Tag Archive for: Education

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How Does Education Affect Poverty?


How does education affect poverty? Education can eradicate poverty if given the chance; those in poverty can only benefit from education. People living in poverty that are unable to attain a formal education will have a much more difficult time escaping their living and working conditions. The right education can lift people from poverty and improve their lives financially, physically and mentally.

For many countries, there is free public education, however, there are additional costs for uniforms, books or transportation. In rural areas, children may travel for hours each way to get to school on a bus. These expenses can be overwhelming for low-income families.

Sometimes the families are forced to pull children from school in order for them to work to support the family. The problem with taking children out of school to work is that it results in an education that was cut short, if it even began at all.

Poverty is more than simply not having enough money. But having an education can alleviate some of the problems faced in poverty. How does education affect poverty? Education improves food security and reduces malnutrition. By educating citizens on agriculture and farming techniques, they become capable of growing and selling their own food. This creates a source of income as well as healthy living.

Literacy allows women to read about prenatal vitamins, and other health information during pregnancy. Families can learn about the importance of drinking clean water and safely preparing food. Education reduces the spread of communicable diseases that plague poverty stricken areas. When a community does not understand how a disease is spread, it can catch like wildfire infecting many people. But through education, children and families can learn how to protect themselves against illnesses like HIV/AIDS and Ebola. Education improves gender equity. By allowing girls to be educated they are empowered to make their own decisions in life and it can cut the rates of early marriage and pregnancy.

How does education affect poverty? Education creates development, free-thinking citizens and better health and wellbeing. A good education can provide a lifetime of opportunities. Providing an education allows people living in poverty to think outside of only wondering when the next meal might be. An education can drastically improve quality of life for those living in poverty. Providing an education for the poverty-stricken allows them to provide for themselves in the future.

– Karyn Adams

Photo: Flickr

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Prosperous and Inclusive Education in Austria


Education in Austria is well-known for its quality around the world. After educational reforms the 1960s, the university system has changed from one for the elite to one serving the masses. Following the liberalization of educational policy, specifically at higher level institutions, university enrollment has been boosted by domestic and EU students. Culturally rich, the high-income country offers affordable education for all. Since 2001, tuition and fees have been about $400-$800 per term.

A number of the country’s universities are ranked among the best in the world. Austria has 23 public and 13 private universities, institutions which enjoy a high degree of autonomy. According to QS World University Rankings in 2016-17, the University of Vienna placed 155th in the world and number one in Austria. Founded in 1365 by Duke Rudolph, the University of Vienna is the oldest German-speaking university in the world and has roughly 91,000 students enrolled. Today the institution offers 188 courses from African Studies to Zoology.

In the face of the recent refugee crises, 21 Austrian universities, including the University of Vienna, participated in a program of support called MORE, launched by The Austrian University Conference (UNIKO) in September 2015. The organization helps refugees — whose documents are often lost — to enroll to academic courses, provides an exemption from tuition fees, German language and integration courses.

The initiative also includes many other forms of support such as donations, sports courses and medical support. Most of the universities provide between 15 and 100 places for MORE applicants, who now have an opportunity to receive education in Austria.

– Yana Emets

Photo: Flickr

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Education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Education in St. Vincent and the GrenadinesSt. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is an island country located in the Caribbean. It has only been a member of the Commonwealth of Nations since 1979. It is often marked as a developing country known for having a high unemployment rate. Yet, in recent years SVG has made significant improvements, particularly in education.

Credit is partially due to the Education Revolution that has been taking place in SVG since 2001, when the Unity Labour Party (ULP) gained control of the SVG government. The ULP credits itself with allocating more funding for educational programs than the New Democratic Party did when it held power. The ULP states that it will continue to make improvements throughout education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines including strengthening its STEM programs and developing secondary education.

The SVG Ministry of Education also reports that the number of primary school-aged children entering the first grade increased by 62.9 percent between 2013 and 2015. Both primary school-aged and secondary school-aged youth showed enrollment growth by 22.3 percent.

UNESCO, UNDP, UNICEF and the World Bank founded the Education for All (EFA) movement in 1990 in order to improve education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines. This program claims many successes in SVG, including the addition and expansion of the community college. Additionally, there has been a steady increase in primary school teacher training.

However, there is still much room for progress. For example, there was a 36.4 percent decrease in the number of children who were primary school aged and those who graduated from the last year of primary school between the 2013-2014 and the 2014-2015 semesters. Furthermore, the country has yet to achieve 100 percent enrollment. Though the most substantial educational rift is the lack of training of SVG educators. As of 2015, 58 percent of SVG secondary school educators had no teacher training.

A possible solution to this issue could be mimicking Singapore’s teacher training structure. There, Singapore selects teachers from the top one-third of their secondary school graduating classes and cultivates them towards teaching via internships throughout their high school careers. Teacher salaries are competitive with those of other fields of study, and the training also offers competitive compensation. The teacher development and career path programs in Singapore are equally robust, recognizing potential and encouraging job promotion. Consequently, Singapore is a top performer in math, reading, and science when compared to the rest of the world. Being that much of Singapore’s success has taken place within only the last 50 years, its story brings hope to developing countries such as St. Vincent and the Grenadines, especially when taking into account their similar sizes and histories.

Education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines has room for development, and its odds of success are favorable. It is widely agreed that educational success contributes greatly to the overall economic success of the country, improving the country’s employment rate and the standards of life for many citizens. Victories such as these appear to be on the horizon for education in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the coming years.

