Archive for category: Education

Information and stories on education.

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USAID Programs in Kosovo

USAID Programs in KosovoKosovo, officially known as the Republic of Kosovo, is a small country situated in the middle of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. Since Kosovo’s independence from Serbia in 2008, the United States has maintained a close relationship with the relatively young country, providing everything from military aid to economic assistance and COVID-19 relief. The U.S.’s main foreign aid avenue, USAID, has played a vital role in this relationship between the two countries and their joint mission of reform, modernization and transition. With roughly 23% of Kosovo’s population living in poverty and an estimated unemployment rate of 26% as of 2021, pursuing such endeavors to support goals like self-sustainability, job creation and economic prosperity are crucial to the country’s development. There are several notable USAID programs in Kosovo currently underway.

2022 Development Funding and COVID-19 Relief

In March 2022, the United States announced $31.9 million in assistance to Kosovo. Per a USAID press release, the funding will work to “[promote] Kosovo-led development solutions to economic and democratic challenges.” This aligns with USAID’s goal of Kosovan self-reliance outlined in the USAID-Kosovo Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) — a plan which acts as a developmental roadmap for the country through 2025.

Earlier, in January 2022, the U.S. announced $3 million in additional COVID-19 assistance for Kosovo, building on the $5.1 million in aid given over the course of the pandemic. Along with this financial aid, USAID has also worked to deliver personal hygiene kits, ventilators, testing equipment and nearly 538,200 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Kosovo. As of 23 June 2022, Kosovo has had a total of 228,563 COVID-19 cases resulting in 3,130 deaths.

Energy Sustainability Activity

Launched in February 2021 and expected to run through February 2026, the USAID Energy Sustainability Activity aims to enhance Kosovo’s energy security by building “sustainable power networks,” increasing energy capacity for local institutions and accelerating investment in Kosovan renewable energy infrastructure.

“The next five years for Kosovo are critical for establishing a robust, reliable and regionally integrated power system in line with Energy Community (EnC) standards — an integral part of bolstering the country’s economic growth and increasing opportunities for its citizens,” a USAID fact sheet explains.

As one of the most impoverished countries in Europe, with a per capita GDP of $4,291 as of December 2020, building a sustainable, reliable energy infrastructure is absolutely crucial for Kosovo as the country’s ongoing energy crisis acts as a direct obstacle to its economic development. “Without reliable, affordable electricity, Kosovo’s businesses cannot invest, operate and create jobs; hospitals and schools cannot function fully or safely with frequent power cuts… Basic services that people in developed countries take for granted cannot be offered.” says the World Bank.

Commercial Justice Activity

Operating as a larger program containing a plethora of smaller programs, the Commercial Justice Activity is an initiative by USAID and various Kosovan judicial institutions to work on judicial reforms that have the potential to promote “investment, economic growth and job creation” in Kosovo.

This program has already made a positive impact on the Kosovan justice system. The Kosovan government adopted a draft Law on Commercial Court in August 2021, which proposed the establishment of a standalone court for business and investment disputes in order to streamline commercial justice. Kosovo’s Assembly unanimously passed the law in February 2022.

Other aspects of this program include improved training for judges and court staff as well as initiatives to increase court accountability and efficiency.

Kosovo Youth Dialogue

USAID established the Kosovo Youth Dialogue in August 2021 for the primary purpose of empowering and educating the Kosovan youth population. The ongoing 30-month project works to encourage dialogue and education among the youth population regarding the country’s past and the various ethnic groups belonging to the region.

Specifically, the program aims to “[empower] young people to actively participate in the dealing with the past and reconciliation process in Kosovo by encouraging inter-ethnic communication, interaction and cooperation, addressing common interests, building confidence and promoting mutual understanding and positive attitudes.” The program includes youth exchange programs, grants, educational programs and partnerships with various Kosovan non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

The Future

As one of the most impoverished countries in Europe, and considering its lack of recognition as a sovereign state by many, Kosovo has a long road ahead in achieving its sought-after self-sustainability. However, with its continued steadfast focus on policy reform, modernization and stability, the nation’s future is certainly bright.

