Giles Watling, MP for Clacton, has welcomed the UK’s continued status as a global leader for delivering girls’ education around the world, which was confirmed recently by the Department for International Development (DfID).
On 24th January, Giles received a reply to his Written Parliamentary Question on the progress that DfID has made on improving girls’ access to education throughout the world. In that reply, the Minister responsible, Harriet Baldwin MP, set out that DfID spearheads the UK Government’s global campaign, Leave No Girl Behind, which promotes 12 years of quality education and learning for all girls – this is DfID’s largest single programme anywhere, reaching 18 countries and up to 1.5 million girls. In the coming months, this programme will also reach 250,000 highly marginalised girls who have never attended or dropped out of school due to poverty, motherhood, disability, or conflict.
Between 2015 and 2018, UKAid supported 5.6 million girls to gain a decent education and through further investment in this area, the UK will support the most marginalised girls to attend school, learn whilst they are there, and help ensure the critical transition from primary to secondary education. The UK is also leading by example, building evidence of what works in DfID’s flagship Girls’ Education Challenge, before sharing this with other nations.
Speaking about the reply, Giles said:
“This is an issue I have raised regularly during my time in Parliament, and as a father to twin girls I am keen to ensure that all girls are able to attend school, with consistency and security. I am pleased at the progress DfID has made, and we should all be proud of the world leading impact that UKAid is having in this area.”