M'SIAN MINISTER JOINS WORLD LEADERS IN PLEDGING EDUCATION FOR ALL

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein is
in Oslo, Norway, together with world leaders and policy makers for the 8th
Education For All (EFA) high level meeting to give commitment and create
political momentum to achieve the EFA objective by 2015.

Their address at the meeting would send a signal to the international
community on the urgent need for continuing suport to ensure that the world's
children have access to formal education.

Hishammuddin said the global economic crisis should not be used as an
excuse
to deny the childrens' right of access to education or become an obstacle to
achieving the objective.

"Priority must be given to making adequate funds for education available,"
he said in a statement released here Wednesday.

Some 75 million children wordlwide are not in primary schools, 55 percent
of
them are girls.

About 29 million children are expected to be denied access to formal
education by 2015 while teacher shortage is at 18 million.

The meeting held at Oslo City Hall, the annual venue for presenting the
nobel laurette, is attended by famous people like Queen Rania Al Abdullah of
Jordan.

Others include Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, Jens Stoltenberg, the Prime
Minister of Norway, Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade and Unesco director-general
Koichiro Matsuura.
--BERNAMA