Information and stories on education.

Girls’ Education in Eritrea

Girls' Education in Eritrea
Over the past few decades, one of the international community’s main goals is to ensure all people, regardless of location and gender, have access to at least a primary and foundational education. As the challenges of global poverty and the economy shift with the passage of time, education should be a top priority. For Eritrea, this means not just addressing the educational needs to support a modern country, but also addressing the educational gender-gap between male and female education.

Education in Eritrea

Historically, education in Eritrea was largely religious and meant to prepare young boys for work in religious vocations, while secular education was limited. This meant girls’ education in Eritrea was severely lacking. Further, the status of female education remained under-developed during Eritrea’s period under the Italian regime’s colonial rule, when Eritrean education was generally ignored.

Since Eritrea’s independence, the policy concerning education focuses on creating a knowledgeable workforce to support a modern economy and to fight back against poverty and disease. The country has also noted that its goals include access to a primary education for all children, regardless of gender. To focus on female education and literacy, the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) has been established.

As a result, girls’ education in Eritrea has steadily increased. Unfortunately, the numbers are still low: UNICEF reports only 43 percent of girls are enrolled in primary school education, while 50 percent of boys are enrolled. Enrollment in secondary school is much lower with about 25 percent of girls enrolled and 32 percent of boys. Fortunately, the literacy rates in Eritrea are higher with women at 87.7 percent compared to men at 92.6 percent.

Increasing Girls’ Education in Eritrea

While the government maintains a dedicated stance on girls’ education, the historical legacy of male and female education, juxtaposed with differing cultural attitudes towards women, make female enrollment a slow and difficult process. For many Eritreans in more isolated and rural areas, girls are still expected to work in agriculture and maintain domestic responsibilities. Methods to increase girls’ education in Eritrea should address these cultural attitudes and provide people with viable alternatives to alleviate domestic duties and farming.

The NUEW has made efforts to provide transportation for young girls. Because schools may be far from children’s homes, a method for addressing high drop-out rates and low enrollments is to provide students with bicycles. In a program conducted by the NUEW, among 60 girls given bicycles to reach a school over nine kilometers away from their homes, 55 of them were able to complete their studies. The NUEW also provided families with donkeys and water tanks, so that time could be freed for girls to study and attend class, rather than collect water for their families. These programs focus on saving time better spent on education, and future programs should follow suit.

While Eritrea has not yet closed the gender education gap, it is gradually inching closer to that goal. As the needs of a modern country increasingly demand more educated workforces, the focus on girls’ education in Eritrea will need to include tertiary education. Fortunately, the number of women graduating from universities is already growing rapidly. A decade ago, only 25 percent of university graduates were women. Today that number ranges between 40 to 50 percent, depending on the institution and field of study.

With more attention from the global community and new innovative projects, Eritrea should offer everyone their right to education. With under 50 percent of girls receiving a primary education, much work is still left to be done.

– William Wilcox
Photo: Flickr

10 Extremely Important Facts About Girls’ Education in Thailand

Girls' education in Thailand
Thailand, a country located in Southeast Asia, has made great strides toward educating its population. From 1985 to 2005, the country had exceptional growth in its real income per capita and it is no secret that socioeconomic factors play a role in gender equality.

Because of economic growth and modernization, Thailand has continued to work toward a more equal society from its traditional male dominated society. Although the great advances in girls’ education must not go unnoticed, it is also worth noting there are still challenges in girls’ education. Here are 10 facts about girls’ education in Thailand that everyone should know.

