This paper discusses five main issues that affect the quality of and access to education in developing countries, namely; economic barriers, conflict barriers, climate change barriers, gender barriers, and language barriers. Definitions of ‘education’ such as “the acquisition of the art of the utilisation of knowledge” (Whitehead, 1966), or “making available to each generation the organised knowledge of the past” (Good, 1959, p191), or “the means whereby one generation transmits the wisdom, knowledge and experience which prepares the next generation for life’s duties and pleasures” (Snelson, 1974, p1) might be correct, but are too broad and not relevant in the context of this paper. ‘Education’ in this paper is defined as “the systematic …show more content…
When children complete their basic primary and secondary education it results in numerous benefits for the children as well as the society in general. Studies show that completing a basic education reduces poverty, increases income by up to 10% per extra year of attending school, saves lives of children whose mothers have a secondary education, reduces the chances of getting HIV and Aids, and increases economic growth and GDP (Jalan & Ravallion, 2000; UNESCO, 2011a). Almost 70 years after the UN’s declaration, and having invested billions of dollars in education, more than 59 million children of primary school age are not attending school and 883 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate (UNESCO, 2015; UNDP, 2015). In light of this, the UN set out the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ in 2015 where one of the principle targets is that all children worldwide “complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education” by the year 2030 (UN, 2015, p17). There are many difficult obstacles to achieving this goal, and the following section will explain that economic factors, conflict factors, climate change factors, and gender factors, and language factors are the major issues that need to be addressed.
Factors Affecting the Quality of and Access to Education
1 – Economic factors
Arguably the biggest factor that affects
Why isn't an education available for all students across the the globe?There are many reasons on why education is not available for all student across the globe most commonly in our society reasons that affect education are if students moving a lot ,there truant to school , or they work and go to school. In all this case they still get education even though it not a good one but in some part of the world there are children who don't even have a school in their community therefore they not receive an education.The barriers that impact children the most and cause them not to get an education are gender discrimination,location and most importantly political turmoil.Gender discrimination is a barrier because it keep girls for an education
Countless children in need everywhere around the World do not get a quality education where they can learn and develop who they are going to be when they get older. Education is a crucial right, which gives permission to each person to acquire instructions and blossom socially in the society. The right to a proper education is critical for the economic, social, and cultural advancement of all societies. Education requires that its citizens promote an assortment of knowledge. Education is also known to consist of a form of learning that is unavoidable for the development of one’s personality and the type of character they are, as well as substantial and creative capabilities. Education is an individual right which is an obligation to be accessible to everyone in the society, without any discrimination. All children must be able to get an education, and be accountable for the same opportunities to build a future for themselves. Educational information must be equally administered, so that children from disadvantaged
According to an annual report done by the United Nation’s International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) there are approximately 65 million girls around the world being denied their right and civil liberty to education (Tomiuc, 2003). There are many third world countries across the globe that are consumed by poverty and epidemics and a lot of those problems reside in lack of self-knowledge and education. The annual State of the World’s Children report states
In fact, there are still some countries struggling to offer education because they are still in development. Countries in Africa, such as Sudan, are primary victims. According to a research paper, “education is one of the main priorities for the people of South Sudan. As recent studies show, many communities in South Sudan view education as the most important peace dividend.” (Barnaba). After the analysis of school enrollment and completion rates in Sudan, results were rather low. Sudan, a third world country, currently is going through the state of being the most illiterate country in the world. It has placed education as its top priority and may will be finding ways to encourage families to send students.This ultimately has been caused through the poverty of the parents and thus requiring help in supporting the health of the family making education a second priority. Due to that reason, the country is still developing. A huge gap separates the developed countries from the developing countries solely based on the education systems. The paper states, “there is also concern raised on lack of attention to education quality and its failure to reach the marginalized as contributing to the learning crisis”(“Fix the Gaps in Our Education System [column]”). There is a weak management of schooling in many third world countries, which is a primary reason to why they have not developed yet. This is the reason for the gap and
On an international level, many steps have been taken to ensure a trend of continual increase in the numbers of women who not only have access to an education but also do not drop out of school and progress beyond just primary schooling. In the last 5-10 years especially, great emphasis has been placed on the prioritization of the education of women in the agendas of countries and international organizations. In a 2013 press briefing, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the Executive Director of the UN Entity for Gender Equity and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) emphasized “facilitating access to education for women and girls is vital to lift millions out of poverty and must be a priority for Governments and international organizations.”