– Emma Tennyson

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Free Education in Brunei Aids Nation’s Growth


In order to develop and strengthen a country’s political, economic and social structures, it is imperative that educational opportunities are granted to its citizens. By investing in a reliable education system, a country supplies citizens with the knowledge and resources to lead a healthy and successful life. Brunei, a sovereign country in Southeast Asia, has focused on the implementation of this philosophy into the structure of its education system.

With a population exceeding 415,000, Brunei is considered to have a remarkably high standard of living, primarily due to the country’s involvement in its oil and gas reserves. Since it gained independence from British rule in 1984, Brunei has integrated a tax-free lifestyle that is complemented with one of the highest (per capita) GDPs in the world. With this economic advantage, Brunei is able to financially support its free education system in order for its citizens to have the opportunity to receive a quality education.

With the tremendous support of governmental efforts in financially supporting the education sector, it will continue to allow free schooling throughout all levels of education in Brunei. The Ministry of Education, in compliance with the Education Act of 1984, is designed to oversee all government and private learning institutions and educational policies that are implemented throughout Brunei’s education system.

Brunei’s formal school system has a 1-6-3-2-2 pattern, which represents a year of pre-school, six years of primary education, three years of lower secondary, two years of upper secondary or vocational or technical education and two years of pre-tertiary education. Currently, Brunei has 206 primary schools, 47 secondary schools, nine vocational centers, one higher institution and three universities.

Remarkably, education in Brunei is completely funded by the government, which allows citizens to fully benefit from the opportunity to learn. According to UNESCO and the Ministry of Education, the adult literacy rate in Brunei increased from 92.67 percent in 2001 to 97.65 percent in 2015. These statistics indicate promising results and demonstrate the quality of education that is implemented throughout Brunei’s education system.

With the goal of furthering the nation’s development, Brunei has established numerous educational opportunities for personal and professional achievements at the government’s expense. With having one of the world’s highest standards of living, Brunei is constantly making efforts to continue the implementation of educational programs and institutions that will positively affect the citizens of this thriving country.

– Brandon Johnson

Photo: Flickr

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Education in Grenada

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What Does Education in Iceland Look Like?


Education in Iceland is incredibly important. In a 2016 study, Iceland was ranked the third most literate nation in the world, trailing behind Finland and Norway. The small island country is home to a population of around 332,000 people.

Iceland is well known for being progressive. Its equality endeavors are evident in the structure of its education system. According to the nation’s website, “A fundamental principle of the Icelandic educational system is that everyone should have equal opportunities to acquire an education, irrespective of sex, economic status, residential location, religion, possible handicap and cultural or social background.”

Education in Iceland is a four-level system.

  1. Preschool is the first level of education, which children attend between one and six years of age. There are fees for preschool, but they are largely subsidized.
  2. Compulsory education follows preschool education. Compulsory education is free and mandatory for children between the ages of six and 16. Unlike in the United States, homeschooling is not an option.
  3. Upper secondary education is the third level. It is available to anyone who has completed compulsory education, and is mostly compromised of students 16 to 20 years of age. The upper secondary level is essentially the equivalent of high school in the United States and is free with the exception of one private school.
  4. The fourth tier is education at a university, otherwise known as higher education. To apply for university, a student must first have completed upper secondary education. For the most part, universities in Iceland are required to accept all students with an upper secondary degree. Public universities in Iceland are tuition-free; the only costs associated with higher education are registration fees.

With a literacy rate of 99 percent and an unemployment rate at around 2.7 percent, perhaps the rest of the world can learn from the system of education in Iceland.

– Shannon Elder

Photo: Flickr

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Education in Portugal


Historically, Portugal has had disadvantages when it comes to education. Now in the middle of an economic crisis, the government is trying to find solutions, find jobs for graduates and figure out how to improve education overall.

However, schools are facing budget cuts due to the country’s debt. Teachers, curriculum and funding are all being chopped as the country scrambles to dig itself out of its financial crisis. With cuts like these, the country is facing the fact that 63 percent of adults have not even finished high school.

Even while experiencing an economic downfall, Portugal has recently seen a decrease in dropout rates. In 2005 there was a dropout rate of 39 percent, but in 2011, that number dropped to 21 percent. This decrease in dropouts could be contributed to the government’s many cuts to school programs and the fear and extreme competitiveness students will face finding the few jobs that are available upon graduation.

Overall the country is facing a 14 percent unemployment rate, while among youth there is an unemployment rate of 35 percent.

Although these numbers are discouraging, with a flood in the Asian market in tech products, Portugal hopes to follow the trend of producing high tech products and investing in renewable energy sources, such as wind energy, which will hopefully stimulate the economy and help provide jobs to both the less educated adults and to the educated youth.

In the past year, Portugal has seen some improvements in its economy and education system. The budget deficit fell from 11.2 percent of GDP in 2010 to 3.5 percent in 2015 while unemployment fell from 12.4 percent in 2015 to 11.3 percent in 2016.

In 2016, Portugal’s school of architecture was regarded as one of the most famous, prestigious architecture schools in the world. In addition, the country has tried to increase student enrollment with the specific curriculum in social sciences, engineering and a cheap education. In fact, the country is known as a great place to study abroad because of its cheap tuition and cultural background.

Teaching students around the world Portuguese language and culture and showing students the various natural wonders have helped attract students to Portugal to learn and enhance their knowledge.

The vast history, language, culture and improving economy have contributed to the mending of education in Portugal.

– Amira Wynn

Photo: Flickr