With the work of these USAID programs in Kosovo and that of other like-minded organizations such as UNICEF, the World Bank and the European Commission, Kosovo can take much greater steps toward achieving its desired future of sustainability and improving the social and economic well-being of citizens.

– Riley Wooldridge
Photo: Pixabay

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Higher Education in China

Higher Education in China
On May 27, 2021, an intense debate on the distribution of educational resources and inequality in the accessibility of higher education in China took over China’s social media platforms. A young woman who graduated from the Affiliated High School of Peking University, one of the most advanced and highly ranked high schools in China’s political center, Beijing, posted a video that sparked this debate.

A Viral Video Highlights Inequality

The video showcases the daily routine of the female student studying in the Affiliated High School of Peking University, including creative and engaging syllabuses and various afterschool activities. The video highlighted “the unequal distribution of educational resources in China,” and combined with the fact that the students from this high school usually obtain access to good quality higher education after graduating, had triggered many negative responses and social discontent from people living in other regions of China.

The fact that Beijing students can get placements at universities much more easily than the majority of other Chinese people is unacceptable to many. The higher education priority enjoyed by first-tier Chinese cities reveals the deeper societal inequalities that China, at large, grapples with.

3 Facts About Higher Education in China

  1. Most Chinese universities allocate their undergraduate places by region and usually assign a significantly higher quota to their own region and do not take into account different provincial population densities. In 2016, Peking University, located in Beijing, gave 22 places to Beijing students in the digital information department, but only two places to Tianjin students and three places to Henan students for the same course. It is worth noting that Henan province has a population of about 99.4 million in comparison to Beijing, which has about 21.5 million, and Tianjin, which has about 15.6 million.
  2. There is a considerable quantity and quality difference in higher education in China between different cities and provinces. Qinghai, a remote province in China, had only 12 colleges and universities in 2021. In contrast, Beijing had 92 in the same year. Since the mid-1990s, China has developed “the “211” project and the more recent “985” project for transforming universities. The “985” project aimed to establish “world-class universities in the 21st century.” The “211” project aimed to strengthen higher education institutions in the 21st century. However, 12 out of 29 of the “985” universities and 36 out of 116 of the “211” universities are located in Beijing and Shanghai, the two most developed cities in China.
  3. In China, students in different regions write different papers in the National College Entrance Examinations and the difficulty of those papers is not the same. In fact, Beijing’s entrance exam is one of the easiest and Jiangsu Province has the most difficult exam.

All the facts above represent visible inequalities in access to higher education in China. Students in first-tier cities, such as Shanghai and Beijing, certainly enjoy easier access and better quality of higher education than students in other regions. Additionally, high school students from these areas receive the highest quality of secondary education as well.

High school life in China varies tremendously. When most high school students in Beijing could enjoy extra-curricular activities alongside their hard work, a six-episode documentary released in 2015 called “Gao Kao (The College Entrance Exam)” revealed the tough academic work and tension and fatigue of students living in relatively remote areas. These less privileged students may spend all their free time studying but still may not get access to the same higher education institutions as students in big cities.

Solutions to Higher Education Inequalities

Due to the widespread realization of inequality in accessing higher education in China, the Chinese government has proposed multiple solutions.

China has launched a special program for colleges and universities to provide opportunities for intelligent students in rural areas to access top universities more easily. The policies included an independent registration path for those outstanding rural students and lower grade requirements, aiming to help large numbers of students living in remote areas attain access to quality higher education.

According to China’s Ministry of Education (MOE), “Full implementation of reforms in higher education examinations and enrollment systems have led to greater equity in China’s college admission processes with more reasonable procedures which prioritize student merits more than ever.” In 2017, 30 provinces in China implemented preferential policies for students from rural migrant families to write the National College Entrance Examinations in the areas they reside in, leading to a 25% increase in the application rate in comparison to 2016. The MOE says that, due to “targeted national, local and higher education institution (HEI) programs, a total of 100,000 rural and underprivileged students were admitted to HEIs” in 2017, up 9.3% from 2016.