10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Thailand

  1. Thailand’s Ministry of Education grants all children a twelve-year education, and under the 1999 Education Act, “all children, without discrimination” have a right “to a quality education.”
  2. Thailand has been one of four countries in Asia to successfully promote the right to girls’ education.
  3. Between the years 2005 to 2010, the primary school completion rate for girls in school was 89 percent while the completion rate for boys was 97 percent.
  4. Analyst Liza Romanow mentioned in the Global Majority E-journal that “educational opportunities for women in Thailand are improving. While there are still fewer girls than boys attending primary school, the gender gap has decreased considerably from slightly more than eight percent in 1971 to slightly less than two percent in 2009.”
  5. Challenges that continue to hinder girls’ education in Thailand include discrimination amongst marginalized groups, poverty, language and transportation to school.
  6. A further challenge is that some material taught in public schools perpetuates a cycle of gender inequality in all aspects of society. An example presented by the World Bank is a study that randomly selected 538 textbooks in schools and found that women represented in the textbooks were limited to playing small roles in society like marital duties rather than men who were represented as having superior positions in society.
  7. In 1977, Thailand’s agricultural sector improved, opening an increasing number of jobs for men. At the same time, cities began gaining more wealth. Because of the country’s economic growth and increasing amount of job opportunities in urban areas, women were able to actually have more opportunity in higher education than men and many were able to enter different industries in the city.
  8. Although women have more opportunities than men in higher education, there is still a disparity in earnings. While there has been significant progress since 1985 (when the average male was making 34 percent more than his female counterpart), in 2005, men still received nine percent more than women in the workplace.
  9. Thailand’s Ministry of Education has begun working with the U.N. to become the first country to adopt a U.N. policy toolkit to promote STEM education among Thai girls. Although 53 percent of science students in higher education are female, less than 24 percent of women study engineering, manufacturing and construction studies.
  10. In 1998, the Child-Friendly School (CFS) initiative was launched in order to promote education for all, and many of CFS’s activities are ongoing in Thailand today.

Every girl deserves the right to education. Thailand’s government has done tremendous work to promote girls’ education in the country but recognizes that it still has work to do. With combined efforts between the Thai government and international organizations, Thailand can continue to support and improve the well-being of girls’ education.

– Emma Martin
Photo: Flickr

Top 10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Afghanistan

Facts About Girls' Education in Afghanistan
When it comes to education in Afghanistan, the structure has been destroyed by years of consistent conflict and political instability. Unfortunately, young girls seem to suffer a great deal as a result, receiving a lower quality of education, or being out of school all together. These top ten facts about girls’ education in Afghanistan give a brief rundown of the various obstacles girls face in receiving proper schooling.

Top 10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Afghanistan

  1. UNICEF has recently reported that approximately 3.7 million children are out of school, and 60 percent of those children are female. That’s 1 in every 3 girls attending school everyday, which is the steepest drop in school attendance in 16 years. In fact, UNICEF stated that “the ongoing conflict and worsening security situation across the country, combined with deeply ingrained poverty and discrimination against girls, have pushed the rate of out-of-school children up for the first time since 2002 levels.”
  2. The level of literacy among boys is much higher at 66 percent, while the literacy rate of young girls is just 37 percent. The Afghanistan government has not provided as many schools for girls as it has boys at primary and secondary levels.
  3. A lack of female teachers, specifically in rural areas, may be a reason for low enrollment of girls. In half of all Afghan provinces less than 20 percent of all teachers are female, and in some families it is unacceptable for young, soon-to-be adolescent girls to be taught by a male teacher.
  4. Gender norms also frequently come into play. In some instances, families see boys’ education as being of greater importance than that of girls’, or as superfluous, only necessary in the years before puberty. About one third of girls are married before the age of 18 and are then urged to discontinue their education.
  5. In some schools there is a lack of sanitation and access to clean and safe private toilets (this is also a problem worldwide). Girls tend to need access to bathroom facilities more often than boys, especially with the onset of puberty and menstruation. Without a proper place to get rid of waste and wash, there is immense difficulty in managing hygiene. For health and sanitation reasons such as these, some girls choose to stay home, gathering unexcused absences and missing valuable class time.
  6. Children who come from low-income homes are required to work at school-age. According to the Human Rights Watch, at least 25 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 work for a living, and as a result, education oftentimes becomes a burden. Girls typically make money by weaving or tailoring, but some do other small jobs like selling items on the street. 
  7. The Taliban, a fundamentalist Islamic political movement that started war within the country, are present in over 40 percent of the districts. The conflict between the Afghan government and the Taliban pushes families away from their homes and creates millions of displaced Afghan citizens. Girls are permitted to go to school for only a few years or are prohibited from receiving education entirely in areas under Taliban control.
  8. Teachers often find it difficult to provide quality education with a lack of supplies and resources, low salaries and being understaffed. The job pays about $100 per month and many teachers are hired with inadequate levels of training and education.
  9. CBEs stands for “Community-based education” programs and they are good educational opportunities for girls who may miss school. Research has showed promising results that CBEs have lead to an increase in enrollment and test scores for girls according to Human Rights Watch. These programs are solutions to many issues such as traveling long distances to reach school or lack of female teachers amongst others.
  10. Fear of natural disasters like floods and earthquakes can make parents apprehensive about sending their children to school.

