Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

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Poverty in Italy: An Overview

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The number of people who are living in poverty in Italy has doubled since 2012. Over a million Italians are unable to afford to eat meat or pay for basic necessities such as heating for their houses. It is estimated that poverty in Italy is higher than it has ever been within the last 16 years.

Relative poverty is considered a family of two members living on a monthly salary of 991 euros or less. Approximately, 12.7 percent of families are living at relative poverty standards.

About eight percent of the Italian population is living in total poverty and unable to meet the minimum acceptable standard of living, according to the National Institute for Statistics (ISTAT).

“It is a reminder, if one were needed, of the severity and scale of Italy’s recession, the longest since the Second World War. Italy maybe the comeback kid of the global sovereign debt markets, but its economy does not look as though it will ever come back – and it was not even strong to start,” said Nicholas Spiro, head of Spiro Sovereign Strategy about ISTAT’s report.

The recession is taking a massive toll, currently plunging approximately 40 percent of Italian youth into unemployment.

Currently, Italy’s rate of unemployment and the amount of young people without education is the highest in Europe since the 1970s, totaling 23.9 percent. This means that one third of people ages 15-29 are either without education or without a job.

Only 58 percent of those who have graduated from college are able to find jobs out of school, which is below the average number of 77.2 percent in European countries.

The number of families living without adequate necessities, such as heating, has reached a staggering 8.6 million, or one family out of five. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for those same families to not be able to afford a healthy meal consisting of meat once every 2 days, meaning 16.6 percent of families living in poverty in Italy are not receiving an appropriate amount of nutrients.

Poverty in Southern Italy has increased by a whopping 90% over the past five years, a clear indicator of the economic gap between Northern Italy and Southern.

The recession is also affecting the ability of Italian employees to take a holiday break. 50 percent of Italians are not able to enjoy a holiday week off and, in Southern Italy, approximately 69 percent of Italians are unable to enjoy a holiday off. Employee wages are being cut and full-time employment is at record lows.

– Rebecca Felcon

Sources: Reuters, UK Reuters, The Local, CNBC, Global Post
Photo: 

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Education in the Philippines

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According to the Department of Budget and Management, The Department of Education in the Philippines (DepED) has recently been granted the primary sum of the Philippines’ social services budget for 2014. The Philippines is facing huge concerns with a lack of teachers, textbooks, classrooms; it also faces an exceptionally high dropout rate.

Low budgets have made it difficult to extend an education in the Philippines to an increasingly high population of children. A total of 309.43 billion Philippine pesos ($18.6 billion,) or 37 percent, has been allotted to DepED after the country determined the issues with their public education system.

A large portion of the DepED money will now be focused on incorporating technology and alternative learning systems in the classroom in hopes of integrating out-of-school children; the initiative is called the Enhanced Instructional Management for Parents, Community and Teachers (e-IMPACT,) originally established in the fiscal year 2007-2008.

The fund is also comprised of 44.6 billion Philippine pesos ($1.00316 billion) for repairing and constructing new school buildings. The DepED will be building 43,183 new classrooms, fixing 9,502 of the existing classrooms and constructing 1.59 million new schoolroom seats for the Kindergarten through 12th grade programs.

The plan will add 10 new libraries will be added to the 213 current centers; each will be supplied with new books. In hopes of reaching the goal of 1:1 student to textbook ratio, the Department of Education in the Philippines hopes to attain “42 million more textbooks and workbooks.”

e-IMPACT is a technology based alternative method of learning that is fueled by student interactions. Every student is given access to online modules and online guides to learning materials. The modules will open a window into how children are able to learn and communicate with each other and will allow parents and school faculty to become increasingly involved in ensuring that the e-IMPACT positively transforms the community. Everyone in the community will be engaged and learning with the students.

By incorporating e-IMPACT and repairing classrooms, DepED hopes to promote global mainstreaming and expansion of primary education, part of the second Millennium Development Goals. e-IMPACT will attempt to incorporate children who have dropped out of school and seeks to keep children in school who are at risk of dropping out.

– Rebecca Felcon

Photo: Josh Weinstein
Sources: Asia Pacific Future Gov, TaosPuso Foundation, Manila Bulliten

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Action Plan to 2014 Improves South African Education

Action Plan to 2014
At about seven percent of gross domestic product and 20 percent of total state expenditure, South Africa has one of the highest rates of public investments in education in the world. The South African Schools Act of 1996 makes education compulsory for all South Africans from the age of 7 to the age of 15.

