ADVERTISEMENTThis edition of Learning World looks at the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which include getting all the world’s primary aged children into school by 2015 Two years from the deadline, 61 million children are still not receiving education.
Mongolia: Hope for street kids
Many street children survive Mongolia’s harsh winters, when temperatures often plunge to -40 degrees Celsius, by living underground near the hot water pipes that supply central heating to apartment complexes. Subject to disease, sexual abuse and trafficking, they are amongst the world’s most deprived children. But some NGOs are trying to help.
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Blog about Mongolian street kids
Brown: Education challenge
Learning World spoke to UN Special Envoy and former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown for his views on educating the world’s children.
He told euronews reporter Aurora Velez: “It’s a scandal that there are still 61 million children who have no education. While we have made progress, there are 40 million more children in school, but we still have a long way to go.”
Brown added: “What we are going do is eliminate child labour, child marriage, child trafficking, what we also have got to do is hire teachers and build schools and it’s my aim over these next two years, to really speed up the process of delivering an educational opportunity.”
Chile: Kids need equality
Chile is the Latin American country closest to achieving the MDGs, according to the Millennium Government Network, with one third of the goals on schedule to to be met by 2015.
In the last decade, Chile has made significant progress in education, enrolling most children in primary schools. However, it still faces the issue of segregation, where the rich study with the rich and the poor with the poor.
ADVERTISEMENTEven if Chile reaches a third of its MDGs, there is still a lot of work to be done.
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