Relief Efforts For the Future

These top ten facts about girls’ education in Afghanistan are just the tip of the iceberg; thankfully, there are many relief efforts to combat some of the aforementioned prevalent and widespread issues. Today, UNICEF continues to work with the Ministry of Education at the federal and local levels to work on the lack of female education causes such as poverty, gender bias and conflict.

The organization established CBEs and Accelerated Learning Centers in close proximity to communities, supports policies and programs that benefit the education of young girls on the national level and provides emergency education in times of natural disaster and conflict. With efforts such as these, the future of girls’ education in Afghanistan looks more than promising. 

– Camille Wilson

Photo: Flickr

Girls’ education in Sierra Leone: A New Era in Female Empowerment

girls’ education in Sierra Leone
As is true in many countries around the globe, female education in Sierra Leone has lacked greatly throughout the nation’s history. Remnants of severe educational inequality still persist with males leading their female counterparts in literacy rates at all levels of education. While the country as a whole faces extreme poverty, it is females who suffer the most. In times of desperation, many young women are forced to leave school in order to work at home or find a husband. As a result, the current state of girls’ education in Sierra Leone is underemphasized and unjust, however, we may be embarking on a new era in female empowerment.

A Turning Point for Sierra Leone

The last decade has proved to be a turning point for the nation and its female population. Beginning in 2007, Sierra Leone became a member of the Global Partnership for Education. Through its commitment to the organization and the reciprocal aid received in the process, Sierra Leone was able to redesign its Education Sector Plan and offer new resources to females across the country.

This new plan not only focused on increased access to free pre-primary education (ages three to five) but also enhanced its commitment on the backend, strengthening equitable access to senior education by providing more scholarships to female students. As the country enters into more formal relationships with international groups, such as the U.K. Department for International Development, girls’ education in Sierra Leone is undergoing a remarkable transition.

Improving Girls’ education in Sierra Leone

In addition to government-sponsored relief, other organizations have also implemented innovative programs that increase the focus on girls’ education in Sierra Leone and create an atmosphere where such a focus is of utmost concern. UNICEF now annually supports a Girls’ Education Week which is formally run by the Education Ministry. The fact that such a program is now receiving national attention demonstrates the changing public attitude in regard to girls’ education in Sierra Leone.

Girl Child Network, a nonprofit organization that works around the globe, is currently implementing crucial outlets for girls to be protected, be treated as individuals and be able to receive quality educational materials throughout Sierra Leone. The organization offers leadership training programs, which aim to build confidence in young women and girls.

It is also currently implementing Girls Empowerment Villages that offer a place of refuge where abused girls can stay. Now protected, these girls have the ability to pursue education and receive quality information that is disseminated within the villages.

Effects of Girls’ Access to Education

While relief and equal access programs are vital in transforming girls’ education in Sierra Leone, it is important to see the true effectiveness of this recent movement. According to the Global Partnership for Education, the gender gap between primary enrollment and primary completion rate has decreased since 2012. While the male enrollment rate has not changed dramatically, female enrollment has been on a steady increase and completion rates have skyrocketed.

