Recommendation 14

HM Government Acknowledged

FCDO works to ensure decisions are evidence-informed, data-driven, and equitable, prioritising the most marginalised children, especially girls wherever possible. The UK champions the right of all girls to 12 years of quality education, prioritising key stages in learning, such as the transition from primary to secondary education. We will continue to do so with respect to covid-19, the impacts of which will adversely affect girls, with millions of girls from pre-primary to secondary school at risk of not returning to school once the crisis has passed. The UK has set out two ambitious global targets: 1. to see 40 million more girls into primary and secondary education and 2. a third more girls able to read by the age of 10, in low- and middle-income countries by 2025. These two objectives are complementary and mutually reinforcing. We know that girls are far more likely to transition to, stay in and benefit from secondary school if they have mastered ‘foundational’ skills including basic literacy and numeracy by the end of primary school. By tackling literacy skills at primary level, we can also help reduce the high drop-out rates we see at secondary level. We are using our G7 presidency to rally the international community to get behind these goals. Both targets will be disaggregated by gender, and, where data is available, by age, location, disability and other markers of marginalisation. It is not always possible to disaggregate data by age—for instance, because some children do not have a birth certificate—and proxies, such as education level or grade, are used instead. We aim to design and deliver programmes that tackle intersectional disadvantage, using available data to inform and adapt interventions. FCDO’s research portfolio has generated data showing the gendered differential effects of the covid-19 pandemic. For example, Young Lives, a longitudinal study that utilised phone-based surveys during lockdown, found that families are turning to traditional gender roles in times of stress, with young women bearing the brunt of increased household duties, as well as experiencing a clear digital divide which exacerbates existing inequalities. Evidence prior to the pandemic further highlights that girls drop out of school more frequently if they are not learning 20 Eighth Special Report of Session 2019–21 and that schooling combined with learning has multiplier benefits for girls. Our Education Policy, Get Children Learning, underscores that improving government systems is key for long-term progress in education. As a result, and in response to covid-19, our bilateral programmes have adapted to support girls who are hard to reach and at risk of leaving education permanently. This has included a focus on addressing the safety, wellbeing and learning of marginalised children. FCDO technical assistance to partner governments is supporting the reopening of schools when it is safe to do so and to build back better through inclusive and targeted back to school campaigns and catch-up initiatives. We are also working closely with local NGOs to identify effective, local approaches for educating marginalised girls. For example, through our flagship Girls’ Education Challenge programme, we have been supporting up to 1.5 million marginalised and highly marginalised girls to benefit from a quality education. Delivering through local NGOs is a key part of this approach, including the community-based education support provided by Girls Education Challenge to the most marginalised girls. In adapting to covid-19, projects have ensured remote teaching techniques reach key cohorts of school age girls using no-tech or low-tech learning packs, and local NGOs are maintaining contact with at-risk girls through socially distanced home visits.