Information and stories on education.

Apple and The Malala Fund: Bringing Education to Girls in Brazil

Apple and the Malala Fund Working to Bring Education to Girls in Brazil
Founded in 2013, The Malala Fund has taken many steps towards improving education for girls across the globe. To do this, members of the initiative have invested time in local education, advocated for policy changes and an increase in resources and by providing a voice through their own publications and newsletters. As it is now, The Malala Fund has made substantial progress in Syria, Pakistan, Nigeria, India and Afghanistan. More recently, they have made movements towards ensuring approximately 12 years of education reaches girls in Brazil.

According to CNN, Brazil has the eighth largest economy in the world, but despite this, millions of girls are still denied access to education. Reasons that are perhaps correlated with this are poverty, which often results in exploitation, under-representation in government and unequal wages due to discrimination against gender and/or race. Another potential factor contributing to low education is safety concerns since rates for sexual abuse against girls are high. In 2015, 6,706 of 17,871 registered cases of sexual assault against women were attacks on children between the ages of zero and 12.

Apple Teams Up With The Malala Fund

The goal of The Malala Fund is to reach more than 100,000 girls and provide them with the necessary materials they need to become leaders and educators in their region. To make this possible, Apple and The Malala Fund has teamed up together to bring education to girls in Brazil.

Apple and The Malala Fund’s partnership mainly involves on providing financial resources to The Gulmakai Network, a group of “champions” in developing countries that work to speed up the process of ensuring every girl gets an education. Particularly in Brazil, the Gulmakai champions are tasked with not only making sure girls can access education but also educating teachers on discrimination and training young women to be more vocal about their rights.

Technology Used To Improve Education

Apple will be assisting in the form of technology, curriculum, research and grants that will be available to local advocates. Perhaps playing the biggest role is the Apple Developer Academy. The Apple Developer Academy program in Brazil is currently educating students by connecting them to other locations globally and mobilizing them to ensure that they are developing products that are useful.

Now, through this partnership, current students will be learning and using their skills in Swift (Apple’s programming language), graphics, and many more to tackle the education problem in Brazil. Specifically, students in these academies have been tasked with designing and developing apps with the purpose of enhancing the overall experience of obtaining an education. They are also encouraged to develop means of safe, secure communication for the Gulmakai champions as they empower girls and advocate.

With the help of Apple, its academy students and alumni, The Malala Fund hopes that every girl will be able to choose her own future and follow her own path whether it be to become a business tycoon, a dancer, an educator etc. Apple and The Malala Fund hope that they can successfully present this golden opportunity to girls in the safest way possible at the highest quality, so they don’t have to live in fear like so many others.

– Stephanie Singh
Photo: Flickr

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Education for Disabled Children in Lebanon

Lebanon

The fact remains clear worldwide that education fosters better economic opportunity. Inclusive education has become an important global poverty issue for this reason. Yet, Lebanon still struggles to provide a proper education for disabled children. This can potentially leave handicapped individuals at a disadvantage when compared to their peers.

Current situation

Lebanese schools often decline disabled children due to discrimination and inadequate accommodations. When these children can attend school, they struggle with a lack of specialized care. They find that no individualized lesson plans exist for them and teachers have no special training. Most schools even lack the appropriate architecture for wheelchair access.

The burden of these shortcomings often falls on the parents. They may pay high traveling fees as a handicap-friendly school can often lie miles away from home of the children. Other schools might charge the parents for a specialized tutor. If the parents cannot pay these costs, their child can end up without an education at all.

This trend has led to some disturbing statistics in education for disabled children. The Lebanese Physical Handicapped Union (LPHU) conducted a study in 2014 from a sampling of disabled individuals. They discovered that 54% of these individuals had only received a primary level of education. Of this 54%, 24% still reported having issues with illiteracy.

Law 220

Issues such as these persist despite Lebanon law requiring non-discriminatory education for disabled children. Law 220, created in 2000, ensures this right for all disabled individuals. Yet, fifteen years later, only five public schools had built the modifications to allow wheelchair access.

Residential facilities for those with disabilities seems the best this law can provide. Yet, many question the quality of the education received. Many children come out of these facilities still illiterate or even without finishing school. These facilities have also reported dangers such as child and adult residents residing together.

The main issue, it seems, resides in enforcing and implementing Law 220. Human Rights Watch (HRW) suggests that the Lebanon government must change its policies. It advises them to “develop guidelines and standards on inclusive classrooms” and “revise the teacher training materials”. Along with this, the government must “strengthen and regulate the monitoring of schools”.