As of now, improvements to girls’ education in Sierra Leone are still underway and the eventual outcome cannot yet be determined. However, the success of recent years and the amount of campaigns and groups that continue to operate on behalf of girls and their education nationwide is promising. National commitment to this movement, combined with international aid, is creating the foundation for a stable future in female education in Sierra Leone.

– Ryan Montbleau
Photo: Flickr

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The Economic Benefits of Education

The Economic Benefits of Education
The notion that education and economic growth hold a relationship with each other is not a new idea. However, what is the extent of this relationship? What role does education play in development? And finally, what are the exact economic benefits of education both in the U.S. and abroad?

The Economic Effects of Education

According to the World Bank, one of the pivotal benefits of education is labor market earnings. Workers with more education earn higher wages than employees with no post-secondary education. Those with only a high school degree are twice as susceptible to unemployment than workers with a bachelor’s degree. Median college-educated workers earn 84 percent more than those with only a high school education. Additionally, workers with some college education but no completed degree earn 16 percent more than only high school trained employees.

Education’s value in the economy is also evident in the notorious fall of manufacturing jobs. The loss of 9.3 million manufacturing jobs among non-college educated workers has been strenuous. However, workers with some college education have gained 2.5 million manufacturing jobs.

There is significant data reflecting the education of the majority of technologically-oriented job holders. In fact, 92 percent of patent inventors have a bachelor’s degree and 92 percent of high-tech companies behind the growth of GDP are college educated as well.

The economic benefits of education are undeniably important to the U.S. In the country alone, GDP has potential to increase by $32 trillion, or 14.6 percent if all students are brought up to basic mastery by the National Assessment of Educational Progress standards. Intensive efforts at test score maximization for students in a handful of states with highest economic performance in the U.S. can increase GDP by $76 trillion over approaching decades. Furthermore, improvements in education according to spending on K-12 schooling is said to reap more improvements from investment than the burden of the cost.

The Return on Investment (ROI) of Education

Above the economic benefits of education is an ROI that investors cannot overlook. The global rate of ROI in schooling is approximately 10 percent for primary education, five percent for secondary education and 16 percent for university education. Social ROI of education for the world is 18.9 percent for primary education, 13.1 percent for secondary education and 10.8 for higher education. Finally, private ROI of education for the world is 26.6 percent for primary education, 17 percent for secondary education and 19.0 for higher education.

It is worth noting that girls have higher ROI for secondary education at 18 percent while boys have 14 percent. However, boys have higher ROI for primary education than girls, 20 percent versus 13 percent. Latin America, the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa have the highest ROI on both social and private education. Overall, another year of education raises earnings by 10 percent a year. The 10 percent ROI for education investments is higher than alternatives: 1.4 percent for treasury bills, 5.3 percent for treasury bonds, 4.7 percent for savings accounts, 3.8 percent for housing and 7.4 percent for physical assets.

Next Steps Forward

The economic benefits of education are clear for the entire globe. Nevertheless, there are further steps to maximizing productivity and reaping even more economic benefits of education.

  1. Increase investment in the quality of primary schooling, given that primary education has expanded exponentially already
  2. Promote educational efficiency in policy through policymakers and government
  3. Reform school management systems and implement more effective performance metrics
  4. Implement more effective and fair approaches to school funding
  5. Report more data on school performance

Education has the power to uplift a country and establish a healthy, efficient economy. It has also played a pivotal role in the increase of productivity and wages amongst workers and proved to be a successful endeavor for investors. Fortunately, there is much more potential within education to help the world to flourish.

– Roberto Carlos Ventura
Photo: Flickr

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How Global Partnerships for Education Is Changing the Lives of Children

Global Partnerships for Education
Global Partnerships for Education (GPE) is bringing people together all over the world to ensure everyone is awarded access to an education. Created in 2002, GPE is a one-of-a-kind organization, with a goal of strengthening the education system in impoverished countries to raise the number of children enrolled in school.

