Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

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Dr. Jill Biden Promotes Women’s Empowerment in Africa

Dr. Jill Biden

Dr. Jill Biden, wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, promoted women’s rights, immigration and education during her recent trip to Africa. She visited Ethiopia, Malawi and Niger, where she focused on matters associated with economic empowerment and educational opportunities.

In each country, Dr. Biden met with local citizens in many different places in order to engage in government and civil society and focus on issues relative to each country. Here are some of the highlights of her three-country trip.

Ethiopia

  • Dr. Jill Biden’s first stop in Africa was Ethiopia. She first visited a transit center for refugees at the International Organization for Migration. There she learned about the refugee screening process for those hoping to resettle in the US.
  • With a focus on women’s empowerment and women’s rights, she attended an event in the high-tech center in Addis Ababa funded by the U.S. Embassy. There, she handed out certificates to girls who completed computer training.
  • Finally, she met with female members of Ethiopia’s parliament and cabinet, as well as entrepreneurs and other members of the community.

Malawi

  • First, Dr. Biden attended a reception for humanitarian aid workers from the U.S. Embassy. She addressed the El Niño drought by gaining information from the USAID Food for Peace Program about food security.
  • She traveled to primary schools, the first of which was assisted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program. Biden learned about the USAID Girls Empowerment Through Education and Health Activity (ASPIRE) at a second primary school.
  • Finally, Dr. Biden met with local farmers learning about how the maize trade influences economic empowerment and with Malawi’s First Lady Madame Gertrude Mutharika to discuss their collective pledges on women’s empowerment.
  • It was Dr. Biden who announced that 20 million dollars have been donated through the World Food Program to assist food insecurity in Malawi.

Niger

  • Dr. Biden visited the Marie Stopes International Clinic to discuss family planning and reproductive health with Nigerien women.
  • She discussed with local residents the issues surrounding the Boko Haram conflict and the humanitarian crisis in the state. After meeting with President Mahamadou Issoufou, she talked to young Nigeriens about youth participation in local elections.
  • Dr. Biden discussed empowerment through job creation and its positive effects on the national economy, and she participated in a roundtable at the U.N. Development Program to discuss gender inequality, education and protection.

Dr. Jill Biden’s focuses on women’s empowerment and education are based on the notion that education is a tool that can be used to lift communities out of poverty. By developing self-confidence through education, girls and women in Africa can become active participants in their local communities.

– Kimber Kraus

Photo: Voice Of America

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Female Equality: #WhatIReallyReallyWant for Women’s Rights

Female Equality

Project Anyone and The Global Goals for Sustainable Development have teamed up to recreate the Class Spice Girls song “Wannabe,” this time with girls’ and women’s rights in mind. In this version, the females who sing the chorus of, “Tell me what you want, what you really really want,” respond with a global request: female equality. The viral video has produced a widespread social media campaign, and the organizations behind it hope to take the campaign’s findings to the attention of the United Nations (UN).

The video portrays girls and women around the world, recreating the song while background buildings and signs display requests in response to the chorus. “End Violence Against Women,” one sign responds as the singers echo, “Tell me what you want.” Quality education for all girls, end child marriage and equal pay for equal work are among the other responses in the video.

The video ends with a platform for continuing the campaign on social media, asking women and girls to share photos of their own requests on various social media platforms, so that the needs expressed by the global female community can be shared with policymakers.

Female Equality: Essential for the World

Actress Emma Watson, the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, weighed in via Twitter, sharing “#WhatIReallyReallyWant is to see Goal 5 – Gender Equality achieved @theGlobalGoals.” Her international work to promote gender equality over the past several years has made Watson an important voice in promoting women’s rights.

Project Everyone is an organization which works to promote the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Sustainable Development Goals include that which Watson singled out in her response to the campaign, Goal 5: “Achieve Gender Equality and Empower All Women and Girls.” Many of the other goals, which seek things like inclusive and quality education, also stand to enable the empowerment of girls and women.

