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Excluding children from school education could cost the global community around $10 trillion a year by 2030 if states do not take decisive action, the United Nations warned in a new report published on Monday.<\/p>\n
The report by the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural agency UNESCO estimates the specific costs for private individuals, states and societies, while factoring in lost tax revenues and lower incomes.<\/p>\n
It compares the current situation with a scenario in which there are no or only a minimum number of children who leave school early.<\/p>\n
According to the Paris-based agency, around 128 million boys and 122 million girls are currently excluded from school worldwide.<\/p>\n
Some 57% of the world’s children have not acquired basic skills. According to the report, the highest costs of a lack of schooling related to gross domestic product are likely to be in sub-Saharan Africa.<\/p>\n
The assessment also points to other social consequences of a lack of schooling, such as more homicides and assaults. Every year that girls spend at secondary school also reduces the risk of child marriages and underage pregnancies, it notes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n