To its credit, the government has noticed the issue and has taken measures to fix it. HRW reports that the education sector, the Ministry of Education and High Education (MEHE), has plans for a 2018 pilot program. Under this program, children with learning disabilities will be integrated into 30 schools. Six schools will enroll children who have “visual, hearing, physical, and moderate intellectual disabilities”.

Private organizations and UNICEF have also made efforts to build accessibility modifications to school facilities. Others pay for specialized teachers and materials for those with visual impairments so they may attend school. Lebanese teachers themselves are also fighting to develop a strategy that will improve inclusion.

The UN estimated that in 2001, 10% of the population in Lebanon has a disability. At a current population of 6,094,089, this means that over 600,000 individuals might face difficulties with education access in Lebanon. As the population of Lebanon has grown since then, this number has increased.

Over 600,000 individuals can remain trapped in cycles of poverty due to something they have no control over. This does not seem fair and many organizations, including the government, agree. Hopefully, this assessment will give the Lebanese government and other organizations the incentive to keep fighting for a fully inclusive education.

–Elizabeth A. Frerking

Photo: Flickr

10 Crucial Facts About Girls’ Education in Argentina

Facts About Girls' Education in Argentina
To educate a woman is to give her the tools to create a brighter future for herself and her family. Argentina is a nation known to be improving its gender equality; in fact, women currently fight for equal education and job opportunities to men. However, girls education in Argentina is an ongoing process, and women are still placed second to men in many situations. Here are the top 10 facts about girls’ education in Argentina.

Top 10 Facts About Girls Education in Argentina

  1. Early marriage and household tasks are seen as common female roles in South America. Many girls stay at home and attend to the “domestic” jobs — around 10 percent of girls between the age of 15-24 are in charge of the home. However, it’s usually these young girls in the poorest sectors of Argentina who need education the most, but struggle to get it.
  2.  Young girls who live at home often receive little cash assistance and don’t have educational deficits. According to a report by the Observatory of Social Debt in Argentina, “19.1 percent have limitations to receiving education and 16.8 percent don’t even go to school.” These young girls who don’t go to school find themselves stuck in the cycle of poverty. As they get older, they frequently can’t find a job because of their lack of an educational background or previous job experience.
  3. Early childbearing is an issue that causes young girls not to attend school. This is somewhat ironic, as girls who attend school are taught about sexual education and methods of prevention; as a result, early pregnancies are less likely to occur. Most often, those in ongoing poverty find themselves in these situations of early motherhood due to the lack of knowledge about pregnancy.
  4. The prehistoric idea that men are more dominant than women prevails in the Argentine culture. There have been cases where a woman is discriminated against or even abused if she tries to defend her education. The Argentinian workforce still does not equally value men and women workers.
  5. Women are seen often in the informal sphere — an area of the economy that is untaxed, unregulated and usually provides low-paying work. Although women might find jobs, they usually find themselves in these kinds of precarious workplaces.
  6. Argentina had their first female president, Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner, from 2007 to 2015. She was seen as a female role model who empowered young girls and women to strive for higher-up positions and value getting an education.
  7. One of the Millennial Goals in Argentina is to promote gender equality and empower women. When looking at this with regard to jobs, the goal strives to remove the “glass ceilings” that prevent women from being promoted to higher and better-paid positions, especially if women have the same education level as the men applying for the same job.
  8. In March 2015, Michelle Obama created the Let Girls Learn initiative. This program brings together the Department of State, USAID, the Peace Corps, the U.S. Department of Labor, MCC and the U.S. president’s emergency fund for AIDS, and is a government-wide effort to help adolescent girls complete their education. A key part of the effort is to encourage and support community-led solutions and reduce any potential barriers that would prevent a young girl from getting an education. Since then, the group has worked with organizations like the World Bank, a global organization that in 2016 agreed to invest $2.5 billion over the next five years in education programs that directly benefit young girls.
  9. Another event in 2015 was the movement “Ni Una Menos” or “Not One Less.” Social media made headlines when thousands of cities around the countries protested against the unfair treatment of women. The Not One Less group protested against the violence of women in Argentina in the workplace.
  10. Women are now often getting equal or more education than men. When viewing the national statistics and census of Argentina, the INDEC mentions that the “society must have an equal distribution of educational opportunities among both genders on all levels.” In fact, according to statistics from UNICEF, women are seen attending school 2-3 percent more than men for all types of education. As a result, women should be given the same job opportunities if they’re working as hard or even harder than their male counterparts.