The relationship between female empowerment and achieving sustainable development also works in the other direction. Gender equality and opportunities for women to be educated and contributing members of society is a key step in achieving goals like ending poverty, which is Sustainable Development Goal number one.

Global goals and Project Everyone’s “Wannabe” remake ends with a message and a call to action. “Girl Power has come a long way, let’s take it further,” comes upon the screen following the video.

The impact and scope of the #WhatIReallyReallyWant campaign represents a large step in the right direction towards eliminating gender inequality, gender violence and unequal access to education. The importance of empowering girls and women is far-reaching. The potential which is unlocked when female equality is promoted has a direct impact of achieving Sustainable Development Goal number one: “Ending poverty in all its forms everywhere.”

– Charlotte Bellomy

Photo: IBI Times

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Education in Ecuador: The Citizens’ Revolution

Education in Ecuador

In 2008, more than 65 percent of the Ecuadorian population voted to implement a new constitution. President Rafael Correa proclaimed Ecuador a new nation that day. He asserted that this constitution, with its potential for broad social reform, would help catalyze his efforts to transform the economy and alleviate poverty.

The president considered education reform to be an essential component of his initiative: The Citizens’ Revolution. Section Five of the constitution is dedicated to outlining the ways and means by which education in Ecuador should be viewed as a human right. This includes Article 27, which guarantees “Universal access, permanence, mobility and graduation without any discrimination.”

While access to higher education for all is a top government priority, quality has become the focus of many reform efforts. Standards are a relevant concern in discussing education in Ecuador largely because of the country’s past. Despite previous attempts to make education a primary concern, none of the conventions or programs ever gained any traction.

Well-implemented public education programs in the 1970s increased school life expectancy. Decreased illiteracy brought on a “Golden Era” for education in Ecuador. By 1980, education amounted to a third of total government outlays, yet expansion came with resource issues that forced the 90s to be a decade of regression. Free public education was abandoned, the Ministry of Education weakened, student enrollment came to a halt, as well as a plethora of other problems.

To avoid the trends of the past, President Correa established the Council for Evaluation, Accreditation and Quality Assurance in Higher Education (CEAACES) in 2010. This government organization is charged with the responsibility of improving the quality of higher education in Ecuador.

CEAACES evaluations are obligatory and use a multi-criteria methodology to make numerically subjective judgments when evaluating an institution. Each institution then receives a ranking, the worst of which are subject to suspension for lack of quality. Accreditation is required in order to provide any academic programs, thereby regulating the academic standards of education in Ecuador.

Yet, while the CEAACES ensures a quality system, it does nothing to maintain it.

In 2013, as a part of The Citizens’ Revolution, President Correa introduced Yachay, the City of Knowledge. “Yachay” translates to “knowledge” in the indigenous Quechua language. It is a pivotal step in Correa’s plan to transform Ecuador into a knowledge-based economy. When all is complete, the City of Knowledge will house Yachay University (known as Yachay Tech), 13 public research institutes, a technology park and industry.

Yachay Tech opened for its first semester in March 2014 as one of the only institutes for postgraduate education in Ecuador. Its staff currently consists of 32 teachers, all of whom have PhDs, most of whom are international. The objective of the institution in the short term is to provide its students with a research-intensive education rare to Ecuador. In the long term, it aims to produce “about 1,000 master’s and PhD students, who will eventually provide staff for other institutions.”

As hoped, the Citizens’ Revolution has been an effective agent in President Correa’s poverty relief initiatives. With the education reform set in place, along with the other social policies the new constitution has allowed Correa to implement, Ecuador has become a regional frontrunner in poverty reduction. According to the World Bank, the poverty headcount ratio at national poverty lines has decreased by 12.6 percent from 2008 to 2014.

Other countries can learn from this revolution, that investing in people is a winning strategy. Correa has managed to actuate a new form of economy, not reliant on resources that may one day be exhausted, but instead reliant on its own human capital. With the aid and skill provided by the government now, the people of the Citizens’ Revolution will be the catalyst of a diverse Ecuadorean economy. They will lift others out of poverty and create opportunities for all in a hub of innovation.

