The Top 10 Worst Places To Be A School Child

Talk about a dismal report card. The Global Campaign for Education has just released a list of the world's worst places to be a school child - and Somalia tops the list at No. 1, where only one out of every ten children are enrolled in primary school.

Africa dominates the list. Eritrea -- a country in northeast Africa -- and Haiti are No. 2 and No. 3 respectively. Haiti's education system is still reeling from the earthquake; Haiti's government operates only 10 to 20 percent of primary schools.

Worldwide, 69 million children go without school - missing out on access to literacy, job skills, social skills, better health and improved finances. And funding continues to be out of whack - in Afghanistan, if one percent of the money spent on U.S.-led military activity went to schools, every child could complete primary school.

Right now, world leaders are meeting in New York to discuss the United Nations Millenium Development Goals -- large, big-thinking goals that U.N. leaders agreed in 2000 to make reality within 15 years. One of those goals was primary education for every boy and girl by 2015. While many countries have made progress -- Tanzania has enrolled 3 million more students since 2000 -- there is still a long way to go.

The report, which is sponsored by international organizations including Oxfam and Save The Children, makes recommendations for poor and rich countries alike. Among the recommendations: Rich countries, like the U.S., should target education aid to countries facing the biggest challenges -- including the countries where girls are the most severely disadvantaged.

Education can change the world: If all children learned basic reading skills in school, the report says, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty. A secondary education for every mother in sub-Saharan Africa could save the lives of 1.8 million children.

The other Top Ten Worst Places to Be A School Child are:

4. Comoros
5. Ethiopia
6. Chad
7. Burkina Faso
8. Central African Republic
9. Mozambique
10. Zimbabwe

The report also ranked wealthier countries as donors, giving the Netherlands and Norway top billing for countries that aid others' in education. The U.S. was ranked 16th on the list.

Nine out of ten children in Somalia unable to go to school? That's a reality check for those who wring their hands about America's school problems. It's also a reminder that schools themselves aren't the ultimate goal. Quality education is what matters -- but getting kids into a place where that can happen is a good first step.

Photo credit: thomas_sly