Acquiring a Female Future, One Woman At a Time

A lack of education is one of the core factors related to poverty — girls who are educated find themselves in better living situations. Although these were the top 10 facts about girls’ education in Argentina, there are plenty of other points of note where the women are restricted and want to strive for a better future. As Argentinian women continue to fight for a change, the future will hopefully become better for the younger generation.

– Negin Nia

Photo: Flickr

Road to Improvement: 10 Facts on Girls’ Education in Mexico

Girls’ Education in Mexico
Girls’ education in Mexico has steadily improved over the last 50 years in terms of school accessibility, educational infrastructure and attendance rates. The opportunity to attend primary school is almost equal for girls (49 percent) and boys (51 percent) in Mexico.

However, the Mexican government still faces many challenges to educational attainment for girls, with poverty as its primary determinant. There are many factors and influences on girls’ education in Mexico, as well as programs offering a positive change in recent years.

10 Facts about Girls’ Education in Mexico

  1. Primary School Attendance Vs. Higher Education Attendance
    The Mexican school system consists of mandatory free primary and, as of 1992, secondary education as well as optional tertiary education. While the number of girls in school has caught up to the number of boys in school, “this is only true until the age of 14.” Starting at around age 15, girls in Mexico face sociocultural barriers to continue to higher education. Early marriages or unions, early pregnancies, domestic responsibilities and traditional roles of women encourage girls to leave school earlier than boys.
  2. Family Poverty
    Family poverty is a key determinant of girls’ underrepresentation in Mexican schools. A 2001 study showed that, compared with boys, girls from poor families – families from the lowest fifth of the income distribution in each year – were less likely to attend school full-time. Girls in the lowest 20 percent of the income distribution were less likely than boys to be in school or employed; however, there was no significant difference between school attendance rates of boys and girls in Mexico living in upper-income households.
  3. Regional Poverty
    In Mexico, rural areas are defined as localities with less than 2,500 residents. These localities tend to have a higher percentage of the population in poverty with less access to health and educational systems. Regional poverty contributes to the underdevelopment of girls’ education in Mexico; southern Mexico – Mexico’s least developed region – is the region where girls are most disadvantaged in terms of school access.
  4. Indigenous Populations
    In Mexico, indigenous populations are defined by either self-identification or language. Ten percent of Mexico’s 130 million inhabitants are indigenous and there are over 68 linguistic groups coexisting in Mexico. Southern Mexico has the greatest concentration of indigenous populations. Despite extreme variation in household languages, all primary education is taught in Spanish, “which contributes to an uneven learning process in classrooms.” Furthermore, girls’ education in Mexico within indigenous populations is complicated by the limited availability of transportation and by sociocultural barriers, such as the expectation for women and girls to maintain the household. Though the Secretariat of Public Education in Mexico (2017) showed that access to primary level school is almost equal for girls (49 percent) and boys (51 percent), the statistics do not necessarily reflect the cultural barriers that indigenous girls face if they are to continue into higher education.
  5. Parental Involvement
    Parental involvement and maternal education is a key determinant of girls’ education in Mexico. In general, high parental education levels are positively associated with their children’s achievement. Specifically, studies conducted in Mexico have found that a mother’s level of education has a strong positive effect on their daughters’ enrollment in school. Mothers with basic education are significantly more likely to educate their children, and especially their daughters. Data suggests that support to uneducated mothers’ literacy programs should be a high priority for the Mexican government since these programs help to increase girls’ school enrollment, attendance and participation.
  6. HIP: Investing in Girls’ Education in Mexico
    In 2017, Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) began to invest in girls’ education in Mexico as part of their mission to promote Latino equity and inclusion across Latin America. Findings from their research into international and national actors led them to the conclusion that there are several educational initiatives in Mexico to improve the quality of education. However, these efforts are not designed specifically with girls in mind. To improve girls’ education in Mexico, HIP intends to increase investments in programs to reduce early marriages, unions and pregnancies. HIP relies on its 15 years of grantmaking experience in the U.S. and Latin America, partnerships with over 270 donors and investments in Latino-serving organizations throughout the U.S. and Latin America to achieve their goals regarding in girls’ education in Mexico.
  7. PROGRESA-Oportunidades
    Since 1998, PROGRESA — a national poverty-alleviation initiative, later called Oportunidades —  provides stipends to millions of Mexican households on the condition of children’s school enrollment and attendance, with higher stipends for girls’ education. This program was one of many conditional cash transfer programs started by the Mexican government, which incentivized Mexico’s poorest households to send their children — especially their girls — to school. Beginning with secondary school, stipends are higher for girls to remain in school due to their higher drop-out rate. Since Oportunidades’ inception, 39 percent of girls in the program advanced more rapidly through the school system, and 18 percent of girls who dropped out at the third-grade level now remained in school.
  8. The New Educational Model
    The New Educational Model, Mexico’s latest educational reform, is dedicated to ensuring that a greater number of indigenous girls have access to education. The last time the Mexican government implemented a new educational model was in 1959; however, this new educational reform encourages comprehension over memorization and allows for greater parental involvement regarding subject selection. These changes will, in turn, encourage girls’ education in Mexico.
  9. Fields of Education
    In recent years, there has been a greater push for girls to go into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) fields in higher education in Mexico. Jointly run by Mexico’s Ministry of Public Education, The Mexican Academy of Science and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), new programs in Mexican higher education are promoting STEM education, “placing significant focus on female students.” According to OECD, 5 out of 10 students studying at Mexican universities are women; however, many females have refused to choose science as a career in the past. The U.S.-Mexico Foundation (USMF) created a STEM mentoring program for Mexican female high school students, which had exceptional results: 100 percent of the girls in the program who graduated from high school attended college, and around 85 percent of them are studying STEM-related careers.
  10. Expansion of Early Childcare Programs
    In Mexico, there is a societal expectation that “daughters should provide domestic support.” Girls’ school enrollment and attendance rates are based, in part, on the sibling composition of the family. Younger sisters are freed from the domestic responsibilities when their older sister remains in the home to fulfill that role. Though policymakers have made some headway with initiatives and educational reforms, girls’ access to Mexico’s secondary schools could be significantly improved with the implementation of policy to expand early childcare programs. With this policy intervention, more girls would be freed up to attend school.

