Save the Children Australia warns that at least 30 million children, most living in conflict affected countries, are still likely to be out of school by 2015, the target year for the Millenium Development Goals.

The Story of the Future , an animated report from Save the Children published today indicated that the current trend of providing education for more than 4 million children a year is not enough to reach the 2015 education target the world set itself in 2000.  Although the total number of out-of-school children is declining, those who are still out of school are proving ever harder to reach.

More than half of the 77 million children still out of school live in conflict-affected fragile states.  However, despite the vulnerability of the children living in these countries, only 23 percent of the global basic education aid goes to these conflict and post-conflict areas.

"For nearly 60 years, since the Universal Declaration on Human Rights in 1948, world leaders have made promises to all children that they have the right to go to school and receive education. But without doing more their promises will be broken. At least 30 million children will still be out of school in 2015 - most of them in poor, conflict-affected countries," says Margaret Douglas, CEO of Save the Children Australia.

"Two weeks ago, the G8 said they would target assistance to ‘low income countries and fragile states furthest away from the 2015 target' of education for all. Today, we hope that world leaders might be reminded of all the children around the world whose lives have been disrupted by conflict and act now to rewrite their future through education. For this generation of children growing up without school, making a new promise in 2015 will simply be too late."

Download the full media release here

For further information contact:

Sharyn Hanly, Save the Children Australia,  (03) 9938 2011 or Mob: 0418 560 810
Abdi Noor, Save the Children Australia, (03) 9938 2010 or Mob: 0408 508 875