Information and stories on education.

Girls’ Education in Libya

Girls' Education in LibyaLibyan women are progressing in society because of a stronger commitment to tearing down barriers to gender equality. New policies such as the Libyan General National Congress’ funding of a study abroad program for the country’s top young scholars have opened doors for improving girls’ education in Libya.

The Funding Initiative

The program has sent educators and students alike to receive training at elite international schools to spur development upon return. The government pays for the student’s expenses and awards them a monthly stipend of 1,600 euros a month. Initially, the fund gave scholarships to students who fought in militias during the civil war but was later expanded to allow women and handicapped students to receive scholarships as well.

This legislation built on an already strong commitment to education made by previous Libyan governments. Former president Muammar Gaddafi made it mandatory and free for all students to attain a primary education. Mandating a public school education transformed Libya from a largely illiterate country before its independence to having 80 percent of its population receiving a primary education.

Education Policies in Libya

Coeducational schools were built across east Libya to accommodate the influx of students. West Libya still has male and female students attend separate schools, but the curriculum is regulated by the government as an incentive for students to choose fields that benefit the nation’s current need. A standardized curriculum helps level the playing field for all students.

The results of these policies have been largely successful for girls’ education in Libya, but the country still has a long road to true equality in education. The Libya Status of Women survey found that 52 percent of Libyan women reached secondary education or higher, compared to 53 percent of Libyan men. Both men and women are achieving similar levels of higher education which will help combat gender economic inequality. Additionally, 77 percent of female students under the age of 25 reported having plans to complete  secondary education or higher compared to 67 percent of men.

More Work to be Done

Women are striving for positions in extremely skilled and specialized positions which increases their economic desirability. These numbers are especially impressive given Libya’s recent civil war that devastated the region. Following the revolution against the Gaddafi regime, 15 schools were completely destroyed resulting in tens of thousands of students not finishing their school years. The education system has demonstrated great resilience in this chaos which has greatly benefited girls’ education in Libya.

Despite these promising statistics, Libya still has to address several areas of gender inequality in its education systems to promote girls’ education across the country. The same Libya Status of Women survey also discovered that 14 percent of Libyan girls failed to finish their first six years of basic education, compared to only three percent of boys. Unfortunately, cultural stereotypes of females still put them at a systemic disadvantage. This is especially the case in rural Libya. The schools are coeducational, but boys are required to sit at the front of the class and girls in the back. West Libya faces a similar problem. The boys’ schools are given priority in government resources because it is believed they will become more skilled workers.

Opening the study abroad program to women demonstrates the current administration’s commitment to gender equality in education which will hopefully combat the disparity observed in the primary education completion rate. These efforts need to extend to rural communities in Libya to maximize effectiveness.

The future looks very optimistic for Libyan women as activists continue to pressure the government to install change. Since 1955, notable women’s rights movements have helped level the playing field for women in education and continue to be an effective driver of change. Libyan women are continually becoming more educated and some of the most skilled workers in society.

– Anand Tayal
Photo: Flickr

Girls’ Education in Laos: Tackling Gender Inequality in Schools

Girls’ Education in Laos
For many households of the indigenous Hmong people in Laos, girls are second on the priority list for attending school. Even some families with the desire and financial resources to send their daughters to school enforce restrictions on their education but not on their sons’. Education builds financially independent women and transforms them into critical thinkers. Such practices can also have the long-term effect of reducing poverty. The benefits of girls’ education in Laos reach out to the general community, not just to the girls.

A famous Hmong proverb translates to “Nine moons can’t compare to one sun; nine daughters can’t compare to one son.” It means that boys are expected to grow up to become breadwinners while women are seen as not being worth investing in. In part, this mindset leads to higher school enrollment rates for boys.

Exposure to Western Education Systems Influences Girls’ Education in Laos

Laotian history has been marked by the Pathet Lao’s rise to power in 1975. The communist regime began a genocide against the Hmong people in retaliation for aiding the United States with covert operations related to the Vietnam War. As a result, nearly one in 10 Hmong citizens fled to Thailand, later arriving in the United States. Education is especially valuable to the children of refugee parents because it offers a chance for them to seek a better life than what previous generations in Laos endured.

In the Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement, Kaozong N. Mouavangsou, the daughter of Hmong refugees, described the influence of Hmong culture even as she pursued higher education in the U.S. Family members encouraged her to attend a university close to home while her brothers got to choose schools farther away. They aimed to protect Mouavangsou from environments where she might get distracted from her studies by men who wanted to marry and have children.