Girls’ education in Mexico is influenced by family features (e.g. family poverty, parental involvement, maternal education and sibling composition), sociocultural barriers (e.g. early marriages, early pregnancies and domestic responsibilities and expectations), and instability (e.g. regional poverty, limited transportation and poor educational infrastructure).

Despite the challenges to education for girls in Mexico, there have been many educational reforms and initiatives in the past 20 years (e.g. PROGRESA-Oportunidades, HIP, The New Educational Model, USMF’s STEM mentoring program, among others) that have encouraged positive change.

If this kind of trajectory continues, education for girls in Mexico will hopefully reach unprecedented levels of success.

– Kara Roberts
Photo: Flickr

Girls’ Education in Comoros

Girl’s Education in Comoros
Comoros is located off the coast of East Africa near the northern section of the Mozambique Channel. It is made up of more than 800,000 people spread across three main islands (Grand Comore, Anjouan and Moheli). For years, it has been known as one of the poorest countries in the entire world consisting of inadequate transportation, an increasingly young population and a dearth of natural resources. Even though they are still struggling, they have made strides over the years in many areas, specifically in the light of girls’ education in Comoros.

Dubai Cares

In 2013, Dubai Cares, a philanthropic organization focused on improving children’s access to education in developing countries, chose to launch a program specifically targeting girls’ education in Comoros. The program took the time to educate and train teachers and local authorities on how to create gender-friendly classrooms and teach gender-friendly class material. Furthermore, Dubai Cares made it a central part of their program to raise awareness in the community, specifically in topics such as the demand for quality education and gender disparities.

According to Tariq Al Gurg, the chief executive of Dubai Cares, the program for girls’ education in Comoros was focused on three main goals:

  1. Improve upon the accessibility of quality education
  2. Reduce or attempt to eliminate any gender disparities and improve female attendance
  3. Improve development in childhood education

Dubai Cares’ chose these aspects as their focus because they understand the importance of education for women. Girls are consistently tested and faced with obstacles that boys simply do not have to face when it comes to education. It is important to acknowledge the impact that girls’ education in Comoros, and worldwide, can have in the fight against poverty.

Al Gurg, emphasizes the importance of improving upon girl’s education when he states, “It creates a ripple effect of positive change in the community and country. As future mothers and wives, who will play an integral role in nurturing and raising families, these girls hold the key to a future generation of educated and enlightened children.”