President Jacob Zuma told Parliament on February 13 that the country’s matric pass rate went up from about 61 percent in 2009 to 78 percent last year. The matric pass rate is calculated by annual national assessments.

South Africa has 23 state-funded post-secondary institutions, 11 universities, six universities of technology and six comprehensive institutions.

As a result of education inequalities during apartheid, 18 percent of adults are illiterate. Today, almost 59 percent of whites attend higher education institutions; only 14 percent of blacks attend. The disparate percentage is a consequence of inadequate primary and secondary schooling due to apartheid.

The Accelerated Schools Infrastructure Delivery Initiative has delivered 370 new schools throughout the country. The program replaces unsuitable infrastructure with schools.

Meanwhile, enrollment at universities has increased 13 percent since 2009 and Further Education and Training (FET) college enrollments have increased by 90 percent.

South Africa has implemented a plan for schools called Action Plan to 2014, a part of a larger vision called Schooling 2025, which aims to improve learning and teacher training. By 2025, South Africa wants to see students attend school every day and are on time. The country aims for schools to be accessible, clean and safe learning environments.

The program also includes teacher training, which will improve their capabilities and confidence. The focus of the program is on literacy and numeracy. This curriculum is known as the national Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS,) which provides specific guidelines for what is taught in schools.

Improving educational opportunities helps create tomorrow’s leaders. By giving students the opportunity to learn in a safe, clean and accessible environment, South Africa is helping to alleviate poverty, one step at a time.

– Haley Sklut

Sources: All Africa, South Africa Info
Photo: YWC Project

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Promoting Liberian Education System Essential

Liberian Education System
Liberia has a unique connection to the United States. African Americans immigrating from the U.S. to the West African Coast officially founded the nation in 1847. While the country has struggled to achieve prosperity and economic stability for its citizens, the Liberian education system has made considerable recent progress.

Liberia is still recovering from the civil wars that began in 1980 and lasted until 2003. As a result, Liberia ranks near the bottom of the United Nations Development Program Human Development Index at 174th out of 187. Correspondingly, nearly 36 percent of the Liberian population suffers from malnutrition.

During the years of civil car, educational systems were almost nonexistent. This leaves a massive gap in skilled workers entering the job market and by extension, extreme unemployment (close to 80 percent) and poverty. Liberia has a literacy rate of 60.8 percent, and an education system described as “a mess” by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

Not all news about the Liberian education system is bleak, however. In 2011, President Sirleaf signed into law the Education Reform Act, which seeks to decentralize the education system and help create a new educational management structure more locally focused. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has also instituted the Liberia Teacher Training Program to help train, develop and recruit more teachers for the nation.

An additional component of USAID’s work in Liberia is encouraging participation in education by girls and women. The Girls’ Opportunities Access Learning Program hopes to increase school enrollment and retention for girls by identifying key policy issues with Liberia’s Ministry of Education.

According to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Corporal Organization’s Education for All Initiative, at least 15 percent of a nation’s budget should be allocated for education. Currently, Liberia only spends around 3 percent of its national budget on education.  In order to fully jumpstart educational progress in Liberia, there is much more to be done.

– Taylor Diamond

Sources: The Guardian, USAID, WFP, Liberian Education Trust
Photo: International Book Bank

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Poverty and Violence in Honduras

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Birthplace of the term “banana republic” and victim of the brutal fruit companies-led coup, Honduras is among the countries with the lowest incomes in Latin America, poverty is very pronounced problem in this Central American nation. Despite an economic growth of around 3 percent per annum, the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of the country remains stagnant.

This discrepancy could indicate that there is a widening disparity gap.

In fact, since the coup d’état in 2009, Honduras witnesses the most rapid rise in inequality in Latin America, a factor that contributes to prevailing climate of violence. Equally frustrating, the top 10 percent of the population also earns virtually all of the republic’s real income gains.

Furthermore, the 2009 coup d’état had increased the overall rates of poverty and extreme poverty. This climate of political crisis had reverted the economic advances that took place in the country. In addition, the government of President Porfirio Lobo, who came into power after the post-coup elections of 2010, had reduced social spending despite the boost in public spending.