When girls pursue higher levels of education, they are able to form their own opinions about how girls are treated in Hmong culture. Mouavangsou’s Western education gave her insight into the differences between the U.S. and Laos in terms of women’s roles in society. Such knowledge provided her an opportunity to choose which path in life was best for her, instead of prioritizing the needs of a potential husband and children.

International Organizations Work to End Sexual Harassment in Schools

Unfortunately, many girls in Laos do not receive the advanced schooling they need to forge such a path for themselves. In South Asia, approximately 100 million girls will drop out of school before getting a chance to pursue secondary education. Girls have a lower attendance rate in secondary education because those schools are located farther from home. This means it is harder for parents to guard against sexual harassment inflicted by male classmates.

In response to such issues, UNICEF began a project in collaboration with Plan International, CARE, U.N. Women and Girl Guides to make secondary schools safer environments for girls. The project created a chatbot where boys and girls can share their ideas about how to end violence. This forum engages a demographic of people who might have peers that are either the aggressor or the ones being harassed.

In addition to UNICEF’s chatbot, more plans are being implemented to help make girls’ education in Laos more accessible. Some schools are offering flexible hours to accommodate when girls can attend classes. Others are promoting an atmosphere free of gender-based violence and awarding scholarships to make the cost of education more affordable. Overall, the gender disparity in the Laotian education system dropped from 4 percent in 2008 to less than 2 percent in 2010.

Many issues, such as sexual harassment, gender inequality and poverty are interdependent upon one another. With that in mind, girls’ education in Laos can help the whole of Hmong society as well as provide girls with greater well-being.

– Sabrina Dubbert
Photo: Flickr

Global Samaritans Brings Hope to Girls’ Education in Zambia

girls' education in ZambiaYoung women in Zambia are lacking the proper education needed due to harsh poverty. Fortunately, a group called Global Samaritans is continuing education in orphanages and schools in the hopes of bettering girls’ education in Zambia and equipping these women with the tools they need in order to shape their own futures.

Global Samaritans is a nonprofit organization with the purpose of improving life for those in Zambia. Its goal is to provide Zambian children with access to the highest level of school they wish to pursue, Executive Director for Global Samaritans, Erin Porter, told The Borgen Project.

Issues with Girls’ Education in Zambia

Zambia is struggling to maintain enough schools for children that are eligible to attend, according to UNICEF. It is estimated that 1,500 classrooms need to be constructed each year in order for children to go to school in Zambia. Citizens that live in the rural areas of the country are less likely to go to school because they cannot afford school supplies.

Zambian women face these hardships even worse than men when trying to become educated because of gender stereotypes and inequalities. In rural areas, 27 percent of Zambian women are not educated, compared to men at 18 percent.

Despite girls having a higher school attendance rate than boys, illiteracy is 15 percent higher in girls. Zambian girls are also twice as likely to drop out than boys by grade seven because of socioeconomic problems, according to the World Bank.

Addressing Gender Stereotypes in Zambia

These women are prone to marrying young, getting pregnant early and staying at home, performing household tasks such as cooking and cleaning. Since boys are seen as more profitable to a family, they are more likely to be sent to school instead of girls. Diseases such as AIDs spread quickly throughout the country, causing poverty to heighten, which forces girls to either drop out of school or not go at all.

“Girls are the ones who suffer the most when it comes to education in Zambia,” Porter said. “Oftentimes, they are responsible for the home and Zambia suffers from water scarcity. So, if a young girl has to walk 30 minutes to an hour each way to collect water two times a day, that is vital time spent on domestic chores instead of attending school.”

How Good Samaritans is Helping

To help with this problem, Global Samaritans has set up an orphanage and a school so Zambian children can receive the education they deserve. The group built a high school in 2010 called the Global Samaritans High School to provide children a secondary level education, helping achieve girls’ education in Zambia.

Children attend a government school from grades one through seven and then attend boarding schools after that, which can be costly due to fees, uniforms and school supplies. Global Samaritans High School provides children two more years of education at a nominal fee, Porter said.

The high school works hand-in-hand with the orphanage to allow a higher level of girls’ education in Zambia. For the girls who fall pregnant at a young age, the orphanage welcomes them back to learn and holds informational meetings about the importance of girls’ education in Zambia, Marriam Konga, orphanage administrator, said.

