Children around the world are missing out on education, here's how we change that

But what never crossed my mind was how my family would be able to afford to send me, because education is free in the UK. It is free for everyone to access, regardless of their financial circumstances allowing young people to learn, grow, develop and go on to access further education and employment. I have benefitted from this system and now my children are benefitting from it. And it is all paid for by tax. 

But free education is not available to millions of young people around the world who are unable to go to school because of the sheer injustice of systems which put profit over people and planet. 

The continent of Africa is home to vast natural and mineral wealth, as well as to some of the world’s most impoverished people and infrastructures. Multinational corporations extract vast quantities of mineral resources, paying minimal tax on what they extract. This inability to tax multinational corporations is a legacy of the conditions imposed on the mostly indebted countries which had some of their debt cancelled around the millennium.

Multiple economic shocks, including Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Covid and the devastating effects of extreme climate disasters have resulted in the governments of the lowest income countries borrowing more and more - and having to commit more to servicing debts, than investing in their people. 

These loans come at a high price; private creditors charge a higher interest rate than a richer nation would pay as the loan is deemed ‘risky’.  

Overwhelming debt repayments mean governments struggle to fund schools, hospitals, roads and other essential services. Exorbitant servicing charges also mean governments do not have the resources to deal with the impact of climate change. Prolonged droughts, intense storms, flash flooding and conditions entirely unsuitable for small scale agriculture jeopardise the livelihoods of millions of people. All the while, the most prolific polluters continue to make obscene profits and lobby for their activities to be prioritised over the wellbeing of people and planet. 

As many of us get ready to go back to school, children around the world are missing out on education - while private creditors, including big banks and equity funds, are slow to come back to the table to renegotiate unpayable and unsustainable debts. 

Moses Matalika, Head Teacher at Kanyindula Primary School, in Mchinji, West Malawi has told us what the reality is for schools: “The government spends a lot of money on debt, while here in schools we have no books for teaching. On top of that the government is failing to employ enough teachers - the learners are many while the teachers are few, leading to a single teacher handling over 100 students.” 

Christian Aid has never just existed to deal with the symptoms of poverty. We boldly address the structural causes which trap people in poverty around the world.  During the Commonwealth Games, we and other international development agencies met with the Scottish Government

to identify solutions to the global debt crisis.

First Minister John Swinney said in response to that meeting:  “The Global South should not be forced to choose between repaying their creditors and helping their communities to recover from storms and droughts. The Scottish Government is committed to working ... on a fair, long-term solution to the global debt crisis and supporting debt solutions that allow countries to invest in people, public services and climate resilience.” 

While the Scottish Government is pushing for the reform of the global financial architecture, the power to change debt repayment terms lies in the hands of the UK Government; more than 90 per cent of private creditor debt contracts with low income countries are governed by English law.

That is why we are calling on the UK Government to compel private creditors back to the table. No-one is asking private creditors to become charities. We are calling for a level playing field to give low income countries and their people a fighting chance. We are also calling for a Loss and Damage Fund so that when climate disaster hits a country, they can access grants to recover rather than being forced to take more loans. Those who pollute the most should pay the most into that fund.  

This summer the Debt Relief (Developing Countries) Bill was re-introduced at Westminster. If put into law it would compel private lenders to fully participate in debt relief initiatives, releasing vital funds which countries in debt crisis could use to fund public services. In December 2026, the UK will take on the presidency of the G20 - a year-long opportunity to put debt justice on the global agenda.   

We wish our young people and teachers well as they go back to school across Scotland. But for the millions of children who can’t access a classroom, Christian Aid is asking you to raise your voice. Contact your MP and call for justice. Call for fair taxation, for private creditors to be forced back to the table and for unsustainable debt to be cancelled. Find out more about The Restore Campaign at christianaid.org.uk.

Val Brown is Christian Aid's Head of Scotland