( CNN ) -- A new report released Monday lists Somalia , Eritrea and Haiti among the world 's worst places to be a school child because of poor access to education . The report , from the Global Campaign for Education based in South Africa , ranked countries on factors including access to basic education , teacher-to-student ratio and educational provision for girls . The report says 69 million children who should be in school are not . The worldwide economic crisis has also taken its toll on education , the report states . `` Millions of children are becoming the victims of the financial crisis with poor countries ' education budgets being cut by $ 4.6 billion a year , '' the study concluded . `` In the last twelve months Kenya had to delay the provision for free education to 9.7 million children due to budgetary constraints . '' Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown , who was recently appointed to the High Level Panel for the Global Campaign for Education , said in a news release that `` generations will be condemned to poverty '' if education budgets are not protected from the financial crisis . The study says the unequal provision of education has led to 8.2 million children out of primary school in Nigeria , adding that many girls there receive six months of education in their lives . The campaign is calling on world leaders meeting at the Millennium Development Goals summit in New York this week to make funding for education a priority to meet a target of universal access to basic schooling by 2015 . The campaign said greater access to education can also result in significant health improvements . `` The report shows that delivering education for all is highly achievable and brings other poverty dividends -- such as reducing HIV deaths by 7 million and doubling child survival by 50 percent -- if mothers are educated . ''
Children : 69 million children who should be in school are not . Former prime minister : ` ` children will be condemned to poverty '' if education budgets are not protected . World leaders will meet at the Millennium Development Goals summit this week .