“I am proud to say that as an orphanage, we have been able to raise girls into adults today, some of whom are working as teachers and nurses and are already making a change in the communities around them,” Konga said. Global Samaritans will continue to work toward improving the lives of young women in Zambia and lowering the level of poverty in the African nation.

– McKenzie Hamby
Photo: Flickr

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Girls’ Education in Madagascar

Girls' Education in MadagascarIn the island nation of Madagascar, access to education varies depending on the gender of the student. There is an equal amount of male and female civilians in Madagascar’s population of 25 million people. However, girls’ education in Madagascar is not the same as boys’, contributing to how girls are not given the same opportunities.

The U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says, “far too many girls are still denied schooling, leave prematurely or complete school with few skills and fewer opportunities.” Malagasy school district records show that 78 percent of school districts show a lower enrollment for girls than boys. To change inequality for girls’ education in Madagascar, many international organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Bank, have implemented programs to help increase female enrollment and advancement in Madagascar’s schools.

The Global Partnership for Education

In 2005, UNICEF Madagascar, the Ministry of National Education and the World Bank managed the Global Partnership for Education project to address the barriers the Madagascar youth had to access decent education. The Global Partnership for Education works to “ensure that every child receives a quality basic education, prioritizing the poorest, most vulnerable and those living in countries affected by fragility and conflict.” It focuses on two major goals to improve youth involvement in education:

1. To facilitate access to and retention in primary education by reducing the costs of schooling borne by families.

2. To support the learning process by improving the teaching and learning environment.

During the 2015-2016 school year, the Global Partnership for Education distributed 1.95 million school kits, subsidized 21,000 community teachers’ salaries, and constructed 120 new classrooms. This contribution gave young students the opportunity for education in Madagascar. By September 2016, a new shipment of school kits was en route to arrive for the 2016-2017 school year.

Post-primary Education for Girls

In 2008, UNICEF started the Post-primary Education for Girls project in Vangaindrano school district to increase the number of girls enrolled in school and continuing their education by providing scholarships and changing gender priority mindsets.

One adolescent Malagasy girl, Fabiola, was told by her parents that she would need to drop out of school, so her parents could support her little brother’s education instead. The alternative for Fabiola was getting married because girls’ education in Madagascar stopped the moment she could not pay the fees. At 14 years old, Fabiola’s bright future was destroyed because her parents believed supporting her brother took priority. However, thanks to the project’s scholarship, Fabiola was able to continue her education.

Stories like Fabiola’s are common in Madagascar. The rural population makes up 64 percent of the country’s total population, leaving a majority of the population living in poverty and unable to provide basic needs, such as food and shelter. This leads to families being unable to finance and support their youths throughout primary and secondary education, and prioritizing boys’ education over girls’.

The National Movement for Education for All in Madagascar

In 2011, the National Movement for Education for All in Madagascar (NMEAM) launched a campaign to promote girls’ education in Madagascar. The priorities of this campaign are girls, parents, and the government. The focus on parents and the government is because change cannot have a successful implementation when there are communities and government agencies that oppose it.

NMEAM’s campaign awarded 20,000 girls in Analanjurofo, a rural region in northeastern Madagascar, with scholarships to complete their education. Girls’ education in Madagascar relies heavily on these scholarships because impoverished families cannot provide an education for their daughters.

NMEAM also introduced the Southern African Development Community Gender Protocol’s Article 14 to Madagascar’s state parties. This protocol promotes “equal access to and retention in primary, secondary, tertiary, vocational and non-formal education in accordance with the Protocol on Education and Training and the Millennium Development Goals”. By lobbying Madagascar’s political authorities, NMEAM reinforced the efforts to allow education for girls and women of Madagascar.

With the implementation of these programs, the literacy rate of adults (15 and older) in Madagascar’s total population rose from 64.48 percent in 2009 to 71.57 percent in 2012. These programs and projects recognize the importance of education and having constant access to it for young minds because education is one way out of poverty. By providing and facilitating advancements in girls’ education in Madagascar, the future of youth is going to be better than the rampant poverty they are struggling with. By investing in the education of girls, nations will be able to achieve development of their civilian population while also breaking the discrimination of gender in opportunities.

– Jenny Sang Park
Photo: Flickr

Recent Improvements to Girls’ Education in Myanmar

Girls’ education in Myanmar
The education of girls and women has been found to be of paramount importance for the success of individuals, communities and nations, leading to increased efforts to improve girls’ education in Myanmar, among other countries. Women who receive a higher level of education generally receive higher pay and tend to have fewer health problems. Additionally, education increases job opportunities for women, positively impacting them as well as employers.