The organization supports more than 60 countries around the globe, in places where it has historically seemed impossible for children to achieve an education. With the help of many different organizations and countries, GPE has provided millions of dollars to countries in need.

What is GPE 2020?

GPE 2020 is the organization’s aid plan for 2016 through 2020 to ensure inclusive and quality education for all, especially for those in the most vulnerable settings. According to Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there has been vast improvement in the number of children enrolled in school over the past 15 years. But in the poorest areas such as Sub-Saharan Africa, and Southern Asia, thousands of children are still unable to attend school.

In the poorest areas of the world, schools are not easily accessible. Due to the poor conditions of schools and lack of qualified teachers, many children miss out on an education because of their societies.

To combat these issues, GPE and many other partners invest millions of dollars to countries with high need. In April of 2018, GPE and The World Bank approved a $100-million grant for the country of Madagascar, a country in Africa with serious educational challenges. Four out of 10 children in Madagascar drop out of school before finishing the last grade, but with the help of GPE, this rate is projected to significantly decrease. Fortunately, Madagascar is just one of the many countries benefitting from GPE’s efforts.

How Does GPE Accomplish Its Goals?

Global Partnerships for Education receives its funding through various sources, including donor countries, international organizations and private sectors. Since 2003, the organization has received over $5 billion from 27 donors, with around 21 percent coming from the United Kingdom alone.

The money donated is given as grants to countries based on poverty level and the number of children not enrolled in school. The donations go to building schools, paying for supplies and hiring qualified teachers.

The Reach of an Empowering Organization

Global Partnerships for Education believes that education is a right for everyone, regardless of status or gender. GPE focuses on ensuring that everyone is able to access the schooling they deserve, and providing support to countries most affected by poverty and conflict.

The organization believes that people are empowered when they are able to achieve an education — something that so many of us in privileged societies take for granted. Through the utilization of available resources to support equal learning across the globe, Global Partnerships for Education is changing lives, one child at a time.

– Allisa Rumreich
Photo: Flickr

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How Reusable Sanitary Pads Help Girls Stay in School

reusable sanitary padsIt is estimated that one in 10 girls in African countries miss school monthly due to a lack of supplies and education related to menstruation. The negative connotations of “becoming a woman” and the mystery surrounding these changes can not only create girls’ unhealthy perceptions of themselves and their bodies but can affect more concrete aspects of their lives, including their education.

Effects of Lack of Education on Menstruation

Many girls will skip school to avoid the potential embarrassment and shame associated with having one’s period show. Due to its monthly recurrence, many young women are unable to catch up on the material they have missed and will eventually drop out of school altogether.

In Uganda, 70 percent of girls leave school between the ages of 13 and 18. Low enrollment for both genders is common due to a variety of circumstances in many African countries.

However, with menstruation typically beginning around 13 years old and girls’ limited access to sexual health education and supplies, dropout rates increase for young women at a rate 10 percent higher than boys of the same age. Access to reproductive health education and cost effective menstruation supplies such as reusable sanitary pads can be powerful tools in keeping young women in school.

Benefits of Reusable Sanitary Pads

Disposable menstruation supplies are often too expensive for families to afford, forcing many young women to use unsanitary alternatives such as old clothes or to go without sanitary pads altogether. Reusable sanitary pads are a cheap, effective and empowering tool for young African women.

NGOs such as Girls2Women and Mums for Mums have assisted in teaching girls how to sew their own reusable sanitary pads for less than $1 from basic patterns and locally sourced materials that attach easily to undergarments with velcro. The Peace Corp has also been an important player in educating and empowering young women through Girls Leading Our World, or GLOW, camps.

Started in Romania in 1995, GLOW camps have since opened in over 60 countries around the world. Each camp is focused on empowering young women and combating local issues such as malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention, reproductive health, stress tolerance and healthy living through education and training.