Measurable Success

Dubai Cares’ four-year program, implemented by UNICEF, has considerably improved girls’ education in Comoros. The improvements and results include:

  • Approximately 58,000 students benefitted through the program
  • $2.6 million  had been raised to improve educational standards and reduce gender disparities
  • Education reform in 309 public primary schools
  • 190 renovated Koranic Teaching Classes created in 153 public primary schools
  • 6,200 children, ranging from 3-5 years of age, receive aid for school enrollment

Dubai Cares has laid the groundwork for other programs being launched around the world. The Dubai Cares program has created an environment for girls’ education in Comoros that fosters positivity and an eagerness to learn. Comoros is in an amazing position to build off the improvements that have been made.

The Future of Education in Comoros

In July 2018, Dubai Cares announced the launch of another program in Comoros. This one is set to build off of the success of their prior program implemented in 2013. While the last program’s focus was on girls’ education in Comoros, this program’s focus will be on early childhood development (ECD) among all children. The program will also be implementing parenting practices such as the encouragement of appropriate nutrition, hygiene and early educational stimulation. It is set to help at least 269,382 children as well as teachers across all 394 primary schools in Comoros.

Dubai Cares took the initiative to improve girls’ education in Comoros. This focus to fight and foster positive learning environments for all genders has created a building block for all. The success of the 2013 girls’ education program has afforded the opportunity for success in this newly implemented 2018 program focused on early childhood development.

Although Comoros remains one of the poorest countries in the world, they are far more advanced when it comes to understanding the importance of women and a good education. By allowing women the benefits of attaining an education, many doors are being opened for everyone in the community of Comoros. Other countries should take note.

– Emilie Cieslak
Photo: Flickr

A Look at Girls’ Education in Azerbaijan

Girls' Education in Azerbaijan

In Azerbaijan, school is compulsory from around the age of five or six to around 15 or 16 and consists of three levels of education from primary school to general secondary. In 2014, 1,474,000 children were enrolled in primary school with 11 percent of school-age children not enrolled.

Of those children who were enrolled, not all of them were able to finish the school cycle as the system is problematic when it comes to ensuring equality of girls’ education in Azerbaijan. This comes from several political and economic changes; however, there are several programs attempting to resolve this discrepancy. In order to make the necessary changes, it is important to understand the current status of girls’ education in Azerbaijan.

Reasons For Low School Attendance of Girls’ in Azerbaijan

In 1998, 10 percent of girls in Azerbaijan were not enrolled in primary school, and the rate of girls dropping out of school was higher than their male counterparts. According to UNICEF, there are four main causes accounting for the lower attendance rates, poorer performance in school and/or higher dropout rates when it comes to girls’ education in Azerbaijan:

  1. Financial difficulties may affect both genders; however, girls will feel a greater impact. It may be hard to invest scarce resources in the education of girls when families see more employment opportunities going to boys. Instead, women are often seen as “stabilizers” which means they are expected to preserve tradition while new opportunities go to men.
  2. Girls are viewed as being more vulnerable to both physical and cultural dangers. There is a concern of inappropriate behavior, whether by the girls themselves or by other males in the community toward the girls, that would result in the girls becoming unmarriageable. There are also concerns about the safety of young girls walking to school, the lack of female teachers and coeducational classrooms that could increase these dangers.
  3. There is a belief that girls have different mental abilities than boys. This comes from gender stereotypes, the girls’ greater societal responsibilities and classroom discrimination. Young girls also begin to lower their own expectations of how they can perform in school as a result of pressures. According to UNDP and its report on Azerbaijan Human Development, more importance is placed in providing males with higher quality education.
  4. Girls often marry early either as a result of religious beliefs or the fact that it is socially desirable to marry young. As high as 11 percent of girls are married by the time they reach 18 with 2 percent being married by 15. Higher rates can be seen around the country where there is a greater importance to marry and start a family. It is difficult to evaluate the exact number of child brides due to a lack of statistical data.

Each one of these factors is relevant to girls’ education in Azerbaijan and can be considered a reason for lower rates in female education. UNICEF has recommended strategies that could be implemented for the improvement of girls education, including alternative programs, interactive learning, bilingual education, scholarships, more female teachers, program based learning and single-sex schools.

While there is a push to have gender equality in school, more research must be done on current educational statistics. Azerbaijan has several challenges ahead while attempting to create an equal school system.