Although inequalities in the Chinese education system are deeply rooted, increased equity policies and the continued commitment of the Chinese government can improve access to quality higher education in China for all, especially students in smaller cities outside of Beijing and Shanghai.

– Ella Li
Photo: Flickr

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Child Poverty in Iran

Child Poverty in IranChild poverty in Iran runs rampant among young residents. In 2020, 50% of Iran’s population lived under the poverty line. The effects of poverty on children are dire and 9 million Iranian families currently struggle amid poverty, but organizations are stepping in to assist.

Contributors to Child Poverty in Iran

Families cannot earn enough money because of gender discrimination, unemployment and other factors. Only men can work well-paying jobs because of the large pay gap. In 2021, the Global Gender Report stated that women earn 19% of the wages a man earns for the same job.

With the significant differences in pay between men and women, women are often unable to help support their families. Additionally, the unemployment rate among men and women is very high. According to the World Bank, the unemployment rate for women was 16.1% and for men was 7.8%.

Along with the unemployment rate and gender discrimination, the cost of basic needs is high, so the majority of families’ wages go toward securing this. In Iran, high inflation rates directly impact the cost of food and groceries, making it difficult to afford basic essentials. In 2019, 33% of underprivileged communities’ income was allocated for food.

Poverty forces many children to make money for their families, but their wages are unlivable. Garbage collecting, run by the municipality contractors, is one of the main jobs children work to earn a living. In 2020, however, children made only 6% of the profits of garbage collectors. Of the children in the workforce, 60% are their families’ only source of income. Working to support their families has an impact on a child’s education. In 2017, “37% of Iranian students drop out before getting their diplomas.”

Impact on Iranian Children

The vast number of contributors to child poverty in Iran has destroyed the quality of life for children.

Food is all too often a scarcity among these children. They are unable to eat the minimum caloric intake, and numbers have only increased since the pandemic. According to the Global Hunger Index, in 2020, one out of three children were undernourished which can leave to a multitude of health complications, including children’s growth stunting.

Child marriage and trafficking are common in Iranian society. For little money, families sell their children, mostly girls, into marriage. In the summer of 2020, according to the Statistic Center of Iran, 9,058 girls were married before the age of 15. In some cases, child spouses run away from home or attempt suicide because of their treatment during their marriage.

Hope for the Future

The government and other organizations are working to stop child poverty in Iran. In 2020, the Guardian Council, the body in charge of approving legislation passed by the Parliament, approved a Child and Adolescent Protection Bill. The bill was later passed, inflicting penalties on people who prevent children from attending school or putting children in unsafe environments With this law, children in Iran are protected from various circumstances that could potentially be a danger to them and instead, can go to school to get an education

Organizations like Relief International work globally to dissolve poverty. Relief International was established in 1958 with its work in Iran beginning in 1990 after a large-scale earthquake in the country. Currently, Relief International works primarily to aid Afghan refugees in Iran while also mobilizing resources if a countrywide emergency occurs.

Recently, in 2021, because of Relief International, 22,000 people were taught hygienic practices, 3,500 families received cash support and thousands more received health care, education and other services. This is just one of the many organizations and institutions working to end poverty in Iran by providing support to those who reside there.

According to UNICEF, as of 2020, the mortality rate for Iranian children under 5 is 12.9%. Iranian children face increased risks of death due to a lack of food and basic needs. However, the Iranian government and other organizations are working to put an end to poverty.

– Janae O’Connell
Photo: Flickr

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Rebuilding of Higher Education in Afghanistan 

Higher Education in Afghanistan
The health of higher education in Afghanistan is a product of invasion and civil war. The tumultuous nature of Afghanistan’s history has left obstacles in the path of educational institutions. This takes the form of many hindrances, such as the country’s current political stability or the ruling leader’s tendency for tradition. In the absence of education, economic instability and a lower standard of living may follow.

Turbulent Establishment

The establishment of formal modern education in Afghanistan didn’t exist until 1875. However, it was not until 1919 that the number of established institutions exceeded four. In 1929, during his nine-month rule, Habibullah Kalakany closed girls’ schools and stopped female students who went abroad from continuing their studies. Shortly after, Zahir Shah allowed girls once more the freedom of education. He also established the first small sign of higher education in Afghanistan, the Kabul Medical Faculty in 1932.