Positive Effects of GLOW Camps

In African countries with GLOW camps, learning to make reusable sanitary pads often features in the education of the young women. In countries such as Tanzania and Uganda, the creation of reusable sanitary pads begun by GLOW camp educations has been picked up by local charities and community organizations, helping normalize menstruation for girls and boys in the community alike and ultimately keep more young women in school.  

By making the reusable sanitary pads themselves, girls are able to move forward in their lives with more knowledge and confidence in themselves and their bodies, and menstruation becomes less of an unknown force to be feared. The inclusion of parents, teachers and boys is also valuable to the program’s effectiveness and longevity as well as the confidence and empowerment of the young women.

In Uganda, the charity Mountains of Hope offers educational programs on reproductive health and teen pregnancy and training in making reusable sanitary pads. These include men and boys so as to better educate and support young women of the community.

With this vital education and training in making reusable sanitary pads, as well as other aspects of reproductive health, girls in many African countries are better able to pursue their education without compromising their wellbeing. Organizations such as the Peace Corp, Girls2Women and Mountains of Hope have created opportunities for communities to feel empowered and create change with their young women, giving them the chance to achieve the education all children deserve.

– Anna Lally
Photo: Flickr

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Recovering: Nonprofits Improve Education in Cambodia

Education in Cambodia
During the rule of the Khmer Rouge, lasting from 1975-1979, education in Cambodia experienced a dramatic setback as schools were destroyed and teachers and educators were executed. In the aftermath of this destructive period, Cambodia attempted to rebuild its education system. But today, only about half of school-age children are enrolled.

Cambodian History

The Khmer Rouge, led by Marxist politician Pol Pot, came into power in 1975, when their army took hold of Cambodia’s capital and overthrew the former government. This time in history became known as “Year Zero,” a term derived from the new calendar set in place during the French Revolution. The regime became known for its repressive actions, paranoid ideology, and most importantly, widespread, systematic cruelty.

With the agenda of pursuing an agrarian ideal, the Khmer Rouge led the Cambodian genocide, expelling foreigners, minorities and anyone who resisted the government. The execution grounds — where over a million victims were killed and buried — were called the “killing fields,” and many who toiled in the farms also died from starvation or being overworked.

Intellectuals were seen as dissidents and often specifically targeted, and schools were frequently closed. Children were viewed as blank slates who could easily be manipulated to adhere to Khmer Rouge ideology. After the Khmer Rouge were driven out of Cambodia, the model of education in Cambodia had to be completely recreated from scratch, and schools very slowly began to reemerge in society.

Non-Profit Organizations in Cambodia

Non-profit organizations have helped to support the growth of Cambodia’s children by offering opportunities for education. The organization Tassel acknowledges that the country is still recovering from the trauma of the Khmer Rouge and faces setbacks such as poverty and the challenge of rebuilding itself socially.

Tassel offers children in rural areas free English language education, giving them the skills to read textbooks and sustain jobs later in life. Tassel operates in accordance with its values of compassion and quality, as well as with its volunteer-based structure. The program strives to lift Cambodia out of a darkened past when teachers were persecuted, in hopes of reconstructing the school system.

Programs such as Aziza’s Place, a non-profit learning and development center, enhance the development of underprivileged children in Phnom Penh. Founded in 2007, the organization holds tutoring sessions to support students who have missed school, helping them to gain footing in public schools. Aziza’s Place also provides English language lessons and computer classes, where children can learn to use Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop.

In addition, children have the opportunity to study the arts and participate in sports. Other programs such as Tuk Tuk for Children strive to bring children in rural Cambodia education, sanitation and entertainment. Tuk Tuk recognizes that many youngsters have to work to support their families, a reality that can interfere with their academic and social growth.

The organization hosts Tuk Tuk Theatre, which brings children fun activities and informal education on topics such as geography, yoga and sanitation. The group also created Tuk Tuk Mobile Library, a system that circulates books through six different preschools.