– Alexis Viera

Photo: Flickr

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7 Global Book Distribution Organizations Improve Literacy

Global Book Distribution Organizations
Global literacy rates have risen in recent years, with adult literacy at 84.1 percent and the youth rate at 89.5 percent. Roughly 896.7 million people cannot read or write. Two-thirds of these people are female, and a majority live in sub-Saharan Africa and southwest Asia. Reading and writing skills are valuable for continuing education and defeating poverty, thus making global book distribution organizations invaluable.

Room to Read’s website shares the chilling statistic: “A child born to a literate mother is twice as likely to survive past age five.” In order to improve global education and literacy, a plethora of organizations have emerged to provide books to disadvantaged areas. These global book distribution organizations are all working to raise literacy with unique approaches to best serve their target community.

1. Book Bus
The Book Bus was started by publisher Tom Mascher in 2008. The program began in Zambia but has since grown to Malawi and Ecuador. It emphasizes providing relevant books to both the age and reading level of its recipient. It delivers books and directly teaches children as well. Mobility is a huge asset to this program; because literacy rates are lowest in remote areas, the Book Bus can travel to disadvantaged communities and schools.

2. International Book Bank
This organization is more academic than many of the other global book distribution organizations. The International Book Bank supplies large quantities of new, single title books for classroom use to improve global education. Since its first shipment to Jamaica three decades ago, it has sent books for every age group all over the world. By allowing communities to choose the books they need, and providing enough copies for the entire class, the International Book Bank ensures that schools have the appropriate resources.

3. Book Aid International
Book Aid International has been around since Lady Ranfurly set up a library in the Bahamas in 1954. She continued the program in the U.K., where it grew to send books to more countries. Currently, Book Aid International provides books for education establishments, refugee camps, prisons and libraries in Palestinian territories and twelve African countries. For nomadic people, the organization has built mobile libraries. It has reading materials and spaces that can be transported via truck, camel or horseback.

4. Room to Read
In 2000, Room to Read began delivering donated books to rural Nepalese communities. Over the last 16 years, the program has expanded to building schools and libraries, training teachers, and supporting girls’ education. It works in eight countries and publishs books in local languages. In 2012 alone, Room to Read’s libraries supplied 9.7 million books.

5. International Book Project
The International Book Project is based in Lexington, KY and ships all over the world. It sends boxes of books any size between small shipments and sea containers that can supply an entire school district. In 2007, it launched a unique program called “Books as Bridges”  where schools in Kentucky are paired with schools overseas. Students exchange letters, packages and books to improve both writing skills and cultural awareness. The last school year had 50 participating classrooms from seven countries, with a total of 2,694 students.

6. African Library Project
The African Library Project ships American books to Africa. It matches communities on either end through a substantial network of organizations. U.S. institutions then gather books and funds to start a library. They emphasize sustainability by recycling used books and supporting the new libraries abroad. To accomplish this, libraries are built in places where the community has the manpower, space and enthusiasm to start a library and receives regular check-ups by African partners. This project has started 1,825 libraries in 12 countries.

7. World Literacy Foundation
The World Literacy Foundation has been focused on book distribution since their founding in 1996. Recently, it has increased digital learning as people have more access to technology. On the website, its noble vision is stated simply: “We envision a world in which every one of us can read and write, in which there is free access to education for all.”

While there is still much to be done, these seven global book distribution organizations are making massive impacts on global education.

– Jeanette I. Burke

Photo: Pixabay

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The Lord’s Resistance Army Legacy in Northern Uganda

Uganda

The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) took a stronghold in Northern Uganda in 1986. Its leader, Joseph Kony, commanded his troops to overthrow the Ugandan government by abducting thousands of children and forcing them to work for him.

The Lord’s Resistance Army only had access to Northern Uganda, leaving half of the country in disarray while the other side of the country focused on economic and social advancement.

During its malevolent attacks, the LRA was known to kill the weak and old with machetes, swords, or stones. To further elicit fear, Kony would maim victims, leaving his mark on villages.