It is estimated that 71 percent of the 8.3 million Hondurans live in poverty, a major problem that contributes to the frequent instances of violence that plague the nation. Because of this astronomic number of people living in poverty, a large sector of Honduras’ population is also deprived of education.

Only a lucky few can afford any education beyond sixth grade.

What’s more, Honduras has the highest rate of homicide in the world, with the average of 20 people murdered daily, 90 percent of whom are male victims. This frightening data stem from the burgeoning narcotic business, which has given rise to many organized crimes. This epidemic problem of homicides also takes away from the country’s meager income by necessitating the Honduran government to spend 10.5 percent of the national GDP in the combat of violence.

Due to Honduras’ constant history of political instability, there has always been very little opportunity for Honduras to develop democratic institutions to impose the rule of law. Instead, centuries of colonialism and decades of dictatorship have marginalized the poor, leaving them with minimal choices to make a living.

This scarcity of upward economic mobility and grinding poverty have driven many towards illicit ways of earning money.

In its attempt to encourage Honduras to alleviate poverty, the World Bank has suggested the country to support the stability and the growth of its macro-economy as well as to improve the quality of its education. But, these key options to improve the situation of the country are easier said (or suggested) than done. Development and democracy are not phenomena whose advent can be brought about at an instant.

Instead, they require years of institutional and systematic reforms for a society to have a functional democracy and a sustainable development.

 – Peewara Sapsuwan

Sources: El Pais Internacional, El Heraldo, El Heraldo, Los Angeles Times, World Bank, World Bank
Photo: Zimbio

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Education in Ethiopia

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In 1999, less than half of the school-aged children in Ethiopia were attending primary school. In 2010, the number increased to 87 percent. As a result, literacy rates have also increased.

How did education in Ethiopia grow so rapidly?

Access to Free Education

Government-led efforts, including building schools in rural areas and abolishing extra fees, have expanded access to free education in Ethiopia. Between 2000 and 2010, the education sector expenditure and aid increased by 25 percent. Participation rates have also increased to 86 percent. The rapid growth in the number of students and schools presents additional challenges including the purchase of academic materials, getting students to the appropriate literacy levels and updating the curriculum.

Local Autonomy

Education in Ethiopia is supported by local leaders and community members. Regional and local leaders have more autonomy over education in their respective areas, creating an environment more conducive to community participation.

The Next Step: Training and Retaining Teachers

Now that Ethiopia has made strides in increasing access to education and involving the community, the country needs to focus on recruiting, training, deploying and retaining qualified teachers. Teachers need to be able to instruct in the mother-language and their training must equip them to meet the needs of students from a diverse range of backgrounds. While incentives can draw teachers to remote and rural areas that have the greatest need, they can also help retain teachers.

Global Education First Education Initiative

In January, Ethiopia joined the UN Secretary General’s Global Education First Education (GEFE) Initiative, which recognizes the prime minister’s commitment to education in Ethiopia. Ethiopia joined the group of Champion Countries, which serve to catalyze political and financial support for education as well as advocate for GEFE. As a Champion Country, Ethiopia will work to rally other countries, particularly in Africa, towards overcoming the challenges created by education expansion.

– Haley Sklut

Sources: All Africa, Global Education First, Voice of America
Photo: Nazret

READ Global Removes ‘Foreign’ from Aid

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The organization READ Global has turned the concept of ‘foreign’ aid on its head. What once began as a rural library outreach program in Nepal has grown into a massive network of educational centers spanning three countries and reaching 2 million rural villagers.

Founded by Dr. Antonia Neubauer in 1991, the Rural Education and Development (READ) organization creates self-sustaining library and resource centers in rural areas owned and operated by the communities they serve.

Foreign aid programs are commonly criticized for being invasive and generally ineffective in the long run. Some of the problems originate from U.S. foreign aid regulations, which stipulate that at least 80% of funds destined for foreign countries must originate from U.S. sources.

A recent example of this restriction occurred after Hurricane Haiyan, when U.S. aid organizers were forced to ship American rice to the Philippines instead of buying it from neighboring countries like Thailand, an arguably cheaper and faster option.

Such actions flood local markets with foreign goods, making it extremely difficult for merchants to rebuild their businesses and creating a cycle of dependence on foreign aid.

