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STORY: UNICEF / SCHOOL GLOBAL FUNDING CUTS
TRT: 05:29
SOURCE: UNICEF
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT UNICEF ON SCREEN
LANGUAGES: NATS
DATELINE: VARIOUS, SEE THE SHOTLIST
FILE – 2019, MOZAMBIQUE
1. Wide shot, exterior and students in classroom
2. Medium shot, exterior, students in classroom
3. Medium shot, students in classroom
4. Close up shot, students in classroom
5. Close up shot, students in classroom
6. Medium shot, teacher writing on blackboard
7. Medium shot, students in classroom
8. Close up shot, lesson on blackboard
9. Medium shot, student completing lessons on blackboard
10. Medium shot, students in classroom
11. Medium shot, students in classroom
12. Close up shot, student workbook
FILE – 2018, CÔTE D'IVOIRE
13. Medium shot, teacher providing a lesson
14. Medium shot, students in classroom
15. Medium shot, students in classroom
16. Wide shot, teacher with students
17. Medium shot, students in classroom
18. Medium shot, students in classroom
19. Close up shot, students in classroom
13-15 NOVEMBER 2022, SEVARE, MOPTI REGION, MALI
20. Medium shot, students in classroom
21. Wide shot, student walks to blackboard
22. Medium shot, student completes lessons on blackboard
23. Medium shot, students taking part in lessons
24. Wide shot, teacher calling on student to complete lesson on blackboard
29 SEPTEMBER 2024, ROHINGYA REFUGEE CAMP, COX’S BAZAR, BANGLADESH
25. Medium shot, children at a learning centre
26. Medium shot, children at a learning centre
27. Medium shot, children at a learning centre
17 AUGUST 2023, UNICEF BANGLADESH COUNTRY OFFICE, AGARGAON, DHAKA, ABILITY BASED ACCELERATED LEARNING CENTRE (ABALC#1) AT JHAWCHAR, KAMRANGIRCHAR
28. Wide shot, children arriving learning centre
29. Close up shot, child at learning centre
30. Medium shot, children at learning centre
31. Wide shot, children at learning centre
32. Wide shot, children at learning centre
15 OCTOBER 2024, JAR QALANDAR COMMUNITY-BASED EDUCATION CLASS, BADGHIS PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN
33. Medium shot, Rabia Mohammadi teaches a class at the UNICEF-supported CBE
34. Medium shot, Rabia Mohammadi teaches a class at the UNICEF-supported CBE
35. Close up shot, textbook
36. Medium shot, children at UNICEF-supported CBE
37. Medium shot, children at UNICEF-supported CBE
FILE – 2024, KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
38. Wide shot, girls from (1-6th grade) going to their classes
39. Medium shot, 5th grade schoolgirls Dari language class
40. Close up shot, Dari language class workbook
41. Medium shot, teacher at blackboard giving lesson on the alphabet
42. Close up shot, 2nd grade schoolgirls learning the alphabet and counting
43. Medium shot, students taking lessons on the alphabet and counting
44. Medium shot, students taking lessons on the alphabet and counting
45. Medium shot, students taking lessons on the alphabet and counting
46. Close up shot, students taking lessons on the alphabet and counting
11-12 AUGUST 2025, COX’S BAZAR AND DHAKA, BANGLADESH
47. Medium shot, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban is visiting Bangladesh to reaffirm UNICEF’s commitment to improving the lives of children and families. His visit comes at a crucial time, as the world faces multiple challenges— from economic pressures and health crises to the protection needs of vulnerable communities. During his visit to Cox’s Bazar, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban met children, teachers, and community members at a learning centre, observing classrooms where students were actively studying.
48. Close up shot, students at learning centre
49. Medium shot, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban meeting with children at learning center
50. Close up shot, students at the learning centre
51. Medium shot, UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Ted Chaiban observing lesson
52. Medium shot, students at learning centre
53. Medium shot, students at learning centre
As global education funding faces steep cuts, an estimated 6 million additional children could be out of school by the end of 2026, around one-third of them in humanitarian settings, UNICEF warned in a new analysis.
Official Development Assistance (ODA) for education is projected to fall by US$3.2 billion – a 24 per cent drop from 2023 – with just three donor governments accounting for nearly 80 per cent of the cuts. Such a decline would push the number of out-of-school children worldwide from 272 million to 278 million – the equivalent of emptying every primary school in Germany and Italy combined.
“Every dollar cut from education is not just a budgetary decision, it’s a child’s future hanging in the balance,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “Education, especially in emergency settings, often serves as a lifeline, connecting children to essential services like health, protection, and nutrition. It also provides the strongest opportunity for a child to escape poverty and build a better life.”
According to the analysis, West and Central Africa faces the sharpest impact, with 1.9 million children at risk of losing out, while the Middle East and North Africa could see an increase of 1.4 million out of school children, alongside major rollbacks in all other regions.
The analysis finds that 28 countries are projected to lose at least a quarter of the education assistance they rely on for pre-primary, primary, and secondary schooling. Among them, Côte d’Ivoire and Mali face some of the greatest risks, with enrolment at risk of declining by 4 per cent – equivalent to 340,000 and 180,000 students, respectively.
Primary education is expected to be hit hardest around the world, with funding set to fall by a third – deepening the learning crisis and putting affected children at risk of losing an estimated US$164 billion in lifetime earnings.
In humanitarian settings, where education goes beyond learning, offering life-saving support, stability, and a sense of normalcy for traumatized children, funding could drop sharply – in some cases, cutting the equivalent of at least 10 per cent of the national education budget. For example, in UNICEF’s Rohingya refugee response, 350,000 children risk losing access to basic education permanently. Without urgent funding, education centres may close, leaving children vulnerable to exploitation, child labour, and trafficking.
Essential services such as school feeding programmes, sometimes a child’s only nutritious meal of the day, could see funding slashed by more than half, while support for girls’ education is also set to decline significantly.
Wide cuts at the system level will also undermine governments’ ability to make evidence-based plans, adequately support teacher development, and monitor learning outcomes. This means that even children who remain in school could see their learning suffer, with at least 290 million students across all regions projected to face a decline in education quality.
UNICEF urges donor and partner countries to act now to protect education by:
• Rebalancing education assistance to be more equitable and effective with a minimum of 50 per cent directed to least developed countries;
• Safeguarding humanitarian education funding and prioritizing education as a lifesaving intervention alongside other essential services;
• Focusing education assistance on foundational learning, concentrating on early childhood and primary education where the returns are the highest;
• Simplifying global financing architecture in line with the UN80 Initiative to improve efficiencies;
• Expanding innovative financing without replacing core funding to education.
“Investing in children’s education is one of the best investments in the future – for everyone,” said Russell. “Countries do better when their children are educated and healthy, and it contributes to a more stable and prosperous world.”
