§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent negotiations have taken place involving the World bank to increase the amount of aid going on education to help developing countries reach their "Education for All" goals; and if she will make a statement. [31145]
§ Clare ShortAt its spring meeting in April the World bank will submit a paper on achieving the millennium development goal of universal primary education by 2015. This will analyse progress to date since the Dakar Forum and lessons learned, examine the costs of meeting this goal and make recommendations for obtaining the additional financing required. We are consulting the bank about the preparation of this paper.
The World bank has a critical role in supporting countries as they seek to give priority to education, and primary education in particular, within the overall context of their poverty reduction strategies. We have not yet seen increased bank funding in support of "Education for All" since Dakar. We hope that at the spring meeting, bank governors will deliver a strong message in support of greater bank effort in education. We believe the bank, together with other international development banks and development agencies, should increase the resources committed to helping reforming government deliver universal primary education.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action is being taken to encourage the provision of education in developing countries, and if she will make a statement. [31352]
§ Clare ShortThe Government give priority to helping poor countries develop sustainable education systems to deliver high-quality primary education to all their children. DFID's education strategy paper, "The challenge of universal primary education", sets out our overall approach and three-fold strategy for delivering this goal. Our recent paper "Children out of School" identifies the different circumstances of children who are not in school and proposes an eight-point plan of international action for accelerating progress towards the target of universal primary education for all by 2015. Copies of both papers are available in the Library of the House.