Businesses are joining forces with governments and international groups to try to meet a pledge to provide education for all children by 2015. The Partnerships for Education was announced in Brussels by the World Economic Forum and Unesco.
World leaders have been criticised for failing to meet their promises to provide universal basic education.
In Britain, school pupils are to work with the charity World Vision to help less fortunate children overseas.
Schools linked with the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) will take part in a year-long campaign to raise funds to build schools in India and Kenya and provide resources for schools in other places.
League table
The announcement of the Partnerships for Education came as world leaders were criticised by the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) for failing to live up to their promise to fund basic education for every child.
A total of 22 wealthy countries pledged to help fund dramatic improvements to schooling in the developing world.
Around the world 77m children do not go to school. Forty percent of those are in areas affected by war or places where there has been conflict.
The GCE has produced a "league table" of countries' achievements in this area which puts the USA, Italy, Germany and Japan at the bottom.
The UK came fourth from the top, and Tony Blair was said to have "done very well". He was awarded a grade B, while George Bush was given a grade E.
Key organizations in the new partnership include leading World Economic Forum member companies - AMD, Cisco, Intel Corporation and Microsoft - the Education for All Fast Track Initiative (FTI); Unesco as global lead UN agency and the World Economic Forum, through its Global Education Initiative (GEI).
Unesco director general Koïchiro Matsuura said: "Achieving Education for All requires the participation of all.
"Partnerships for Education is a giant step in this direction and we have great expectations for it."
These initiatives of our member companies have demonstrated the synergy and win-win possibilities of using co-ordinated multi-stakeholder partnerships to make more effective use of the resources available in a country to strengthen its education reform process," said the managing director of the World Economic Forum, Rick Samans.
The group says it will pool the skills and resources from the private sector with those of governments and non-governmental organisations.
A spokesperson said: "Over the next few months, the partnership will begin exploring opportunities to work directly with countries to help them implement their education reform plans, in particular by mobilising a range of relevant private sector capabilities."
League table
The report from the Global Campaign for Education said donor countries had to try much harder.
It said: "The donors have slammed the brakes on progress, devastating the expectations of those who dared to dream that no future generation would have to live without the light and hope of education in their lives.
"This means millions of children have missed their chance to go to school due to the poor performance of the Class of 2007."
The UK has pledged to spend £8.5bn ($15bn) in the next 10 years, helping the world¿s poorest countries recruit more teachers, build new classrooms and provide basic materials like books and stationery.
Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: "We can be the first generation in history to send every child to school. We will work with every country, charities and international organisations to achieve this goal".
Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for International Development, said: "This morning millions of boys and girls weren't where they should have been - in a classroom, with a desk and a teacher.
"Governments need the security of long term aid so they can plan their education spending over years not months. That's why the UK is committed to spending £1 billion on global education every year by 2010."
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