This indicator examines whether children from a particular marginalised community have equal access to education. Marginalised groups include women and girls, Indigenous peoples and minorities, persons with disabilities, persons with HIV / AIDS, child labourers, persons in detention, migrants, refugees and IDPs, and persons living in poverty.     

This is the SDG. 4.2.1 indicator that tracks the progress made to SDG target 4.2. Which is 'by 2030, ensure all boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education’.

As per the SDG definition, this refers to the proportion of children aged 24 to 59 months who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psycho-social well-being, and it includes the following concepts :

The participation rate in pre-primary education refers to the percentage of children who participated in at least one year of pre-primary education before primary school enrolment.

Some countries have adopted special legal provisions to guarantee migrant children the right to education, regardless of the legal status of the children or parents. However, some countries adopt differential education policies for citizens and non-citizens. This indicator examines if legal provisions in the national laws or an inclusive policy framework exist to ensure equal access to education for children belonging to migrants, refugees, asylum seekers or any non-citizens. 

The right to equality and non-discrimination are core human rights and the basis for ensuring the right to education for all. The international human rights legal framework contains international instruments to combat specific forms of discrimination.

Affirmative actions should be understood as targeted temporary actions aiming to facilitate access, participation, and completion of marginalised groups that are underrepresented in different levels of education.