contrast, 59 percent of girls in urban areas attend secondary school—near parity with 60 percent of boys attending. Correlating household wealth with secondary school education, a tremendous gap between the wealthiest and the poorest in education opportunities becomes apparent. While 74 percent of boys and 72 percent of girls in the richest one fifth of families attend secondary school, only 31 percent of boys and 24 percent of girls in the poorest quintile of families attend secondary school.

To bridge these gaps, both cultural attitudes and public investment and policy need to be more favorable toward education. School fees, whether for tuition, transportation, uniforms or books are prohibitive barriers among poor families. There might not be sufficient daylight for rural students who have to travel long distances to attend secondary school to also study and complete household chores. Unsafe roads and concerns for the security of girls attending distant schools may also serve as cultural or practical barriers. However, the practice of secluding unmarried girls might be overcome through local recruitment of teachers or other creative means of achieving gender parity in education.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are eight goals related to poverty, education, gender equality, health, environmental sustainability and development set in the year 2000 at the UN Millennium Summit, and adopted by 189 nations. The eight MDGs are associated with 21 quantifiable targets, tracked by 60 statistical indicators in annual reports issued by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The goals target attainment in the year 2015. Country-by-country data is also available.

Compared with a century ago or more when female education was rare, girls' access to education has improved dramatically. The charts measure gender parity by the number of girls enrolled in school per 100 boys. A figure of 100 represents a 1:1 ratio, or parity. Three regions—Southeastern Asia, Eastern Asia, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) are near parity in primary education, and all but Oceania (Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia) are at 90% of parity or better. Developed countries are at parity, while aggregate data for developing countries shows 95% of parity.

The second chart presents a picture of weaker gender parity in secondary education, or grades 6-12: slight losses in Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania and the CIS, and significant gains in Western and Southern Asia, and Northern Africa. During the period between 1999 and 2007, girls in Eastern Asia, Southeastern Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean exceeded boys in secondary education enrollment. Aggregate data for developing countries shows that the goal of parity in secondary education, though improving slowly, is within reach at 94%, though Sub-Saharan Africa, Western and Southern Asia, and Oceania must bridge a gap of between 13 and 21 percentage points to achieve parity. The statistics for girls' secondary education have negative implications for the future of gender parity or better in higher education in the next age cohort, or age group, preparing for higher education in the coming years.

Education of girls is viewed as a priority because it has been shown to affect many other areas of human welfare. Statistics have shown correlations between education of mothers and infant mortality, improvements in child nutrition and sanitation, delayed marriage, and predictors of school enrolment and success for the next generation.

The poem and photographic collage is the work of students at the Pima Indian School boarding school near Phoenix, Arizona, and is part of an album probably owned by the school matron. The school was one of some 150 institutions for Indian wards of the U.S. Government. The boys' poem was dedicated to their Matron, a female official who was responsible for supervision and discipline of the students on a day-to-day basis. The school's mission was to "civilize" and assimilate the Indians to American society through a process of education that sought to obliterate their native cultures. The model of organization and discipline was military. Student life was highly regimented, with little free time, uniforms and marching drills. Boys and girls were subject to whipping and jailing. It is notable that the matron herself would not actually carry out the punishments she ordered; older students selected as "officers" often did so. Students at the Pima Indian School performed school maintenance, cleaning, cooking, laundering, and caring for the animals and crops that provided students and teachers with food. Students were also put out to work as domestics and farm laborers, for further acculturation and to provide work experience. School officials did not envision preparing them for higher education.

The decorated poem as an object is notable for its penmanship and skill in use of language. The photographs of the boys' heads pasted around the poem indicate that students had access to copies of group photographs, since they are all wearing uniform caps. The poem's tone is both ironic and affectionate toward the matron and the school, incorporating language that indicates exposure to American customs and domestic habits, such as the Christmas holiday, mention of loafing, castor oil and germs. The language is revealing of the tension between the boys' obedience to the matron and assertion of individuality and group solidarity, and their perception of the social context of the school expressed in recognition of the matron's “worry of the whole red race.”

From the time of birth, children in Aztec, or Nahua, society were socialized into gender roles. In the birth ritual introducing the infant to society, symbolic objects clearly differentiated. Boys were to be warriors and craftsmen, and girls were to tend to domestic chores. Articles of clothing—loincloth and cape for the boy, shift and skirt for the girl—were given to the child. The umbilical cord of the boy was buried in a field to associate him with the battlefield; the girl’s cord was buried in a corner of the house, each space signifying the sites of social productivity. The image from the Codex Mendoza depicts ways in which childhood socialization patterns differed for boys and girls, systematically divided into panels on the left and right sides of the page, each vignette separated from the other by a line. In each scene, male and female adults preside over raising boys and girls, respectively. From infant to adult, children were classed into age-cohorts, each with its expectations. A ritual called izcalli took place every four years and involved a purification ceremony for children of that cohort in a fire with the acrid smoke from chili peppers. The image shows a small boy being held over the fire, the girl in front of it. Children were also held up by the head or neck to make them grow tall; their ears were pierced with maguey thorns for later ornaments. Other scarification rituals took place at various stages of maturity. After the age of four, children became responsible for gender-specific chores, and began to wear adult-like garments. They were socialized into patterns of speaking, showing respect, and sitting in gender-specific postures. Boys learned endurance, sleeping bound on the cold, wet ground; girls perfected sweeping rituals for purification of the house. The boy is taught to carry firewood, while the girl learns to grind maize and make tortillas. The image on the bottom shows an older boy learning to fish, and the girl weaving spun thread on a back-strap loom—both tasks that would require a child to reach a certain size and strength. These measures in early childhood may reflect brief life expectancies in which every member of the family had to contribute to the prosperity of the society.

Annotation written by Susan Douglass.

Thelma Norwood, a 7th-grade student in Nassau, Delaware, wrote this letter in 1925. The school was segregated, or used only by African Americans, while separate schools were maintained for white students. The letter expresses appreciation on Du Pont Day, a celebration held each year to show gratitude to Pierre du Pont, founding member of DuPont Corporation, who spearheaded an effort to improve and modernize education for African Americans in Delaware. Du Pont worked to draw attention to the problem of inadequate education, donating over $6 million of his own money to fund studies, school construction, and to gain community support for improving African American children’s school access and attendance.

Thelma's letter illustrates the community's response to du Pont's gift, and indicates some ways in which the school administration showed gratitude toward du Pont through school activities and writing assignments. Her letter reflects both obstacles to education such as student absence due to the need for child labor to help support the family, and milestones of progress such as the recent graduates who went on to college (including Thelma's brother or cousin Charles). Her listing of the school's new equipment allows the inference that such items were lacking in her previous school, and the subjects listed indicate that both academic and vocational topics were taught. Many African Americans would have gone from the 8th grade directly into jobs, while few had the opportunity to attend high school, and even fewer to attend college.