In the 1960s and ‘70s, Afghanistan’s educated class grew the strongest. However, the Soviet invasion in 1979 devastated the infrastructure of higher education in Afghanistan. An entire generation of the educated class disappeared, either killed or escaped. The Taliban occupation of Afghanistan further hindered the integrity of higher education. These disastrous conflicts rendered Afghanistan one of the most impoverished in the world.

Brain Drain

“Brain Drain” is a dire issue for the infrastructure and further human development of Afghanistan. This occurs when young Afghans receive degrees from institutes of higher learning and prefer job opportunities or the standard of living outside of their home country. Generally, when facing a crisis, the number of educated emigrants produced by a country will be higher than the number of educated citizens in that country.

The effects of brain drain directly impede further infrastructure development in Afghanistan, continually reducing the country to a state of stagnant reconstruction. The country’s condition of low development poses a threat to the advancement of higher education. According to a study by David J. Roof, in 2014, the higher education enrollment ratio in Afghanistan was around 5%, among the lowest in the world.

The World Bank suggests that Afghanistan could follow the strategies of other developing countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka in order to reduce the brain drain. This includes offering tenure tracks to young academics or encouraging studying abroad.

The Taliban’s Effects on Women’s Education

Many commonly think that in repressive regimes, the educated will bring the most opposition. The Taliban’s recapture of Kabul in 2021 initiated one of the world’s most critical humanitarian crises, leaving millions of Afghans starving and unable to collect salaries. However, young academics, specifically women, are being further barred from receiving higher education due to new Taliban decrees, which also restrict women’s freedom to work or leave the house.

In September 2021, the Taliban regime allowed women to continue studying in gender-segregated universities under strict dress codes. However, in March 2022, it banned the opening of schools for girls and women past the sixth grade.

This decision could divert international donations and deepen the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Foreign Aid

According to the U.N. Human Development Report, in 2020 Afghanistan ranked 169th of 189 countries based on the Human Development Index. An increase in foreign aid or grants focused on bolstering higher education would greatly benefit the country economically and politically by creating and filling jobs as well as providing a future for a more stable government.

In June 2021, the World Bank approved an $18 million grant to Afghanistan through the Higher Education Acceleration Transformation Project to bolster the infrastructure, quality and accessibility of higher education. A majority of this grant will help develop educational facilities, support teachers and improve curriculum and textbooks.

An additional goal of this grant is to empower women in higher education to pursue leadership positions, as only 30% of students of higher education in Afghanistan are women.

Due to gender disparities in higher education within Afghanistan, advocacy has mostly focused on increasing the accessibility of education to female students. The World Bank grant is a large step forward in opening up opportunities for Afghan women.

USAID has also drastically aided in the development of higher education in Afghanistan, focusing on matching universities and the labor market to cultivate 31 new degree programs for undergraduate and graduate students. In addition, the USAID PROMOTE scholarship will award up to 900 Afghan women the opportunity to seek both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees to diversify academia in Afghanistan.

Higher education in Afghanistan is unfortunately a framework of feeble institutions that heavily rely on foreign aid. Foreign aid has become the most important factor in the development of education infrastructure in Afghanistan, and actions by the World Bank and USAID have alleviated some of the negative effects of brain drain and gender inequality.

– Caroline Zientek
Photo: Flickr

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Battling Disability and Poverty in the UK

Disability and Poverty in the U.K.
Like in so many other countries, disability and poverty in the U.K. are rampant. However, people often overlook the disabled in the U.K. because it is not a developing country. In the U.K., 14.6 million people are disabled and face prejudice because of their disabilities.

The Equality Act of 2010

The Equality Act of 2010 includes rights for those with disabilities. It defines disability as one having “a physical and mental impairment for a substantial and long-term negative effect on one’s ability to perform daily activities.”

Rights under the Equality Act include protection from prejudice and discrimination based on one’s disability. People with disabilities often experience discrimination in education and in the workplace.

