Education
There are estimated 75 million children, the majority of whom are girls, in the Commonwealth who are being denied their right to an education. Across the Commonwealth, barriers towards girl's access and retention in primary and secondary school are numerous and vary between countries and regions. There are also some commonalities across Commonwealth countries that face this problem.
Combinations of cultural and socio-economic factors have been found to contribute to this disparity. These include: 
- The secondary position of women in most patriarchal societies translating itself into viewing of education as not being as important for girls.
- Families favouring boys over girls for entrance into school, especially if access to quality education is not free.
- Increasing obstacles of poverty and related livelihood constraints continuing to keep girls (and boys) in varied labour environments in order to help their families subsist.
- Fear of girls being exposed to unacceptable peer practices in co-educational schools - such as sexual activity that could result in pregnancy, or violence and general harassment - preventing parents from allowing their female children to access basic schooling.
Despite some headway with the enrolment and retention of girls in countries 
such as Bangladesh and Uganda, overall progress in this area remains patchy. The Foundation proposes to identify such successes in the Commonwealth and make them more widely known. It proposes further to analyse what factors are behind, and needed for the implementation of such sustainable initiatives, and what factors have inhibited progress elsewhere. Based on this work, the Foundation will support civil society in its efforts to become advocates, shapers of policy, and partners with governments in the work on the ground.
The Foundation's civil society review of the MDGs in last year's publication - 'Breaking with Business as Usual' highlighted the fact that many countries will not meet the education MDG by 2015 if past trends continue. For the Commonwealth Foundation and Commonwealth Secretariat this area of focus also addresses one of the six action areas set out in the 2003 Commonwealth Edinburgh Action Plan for Education - eliminating gender disparities in education.
The Foundation will support the strengthening of civil society capacities, in particular, towards lobbying for policy change, and ensuring sustainable inclusive strategies to accelerate progress towards meeting the Millennium Development Goal of eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2015 an achievable prospect.