“Every child has the right to education”; I am sure that at some point or the other, we have all heard some variation of this very powerful statement. However, is every child given the right to education? We do not have to look far to notice the gaps in education availability between the developed and developing countries. I will be comparing and contrasting the educational system in Britain to that of a third world country, The Gambia. I will explore the history of Western education in The Gambia, and how this has played into Gambian perceptions of Western education. Because this class is interdisciplinary, I will attempt to make my paper well rounded by explaining my points from various perspectives including a historical, anthropological and gender perspective. After giving general differences and similarities, I will then concentrate specifically on the relationship between gender and education in both regions and how accessibility to education may differ on the basis of gender.
The proportion of children who are enrolled in primary schools has increased from 49% to 77% in the past decade in sub-Saharan Africa. This increase in enrollment is due mostly to the initiative of the governments from these regions to improve universal primary education. However, much remains to be done because even though enrollment has been made a possibility in a lot of these countries, there are a lot of other variables at play that still prevent children from receiving a quality education. Things such as poverty, cultural traditions, gender violence, and the incidence of early marriage are a major reason for disadvantaged groups, particularly poor girls, not making as much progress in enrolling
Since education is the vehicle through which social change takes place, it is imperative that the “social change” which must occur in developing nations, must be well defined and articulated. Furthermore, a scientific approach must be taken in order to implement the much-needed change via a graded curriculum. Thus, advocating for high quality instruction in communities where there is a high prevalence of poverty and illiteracy without the existence of a societal relevant curriculum is invariably putting the cart before the horse.
In 2015, UNESCO Institute for Statistics reported that there are 774 million illiterate adults and 123 million illiterate children in the world today. Two-thirds of all illiterate adults and children are female. Why is this an issue? As the world’s technologies and innovations have advanced, the ability to read and write has become a means of survival. Today, 135 countries around the world provide a non-discriminating education for all. In the developing world, literacy is now recognized as a human right. When a person is denied that right, injustice is manifested. The millions of illiterate adults and children living in our world today are not only being denied educational opportunities, they are being denied the basic human right of literacy. Nine out of the top ten illiterate countries in the world are in Africa. Burkina Faso, in West Sub-Sahara, is the single most illiterate country in the world. Unfortunately, little to no changes in literacy rates have occurred for the past several decades in Burkina Faso, or in the many African countries with high illiteracy rates. Without the ability to read and write, people become trapped in a cycle of poverty, inequality and unstable and poorly paid jobs. Without the ability to read and write, women and children lose their voice in a male dominated, corrupt government, conservative culture. Without the ability to read and right, a greater division is made between developing and under-developing countries. Without the ability to
In signing the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2004), Ethiopia agreed to implement free, compulsory, universal primary education by 2015. The abolition of school fees for primary schooling in Ethiopia was integrated into the Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan (PRSP) in 2002. This change was viewed as a positive development by various stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and government representatives. However, in Ethiopia, the effects of the abolition of school fees saw a minimal increase in enrolment rates. Thus, the goal of UPE in Ethiopia is especially challenging considering, “current access to such education is about 67% for primary school-age boys and 47% for primary school-age girl…[and]…enrollment rates in rural and remote regions, where 86% of the population resides, are even lower because of the absence of schools near these communities.” However, although the abolition of school fees saw some improvements in enrolment rates, the lack of proper educational planning and capacity building in Ethiopia has caused other burdens in the educational sector. Thus, although many countries have decided to abolish school fees, the experiences in Tanzania and Ethiopia, has proven that many challenges remain leading to consequences on the quality of education delivered. In the case of Ethiopia, the biggest barrier to achieving
Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon that can be used to change the world.” He was right; an education can provide great opportunities for people. American children have the chance to receive a quality education, but that is not the case in some countries. In underprivileged countries, children may not receive an education. In the natural photograph taken in 2009 by American Press photographer Altaf Qadr, Rajeesh Kumar Sharma has started a free school under a bridge in India to educate underprivileged children living in surrounding neighborhoods. Most children in America will never have to experience a situation like this because the government has passed laws to guarantee every child receives a quality education, but what if the government did not regulate education laws? Imagine the children of the United States having to miss school because of household duties or cultural influences? These are common scenarios for children in underdeveloped countries. Inadequate government funding, household duties, and cultural influences affect whether or not a child receives a valuable education in an underprivileged country.
