Access to education

GPE expands access to education for highly marginalized children across all partner countries.

Despite dramatic improvements over the past decades, progress towards achieving universal access to education has slowed, and 272 million children are still out of school. About 50% of them live in GPE partner countries.

Even when children do go to school, many often do not complete it, especially at the secondary level. Girls and boys from the poorest households, from rural areas, and from countries affected by fragility and conflict are more likely to be left behind, and in many countries marginalized girls face additional barriers due to social norms.

There are 14.8 million school-age refugee children and more than half of them remain out of formal education.

To deliver a quality education, teachers, classrooms and schools must be able to respond to the specific needs of all children – ensuring that they are not just present in the classroom but also safe, participating and learning.

GPE gives access to education to the most marginalized children, including those displaced by crisis.

Our results

70% of children
supported by GPE are in countries affected by fragility and conflict.
1.76 million
displaced and refugee children
received education support between 2021-2025.
$380 million
allocated in grants to improve access to education in fiscal year 2024.

Sources

Result stories

Ukraine: Making education accessible when schools are closed
Syria: The hardship and hope of children
Somalia: Despite challenges, education paves the way for a promising future
 

Publications

GPE in action

GPE promotes fairness and inclusion in all education policies so that all children have access to education without discrimination.

  • School construction: Building, restoring, and maintaining education facilities is critical to ensure more children have access to school.
  • Research and data: GPE supports research on out-of-school children, including the global Out-of-School Children Initiative. GPE also supports countries to develop comprehensive analysis of barriers to access and policies that can remove these barriers.
  • Planning, policy dialogue and financing: GPE prioritizes funding to countries where too few children complete school and countries affected by fragility and conflict, which have higher numbers of out-of-school children. GPE has developed a policy dialogue tool to include refugees into national education systems.
  • Advocacy: GPE champions quality education for every child, in line with SDG 4. GPE prioritizes equal access to school for girls and boys and for marginalized groups, including those living in poverty, ethnic and linguistic minorities and displaced children.

Latest blogs and news

October 06, 2025
In Kiribati, education is everyone’s business
Support from GPE and partners, through a comprehensive and coordinated approach, is improving the Kiribati's education system, ensuring both teachers and students are equipped with the tools, skills, and...
September 30, 2025
Syria: A back-to-school moment like no other
In Syria, non-formal education pathways have brought out-of-school children into classrooms, helping them catch up on lost learning and develop skills to transition to formal education.