– Olivia Hodges

Photo: Flickr

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Empowering Women Through Education and Entrepreneurship Reduces Poverty

Empowering Women Through Education and Entrepreneurship
A majority of the world’s poor are women, and gender inequality pervasive in countries around the world is a key reason for this occurrence. Women face barriers to obtaining education and entering the economy that men do not — globally, 33 million fewer girls than boys are enrolled in primary education, and women constitute 61 percent of the illiterate population between the ages of 15 and 24.

Education and Entrepreneurship

Empowering women through education and entrepreneurship reduces poverty by increasing their employability and enabling them to provide for their families and contribute to the economic development of their communities.

Without education, girls are more likely to be trafficked or become child brides; it is also more likely that women and their families will live in poverty. Education is crucial to the reduction of poverty, as it enables women to acquire jobs, help provide for their families and contribute to their local economy.

Women’s incomes rise between 10-20 percent per year of education they receive. This rise in income can be the factor that raises families out of poverty, as women reinvest 90 percent of their incomes into their families (50-60 percent more than men do). This can improve a family’s economic status and increases its food security.

Empowerment in the Workplace

However, many women and girls do not receive the education they need to acquire good jobs. Even women who can obtain an education are not guaranteed work in some developing countries where social norms relegate women to the domestic sphere. In fact, these options can often consign women to duties of housework and childcare and discourage them from entering the workforce.

By empowering women through education and entrepreneurship, women can break down these social norms that restrict not only their own success, but also the prosperity of their communities.

Women who are able to work still face substantial inequality. They often have lower incomes than men in the same positions, and more than one billion women cannot access basic financial services. For example, women farmers in many developing countries are restricted from owning land, accessing credit and acquiring productive resources.

Women also do not receive the same support from national and international development organizations as men do, though they on average produce higher values of output than men. Empowering women through education and entrepreneurship can reduce poverty by allowing women to be productive workers and contribute to the economy.

Economic Benefits of Female Empowerment

The World Bank and the Food and Agriculture Organization estimate that developing countries’ agricultural output would increase by between 2.5-4 percent if female farmers had equal access to productive agricultural resources and services. If such resources became available, it would reduce the number of hungry people worldwide by 150 million.

In Malawi and Ghana, improving women’s access to resources increased the production of corn by more than 15 percent, and Burkina Faso experienced a production gain of six percent when fertilizer and labor were reallocated on an equal basis.

With the rapidly rising global population, this increase in food production is crucial to people’s survival. In addition, if gender inequality and the financial barriers women face are addressed, $28 trillion could be added to the global annual GDP by 2025.

Addressing & Reducing Global Poverty

To reduce global poverty, the world needs women; but women need the opportunity to obtain an education and be a part of the economy. The Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act and the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act both empower women. They both have the ability to reduce poverty by helping women achieve equality and would each cost less than $500,000 over a four-year period.

The Protecting Girls’ Access to Education Act would prioritize efforts to provide girls and women — particularly those in vulnerable settings such as conflict zones and refugee camps — access to safe primary and secondary education. It would focus on reducing discrimination against displaced girls and improving their educational and entrepreneurial opportunities.

The Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act would require the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to conduct a gender-analysis to identify and understand gender gaps so as to better address these in the workplace. Gender-specific measures to empower women would be established in USAID programs, and the agency would expand support for businesses owned and managed by women. The act also emphasizes the importance of eliminating gender-based violence.

Goal of Gender Equality

The United Nations, FAO, World Bank, World Economic Forum and others all recognize the importance of gender equality in the reduction of global poverty. The Protecting Girls’ Access to Education in Vulnerable Settings Act and the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment Act are two bills the United States government could pass to help solve the issue of gender inequality and poverty.

Empowering women through education and entrepreneurship will reduce poverty levels among current and future generations, and will benefit not only developing countries but the whole world as well. ­

– Laura Turner
Photo: Flickr

Girls’ Education in Chad

Girls’ Education in Chad
Girls in Chad have more of a challenge receiving an education than boys do. This is a common issue in impoverished countries and the reasons are different and specific to each country. The girls in Chad are forced into child marriage and expected to do household chores at a young age. This results in girls having to drop out of school early to fulfill their role in the society. Girls’ education in Chad has seen some improvement given the limited resources they have to increase the quality of education.

