© UNICEF Philippines/2012/Maitem
Students at Consolacion Elementary School in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines, use UNICEF-provided school packs to resume their studies.

By Marge Francia

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines, 25 January 2012 – In City Central School, in Cagayan de Oro City, two teachers recently held their first day of classes since the devastating floods that swept through their community – even as their own futures looks uncertain.

Vivian Benedictos and Marilou Gambuta, co-teachers and best friends, share a first-grade classroom at the school. It is a space they not only teach in, but now also live in.

© Anders Thormann/2011
Anthony Lake speaks at GPE Pledging Conference in Copenhagen.

By Joan Howe

Copenhagen, 9 November 2011 – Leading donors at the first-ever Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Pledging Conference promised an initial US$1.5 billion over the next three years to put millions more children in school.

The multi-partner global partnership met on 7-8 November in Copenhagen, Denmark, where donors also pledged to increase bilateral funding to support education investment and achieve concrete results in access and quality of education. The pooled education fund aims to secure predictable funding to put 25 million more children in school over the next three years. Developing countries pledged to increase domestic funding for education by more than US$2 billion.

The Global Partnership for Education will hold a pledging event in Copenhagen on 7-8 November.

Media Advisory

What:

Global Partnership for Education Replenishment Conference.

Who:

Global leaders and innovators from the United Nations, academia, the development community and the private sector including:

© UNICEF Haiti/2011/Dormino
11-year-old Naika Civil and Lucien Schnaider are happy to have a chance to study at the National School in Tabarre, Port au Prince. Unlike in previous school years, none of the students at the school pay school fees.

The Global Partnership for Education has helped more than 19 million children go to school for the first time. A campaign to renew support for these efforts will culminate in a pledging event in Copenhagen on 7-8 November. This series of stories seeks to highlight the Partnership’s work in the lead-up to this event.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2010-1798/Izhiman
Boys queue outside their classroom at Khan Al Ahmar Primary School in Area C of the West Bank.

By Catherine Weibel

KHAN AL AHMAR, Occupied Palestinian Territory, 21 October 2011 – Every morning, students walk to the primary school in Khan Al Ahmar fearing it might be gone. “Day after day, I worry it might have been knocked down overnight,” said Iman (name changed), a nine-year-old Bedouin student.

By Mervyn Fletcher

Vavuniya, Northern Sri Lanka, 10 October 2011- In a region which, until recently, had been mired in conflict, the joyful sound of high-pitched laughter danced in the air, as an audience of rapt children enthusiastically responded to the travelling company, ‘Clowns without Borders’. Charming the gathering of youth with their engaging brand of slapstick and puppetry, the troupe was there to help celebrate the opening of a new school.