The READ Global program aims to change that. Operating out of Nepal, Bhutan and India, the organization has established community centers in rural areas that establish both standard library services as well as life-changing educational classes.

“They provide the literacy classes, they provide the livelihood trainings, like mushroom farming, organic farming [and] we provide basic health training,” states READ Global’s website. “The opportunities are not only for women but children, [the] elderly population.”

The organization focuses on four main areas: education, economic empowerment, technology and women’s empowerment. It selects regions with particularly high rates of illiteracy and poverty and then creates for-profit enterprises that sustain the centers and educate villagers on financial self-sufficiency.

“All of our centers are owned and managed by the local communities,” said Shrestha.  “For example one of the centers…has raised 70,000 USD and that money will go to the sustaining enterprise of that center.”

Since its inception in 1991, READ Global has established 69 centers in the three countries where it operates and hopes to open 30 more in the next five years. Their enterprises include tractor rental businesses, community radio stations and agricultural cooperatives.

“We envision a world where individual family and societies have equitable access to knowledge, information and resources,” Sanjana Shrestha, the READ Nepal Country Director. “We work in Asia to create the vibrant place where community can live and thrive.”

– Emily Bajet

Sources: Christian Science Monitor, READ Global, NPR

Photo: New Global Citizen

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9 Facts About Poverty in the South Pacific

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When economic crises, military conflict and general mayhem plague the continents, few people consider the impact such events may have on the communities located in the South Pacific. Over 10 million people populate the 3,500 islands scattered across the Pacific Ocean, an extremely large number of whom suffer from debilitating disease and poverty.

Save for the extreme natural catastrophes that seem to constantly plague the Philippines, the high rates of poverty, poor education and abysmal health of Pacific islanders fails to gander consistent international attention.

To illustrate the severity of the problem, here are nine facts to learn about poverty in the South Pacific.

1. 38 percent of Papua New Guineans live below the National Basic Needs Poverty Line, which means 2.7 million people are unable to buy sufficient food and meet basic requirements for housing, clothing, transport and school fees. Even more alarmingly, 61 percent of the populace does not have access to safe drinking water.

2. Pacific islands are disproportionately affected by global disasters. A 2012 World Bank study revealed that of the 20 countries in the world with the highest average annual disaster losses scaled by gross domestic product, eight are Pacific island countries: Vanuatu, Niue, Tonga, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Marshall Islands and the Cook Islands.

3. Literacy rates are a persistent concern, especially on the Solomon Islands, where only 65 percent of the adult population (330,000 people) can read.

4. Pacific Islanders may be notorious for their love of canned meats like spam and corned beef, but what is not widely discussed is the debilitating effects such imported goods have on their health. As of 2007, eight of the 10 heaviest countries were located in the South Pacific. Nauru, the world’s smallest republic with just over 9,000 inhabitants, earned the number one spot with over 90 percent of their adult population considered obese.

5. Human rights violations also remain high in the pacific. Amnesty International recently reprimanded Papua New Guinea for burning a woman alive amid allegations of sorcery. Although the 1971 Sorcery Law has been repealed, which criminalized sorcery and could be used as a defense in murder trials, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women in 2012 found that sorcery allegations are often made to mask the abuse of women.

6. Domestic abuse and gendered violence is also a concern but inconsistent reporting makes it difficult to pinpoint exact levels of abuse. In the first National Study on Domestic Violence in Tonga, conducted in 2009, results found that 45 percent of Tongan woman reported having experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse in their lifetime.

7. Pacific Islanders are at high risk for Neglected Tropical Diseases, which commonly affect the world’s poor, women and disabled. Hookworm, leprosy, scabies and Japanese encephalitis are among the most prevalent; these adversely affect worker productivity, pregnancy outcomes and child cognition and development.

8. In 2010, Oceania unemployment rates reached 14 percent, while the United States average in the same period came in at 9 percent.

9. Since the mid 20th century, approximately 9.2 million people in the Pacific region have been affected by extreme events, resulting in 9,811 deaths and $3.2 billion in damages.

Pacific island nations’ small size, limited natural resources and great distances to major markets makes them particularly vulnerable to external crises and thus results in extremely volatile economies. Greater commitment to development initiatives will enable Oceanic nations to handle stresses caused by external forces and eventually strengthen the autonomy of the respective nations.

