"Today, 262 million children and youth still do not attend school," said UNESCO while underlined that  617 million children and adolescents cannot read and do basic math.

"Less than 40% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete lower secondary school and some four million children and youth refugees are out of school," UNESCO said in a statement released on the international education day.

UNESCO also underscored that the right to education of children is being violated and it is unacceptable.

As the world marks the very first International Education Day, UNESCO calls on governments and all partners to make universal quality education a leading priority. 

Making a calls for special attention to girls, to migrants, displaced persons and refugees; to support teachers and make education and training more gender-responsive, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO said: "It urgently requires scaled up domestic resources and international aid, because the cost of not investing will dig divides, inequalities, and exclusion across societies."

ILKHA