The world is facing an alarming education crisis. Without immediate action, over half of the upcoming youth generation - 825 million of the 1.6 billion young people in 2030 - will be left behind, shut out of opportunity, particularly the poorest and most marginalized. The growing skills gap will stunt economic growth, with far reaching consequences. Today, there are 30 million displaced children, 10 million of whom are refugees, and only half of whom have any regular schooling.

Education is a universal and fundamental human right, as set out in the Universal Human Rights Declaration of 1948. Education is at the center of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development Goal #4 commits the global community to 'Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities  for all'.

In an increasingly globalized world, we must make a decisive move to invest more in education, providing all children and youth equal opportunities to prosper. We commit to developing more inclusive, responsive and resilient education systems to meet the needs of every child. We note with serious concern that a large proportion of the world' s out-of-school population lives in conflict-affected areas. We recognize there must be a focus on unlocking the potential of the most marginalized and excluded groups, especially the millions of girls currently denied an education. We commit to advancing gender equality and to tackling violence in schools.

Domestic financing is paramount, and must be increased. More official development assistance is also required and it needs to be channeled with greater effectiveness.

To achieve SDG 4, we call on all partners to commit to an aligned and comprehensive approach to international financing by fully supporting the Global Partnership for Education replenishment, providing funding for emergencies through the Education Cannot Wait fund and welcoming the UN Secretary-General's proposal for the International Finance Facility for Education.

The costs of not investing in education are profound. As we commit to invest more in education, we also recognize the need to ensure all education financing is spent more efficiently and effectively.

264 million children are not in school today. Behind every statistic is a girl or boy full of potential. To deny them opportunity and their rights is not acceptable in the 21st century.

We know what needs to be done, and the opportunity to close the financing gap is before us. We are determined to accelerate and measure our efforts to ensure that every child is in school and receives a quality education, and to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.