Asked by: Lord Verjee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for International Development:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, following the publication of the Ministry of Defence's <i>Global Strategic Trends out to 2045</i>, what consideration they have given to educational inequalities in the developing world; and how the United Kingdom can aid the closing of gender gaps in educational access and attainment.
Answered by Baroness Northover
The UK is supporting disaggregation of data by sex and age in the Post 2015 development framework which will succeed the Millennium Development Goals. This will help ensure no-one is left behind, including girls in Education. The UK International Development Gender Equality Act which was passed in May 2014 now makes it law to consider, before providing development assistance, how the assistance will contribute to reducing gender inequality.
Supporting gender equality in education remains a key priority for the UK government and we are increasingly focussing on marginalised girls both in terms of access and attainment. For example, the Girls Education Challenge funded by UK aid is the largest donor funded education programme which aims to support up to one million marginalised girls to be in school and learning which will help to transform their lives.