Reasons Why Girls in Chad Receive Less Education

One of the main reasons why girls in Chad do not receive an equal education is that they are expected to fulfill gender roles. In Chad, as mentioned earlier, forced child marriages are a major reason for girls dropping out of school, leaving them with barely any education. Radia, a female high school student from a refugee site in Chad, has the following to say, “When they get married, these young girls usually have to leave their family, their friends, and their community and move to their husband’s house. Their studies are interrupted, removing another source of social support and education.” Clearly, these young girls are not ready for marriage or motherhood.

Girls’ education in Chad is not as important as their responsibilities at home such as ensuring there is enough water, food and that the family’s needs are met. These girls are not fully educated, yet they are forced to take care of others rather than prioritize what is right for them. On the other hand, boys are not expected to shoulder the same responsibilities.

Using Resources Wisely to Help Girls’ Education in Chad

The value of education may be less in Chad. However, there are ways of changing that by using resources the right way. People, especially children, living in global poverty often do not receive a proper education because resources are not used efficiently. For example, the number of dropouts reached 19 percent in Chad. Also, community teachers have been used as primary teachers in Chad.

This situation can be improved by employing teachers that are qualified to teach different subjects and are paid well. Chad currently does not have enough teachers to accommodate regular-size classes.

The Progression of Girls’ Education in Chad

Girls’ education in Chad shows signs of progressing. There has been an education plan called PIET which the government of Chad has started. This education plan is effective from 2018 to 2020 and consists of three different priorities which are as follows: continue to provide quality primary education, improve the relevance of education at every level as well as improve the management and coordination of the education sector in Chad.

Impoverished countries often do not offer the best education due to fewer resources. Girls do not receive as much education as boys in Chad because they are expected to get married and take over household responsibilities at a very young age. However, with the help of foreign aid, these impoverished countries might be able to provide equal educational opportunities to girls.

– Kelly Kipfer
Photo: Google

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10 Important Facts About Girls’ Education in Costa Rica

girls’ education in Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country known for its dedication to its diverse environment. But less known is its dedication to educating its youth, predominantly girls. The range of resources offered throughout the country, whether institutional or grassroots oriented, are just as diverse as its environment. The following are ten facts that help illuminate the successes and improvements of girls’ education in Costa Rica.

10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Costa Rica

  1. As of 2018, four percent of the country’s total GNP, one-fourth of the national government budget, was given to education. More money is spent on education in Costa Rica than any other Latin American country.
  2. In 1869, the country made education free and compulsory for all citizens. After this mandate, the number of schools in the educational system have risen to more than 4,000. The World Bank reports as of 2016 that girls’ educational participation at the primary school level is 96.6 percent, with secondary school enrollment at 84.5 percent.
  3. Girls’ enrollment at the tertiary level of education in Costa Rica is 60.9 percent, which is much higher than the male enrollment at the same level who have a participation of 46.6 percent. This participation in higher education is substantial. The world’s average percentage of girls enrolled at the tertiary level of education is only 38.9 percent.
  4. UNICEF reports as of 2012 that girls ages 15 to 24 years old have a literacy rate of 98.7 percent in Costa Rica. This rate exceeds the literacy rate for males, which is 97.9 percent.
  5. There are several programs for girls’ education in Costa Rica that include sustainable development. Sulá Batsú is a local organization that targets young women, specifically in low-income communities, and provides education on technology. By integrating the arts and cultural practices into the process, girls learn more than just technical skills. They also learn how to incorporate their unique identities into the work they produce. The organization has seen the success of 250 students in their technology camps in 2018 alone.
  6. February 15, 2017, marked the inaugural event of the first International Day of Women and Girls in Science in the country. Along with the U.N., this celebration aimed to encourage girls’ education in Costa Rica in science-related fields. Positions in these fields have been traditionally held by men; only 28 percent of researchers are women. Science is viewed not only as the main component of creating a sustainable society aimed at protecting the planet but is also seen as a path to eradicating poverty.
  7. Young girls engaged in STEM are reaching unprecedented rates in Costa Rica. In 2014, at the Twenty-sixth Math Olympiad, 66 medals were given to 132 high school students who had achieved success in the final events of the academic competition. Of these 132 students, a high number of finalists were girl students. This trend was also seen at the Fifth Robotics Olympiad in Costa Rica, where many of the teams had girl participants and some groups being formed solely of females.
  8. The World Bank estimates that of the 4.85 million people living in the country, 1.1 million live in poverty. The Women’s Empowerment Coalition in the country is aimed at helping impoverished girls and women to ensure that they reach a higher standard of living through education. The Coalition works by educating socially vulnerable girls, ensuring they achieve a high school education and job placement assistance. The organization’s model is “collaborative, reciprocal and relational.” The classes are self-paced and mentoring, educational materials and resources are provided to students to assist them in achieving U.S. high school diploma equivalencies. The Coalition has reached over 4,000 women and girls thus far.
  9. Mujeres en Tecnología en Acción (Women in Technology in Action) was launched in January of 2015 and is an organization aimed at promoting the participation of girls in science and technology-related fields in Costa Rica. The group identifies girls aged 15 to 19 living in communities at social risk and invites them to take part in the program. Participating girls learn skills that will better serve them in technology-based careers, such as leadership, entrepreneurship and female empowerment.
  10. UNESCO has worked with the government to identify a list of goals to be reached by 2030. Several of the goals center on educational standards, which will be implemented throughout the country. UNESCO identifies girls as being vulnerable to poverty if not properly educated at an early age. As of 2016, less than 6,000 girls had dropped out of school, a significant decrease from the 2011 record of 10,000. This progress illustrates the dedication to girls’ education in Costa Rica as a means of eradicating poverty country-wide.