Pressures of Poverty Hurt Girls’ Access to Education

In Myanmar, however, many girls (and boys) do not complete their education, with many students dropping out once they reach high school. During the 2009-2010 school year, 42 percent of boys and 44 percent of girls between the ages of 14 and 15 were no longer attending school.

One of the main reasons students leave school is because their parents can no longer afford it. According to UNESCO, public schools in Myanmar do not charge tuition fees, but “hidden costs, such as school supplies and transportation, make them unaffordable for many.” If parents can only afford to send a few of their children to school, girls are more likely to stay at home.

In addition to being less able to afford school, poorer families are more likely to see “work as a better long-term option for their children,” particularly if the school is not providing high-quality education, according to a UNICEF report. They may also need their children to work in order to help support the family. During the 2009-2010 school year, 85.5 percent of children from the richest households attended secondary school, while only 28.2 percent from the poorest households did.

Furthermore, lack of interest has been found to be a common reason for not completing secondary education. This could be due to quality-related issues if parents believe that the school curriculum is not preparing their child for future employment. It could also reflect incidents, including bullying and gender-based violence, that children (girls in particular) drop out of school to avoid.

Focus on Girls’ Education in Myanmar Sees Great Success

While these are continuing problems that make advancing girls’ education in Myanmar difficult, some significant improvements have been made, most notably in achieving gender parity in enrollment in primary, middle and high school. By 2010, girls comprised approximately 50 percent of students at each level.

Additionally, according to a U.N. report, girls who were able to complete high school and take the Matriculation Exam, which is “both a high school completion exam and a university screening exam,” passed at higher rates than their male counterparts. In 2012, 55 percent of exam takers and 58 percent of students who passed the exam were female.

Even more striking is the significantly greater enrollment of women in higher education institutions in Myanmar. In 2012, 59 percent of undergraduate students, 80 percent of master’s degree students and 81 percent of Ph.D. students were female.

There are a few explanations for this phenomenon. First, boys have a greater likelihood of being employed immediately out of high school, and therefore may not feel the need to enroll in higher education. Second, more girls than boys become teachers, a profession for which higher education is required. They are also more likely to become professors; in 2012, 82.6 percent of higher education academic staff members were women.

As girls who are able to receive a good education are becoming academically successful and enrolling in undergraduate and graduate programs, the next steps in Myanmar are to improve girls’ access to education and ensure their education is high quality. Ideally, the number of women who are passing the Matriculation Exam and attending higher education institutions will then continue to increase as well.

Girls’ education in Myanmar is a continuing priority for the nation’s leaders and United Nations organizations, including UNICEF, which has been active in Myanmar for more than 60 years and plans to continue working to bring education to all children in the nation.

– Sara Olk
Photo: Flickr

Girls’ Education in Cambodia Fights Inequality and Rural Isolation

Girls' Education in Cambodia
The Cambodian government sees education as a key to achieving its long-term vision for the country. It is focused on political stability, long-term economic growth, sustainable development, improved living standards and reduced poverty. It has identified girls’ education in Cambodia in particular as an important step in reaching these goals.

Gender Disparities Still an Obstacle in Cambodia

Although Cambodia has made strides in offering equal access to education for boys and girls, the country still suffers from a substantial gender disparity. Because of this, girls’ education in Cambodia is both lacking and unjust. If a Cambodian girl has aspirations of getting an advanced education or entering the workforce, her dream will more than likely be crushed due to the poverty, corruption, cultural norms and lack of schools in rural areas in Cambodia.

Data collected by various international organizations and the Cambodian Ministry of Education shows that boys and girls in Cambodia start primary education at equal rates. However, reports show that the dropout rate for female students increases with each grade. Although the gender gap is continuing to narrow, the gross enrollment rate decreases for female students in both the lower and upper secondary levels.

What Prevents Cambodian Girls from Attending School?

Girls’ education in Cambodia is compromised because of widespread poverty; Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. According to the Asian Development Bank, 72 percent of the population lives on less than $3 per day. Children living in rural areas are more than likely from poor families; therefore, they will struggle to obtain an education. Poverty is interlinked with the issue of girls’ education in Cambodia, as many poor parents will prioritize their son’s education over their daughter’s.

