A top educator at the Seventh-day Adventist Church World Headquarters expressed support for the United Nation’s call for more education for girls.

The April 25 appeal by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan at an international conference on education in Dakar, Senegal, brought a swift response from Dr. Humberto Rasi, education director for the Adventist world Church.

“This call for more education, especially for girls who are discriminated against, is one we can identify with,” said Rasi. “So many of the world’s children are denied basic education, and we join this appeal to provide more educational opportunities to those who do not have access to this basic right.”

The Adventist Church operates one of the largest denominational school systems worldwide, educating over one million students at all levels in more than 5,846 schools, colleges and universities.

“Our commitment to such a large school system demonstrates our firm belief in education based on co-educational principles and Christian values,” Rasi continues. “As a Church we see education not as an option but as a vital necessity, and add our voice to the U.N. call.”

It is estimated that up to 125 million children worldwide have no schools to attend, and that of this number two-thirds are girls. In some parts of the world spending on education is small in comparison to making debt repayments, while in other countries war has made education all but impossible. The cost of achieving universal primary education is estimated at $8 billion, which is claimed to be the weekly amount spent worldwide on weapons.