Education in Cambodia

The efforts of non-profits such as Tassel, Aziza’s Place and Tuk Tuk for Children have helped to restore vibrancy to the lives of children and provide them with educational opportunities. Cambodia is a country grappling with a harsh history, brought about by the destructive rule of the Khmer Rouge.

Under this regime, the education system was toppled, intellectuals were executed and schools were wiped out. Since this period, the nation has rebuilt its education system entirely from scratch. Organizations that support education in Cambodia have helped to offer the country a new direction in its children’s growth and, hopefully, a brighter future.

– Shira Laucharoen
Photo: Flickr

Girls’ Education in Paraguay

girls' education in Paraguay

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In eastern Paraguay, both deforestation and poverty continue to run rampant among inhabitants of the Atlantic Forest. An area wherein a majority of the people are uneducated, girls continue to be largely denied access to an adequate education.

Statistics On Girls’ Education in Paraguay

The literacy rate of girls 15-24 years old in Paraguay has risen to 98.62 percent as of 2015. However, while a majority of girls in the country are literate, the retainment rate of girls in schools is low. From completion of primary school to upper secondary school, the participation of girls drops 25 percent, from 86 to 61 percent. Additionally, as of 2012, 42,486 female children and 29,531 female adolescents remain out of school.

Approximately 70 percent of girls in the area are pregnant by age 16, largely due to poor education and impoverished living conditions for women. One school, the Centro Educativo Mbaracayu, is seeking to alleviate these problems and help girls’ education in Paraguay.

The Centro Educativo Mbaracayu

Founded in 2009, the Centro Educativo Mbaracayu is a boarding school exclusively for girls. The school sits on the Mbaracayu Forest Nature Reserve, which protects the largest portion of the remaining Atlantic Forest. Although the Atlantic Forest contains hundreds of native and endangered species, only about 7 percent of the original forest remains. The Centro Educativo Mbaracayu, started by the NGO Fundación Paraguaya, teaches its students to take care of the forest around them while also educating them in other areas.

The school exclusively caters to rural and indigenous girls, a group severely disadvantaged by the Paraguayan education system. One of the benefits of the forest school is the cost accessibility for its students. Tuition is free for indigenous girls and is 100,000 guaraní (approximately $17.50) for non-indigenous girls. Centro Educativo Mbaracayu is able to keep costs low for its students by operating self-sufficiently.

One of the important aspects of the schools’ curriculum is its focus on reproductive and sexual education. The severe lack of reproductive education in Paraguay is arguably one of the main causes of young pregnancies in the country. By promoting reproductive health and sexual education, instructors at Centro Educativo Mbaracayu hope to help their students achieve their degrees — not only as a tool to achieve better socioeconomic standing, but also to instill confidence and self-worth into the girls.

Beyond sexual education, the school teaches the girls techniques for agribusinesses and IT skills. Students can also study differing applied skills specializing in textiles, tourism and environmental management. All classes are taught alongside and in accordance to national Paraguayan educational standards, in order to broaden girls’ education in Paraguay while still complying with national standards.

Graduating from Centro Educativo Mbaracayu

Upon graduating from Centro Educativo Mbaracayu, students receive high school diplomas in Environmental Sciences as technicians and are highly encouraged to pursue higher education.

Since its founding the school has graduated Paraguay’s first female forest ranger, two primary school teachers in the community and a hopeful future president, just to name a few. More importantly, every girl at the school leaves knowing her worth and having learned many invaluable skills.

While living and learning at the school, a community is formed. A community that highly values its female students and its forest environment. The girls are taught to care for the forest and the animal inhabitants within it while gaining skills in sustainable forestry.

The goal of the school is rehabilitation and growth. Rehabilitation for the shrinking forest and growth for Paraguayan girls who have previously been undereducated. By teaching and taking care of the region’s girls, the school is in turn taking care of its forest and starting a movement for better girls’ education in Paraguay.

