Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 8 December 2021 to Question 85317, which other 15 countries the UK supports bilaterally for foundational learning.

Our 2021 Girls' Education Action Plan set out the UK Government's commitment to improve basic education and focus on foundational learning for all. This is reflected in our bilateral programmes globally, which work to improve teaching, strengthen systems and support the most marginalised children, especially girls. This includes bilateral programmes to improve basic education in Pakistan, Lebanon, Tanzania, Rwanda, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, DRC, Myanmar, Jordan, Syria, Sierra Leone, Zambia, Kenya and Afghanistan.

We are shining a spotlight on the learning crisis internationally and improving ways of working at the country level by building a new Coalition on Learning with likeminded partners to emphasise the urgency of getting children's learning on track after two years of school closures. We are calling on all governments to keep schools open and to scale up efforts to get girls into school, assess children's learning levels and support children to catch up on learning by prioritising the basics.