Cultural norms in Cambodia confine many of these girls to a life full of domestic duties, such as housework, cooking and caring for children. With the corruption and poverty that Cambodia faces today, as well as the gender disparities and lack of schools in rural areas, Cambodian girls still do not have the same opportunities as Cambodian boys.

The Good News Regarding Girls’ Education in Cambodia

Fortunately, there are many organizations who have taken notice of the inequalities in girls’ education in Cambodia and are creating opportunities for these girls. A program called OPTIONS, run by World Education with financial support from UNICEF and the U.S. Department of Labor, provides scholarships that enable girls who are at risk of dropping out to remain in school. In poor areas of Cambodia such as Prey Veng, where many families are forced to migrate due to persistent floods and droughts, the scholarships also help prevent girls from being trafficked or sexually exploited.

To address the needs of undereducated girls, the program offers girls in grades five and six weekly skills classes on a wide range of topics, such as trafficking, reproductive health, sexual abuse and vocational awareness. Girls between the ages of eight and 12 who are out of school can attend courses that aid them in reintegrating in the formal system after one year. For girls over the age of 12, the offerings include basic and functional literacy courses and apprenticeships with local employers.

World Bank Project Ensures Rural Girls Can Access Schools

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved $100 million in financing for two Cambodian projects in April 2017. Both projects will contribute to improving the quality of secondary schools and making rural roads better connected and resistant to severe weather impacts.

The first project, the Secondary Education Improvement Project, is a five-year project for lower secondary schools. The project has many different goals, including strengthening school management, improving the qualifications of teachers and school directors, and providing better school facilities by renovating 100 schools and building 30 new ones. This alone is expected to impact more than 16,000 students, 2,200 teachers, 310 school directors and deputy directors and 1,500 school staff members.

The second project, the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Management Project, will refine and improve the connectivity of rural communities, which are isolated from mainstream development due to poor road conditions. This project will rehabilitate about 150 miles of rural roads in six provinces and will benefit about 3.5 million residents.

“Improving rural roads is central to poverty reduction in Cambodia, since 79 percent of the population and 91 percent of the poor live in rural areas,” said Inguna Dobraja, the World Bank’s Country Manager for Cambodia. “Better and weather resilient roads will help students go to school, families visit health centers and farmers from across Cambodia bring their products to markets.”

Although it is an unfortunate reality that many hopes for girls’ education in Cambodia are destroyed and unfulfilled due to cultural norms, poverty and gender disparities, the gap between boys and girls in education is continuing to narrow, and organizations such as UNICEF and the World Bank are working to bring about a future where more Cambodian girls will receive a quality education.

– Angelina Gillispie
Photo: Flickr

Removing Barriers to Girls’ Education in South Sudan

girls' education in South Sudan
South Sudan has struggled to establish an effective and inclusive education system. The statistics show that 1.8 million children are out of school and 8 percent of schools are damaged, destroyed, occupied or closed.

This trend heavily impacts girls. The Gender Parity Index expresses the ratio of girls to boys in education, and has tracked a trend of fewer girls attending school as they get older. In South Sudan, the female enrollment is 0.92 in pre-primary, 0.68 in primary education and 0.46 in secondary education.

However, since South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011, the government has worked diligently to improve education, especially girls’ education, throughout the country. The government prioritized improving education in its development plan. Four major initiatives and governmental policies demonstrate how South Sudan is working to solve the problem of the gender gap in education.

Initiatives to Improve Girls’ Education in South Sudan

  1. The 2008 Child Act and Transitional Constitution was the first step in South Sudan’s commitment to girls’ education. This act provided for the right to free and compulsory primary education. More importantly, the Child Act allows pregnant women and young mothers to continue their education and not be expelled. This clause is important because many pregnant women and young mothers are subject to discrimination and punishment due to their maternal responsibilities.
  2. The Alternative Education System provides an education for those who do not have access to formal education, including pregnant girls and women. Approximately 70,000 girls and women utilized this program in 2011. One alternative education program developed specifically for girls is called Community Girls’ Schools, which compresses material from primary years one through four into three years. This program is designed to empower young girls from poor backgrounds.
  3. Girls’ Education South Sudan (GESS) works to increase the number of educated girls in South Sudan by giving more girls access to quality education. To improve the quality of education, teachers and education managers will be trained to enhance their skills in and out of the classroom. GESS benefits approximately 200,000 girls eligible for primary and secondary education. This program collaborates with the Ministry of General Education and Instruction to create strategies to improve gender equality in the country’s education system.
  4. Global Partnership for Education (GPE) contributes funding to help remove barriers to girls’ education in South Sudan. It cooperates with other organizations to expand its efforts and works to create an education system based on equality. GPE collaborated with USAID to grant South Sudan $66 million for 2013-2016. One part of this partnership’s goals is to support measures to eliminate gender-based violence. This fund built 25 “girl-friendly” schools to benefit 3,000 girls. Gender sensitivity programs within the schools include separate washroom facilities for girls and teacher training on gender-based violence.