Kony’s attacks have scarred and uprooted the lives of nearly all Acholi people, who make up the majority of persons living in Northern Uganda. Due to fear, many have taken refuge and fled their homes. Many continued to stay in hiding even after Kony’s attacks became less frequent beginning in 2006.

Due to Joseph Kony’s reign of terror, nearly the entire population of Northern Uganda was displaced. Little was done to ensure that children had access to education, leaving the region with two generations of uneducated youth.

As the Acholi people began to feel safe enough to return to their homes, they became aware of the destruction that happened in their villages. There were no real jobs available, there was no access to education and there was no infrastructure.

Unlike in the rest of Uganda, where children have a chance to receive an education, the dire lack of facilities in Northern Uganda reinforces the cycle of poverty.

Many international organizations are trying to give Acholi children access to education and to help break the dreadful cycle of poverty that is looming over them. For example, War Child is an organization that seeks to ensure that children’s lives are not ruined by war.

War Child is helping by sending 2,000 of the poorest Acholi children to school. This involves training and giving grants to parents, siblings and other family members. In some cases, the grants are given to children directly, so that they may set up their own income-generating enterprises.

The organization is also training teachers in Northern Uganda to teach at a higher standard and to run schools efficiently. War Child also has a Youth Entrepreneurship Operation which provides loans to young Acholi people money to start their own businesses. War Child provides not only funding, but also mentorship and verbal support.

Between getting children in school, hiring and educating teachers and providing entrepreneurship starting blocks, War Child is bringing hope back to a recovering region. The humanitarian community hopes that other organizations will soon be inspired to undertake similar initiatives, in order to help rebuild lives in Northern Uganda.

– Bella Chaffey

Photo: Flickr

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Sign Language Education in Developing Countries

Sign_Language
Humanitarian organizations are finally taking the time to address the unique challenges of providing accessible education for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Education in developing countries, in general, is relatively underfunded, with less than two percent of humanitarian aid being direct towards the sector. This problem is compounded when dealing with education, like sign language education, for children and adults who require special accommodations.

In the case of hearing loss, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), over 360 million people suffer from hearing loss severe enough to affect their everyday lives, with the majority of them living in low to middle-income countries.

In a statement, the WHO noted, “In developing countries, children with hearing loss and deafness rarely receive any schooling. Adults with hearing loss also have a much higher unemployment rate. Among those who are employed, a higher percentage of people with hearing loss are in the lower grades of employment compared with the general workforce.”

Recently, more organizations have made an effort to address these problems with education for the deaf through humanitarian aid. For example, Discovering Deaf Worlds partners with deaf advocates in developing countries to help provide access to sign language and education for those in need.

Among other core values, Discovering Deaf Worlds emphasizes allowing the deaf and hard of hearing to choose their preferred communication method, but posits that accessibility is a basic human right. They hope to allow for deaf and hard of hearing communities to more readily engage with the hearing world at large and collaborate with both to try and make that goal a reality.

The USAID EXPAND program is an extension of the 2012 EMPOWER program funded by the U.S. Department of State. The original program focused on giving deaf Filipinos the opportunity for training in advocacy, policy and outreach. EXPAND aims to further those goals and allow for higher participation from deaf individuals in their culture and society.

By providing resources such as sign language education, Discovering Deaf Worlds and (other organizations like it) can create a pool of deaf leaders that can best advocate for education for themselves and the rest of the deaf and hard of hearing communities. Such a focus on increasing diversity in the workforce is a key step in fighting to end poverty and discrimination in developing countries.

– Sabrina Santos

Photo: Flickr

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Scholarships Provide Education for Syrian Refugees

Education for Syrian RefugeesA new set of academic scholarships is helping to provide post-secondary education for Syrian refugees.

Jusoor is an organization dedicated to addressing the educational needs of those affected by the civil war in Syria. To date, the organization offers over 390 scholarships and has funded 74 students. The majority of scholarships they offer are university partnerships, such as with the University of Cambridge, Oxford, and the London School of Economics.

