Despite the sustainable development goal (SDG) to have every child in school and learning by 2030, there are still millions of children who don't go to primary or secondary school and millions of others who are in classrooms but don’t receive a quality education.

It is not enough that they have been robbed of their childhoods and their shattered young lives have been defined by bombs, bloodshed and death, today crisis-impacted school-aged children are falling off the academic bridge that could lead them out of the carnage to a better future.

A shocking United Nations report released recently indicates that the number of crisis-impacted school-aged children that require educational support has grown from an estimated 75 million in 2016 to 222 million in 2022.

"Around the world, 222 million children are having their education cruelly interrupted. Their dreams for the future are snatched away by conflicts, displacement and climate disasters," U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

The U.N. Global Fund is for education in emergencies and protracted crises. Education Cannot Wait (ECW) outlines in its report that of those 222 million girls and boys, 78.2 million are out of school, around 120 million are in attendance but do not achieve minimum proficiency in math or reading and just one in 10 crisis-impacted children attending primary or secondary education are actually meeting proficiency standards.

Across 40 countries, 222 million children are losing out on essential classroom time and their dreams for the future are being snatched away by conflicts, displacement and climate disasters.

The report paints an alarming picture of the academic life of crisis-impacted children inside makeshift refugee settlements, damaged classrooms and communities torn apart by war and disaster. The analysis indicates that 84% of the children missing school are living in areas with protracted crises and the vast majority are in countries including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Yemen.

Besides, the war in Ukraine is pushing even more children out of school, with recent estimates indicating the conflict has impacted 5.7 million school-aged children.

Boosted numbers

ECW Director Yasmine Sherif said that the multiple crises over the past six years have boosted the number to 222 million among more than 40 countries.

"Conflicts are raging around the world – we know that, but they also are more and more protracted. But the growing record high number of refugees and internally displaced, as a result of conflicts and climate-induced disasters, have also contributed to this number, as have, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic," Sherif said.

The study found that 78.2 million children worldwide have dropped out of school entirely. Education experts say those children are unlikely to resume their education, resulting in a detrimental impact on their prospects and earning capacity.

Sherif said that she has visited countries where most children currently are out of school, and she has seen what happens to children in crisis-ridden countries such as Mali, Chad, the Central African Republic and South Sudan.

"When you do not go to school, you are very exposed to being – if you are a boy – forcibly recruited into armed groups, terrorist groups, militia, government groups," she said. "And, if you are a girl, you are exposed to becoming part of a gender-based violence at homes, sexual violence, trafficking, early marriages, and early childbirth."

Sherif said the new data serve as a wake-up call for all leaders and policymakers as more children are being left behind due to crises, adding that the international community must do more to support their educational needs, or there will be far-reaching negative impacts for human and economic development.

These alarming new figures show that the response to education in emergencies and protracted crises remains chronically underfunded and that the funding gap appears to have gotten even worse since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The financial resources to ensure that every child and young person can receive a quality education exist in the world. Now, we need to take responsible action for the 222 million children and youth in emergencies and protracted crisis. Governments, private sector and foundations can and must unlock these resources. Only then can we empower them to reach their potentials and realize their dreams," Gordon Brown, the U.N. special envoy for global education and chair of the ECW High-Level Steering Group, said.

On the other hand, and according to U.N. reports, basic school infrastructure is lacking in many less developed countries while only 54% of schools have access to safe drinking water, 33% have reliable electricity and 40% have handwashing facilities.

"In times of crisis, children experience uncertainty with regard to their future and are faced with a total disruption of their routines. Going to school provides children with protection, a sense of normalcy and hope and is a means to provide longer-term perspectives," says Patricia Danzi, director general of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

In light of these needs, Guterres is convening the "Transformation Education Summit" this September. The summit seeks to "mobilize political ambition, action, solutions and solidarity to transform education: to take stock of efforts to recover pandemic-related learning losses; to reimagine education systems for the world of today and tomorrow, and to revitalize national and global efforts to achieve SDGs."

In an ideal world, primary education would be universal and publicly financed, and all children would be able to attend school regardless of their parents' ability or willingness to pay. The reason is simple: when any child fails to acquire the basic skills needed to function as a productive, responsible member of society, society as a whole – not to mention the individual child – loses. The cost of educating children is far outweighed by the cost of not educating them. Adults who lack basic skills have greater difficulty finding well-paying jobs and escaping poverty.

Without urgent action, in a decade 222 million uneducated children will double – half of all young people in the world – will not have the most basic skills necessary for jobs of the future.

Raising awareness of the issue and advocating for big change to tackle the global education crisis as education is one of the key components that bring growth and progress into society, has an essential role in an individual’s life and education is the ultimate key to success.