These four programs and policies are not exhaustive of the measures to improve girls’ education in South Sudan. However, it is crucial to note the multitude of the work and the solutions that combine to improve education. With these programs in place, the country will continue to see decreased dropout rates and increased enrollment of girls in the educational system. The relatively new country of South Sudan has come a long way in the fight for gender equality in education. With the continued efforts of these organizations and the global movement for gender equality, its standing in the Gender Parity Index will improve.

– Jenna Walmer
Photo: Flickr

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Funding and Working to Find Global Education Solutions

global education solutionsEducation is a paramount issue worldwide. Many don’t realize the number of people that aren’t capable of obtaining an educational experience, and the widespread need for global education solutions.

Key Facts to Know About Education

  • About 59 million children of primary school age are currently being denied an education.
  • Almost 15 million girls in primary school will never have the opportunity of learning to read and write.
  • It would take $39 billion annually, in order for all adolescents to attend school.
  • In a third of countries analyzed in UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report, there are less than three-quarters of teachers trained to national standards — which has led to 130 million students in school who aren’t learning the basics.

Children fortunate enough to go to school don’t always realize how many people wish they had the same opportunity. Access to quality schooling is a current problem for children residing in multiple countries. In Africa, specifically, all children don’t have the opportunity to attend school due to wars, weather conditions, lack of secure environments, etc. These setbacks can breed an impoverished environment, which makes children have to sacrifice their right to an education for survival.

Many schools around the world are unsatisfactory due to unsanitary environments, the lack of classroom management and the inability for students to stay engaged. The capability to read, write and communicate is so vital, especially for very young children. These skills tend to be exciting for primary school students because they are more receptive to learn at this age.

Benefits of Education

Education is a vital tool that entails obtaining knowledge through experiences, specific subject matter and relative immersion. Looking at global education solutions, everyone’s learning experience is different. Some people may be homeschooled, while others may attend public or private school.

Education has always proven to be a beneficiary for those who were fortunate enough to attend school. Language development, reading, writing, and numeration are some of the basic skills of literacy. While these may seem like small elements, they contribute to a bigger picture. Education helps reduce poverty, increase income, stress the importance of good health/hygiene, boost the economic growth, prevent disaster-related deaths, promote gender equality, combat HIV/AIDS, etc. The list is infinite and has significant global impacts.

The longer one attends school, the more knowledge one will obtain. Missing an education, especially a high school diploma, can hold one back from acquiring a job in some countries. People tend to equate education with money, and to an extent, this is often a reliable mindset to have. Without an education or some form of trade experience, it is very hard to find a job that pays enough for life’s essentials — food, water and shelter. If one lacks an education and/or these basic necessities, it can make it extremely difficult to take care of oneself and family and can lead to poverty.

What Is The Solution?

Among the multitude of things that can be done to improve school systems, change begins through a society’s attitude about the value of education. This impacts how independent nations collaborate to aid those who lack strong educational systems. Next, a nationwide level of respect has to find its way into the classroom. Teachers absolutely have to be trained and certified to properly educate the youth in every subject.

According to the Learning for All Symposium arranged by the World Bank (2014), some countries will not meet their primary school teacher requirements by 2030. Filling in teacher gaps is a challenge that can make a tremendous difference to global education. School districts have to start by hiring the best candidates for teaching positions.

Funding is the most imperative matter as far as global education solutions go. Money is necessary to maintain schools and the instructional materials needed for students. Organizations such as the Global Education Fund, Global Partnership for Education and the International Education Funders Group (IEFG) provide and receive donations for school systems worldwide.

Organizations Contributing To Global Solutions

Statistically, girls are more likely to be married before the age of 18 than they are to be enrolled in secondary school in 26 countries across the globe.

Spreading awareness and the importance of getting an education is another major factor to global education solutions. Michelle Obama, former First Lady of the United States, began a foundation in March of 2015, called Let Girls Learn. This organization brought together the Department of State, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Peace Corps, the United States Department of Labor, United States Department of Agriculture and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), as well as the United States President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS.

