Education systems in many of the world's poorest countries are now experiencing the aftershock of the global economic downturn.

The 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, released on 19 January, argues that the crisis could create a lost generation of children whose life chances will have been irreparably damaged by a failure to protect their right to education.

The Report examines who these children are and why they are being left behind, and shows that the cost of providing Education for All is much higher than previously estimated.

The report looks at concrete solutions for making sure that no children are excluded from schooling.