More than 90% of children in the Arab region have no access to preschool, kindergarten

Syrian children gather in a tent repurposed as a make-shift classroom, at a camp for the displaced near the town of Sarmada in the northern countryside of the rebel-held Idlib province on December 1, 2018. (File/ AFP)

• More than 90 percent of children in the Arab region are not getting access to preschool and kindergarten-level education
• The announcement came from the executive director of the Arab Gulf Program for Development

More than 90 percent of children in the Arab region are not getting access to preschool and kindergarten-level education, Saudi Press Agency reported, citing the executive director of the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) Nasser Bakr Al-Qahtani said.

He said sustainable development goals could not be achieved without progress on five major agendas. These included early childhood, women’s empowerment, civil society, and open education for young people and young women.

AGFUND is a regional development and donor organization, which operates from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Al-Qahtani said AGFUND’s program since its establishment in 1980, has “contributed to the financing of more than 1,500 projects in 133 countries and this would not have happened without the partnership with the United Nations.”

He added that the program had been working with international organizations in projects that support women and children.