Recognizing the many issues that adolescent girls face when trying to pursue an education, this organization is invested in expanding educational opportunities. The agencies paired with Let Girls Learn are contributing to the cause by providing safe access to schools, helping rebuild education systems, creating alternative learning programs, improving the policy and access of schools and providing nutritious meals. Parallel to Let Girls Learn, there is a plethora of organizations with the same mission — help improve the education for the youth.

Save the Children

Save The Children is another foundation that assists children around the world by ensuring a healthy start to life, and presenting an equal opportunity for education. This organization trains teachers to engage with students through effective teaching practices and introduces children to the power of artistic expression — drawing, painting, dancing, music, etc. They fulfill their goal by implementing a strong foundation for learning, even during a crisis.

As of 2018, Save The Children has provided 13.8 million children the opportunity for an education. This organization accomplishes such an amazing feat through childhood development programs that help children survive physically and emotionally; financial services that provide and educate children on money and savings in order to break the cycle of poverty; and even youth employment.

Global Education is something that can’t be entirely solved until everyone does their part to help out. Governments, school systems and parents need to work in tandem to help children receive the learning experiences they deserve.

– Kayla Sellers
Photo: Google

Improving and Strengthening Girls’ Education in Jordan

Girls’ Education in Jordan
According to a recent report by the World Bank, countries around the world are losing about $160 trillion in wealth because of the inequality between men and women in their lifetime earnings. Much like elsewhere in the Middle East, Jordan struggles to achieve gender equality in its economic and political landscapes; interestingly, though, the gap is beginning to close at the educational level. Girls’ education in Jordan has successfully been at par with that of boys.

In 2015, the primary school enrollment was 98 percent for boys and 96 percent for girls. For the secondary schools, the enrollment was at 89 percent and 86 percent for boys and girls, respectively. Moreover, the girls in the country outperform boys in almost all the subjects in about all age groups.

Nevertheless, most of the Jordanian women remain unemployed, despite their educational levels. The female workforce participation in Jordan remains at 15.3 percent. Along with that, Jordanian women are still highly underrepresented in politics. While only 15.4 percent of the parliamentarians are women, only 7.1 percent of the ministerial positions are held by women.

Understanding the Disconnect Between Educational Attainment and Sociopolitical Empowerment

On the one hand, the Global Gender Gap Report ranks Jordan at 51 among the 144 countries on its educational attainment. On the other hand, the country’s rank for economic participation and opportunity is 138 and for political empowerment is 126. Despite an outstanding literacy rate (99.8 percent for men and 99.7 percent for women), Jordan has a long way to go in order to provide equal opportunities to its girls as they graduate from school.

Although some attribute the higher attainment of educational levels to the intrinsic motivation found in the students, others associate external variables (such as cultural norms and family support) as being instrumental in determining women’s outcomes of success. Both perspectives have merit, and the later can be  especially true later in their lives when they want to become financially independent and politically represented.

One reason for the under-utilization of these highly educated women lies in the social norms and practices of the country. The traditional belief system discourages women from joining the workforce, limits their participation in political activities and prefers them to marry early – even sometimes during their school years.

On the one hand, boys are mostly able to get jobs right after high school with average test scores; these jobs may not be the high-paying ones, but they are the ones that make them relatively financially independent and eligible for marriage. On the other hand, girls, if allowed, are supposed to mainly work in a reputable sector (such as teaching and medicine) because working in a restaurant or a hotel is seen dishonorably. Thus, in order to seek jobs, girls generally have to strive for higher levels of education with better test scores.

Changing the Social Norms

The untapped potential of the Jordanian women can be utilized in many ways. One such initiative that puts this potential in action is the Takamol Project. Takamol is directed toward improving girls’ education in Jordan and expanding career opportunities for women in the country.

Implemented by USAID along with its Jordanian partners, Takamol consists of actions targeted to ensure the success of girls in schools and the advancement of women in workplaces. From creating safe spaces which hold social dialogues about changing gender norms, to supporting advocacy efforts for female empowerment, Takamol is playing a significant role in expanding the opportunities for the women in Jordan.

Key Achievements

Some of Takamols key achievements include:

  • Revisiting and developing 59 laws and policies in the country to promote gender inequality and address issues like gender-based violence.
  • Supporting the creation of Jordan’s first women’s caucus in Parliament.
  • Training 350 female public servants with leadership skills.
  • Assisting 657 women-owned businesses to gain better financial accessibility.
  • Training over 100 female health workers who visit another 400,000 Jordanian women every year to provide counseling on women’s health issues and family planning.