Approximately 75 million children around the world have no opportunity to attend primary school. Of the 75 million, most of them are girls due to tradition or parents that hold them back from attending ("Main Navigation"). Other factors that affect children from going to school is because of conflicts and wars that result in schools to be destroyed and families to flee the country. Lack of education is a growing crisis due to many factors in developing countries but it has the power pull a country out of poverty and make them economically stable and attract other countries to trade, therefore it should be seen as a priority. Developed countries are involved to help countries increase their education because every child should have the
Bajpai, Sachs and Volavka (2005) studied the confronts to meet the MDGs in India. The authors revealed that India would attain some of eight goals like reducing extreme poverty and would miss many of others like reducing hunger, reducing infant mortality rate, achieving environmental sustainability. Indian population living in severe poverty has been diminishing sharply since economic reforms started in 1991. The headcount poverty rate in 2015 would be less than half of the rate in 1990, as called for by the Millennium Development Goals. The proportion of children in India who are continually malnourished remains very high. India is far behind in the goal to realize universal primary school enrolment. In 1999-2000, the net primary enrollment rate was only 52.5 percent. It is a long way off from the goal of 100 percent enrollment by 2015. Primary completion rates increased slightly between 1993 and 2000, from 58.7 percent to 61.4 percent. But dropout rates are clearly still very high. Gender disparity in schooling differs across India. It is highest in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, where gross primary enrollment rates are about two-thirds for females than for males. Development on the targets to reduce child and infant mortality has been made in India. The country is not likely to meet the goal of reducing these rates by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 if decreases remain at their present rate. India is suffering from deteriorating crises of water, soils, and
In 2000, the United Nations introduced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as part of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. The MDGs were established to attempt to improve overall well-being for as many people as possible, and targets issues such as poverty, starvation, and disease. This paper will focus on the development goal of achieving universal primary education, specifically focusing on the country of Ethiopia. Achieving universal primary education is important because it acts as a building block towards the development of counties as a whole. Primary education is not only a necessity, but a right to all individuals regardless of gender or class. Over the course of the last decade, Ethiopia has experienced vast improvements
Education continues to be seen as the way in which poor people can escape from the grips of poverty. According to President Barrack Obama, “The best anti-poverty program is world classes education” Belize along with other UN nations have made considerable progress to make it affordable and accessible to its citizens. The Millennium Development Goals had been targeted at addressing multiple issues and education was addressed by goal number 2, Achieve Universal Primary Education. The issue of gender parity in education is still an issue and, regardless of improvements, female students are more likely fall out of the education system. “Although 62 million girls are denied access to education, the number of out of school girls has declines by the 52 million”. The statistics globally and in Belize presents and alarming situation in the education sector. Women have continued to push and advocate for equality and the most basic rights continue to be denied. There are many social, cultural and economic reasons for the gender parity in education and why it continues to exist in contemporary society. These reasons include a) cultural perceptions as to the career path of women b) gender discrimination, and c) Child /domestic labour.