MINISTERS from six African states, including some of the world’s poorest countries, have agreed to increase education spending over the next 15 years. A joint statement issued after talks in the Malian capital Bamako committed the six countries of West Africa’s Sahel region to raising spending on education and on basic education in particular. Fewer than 60% of school age children are actually in school in Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Senegal and Guinea. – Reuters