More than 63 million girls out of school, UNESCO says

NEW DELHI – The U.N. cultural agency says girls are the first to be excluded from education, with more than 63 million out of school in more than 200 countries across the world.

Almost 16 million girls between the ages of 6 and 11 will never get the chance to learn to read or write in primary school compared to about 8 million boys “if current trends continue,” according to a report from UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics released as part of International Women’s Day.

UNESCO says gender disparities remain highest in the Arab States, sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia.

The agency says that “across sub-Saharan Africa, 9.5 million girls will never set foot in a classroom compared to 5 million boys.”