Moreover, in order to address the problem of gender inequality at its root, Takamol has recognized the importance of preparing the upcoming generations with more gender-egalitarian mindsets. The books and plays in schools are being revised and rewritten to present a counternarrative vis-à-vis the prevailing gender norms.

Along with Haya Cultural Center, Takamol has created a series of six children books and performances. Through the stories of strong and independent female characters, the books and plays attempt to evoke gender sensitive thoughts in the minds of the children and dismantle the existing gender stereotypes. So far, these stories have reached more than 2,900 children across the country.

Steps Towards Gender Equality

Yet much more has to be accomplished to move towards greater gender equality. More efforts like Takamol’s storytelling projects can help bring about the change for the girls and women in Jordan. Girls’ education in Jordan is surely a sign of success. But the country needs to make efforts to ensure that the women have access to opportunities when they graduate from their schools.

It is not only the wealth that is lost when women are unable to participate in economic and political activities of a country; the country also loses the knowledge of an academic, the creativity of an entrepreneur, the spirit of an artist and the voice of a mother in the process.

– Fariha Khalid
Photo: Flickr

Girls’ Education in Indonesia Focuses on Early Childhood Education

Girls' Education in Indonesia
Girls’ education in Indonesia is promising. In 2014, the World Bank noted that Indonesia’s education system is Asia’s third largest and the world’s fourth largest. Moreover, in 2016, the literacy rate for females between the ages of 15 and 24 was 99.65 percent. What makes Indonesia’s education system most noteworthy, however, is the response to Indonesia’s 2006 earthquake and the continuing developments in girls’ education.

Effects of the Yogyakarta Earthquake on Girls’ Education in Indonesia

After the magnitude 6.3 earthquake in 2006, approximately 1,000 schools were destroyed and 6,234 people were killed in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. In response, organizations such as the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative expanded their efforts to improve girls’ education in Indonesia. In accordance with the Indonesia Earthquake 2006 Response Plan, school tents were provided by USAID, Save the Children, UNICEF and the Japanese government.

In cases of emergency, such as Indonesia’s Java earthquake, there are distinct benefits that education provides children. According to UNICEF, “Schools can protect children from the physical dangers around them…and also provide children with other lifesaving interventions, such as food, water, sanitation and health.”

In 2016, UNESCO recorded that 1.5 million Indonesia girls were not enrolled in school. Furthermore, according to UNICEF’s education fact sheet, only 40 percent of Indonesian girls aged 15 to 24 learn about HIV prevention measures and only 23 percent use condoms regularly. Also, 85 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 hold misconceptions or have no knowledge of HIV/AIDS.

Ongoing Efforts to Develop Girls’ Education

To improve these numbers, education and health services are targeted at the early childhood education level. The World Bank explained that “better-prepared children are less likely to repeat grades.” It has also been shown, according to the World Bank, that early childhood education is associated with healthier and better-educated children.

Since its formation in 2001, the Directorate for Early Childhood Education Program of the Ministry of Education and Culture seeks to provide education programs incorporated with health services. For example, the program implements day care centers and play groups for young children.

Programs such as this are made possible through a partnership with the World Bank. The initiative also addresses teacher training, as more than 60 percent of teachers have only a high school diploma or two years of college education. Teachers are recruited from Indonesian communities and are trained in early childhood development. As a result of efforts made by the Directorate for Early Childhood Education Program, Indonesia won the UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education in 2016.

The project focused on instilling confidence and resilience within girls from birth to age eight. UNESCO reports that girls’ educational attainment levels can be strengthened through gender mainstreaming, which avoids gender stereotypes within the curriculum. More specifically, the project addressed children, parents, teachers and school administrators using specialized early childhood education training and workshops.

Education for girls is progressing. Timely responses were made after the 2006 earthquake when children’s schooling was disrupted. Educational aid and reform did not stop there, however, as the Early Childhood Education Program furthered recent improvements to communal learning and healthcare. These education programs demonstrate that increased opportunities for girls’ education in Indonesia are crucial for alleviating poverty. Girls with higher levels of education are more likely to have children later and their risk of contracting HIV/AIDS is lowered. Education is vital to their quality of life.

– Christine Leung
Photo: Flickr