§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on progress to date towards the achievement of the international development goal of gender equality in education. [79520]
§ Clare ShortAs we made clear in our White Paper in November 1997, we are committed to the international goals of universal primary education by 2015 and gender equity in primary and secondary education by 2005.
We have committed over £200 million to basic education in a number of countries including Ghana, India, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and our largest ever single education pledge of £67 million for Uganda. These and other new programmes under development are a reflection of our understanding—based on strong evidence—that investment in the education of girls is the single, most effective way to reduce poverty.
We are committed to supporting governments that give priority to the education of girls within their education systems. It is too early to report progress towards the 673W development goals. DFID programmes cannot be measured in isolation and progress towards the education development targets will be monitored through international education statistics collated and published by UNESCO and other multilateral organisations, including work by the OECD on indicators of development.