ATL

Help ensure the UK keeps its promises on aid to education

ATL has launched a postcard campaign that calls on David Cameron to keep the promises that Britain has already made to fund education internationally.

ATL has been busy urging all three Westminster political parties to commit to supporting education internationally.
Support for the Millennium Development and Education for All goals was one of the issues in ATL's pre-election manifesto and as part of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) we are backing the recommendations contained in Education for All: a call for UK action.

The call for UK action, which was launched at the House of Commons on 8 February, sets out what the UK government needs to do to ensure effective global funding mechanisms are in place to secure the right to education for millions of children, young people and adults around the world who have not yet had the opportunity to learn.

ATL international adviser and GCE UK policy group chair Joseph O'Reilly explained, "The UK has championed the importance of education at the highest level, is a leading donor and is publicly committed to improving aid to the education sector, but there is no room for complacency.

"We need a global funding initiative that can really deliver on the international community's education-related promises. We are calling on the UK to support the creation of a fully autonomous multilateral partnership to achieve this.

"Renewed efforts are needed to reach the Education for All goals when they fall due in 2015, and the UK has a vital part to play in achieving this. We know education professionals in the UK care deeply about the UK's support for education internationally and our postcard campaign enables them to tell the government what they want," said ATL general secretary Dr Mary Bousted.

We have had a fantastic response to our postcard campaign so far, but there's still time to get the postcard back to us so we can deliver a strong message in support for UK aid to education to Downing Street after the summer.

Additional copies of the postcard are available for distribution to branches, at events and in workplaces and can be ordered from ATL despatch on 0845 4500 009 quoting product code MF096.