Posts

, , ,

Girls’ Access to Education in Turkey Still Needs Improvement

girls' access to education in TurkeyTurkey has long boasted a prominent geographic position between Europe and Asia. It has been an important site for the exchange of goods and ideas for centuries. Its long history along major trade routes has created a unique culture that values expression and religion. Education has long suffered in this region but recent efforts have proven valuable in improving access to education, specifically girls’ access to education in Turkey. In order to understand how the country is handling inequalities, it is important to evaluate its education system as a whole.

The Turkish Education System

Turkey’s education system is monitored and regulated by the state. Its structure is very similar to the United State’s system, with an optional preschool enrollment before primary school (lasting four years), then a middle school level (another four years). The secondary portion of the education system has not always been mandatory, but since 2012, students have been required to complete schooling up through grade 12.

The overwhelmingly young population of the country continues to put pressure on education systems. One of the primary pressures facing the system is seeking out equal opportunities for Turkish students. Primary education and secondary education are the foundation for opportunity. With increases in access to education, students are graduating from the primary and secondary school systems and increasingly seeking higher education both at home and abroad.

Turkey is home to 166 universities and this number could be growing. Turkish universities have been enrolling refugees as well as attracting international students from countries in Europe and the Middle East.  There is an active effort to recruit international students to engage with the Turkish higher education system. Students have also been outgoing, seeking opportunities in the U.S., Germany and Canada. As Turkey has a relatively high unemployment rate for university graduates, foreign markets become increasingly appealing for ambitious students.

How Opportunity is Still Lacking

At the start of the twenty-first century, Turkey addressed its weaknesses with education through the Basic Education Programme. This encouraged enrollment and made at least eight years of education mandatory, which has since been increased to 12. Girls’ access to education benefitted the most from this strong regulation and standardization from the state. Enrollment rates increased and literacy improved, thus gender gaps in access to education are diminishing significantly.

The rural-urban divide tends to be a strong indicator of access to education. The Southeast portion of the country experiences a rate of illiteracy over 30 percent. The Ministry of Education (MONE) recognizes these disadvantages for rural and impoverished youth and has created programs and channels through which to increase access to education for disadvantaged youths.

Addressing Girls’ Access to Education in Turkey

One of MONE’s programs is the creation of 13 boarding schools, 11 of which were designed for young girls. By increasing access to school supplies, food, safe transportation and technology, MONE has assisted in narrowing the gap between urban and rural access.

Another organization addressing girls’ access to education in Turkey is Hey Girls, Let’s Go To School, a grassroots campaign powered by volunteers working in rural areas going door-to-door lobbying families on behalf of young women’s education. These volunteers talk with skeptical family members and are effective in addressing cultural concerns that weigh on the hearts and minds of the girls’ caretakers. Since the start of the program in 2003, the group has been successful in enrolling 20,000 young girls in the education system.

Girls of Hope is a documentary that highlights the challenges of girls’ access to education in Turkey. The lack of adequate resources and safe venues for education are one of the obstacles addressed in the film. Cultural standards and practices are further challenges for girls that most often prevent them from accessing education.

Turkey is aware of the shortcomings of its education system and has taken meaningful steps to improve access for all. Organizations focused on girls’ access to education in Turkey have helped the country progress and will continue to narrow the education gap between young boys and girls in the country.

– Madison Shea Lamanna
Photo: Google

, , , ,

Kenya’s Female Literacy Rate Continues to Improve

Female Literacy Rate
In September 2017, a BBC News correspondent reported a 60-year old woman from East Africa, Florence Cheptoo, learning to read for the first time. This feat is surprisingly uncommon for Cheptoo’s demographic in Kenya.

Although Kenya is one of the “best-educated low-income countries in sub-Saharan Africa,” the literacy rate among females, particularly the elderly, are lower than males. According to Global Ageing Campaign, “literacy rates among older people – especially older women – remain low and are often lower than for the population as a whole.”

The literacy rates among women have increased exponentially within the last 30 years, since the National Literacy Campaign launched in Kenya in 1979. During this time, according to a study from the International Review of Education, around 35 percent of males 15 and older and 70 percent of females in the same age group were illiterate. Furthermore, 93 percent of women over the age of 55 could not read.

In 1993, women comprised 70 percent of those enrolled in the adult literacy programs in Kenya, due to a lack of available educational opportunities for girls. Prior to the National Literacy Campaign, Cheptoo, who was born in 1957, did not receive support from her parents for education, encouraged instead to get married and have children. This is typical in sub-Saharan Africa, where females are often persuaded to marry early and are “unlikely to find any professional opportunities that enable economic self-sufficiency,” according to Daraja Academy.

Today, the female literacy rate is 74.9 percent, compared to the literacy rate of males at 81.1 percent, a stark difference from the literacy rates of the past. The female literacy rate is continually increasing with the support of secondary schools for girls including Daraja Academy and Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy, which allow females of the future generations to secure an education.

Adult literacy programs are bridging the education gap for women who did not receive proper schooling in their youth. These literacy programs are a turning point for women, like Cheptoo, and provide them with learning opportunities to increase their knowledge of the world that surrounds them.

– Ashley Howard

Photo: Flickr

, ,

5 Things To Know about Poverty in Samoa

Poverty in SamoaPoverty in Samoa is very different compared to poverty in a lot of other countries because Samoa has one of the most stable and healthy economies in the Pacific Region. Poverty is more prevalently seen in the rural communities of Samoa. These communities have unequal opportunity and distribution of benefits compared to Samoa’s urban areas, causing 26.9% of Samoans to live below the national poverty line.

5 Things to Know About Poverty in Samoa

  1. Many of the poor and rural areas of Samoa are in remote parts of the island that are tormented by cyclones and other harsh natural disasters. These natural disasters constitute a major threat to fishing and farming communities. Oftentimes, the damage done makes for very slow recovery time, meaning a drop in income for individuals in the rural fishing and farming communities.
  2. Gender and age inequality plays a substantial role in the lives of women and young individuals in Samoa, especially in the more impoverished areas. These disadvantages cause families who need to rely on the woman or children to work at a lower of income. Often times women, children and young adults do not have the same opportunities for work as grown men do and are typically paid much less, making survival that much more difficult.
  3. Samoa also suffers from agricultural issues. It’s narrow resource base and shallow soils are very vulnerable to erosion. Along with it’s declining forestry resources, Samoa is a, sometimes, difficult place for islanders to make a stable income in the agricultural industry. Because many Samoans in rural communities are in this industry, there is a seemingly unending cycle of poverty.
  4. In Samoa, only 29.4% of the population aged 15 years and older are employed. Jobs are slim all throughout the island, but especially slim in the rural areas. In rural areas, families survive on one of two options: subsistence farming or simply rely on a family overseas to send them money.
  5. There are many sanitary, health and educational needs that are not met in Samoa’s rural communities. Access to education, hospitals, clean water and other resources are very hard to come by. In 2011, it was found that 25 percent of Samoans do not have access to clean drinking water. It was also found that the education gap between children in urban and rural communities was very wide, resulting in rural children only obtaining farming jobs and therefore remaining in poverty.

The number of impoverished individuals in such a stable economy such as Samoa is quite rare. To end poverty in Samoa, especially for those living in rural areas, new jobs and better farming techniques must be implemented. If the island works together, one day Samoa’s economic gap will narrow and create a much better future for their population.

– Bella Chaffey

Photo: Flickr