Disability and Education

Of the 14.6 million people battling disability and poverty in the U.K., 9% are children, according to Scope. Children with disabilities are more likely to experience bullying and exclusion from the education system.

As of 2021, of the people with a disability in the U.K., “24.9% had a degree or equivalent as their highest education.” Comparatively, 42.7% of the non-disabled people had a degree. Disabled people are almost three times more likely to not have a degree at all.

Disability and Employment

Because they are less likely to receive an educational degree, disabled people in the U.K. are “less likely to be in employment than non-disabled people.” The employment rate for disabled people in the U.K. is 53%, while the employment rate for non-disabled people is 82%, according to Scope. The employment gap between disabled and non-disabled people is 29%.

Because the employment rate is comparatively lower for disabled people than non-disabled people, poverty for the disabled is likely. In 2014, 18.4% of the disabled people within the working age, 16-64, experienced food poverty. Meanwhile, disabled people above the age of 65 are twice as likely to experience food poverty, according to the Equality and Human Rights Commission report.

The Disability Resource Centre

The Disability Resource Centre (DRC) is a nonprofit organization that helps battle poverty in the U.K. by empowering disabled people. In 1992, the Birmingham Disability Rights Group established DRC, and now, it advocates to improve the lives of disabled people across the U.K.

It is a disabled-led organization that offers a variety of services including advocacy, life skills development, employment and training opportunities, among many other services. Its mission is to give disabled people an opportunity to live out their full potential in society.

In 2019/2020, DRC served more than 3,600 people with 3,000 more people using its e-learning portal. Additionally, during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, DRC conducted 366 outreach activities to empower disabled people across the U.K.

Although disability and poverty in the U.K. are growing problems, organizations like the Disability Resource Centre are giving disabled people a voice and an opportunity to thrive in a hostile society.

– Chris Karenbauer
Photo: Flickr

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Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the Philippines

Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the PhilippinesThe Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the Philippines, known as the 4Ps, is a conditional cash transfer program developed by the World Bank and the government of the Philippines in 2007. The 4P’s main objective is to provide financial assistance to the impoverished to “improve the health, nutrition and the education of children aged 0-18.” Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the poverty rate in the Philippines rose to 23.7% in the first six months of 2021, meaning at least 3.9 million Filipinos endured poverty. To combat the high poverty rate and a lack of social safety net, the 4Ps program helps impoverished households to break cycles of poverty.

Beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program

The program specifies certain criteria for eligibility. The beneficiaries must live in the poorest municipalities, in accordance with the 2003 Small Area Estimates of the National Statistical Coordination Board. In addition, a household must be living at or below the “provincial poverty threshold.” The household must also have children between the ages of 0 and 18 years old. Households with pregnant women are also eligible. In 2022, the 4Ps program assists “more than 800,000 families classified as poor and near-poor based on the Standardized Targeting System and the poverty threshold issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority.” Since 2008, the 4Ps program has served more than 5 million impoverished households.

The beneficiaries are able to receive two types of grants, including a health grant of ₱500 per household per month and an education grant of  ₱300 per child per month for 10 months. Mikee Romero, one of the writers of the law institutionalizing 4Ps, told the Philippines News Agency in September 2020 that the program’s ₱169.3 billion budget for 2021 “also includes  ₱41 billion “for social protection programs like medical, transportation and burial assistance” and ₱4.3 billion “for disaster response, such as the provision of relief goods.”

Effectiveness of 4Ps

The implementation of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the Philippines has increased the utilization of health and education services. Children face lower risks of enduring poverty in adulthood as the program aims to break intergenerational cycles of poverty through the provision of resources and services necessary for growth and development.

The 4Ps program has helped to increase school attendance rates as it offers financial assistance for education and has a strict rule of “85% attendance a month” for child beneficiaries of the program.

A Herald Express article published in August 2018 says, “The 4Ps program has smoothly bridged the gap from poverty to an improved living condition among its beneficiaries.” The article also highlights that the 4Ps “changed the behavior of learners and their attitude toward learning” and helped improve the academic performance of generally low-performing learners.

