As India has one of the world’s highest child mortality rates, the latest UN study says that rate would have been down by three-fifths had women in the country completed secondary education.

"If all women in India had completed secondary education, the under-five mortality rate would be 61 percent lower," says United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in its latest report. The all global monitoring report has been released on the eve of the UN general assembly discussions on the post-2015 development agenda.

"Education is one of the most powerful ways of improving children's health. Educated mothers are better informed about specific diseases, so they can take measures to prevent them. They can recognise signs of illness early, seek advice and act on it," says the 28-page report titled 'Education Transforms Lives'.

The report illustrates that lives of 2.1 million children under five were saved between 1990 and 2009. "It was because there was improvement in girls’ education," the report adds.

The report finds south and west Asia and sub-Saharan Africa to be the places where early marriages of girls take place. "In these regions, 3.4 million young women give birth by the age of 17.  If all young women completed primary schooling, this would result in 340,000 fewer early births, and if they all completed secondary education the total would fall by two million," the study notes.

"The findings confirm more clearly than ever that education can transform lives and societies for the better," said Irina Bokova, director-general of UNESCO.

The report also points that children in India still lack equal access to education. It says that the quality of education improves economic growth. "If India had equality in education, over 40 years per capita income would be 23 percent higher," the study highlights.

The report, prepared by an independent team, will be published in early 2014.

Read the abridged report here.