25 By 2005 Country Data
Progress, Results and Challenges in Girls’ Education
The ‘25 by 2005’ acceleration campaign, a UNICEF initiative designed to intensify efforts in 25 countries in grave danger of failing to meet the Millennium Development Goal of gender parity in education, was launched in December 2002. The countries were selected because they met one or more of the following criteria: enrolment rates under 70 per cent for girls; gender gaps of more than 10 per cent in primary education; more than 1 million girls not in school; included in the World Bank’s Education For All Fast-Track Initiative; or ravaged by crises that affect school opportunities, such as HIV/AIDS and conflict. The lessons learned from these countries will be applied to other countries until all children take their rightful place in the classroom.
The most recent available data in key areas that affect progress towards the Millennium Development Goal of gender parity in education are presented in the following pages. This is the first step in an ongoing process of data analysis that will lead to a comprehensive technical report in the near future.