The organization itself is comprised of Syrian expatriates who believe in the importance of offering opportunities for the youth in their native country. They hope this initiative will help support the country’s development and help it overcome its unique challenges.

According to their website, the volunteers at Jusoor “hope for a nation that embraces democracy, respects human rights and rule of law and encourages free speech and the exchange of ideas.”

Education for refugees is important not just in Syria, but around the world. According to the U.N. Refugee agency, education is a basic human right, defined in the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 1951 Refugee Convention.

However, of the 10 million refugees under the age of 18, less than half have access to the education they need. Often, education can provide a safe and stable environment where none else is offered, fostering healthy relationships and teaching life-saving information.

Most recently, Jusoor partnered with universities in Canada for their 100 Syrian Women program, which focuses particularly on offering scholarships to Syrian women. This gives them the opportunity to study abroad when they would not have otherwise had it. So far, out of 900 applicants, 26 women have received scholarships, and the organization hopes to go much further than that.

In an interview with The Star, Leen Al Zaibak, co-director and co-founder of Jusoor, said “we feel if we invest in women, it is a huge investment in the community. The 100 women who benefit from this opportunity are going to affect the lives of 10,000 other Syrians.”

In addition to their scholarship programs, Jusoor runs three primary and middle schools for Syrian children in Lebanon to provide further education for Syrian refugees.

– Sabrina Santos

Photo: Student World Online

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Education in India: Coursera Provides Online Courses

Education_in_IndiaThe Indian government has set a goal to increase student enrollment in universities by 30% by the year 2020. India must expand its educational system to meet the needs of the continuously growing population. In order to improve education in India, the nation would also need a few thousand more universities. The existing universities would also require expansion.

Currently, only 12% of students in India are able to secure spots in Indian universities. This leaves out a large pool of talented students who could benefit from a university-level education. Coursera, the online Californian company, currently has 17 million registered students and is looking to expand in India.

Coursera provides free online courses from 140 to non-degree-seeking students from such widely-known universities as Stanford, Yale or Columbia. These “Moocs” (or massive open online courses) allow students to study at home. Coursera looks to benefit from the Indian population by providing online education to those who are unable to attend a regular university. They have already partnered with many of the Indian universities, such as Udacity.

Coursera does not provide exams or degrees, but it does give certificates after a course has been completed. While Coursera provides their online courses without payment, the certificates that require completion exams can cost between $30 and $100. This allows students in low economic standing to continue their education and find additional job opportunities based on their skills.

There are currently 1.3 million Indian students using Coursera, making India the largest concentration of online students outside of China or the U.S. Employers are also using Coursera to provide further education for their employees, such as online stock brokerage firm Zerodha.

CEO Nithin Kamath of Zerodha intends to further the education and credibility of Zerodha’s employees in any way possible. He says, “When we come across courses that we think is something our employees need to know, we encourage them to take it up.”

Courses related to data science and information technology are the most popular for Indian students using Coursera. Consequently, this indicates that there is a growing demand for skilled workers in India’s software industry. Coursera seeks to increase its own impact on education in India by providing general courses in Hindi or other local languages.

Catering to the concerns of many students, Coursera is also focusing on providing learning opportunities that are more job-relevant. Similar Indian programs, such as Edureka or Simplilearn, have already begun to do so. The emergence of online education in India provides opportunities for students who would otherwise have none.

– Amanda Panella

Photo: Flickr

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8 Things You Should Know About Education in Niger

Education in NigerNiger is a Western African country with a population of more than 18 million people. Of those 18 million people, the average person is 15 years old. With the majority of the population being of schooling age, education in Niger has a large opponent: labor. The following is a list of facts concerning education in Niger.

