Ms Barbara Scetteri:

I was going to make the same point as Ms O'Mahony regarding the decline in numbers and conflicts. Syria was mentioned, but there are also issues with Boko Haram in Nigeria, the Lake Chad region and other crises all around the world.

On quality of education, many parents came back to us to say we had convinced them that education was the way to go, and so they sent their children to school. However, after a few years, they say that the children are not learning anything, so it is better for them to go to the field where they can at least help the family's income. What do we say to that? The same happens with children with disability. We sensitised the community and they agreed to send their children to school, but they are not learning anything at school. Parents then question why they should make that effort. Sending children to school is important but we need to keep them in school and learning. The problem with education is that it takes time. It is not a fast solution; it takes years. One does not see results or impacts in one or two years but in cycles or generations.

There are good practices. Families must see that by sending girls to school, they can get good jobs, earn an income and help the family, as long as they finish primary or secondary school first. Another way of keeping girls in school is to give them food to bring back to their families in order that they are an added value for the family. That way, while the girls are not home and so cannot help with the field or the family's income, they are at least bringing in food every day. It is not the solution but, over time, those girls will enter the work market and start to earn, and the family will see that there is much more to school than the food. If girls can earn money and bring it home, they have added value. The problem is that at the moment, all the funding is going towards crises, which is only right as we need to save human lives. However, if we do not tackle the root causes around the world, crises will keep occurring.

We need to go back and think. Education is a solution but it will take time. We cannot expect a solution in one or two years and it will take longer. It is an investment that will not have an immediate impact but is something that will help to change the world.