Brown urges focus on education for poor

Gordon Brown at Dalgety Bay Primary School giving a speech the day after the result of the Scottish Independence Referendum.

Almost half the world's children face the prospect of growing up without proper schooling unless there is a 'transformation' in the funding of education in the poorest countries, Gordon Brown has warned.

The former prime minister, who heads the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity, said the shortage of schooling represented a “ticking time bomb” which could trigger new protest movements among a generation frustrated at the lack of life chances.

Brown, who presented the findings at the United Nations in New York, said £23 billion in additional funding was needed if the goal of ensuring every child receives a full primary and secondary education by 2030 is to be achieved.