In addition, 4Ps offers educational seminars with topics ranging from financial management to the importance of women in society and works with Sustainable Livelihoods Programs (SLP) to help families develop income-generating activities to build a better future.  The 4Ps program strengthens labor skills and opens up economic opportunities for the impoverished in the Philippines. The program provides microfinance services and training to those who engage in the SLP. Through skill training, beneficiaries are more likely to increase productivity and rise out of poverty.

A Look Ahead

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program in the Philippines helps break the poverty cycle. The program also increases the ability of households to provide for their children and family needs. Overall, the 4Ps model looks to improve quality of life by providing the impoverished with the resources, services and skills to thrive.

– Jiaying Guo
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

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Mobile Preschools in Uzbekistan

Mobile Preschool in Uzbekistan
On February 18, 2020, the population of Uzbekistan topped 34 million people. Uzbekistan ranks 42nd on the list of countries and dependency based on population. Reports stated that both sexes of children in Uzbekistan were among school children not attending school in 2019. Mobile preschools in Uzbekistan could help solve this issue.

Enrollment Numbers

Physical, linguistic, cognitive and socioemotional development in early childhood from 0 to 6 years old is a pivotal period. What children learn in these years shapes and defines their futures. There are 2,450,000 children in Uzbekistan and only 818,000 receive preschool education. In 2012, the preschool enrollment rate was 23.3% and lowest globally. By 2013, only 5% of households’ children in the country attended preschool. School enrollment has decreased by more than 50% over the last few decades. According to UNICEF, 175 million children worldwide did not attend pre-primary education as of 2019. Meanwhile, four out of five kids do not enroll in school in low-income areas in developing countries. In a child’s life, education is essential to their future and at an early age. If the children do not have that, it can have a devastating effect on the rest of their lives.

The Program

Mobile preschools in Uzbekistan accept children from ages 3 to 7 so that they can obtain preschool education no matter their living situation. Children who live in the villages now have the same opportunities as those who reside in the cities. Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting on November 7, 2017, to expand the public education system. The program started in 2017 and the enrollment has jumped from 27% to 67%.

Just five years ago, one in four kids in low-income areas had no access to schools and other children had to walk long ways to reach them. Many schools faced a shutdown due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, while others faced privatization. The government concluded that providing school buses to schools could give out access instantly. Uzbekistan created mobile schools for areas where it is inappropriate to develop schools and where preschools are not available.

Every morning in the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan, school buses head up to the parks of remote areas to bring the school to the children instead of taking children to school. The school buses provide small restrooms and solar panels to keep running every day. Partnered through a grant with Global Partnership Education worth $49.9 million and administrated by the World Bank, the project is improving.

Looking Ahead

Mobile preschools in Uzbekistan have helped low-income areas since 2017 and have no plans of stopping. The preschools have helped many children in rural areas go to school where children otherwise could not access it. Altogether, 65 buses serve 16 kids at a time that can attend three hours of play-based learning. The next day, the buses go to a different area in the community for preschoolers who attend every other day. Other countries can also utilize mobile preschools in order to improve education in remote areas.

– Alexis King
Photo: GetArchive

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Brazilian National School Feeding Program Brings Aid

Brazilian National School Feeding Program
The world wastes about 1.3 billion tons of food fit for human consumption, according to a 2020 World Food Programme (WFP) article. Meanwhile, many global citizens, young and old, struggle to secure enough food to sustain themselves on a daily basis. This is a difficult and localized reality prevalent in many communities throughout Brazil. The Brazilian government implements the Brazilian National School Feeding Program to address hunger among schoolchildren.

Food Waste and School Closures

A 2020 article from the WFP USA explains that society perpetuates food waste in one of two ways. Either excess eatables are disposed of at businesses like hotels and restaurants (typical of high-income countries) or farm-grown produce is otherwise ruined in the process of taking it from field to plate (more common in low-income countries). In Brazil, both of these situations are commonplace.

Providing food to children, in particular, is a task that fell by the wayside in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, 15% of Brazilian households endured hunger. School closures due to the pandemic cut off Brazilian children’s access to meals provided by school feeding programs. In 2021, The New York Times reported that “Children, many of whom have been out of school for over a year, beg for food outside supermarkets and restaurants” in Brazil. These circumstances highlight the critical role of school feeding programs in poverty-stricken nations.

The Brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE)

For several decades, the Brazilian government and related organizations have strategically worked to improve meals for schoolchildren. While, initially, this entailed offering enough food to keep students coming to school, it now focuses on an equally important facet of diet — nutrition.

In 1954, with the goal of feeding students in Brazil, Brazil established the Brazilian National School Feeding Program (PNAE). The program, which remains active and important to the Brazilian education system to this day, supports 40 million students or more. It supplies meals on a daily basis to these students, now drawing on the expertise of more than 8,000 nutritionists for better dietary protocol.

Including More Vegetables and Using Local Resources

In modern-day Brazil, the law mandates that a minimum of 30% of the eatables in school feeding programs must come from small-scale farmers. It is also preferred that feeding programs acquire such produce from local businesses rather than acquiring produce from more distant sources. The meals within these programs are based on menus designed by nutritionists to ensure necessary developmental nutrition and efficient use of local food sources.

Observances such as these are part of a movement within the program in more recent years attempting to curb health complications in juveniles. In the early 2000s, obesity became one of the main pitfalls associated with Brazil’s Zero Hunger Program, an endeavor that the PNAE became part of in 2003. In 2016, a third of Brazilian children between 5 and 9 fell in the overweight category of body mass.

Since then, the PNAE has adjusted its feeding strategy to address this dilemma. The PNAE now gives precedence to fresh fruit and vegetables, rather than foods high in sugar. Overall, the PNAE places an emphasis on nutrition rather than just the sheer quantity of food offered to schoolchildren.

Digital Engagement for the PNAE Community

In addition to making better nutrition decisions while feeding students in Brazil, the PNAE has also put time and effort into providing a means for digital community engagement. The ePNAE app helps teachers, nutritionists, parents of students and the children themselves to look at menu options throughout the country.

This social app, according to the Government of Brazil, “allows you to monitor the data on the transfer of funds to each school and assess the quality of school meals in your region.” The mainstream application, available through the Play Store and App Store, also offers a number of “healthy eating tips.” In this way, the ePNAE app itself helps educate parents and students on the importance of nutrition.

The PNAE, as one of the largest school feeding programs globally, successfully improved its strategy for feeding students in Brazil. Inspired by the PNAE’s successes, other nations looking to promote similar programs study and implement its modus operandi.

– John Tuttle
Photo: Flickr

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How the Batonga Foundation is Empowering Women

Empowering Women
Angélique Kidjo is an African singer. She was born on July 14, 1960, in the city of Ouidah, in what is now Benin. Kidjo sings in many different music styles (Afropop, jazz, gospel, Latin, etc.) and languages, as she is fluent in five. She has received many musical accolades, including four Grammy awards. Kidjo began her activist career in 2002 when she became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She founded the Batonga Foundation in 2006, which focuses on empowering women in Benin and surrounding countries.

Women’s Education and Rights in Benin

Benin is a francophone country located in West Africa. The country gained independence from France in 1975, when its name changed from Dahomey to the People’s Republic of Benin. As of 2020, Benin had a population of approximately 12 million. Beninese people speak an estimated 68 languages with the most common ones being French, Fon, Yom and Yoruba.

Benin’s economy relies mainly on agriculture and trade with Nigeria. It grew by approximately 6.6% in 2021 according to the World Bank. In 2019, Benin’s poverty rate was 38.5%, an 11% drop from 2015.

Beninese women meet obstacles including poverty, familial expectations and forced marriages early in their life stopping them from progressing educationally. Kidjo’s Batonga Foundation highlights that uneducated young women end up married before turning 18. Although the literacy rate among Beninese youth has risen in recent years, in 2018 among individuals ages 15 to 24, males had a 69.76% literacy rate and females had a 51.94% rate. Additionally, young women have often been pushed away from education due to long, inflexible hours unrelenting to girls expected to do housework often. Teachers are mainly male and perpetuate gender stereotypes in their classrooms.

