UNITED NATIONS, June 28 (Xinhua) -- Education must become a priority for every government since it is the foundation for inclusive sustainable development and the core of building peace worldwide, said Irina Bokova, director-general of UN cultural agency UNESCO here on Wednesday.
Bokova made the remarks at a high-level event on education which aims to drive a new push for inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all.
In a recent report, UNESCO has recorded that a total of 264 million children, adolescents, and youth were out of school in 2015.
The report also noted that if all adults completed secondary education, 420 million could be lifted out of poverty, reducing the total number of poor people by more than half globally.
Noting that children and youth in conflict carry the heaviest burden, Bokova said "more resources for education mean less for war" and decent education plays a critical role in preventing conflict and violence worldwide.
Therefore, she called on governments and other actors to provide opportunities to every girl and boy with the education that is relevant to peace, development and global citizenship and to achieve the global goal for education with no one being left behind.