8 Things You Should Know About Education in Niger

  1. The adult literacy rate in Niger was at a mere 15.5 percent in 2012 (the most recent data collection). The world average for adult literacy currently lies at 92 percent. This means Niger is 76.5 percent lower than the global average for this statistic. This statistic includes all individuals 15 years and older in the adult population.
  2. Women and men are unequally educated. While Niger has the lowest literacy rates in the world, the country’s women are even more disadvantaged. As of 2012, only nine percent of Nigerien women were literate compared to 23 percent for men. The global percentage of literate women is 89 percent.
  3. On average, each teacher is responsible for 36 students. At 36 students per teacher, Niger has one of the highest pupil-teacher ratios in the world. For comparison, the U.S. has an average of 14 students per teacher.
  4. Only 50 percent of primary school teachers in Niger have reached minimum training requirements. When teachers have not reached minimum training standards set by the Nigerien government, they are less likely to be able to be effective in the classroom. This is only compounded by the country’s high pupil-teacher ratio.
  5. Only 61 percent of Nigeriens attend primary school. With a global average of 89 percent enrollment, Niger is lacking in this category. Additionally, this statistic leads the way for low school attendance in later years. In fact, more than 30 percent of the Nigerien children who attend primary school eventually drop out.
  6. Niger has an education index of .20. The education index is a statistic from the U.N. which is calculated using the mean number of years of schooling and the expected number of years of schooling. An education index of .20 places Niger at the bottom of all 187 countries with available data.
  7. As of 2014, Niger put 6.8 percent of its total GDP towards education. In 2010, Niger put a relatively low 3.7 percent of its GDP toward education. Since then, Niger has been increasing spending on education. The country currently puts a higher percentage of its GDP toward education than the world average (4.5 percent) and even the U.S. (5.2 percent).
  8. Organizations are working to improve education in Niger. One organization, RAIN for the Sahel and Sahara, provides women mentors to at-risk girls to ensure success in school. Additionally, the organization creates community market gardens that allow for economic stability and allow girls to focus on school rather than working.

Other organizations such as UNESCO, PLAN International, Aid for Africa and Remember Niger Coalition also provide funding for improved education and help build schools.

Nigerian education needs substantial help. Unfortunately, many of the issues stem from financial instability as well as an enduring belief that women should stay at home, marry and care for children.

Though the problem with education in Niger is complex, mentoring and guidance services by influential organizations can be part of the solution. Through these programs, Nigerian men and women can learn the value of education and benefit the country as a whole.

– Weston Northrop

Photo: Flickr

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UNICEF’s School in a Box: A Foreign Aid Success

School in a box
During times of emergency, priorities turn to basic essentials like food, water and shelter. While these are clearly the most important, UNICEF argues that a fourth thing needs to be added as a necessity: education. UNICEF’s school in a box provides an incredible solution.

Education is one of the best ways to preserve normalcy, social resources and safety that is invaluable to primary school-aged kids. They are not alone in this belief; a study by Duke University Professor E. Frankenburg explains that people with access to education are better equipped to handle crises.

 

School in a Box:  Education in Crisis Response

 

How can schools be efficiently supplied after emergency?

UNICEF came up with an answer that is a fast and affordable foreign aid success. Within three days of a tsunami or other crisis, they can deliver a ‘School in a Box’ with three months worth of supplies for one teacher and 40 students. They are perfect for places recently hit with a natural disaster or a sudden influx of students.

It is all inclusive so that a classroom can be set up anywhere. In addition to the classic materials like paper, books and pens, the kit contains toys, a radio, educational posters and can of paint that can turn any flat surface into a blackboard.

Translations are available in most languages and UNICEF has tried to make it as non-culturally specific as possible. Boxes can be supplemented with locally produced materials and lesson plans.

This program was created in the mid-1990s, along with UNESCO’s similar Teacher Emergency Package. Originally, it was used in Rwanda but has spread to at least 12 countries including Pakistan, Haiti, Japan and even the United States. It has been a foreign aid success: in 2014 alone, 106,201 kits were distributed.

These kits can be sponsored for a mere $209.11 on UNICEF’s website. While this program is not a permanent replacement for locally supported schools, School in a Box provides a quick and effective way to give kids education during an emergency.

– Jeanette I. Burke

Photo: The Epoch Times