– Savannah Hawley
Photo: Flickr

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Girls’ Education in Armenia

education in armenia
The great emphasis on education in Armenia could be attributed to the nation’s 1600-year-old history of literacy and its treatment of schools as the basis for cultural and political survival. Article 39 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia (1995) ensures the right to education for all citizens of the Republic. In recent times the government has tried to ensure gender-equality in education, health, power, decision-making and other areas as demonstrated by its strategic action plans.

While Armenia does display an impressive gender-parity in primary education, there are several aspects to girls’ education in Armenia which in turn impact the socio-economic and cultural standing of Armenian women. Let us understand some of these facets of girls’ education in Armenia.

Gender-Inclusive Education

Armenia has a 12-year school education system. Grade 9 graduates are required to move to a high school to continue their education or choose a Vocational Education and Training institution. At tertiary educational level, students choose either a general stream (humanities, sciences, etc.)  or a vocational stream (agriculture, construction, information and technologies, etc.). According to the World Bank, the Armenian government aims to incorporate its gender-equality agenda into the educational system. In 2011, the National Statistical Service reported a “universal enrollment rate among both boys and girls at the primary level and a 99.6 percent enrollment rate among girls” compared to “98.4 percent among boys at the secondary level.”

In a recent World Bank report titled, ‘Armenia Country Gender Assessment,’ it is reported that a dramatic growth of up to 57 percent among women in higher education occurred during the year 2012-2013. However, despite the growth in the percentage of women in higher education, the labor market still encounters a lower participation rate among women.

The researchers attribute this gap to the difference in subject-matter choices offered to boys and girls at the tertiary education level. While women are more likely to study the social sciences, health, education and other non-STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) subjects, men are more likely to choose STEM-related fields or vocational education, which in turn leads to better-paying jobs. These findings point to the  “aspirational (behavioral), informational and institutional” factors of the tertiary level of education in Armenia.

Women’s Representation in the Workforce

The Asian Development Bank reinforces that a gender-parity in enrollment rates in Armenia, from primary to higher education, does exist. However, despite the tendency for a larger number of women to acquire postgraduate education, they lag behind men in the labor market due to their choice of “traditionally female” domains of study. In addition, women more often tend to succumb to cultural pressures of marriage and family duties. Factors such as the quality of education, gender stereotypes, and school curricula have been found to also influence and determine many women’s decisions.

Armenia has a history of including gender-inclusion education that dates back to the 19th century; however, a survey conducted by the World Bank found that 54 percent of Armenian teachers hold the opinion that girls and boys should be treated differently, because “they are essentially different.” School-textbooks and curricula are also responsible for promoting stereotypical and traditional ideas of womanhood and serve to inadequately represent women, according to Iveta Silova, author of ‘Gender Analysis of Armenian School Curriculum and Textbooks.’ The study notes that Armenian language textbooks and literature rarely include or acknowledge the works or contributions of Armenian female writers and poets.

This omission of female authors limits “the scope of the country’s literary accomplishment to the work of men only.” Some of these challenges to girls’ education in Armenia ultimately leads to underrepresentation of women in political policy-making roles and the labor market, thereby perpetuating stereotypical female roles and causing a wide wage-gap between men and women.

Strategic Steps for Girls and Women in Armenia

The World Bank determined girls’ education across the world to be a “strategic development priority” that can lead to better educated and healthier women who are more aware of their socio-political and economic rights. This, in turn, can help build better communities and lift nations out of poverty.

The Armenian government has taken consistent steps towards ensuring gender-equality in the educational system. Its adoption of the Gender Policy Concept Paper in 2010 and the Law on Securing Equal Rights and Equal Opportunities for Women and Men in 2013 are prime examples of such efforts. The educational reform proposals by the government are aimed at “democratization of the education sphere…establishing gender-balanced representation at all levels of the education sphere…and supporting equality of women and men in society, social justice, and enjoyment of social freedoms.”

Measures are being taken to improve girls’ education and are aided by the continued efforts of the World Bank, the European Union’s support towards modernization of education, and the UNDP’s goals to ensure “inclusive and equitable quality education” in Armenia.

– Jayendrina Singha Ray