Department for International Development (DFID) has committed £ 212 million to provide almost one million vulnerable and marginalised girls in developing countries across the Commonwealth with 12 years of quality education so that they can fulfil their potential.
A release issued by DFID Tuesday said the British Prime Minister made the announcement on the day.
About 130 million girls around the world are missing out on school, and in Sub-Saharan Africa fewer than 1 in 20 poor and rural girls are on track to complete secondary school, the release said.
The second phase of DFID's girls' education challenge programme will ensure 920,000 girls in commonwealth countries transition through primary and secondary school and training so that they can get good jobs, support themselves and their families, and play a role in the growth of their countries.
It will also give 53,000 highly marginalised adolescent girls in commonwealth countries, who have never attended or dropped out of school as a result of poverty, early marriage and pregnancy, disability or conflict, a second chance to learn literacy, numeracy and other vital life skills, the release said.
Secretary of State for International Development Penny Mordaunt said, "Girls across the Commonwealth have huge potential to be the world's next generation of problem-solvers, innovators and leaders."
"But too many girls are still missing out on school. That's why the UK is working with our commonwealth partners to make sure that every girl receives the life-changing quality education they need to achieve their full potential," she said.
Under the programme, a new policy lab will be launched to bring the UK's world-class expertise to work in partnership with other countries and help commonwealth countries deliver for girls - supporting developing countries to ultimately become self-sufficient and provide quality education. This will begin with a pilot of five countries.
DFID is also launching a new research partnership with the Malala Fund and the UN Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) to help governments better harness their own resources to break down barriers to education for the most marginalised girls so they can progress through primary and secondary education.
Through the first phase of the girls' education challenge (GEC I), UK aid supported over a million marginalised girls to get a quality education. Benefitted many more girls and communities through 37 different projects in 18 countries across Africa and Asia, many operating in conflict and crisis settings.
In 2015-2017, DFID supported 7.1 million children to gain a decent education. This included at least 3.3 million girls.
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