Universal Primary Education

The achievement of Universal Primary Education (UPE), which is one of the goals of the Education for All program (EFA), and the second goal in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), requires that children enroll in primary schooling and complete primary education by 2015. This achievement is only possible by 2015, as estimated in 2000, when every child in every country is attending school. The majority of children, around 100 million, are not attending schools in regions of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. However, many developing countries, such as Sri Lanka, China, Chile, Singapore, and Cuba have successfully completed the goal of UPE. The world’s poorest countries have narrowed the gender gap, increased enrollments, and extended opportunities [Page 1611]for marginalized groups. Between 1999 and 2007, enrollments soared ...