Costa Rica has taken strides to ensure that its population consists of well-educated, globally-minded citizens. These 10 facts about girls’ education in Costa Rica exemplify how an already progressive state will continue to work hard to maintain this standard well into the future.

 – Taylor Jennings
Photo: Flickr

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Reducing the Brain Drain

Reducing the Brain DrainThe “Brain Drain” is the migration of professionals from one country to another in search of a higher standard of living. In 2000, 65 million economically active people were living outside of their home country. This drain usually flows from developing to developed countries, which has extremely negative effects on the developing nations, who have lost many of their most talented professionals.

These professionals have attained high levels of education at home and abroad, but utilize their innovative potential in developed countries, where their opportunities are better. Developed countries reap the majority of the rewards from the innovation of foreign workers while the countries of origin for these professionals merely receive the occasional remittance.

The Economic Dangers of Brain Drain

This trend of skilled and educated citizens living in developed countries is being exacerbated by the growing inequality between the world’s wealthy and poor. Many developing countries have experienced a shortage of high-skilled laborers, taxpayer dollars from would-be members of their upper class and technological innovation. Among the doctoral graduates in science and engineering in the USA, 79 percent of those from India and 88 percent from China remained in the United States.

Overall, there are almost one million immigrants in the United States from South Asia who have achieved above a tertiary level of education. The skills these students acquire in the United States and in other developed nations don’t migrate back to their host countries, which makes reducing the brain drain seem impossible.

Additionally, many of these students become high earning professionals in some of the highest tax brackets; however, their countries of origin do not receive the tax dollars on these high earnings. Some South Asian countries are some of the poorest in the world and could desperately use the funding towards poverty-reducing measures.

More Than Just The Money

Besides higher wages and a better standard of living, professionals leave their origin countries for more developed ones because of a lack of research funding, poor facilities and limited career structures. These issues are extremely important to consider when evaluating how to combat the brain drain. Fortunately, these infrastructural deficiencies have more reasonable solutions that can over time reduce global inequality.

Research has shown that an increase in wages does not provide the sole incentive for educated professionals and students to remain in their origin country. A study in Pakistan revealed that a small portion of people funded for a doctorate faced many disincentives that did not stem from the wage gap.

Although, wage inequalities between the source and destination countries are so significant that a small increase in wages in origin countries will not be enough to reduce the brain drain. The focus then must turn to solving the infrastructural deficiencies that are driving young professionals toward developed nations.

Supercourse

Currently, foreign scientists in developed nations produce 4.5 more publications and 10 times more patents than those in their origin countries. This is mainly due to the infrastructural inequality between developed and developing nations. The solution to bridging the patent and publication gap is to increase the connectivity between professionals in developed and developing countries. One revolutionary network has already been developed to do just that at the University of Pittsburgh; it is called Supercourse.

Supercourse provides free online lectures to all and has already connected over 20,000 scientists to share their knowledge. This network continues to grow and make information less exclusive and contained only in the institutions of developed countries. Scientists around the world will have the materials necessary to create change in their origin countries. Supercourse has the potential to spearhead research and innovation in developing nations that will hopefully reduce brain drain.

Professionals will continue to migrate in search of better opportunities, but increasing access to information and support could be a long-term solution reducing the brain drain effects on developing countries.

– Anand Tayal
Photo: Flickr