Batonga Foundation

Kidjo founded the Batonga Foundation in 2006, alongside Mary Louise Cohen and John Philips, with the aim of empowering young African women. The foundation is named after her 1991 song, “Batonga.” Kidjo has always been an avid gender equality advocate and recognized the potential of her continent. Growing up, she saw her peers not pursue higher education and work low-income jobs, which is one of several factors that inspired Kidjo to found the project.

Kidjo’s Batonga Foundation primarily supports and invests in secondary and higher education for girls in Benin in multiple ways. Some examples are granting scholarships, building secondary schools and providing mentoring programs.

Among the Batonga Foundation’s goals is empowering young women economically. Young Women Business Circles connect female entrepreneurs ages 18 to 30 with access to a trained business expert, a mentor and 20 to 25 peers. The women receive business and financial literacy help and small business seed funding.

Additionally, the Batonga Foundation hosts 126 Leadership Clubs. The clubs are safe spaces for adolescent girls to meet with peers and gain access to an older female mentor. Mentors at these clubs teach the girls about reproductive health, financial literacy, economic independence and leadership.

Batonga Foundation Accomplishments

In the 16 years and counting that the Batonga Foundation has been in action, it has achieved a significant amount.

Kidjo’s foundation has supported more than 3,000 young women and girls, reaching 15 rural communities. There are 50 Young Women Leadership Clubs, 55 Batonga mentors and 126 Leadership Clubs. Through her hard work in activism and frequent trips to Africa, Kidjo has supported thousands of young women on the path to independence and success.

– Sophie Buibas
Photo: Flickr

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Higher Education in Zimbabwe

Higher Education in Zimbabwe
In 2020, the population in Zimbabwe numbered 14.9 million people. According to education statistics from 2018, 50,699 female students and 43,432 male students enrolled in higher education in Zimbabwe. More female students enroll overall, particularly in universities specializing in the arts, education and social studies. However, male students do outnumber female students in universities that offer exceptional training in science and technology.

Building National Education Reform

Higher education in Zimbabwe plays a significant role in the social, economic and political context of the country. Citizens have long since demanded public-private cooperation from their government in providing higher education. In 1980, Zimbabwe’s new self-government declared national education reform. Since then, the government’s focus has been to provide free and equal education and educational resources. As a result, the number of students in secondary education increases exponentially each following year. The increased number of students attending higher education in Zimbabwe also heightened the need for more teachers. Now, Zimbabwe is home to numerous universities. Of these, the top two are the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and the National University of Science and Technology (NUST).

Top Universities

The University of Zimbabwe is the oldest university in the country, offering diplomas and certificates in various studies. Located in Harare, it has awarded degrees to more than 75,000 graduates since 1955. Since the foundation stone was first laid on Mount Pleasant and donated land launched the building of the college farm, UZ ranked as an independent institution of higher education and research. Many industries seek out UZ graduates including commerce, government, engineering, veterinary science and more.

The National University of Science and Technology is the second oldest and largest university in Zimbabwe, following UZ. In 1991, the higher education school was a nonprofit public school located in Bulawayo with an enrollment of 270 full-time students. Now sporting some 9,000 students, it offers programs that lead to recognized higher degrees such as bachelor’s, master and doctorate degrees in many areas of study. Specifically, NUST offers specialization in the tools for teaching, research and navigating the industries of sciences and technology.

COVID-19, Education and WhatsApp

Although higher education in Zimbabwe has advanced tremendously over the years, COVID-19 slowed the process down. To save the school year, teachers at a university in Zimbabwe had to come up with a solution to be still able to teach their students. That solution was through WhatsApp. Students use WhatsApp to communicate with their teachers effectively and see lectures during these unexpected times. WhatsApp is a simple solution that was easy to connect the students with and did not hurt anyone financially. WhatsApp has now been an adaption to the postgraduate program.

A Shining Example

Though it has not been easy, Zimbabwe’s path to higher education serves as an inspirational example for nations worldwide. From working towards universal primary education in the 1980s to turning out top university graduates in the 2020s, Zimbabwe serves its population well by offering clear paths to higher education.

– Alexis King
Photo: Wikimedia Commons