– Emily Bajet

Sources: University of Hawaii, Asian American For Equality, Oxfam, The World Bank, The World Bank News, Poodwaddle, Australia Network News, Australia Network, The New York Times, PLOS, Samoaobserver, Matangitonga, Labour
Photo: IFAD

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Uruguay Pioneers One Laptop Per Child Project

One Laptop Per Child
Uruguay was the first country in the world to provide a laptop to every primary school student. Plan Ceibal, Uruguay’s national One Laptop Per Child project, provided an XO laptop to each of the 395,000 children in first through sixth grades. The acronym Ceibal stands for Basic Informatic Educative Connectivity for Online Learning (Conectividad Educativa de Informática Básica para el Aprendizaje en Línea).

One Laptop Per Child, a non-profit based in Massachusetts, strives to provide each child in developing nations with a low-cost, low-power laptop. Through this technology, children become more engaged in their education and more connected to one another. The laptops are designed to be highly power efficient, with the ability to use solar power, generators, wind power or water power.

“This is not simply the handing out of laptops or an education program. It is a program which seeks to reduce the gap between the digital world and the world of knowledge,” Miguel Brechner explained, director of the Technological Laboratory of Uruguay and in charge of Plan Ceibal.

In Uruguay, the Plan Ceibal program has a cost of $260 per child, including maintenance costs, equipment repairs, teacher training and internet connection. The total figure represents less than 5 % of the country’s education budget.

The XO laptops, with Linux operating software, can connect directly to one another, meaning that a single point of access can be shared among a community of XO users.

Education in Uruguay is among the best of the Latin American countries. Uruguay has one of the highest adult literacy rates of all of Latin America. Elementary education is mandatory and free; secondary and technical education are also free. As the first country to implement a One Laptop Per Child program, Uruguay is setting the model for other countries, such as Rwanda, Nicaragua, Paraguay and Peru, which have all adapted a One Laptop Per Child program.

– Haley Sklut

Sources: One Laptop Per Child, Sources: BBC
Photo: Kit Guru

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Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa

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As the world’s leading countries and corporations search for new frontiers, all eyes are focused on Africa.  The continent offers many opportunities for economic activity and prosperity.  African nations are seeking to take advantage of their position but face tough obstacles due to an undereducated population.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, 176 million adults are unable to read and write.  47 million youths ages 15-24 are illiterate and 32 million primary aged children are not in school.  In nations like Malawi, one of the world’s poorest nations, where 45 percent of the population is under 14 years old, it is imperative to produce future generations of educated citizens capable of lifting the nation out of poverty.

Malawi is a land locked nation and is home to approximately 17 million people.  The country does not have many natural resources such as oil like its neighboring countries.  The economy is based on agriculture, mainly, the export of tobacco and is supported through financial aid by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

In order to turn the tide and help the people of Malawi, Xanthe Ackerman founded Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa, or AGE Africa.

AGE Africa seeks to transform the lives of millions of young girls by providing them with opportunities to become educated leaders.  Beginning with Malawi, the organization’s vision is to ensure all girls in Africa have equal access to secondary education and that they be able to leverage their education into economic opportunities.

Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa seeks to create informed citizens capable of making their own life choices.

The Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa organization has a multidimensional approach to achieving their stated goals.  The first begins with comprehensive scholarships that allow girls to not only attend schools but also complete their education.  Scholarships go towards providing for tuition and school related expenses.

The second approach deals with extracurricular programs that promote life skills, leadership development, self-advocacy and career guidance.  The final piece of the program, post-secondary transitions, ensures that the girls have the necessary information, resources, and support to apply for educational and economic opportunities beyond high school.

AGE Africa’s impact on the girls of Malawi is extraordinary.

By age 20, just 17 percent of Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa participants are mothers compared to 65 percent of 20-year old women in Malawi.  About 88 percent of AGE Africa students finish all four years of secondary school, compared to just 8 percent nationwide.

Among these students, 74 percent are now pursuing higher education, have wage-based employment or engage in economic activity that provides income above the poverty threshold.

The tremendous success of Advancing Girls’ Education in Africa within the country of Malawi is beacon of hope for the nation and a promising sign of the future for other girls throughout the continent.

– Sunny Bhatt

Sources: AGE Africa, AGE Africa, AGE Africa, FAO
Photo: Development Diaries