It has been nearly a decade since representatives of 155 nations gathered at one of those self-congratulatory conferences sponsored by United Nations agencies and the World Bank promised to provide, within a decade, primary education for all children. Yet today, according to a new report from Oxfam International, roughly 125 million children of primary school age are not attending school. That is equivalent to every schoolchild in North America and Europe combined - a colossal waste of talent and a failure that almost guarantees that poverty will be bequeathed to another generation. (editorial)