There is evidence indicating that higher levels of education, and not merely primary education, improve the health and well-being, and position of women in family and society. If we take women’s workforce participation rates as an approximation of women’s empowerment, then wage employment is a critical factor. However, the relationship between education and employment is a little more complex.

Education for all can bring important benefits to society even if it is not very successful in terms of the wider set of goals or even if the quality does not meet international standards. This argument is not to weaken the efforts to improve the quality of, or to reach other goals through education but to stress the importance of enhancing the access to and use of education by all without waiting for notable improvements in its quality or comprehensiveness.