We cannot combat poverty without education

Press Release of MEP György Hölvényi

On the 20th of November, we are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. On this occasion, the European Parliament held a plenary debate in Brussels. In his speech Christian Democrat MEP György Hölvényi emphasised the importance of the children’s access to education in developing countries. “Substantially is the only way to help children out-of-school and after a strategical consideration we have to put the education into the middle of the development policy”, he pointed out.

The EPP Coordinator of the Committee on Development highlighted: “Despite the ratification of international conventions, 25% of primary school age children are out-of-school in the Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the data of the UNESCO”.

Education has a crucial role to combat poverty, which is the main driver of challenges affecting the developing countries. Quality education is the ground of democracy, peace and economic growth. “We have to see that without education, the 2030 sustainable development goals are not implementable”, underlined MEP Hölvényi.

We could only take steps for the rights of the children if we strengthen their familial environment. Guaranteeing education for children also contribute to the improvement of the living conditions of their families.

“If we really want to create a sustainable development policy which fits the challenges of the 21st century, we have to achieve significant decrease in the abovementioned 25%. For this, we need a development policy focusing on education, supporting the establishment of educational institutions and training of teachers”, he stressed.

“This is our unfinished business in the developing countries. Without education, we cannot combat poverty” – concluded MEP Hölvényi his remarks.