The stakes in achieving universal access to high-quality education are high. According to the Global Partnership for Education, 420 million people could be lifted from poverty with a secondary education, cutting the number of poor worldwide in half. And a child whose mother can read is 50 percent more likely to live past the age of five. Yet poverty prevents many children from attending school. Tuition and other expenses are costly and bills often are difficult for families with irregular incomes to pay. CGAP has found that financial services can remove barriers to education by increasing transparency in the use of public education funds, improving teacher’s presence and accountability, and expanding access to education finance for low-income families.