Tag Archive for: Education

Posts

Five Ways Haiti Has Improved

Haiti has recently been highlighted for making strides in the fight against cholera, with the number of new cases this year down 74 percent. Looking beyond this progress in the Haitian health sector, Haiti is experiencing successes in several other areas. According to a report published by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) last month, the country reached many of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) ahead of the 2015 deadline.

Based on statistics from this U.N. report, here are five ways Haiti has improved and is climbing the ladder of global development.

1. Education

The rate of primary education among Haiti’s youth has increased from 47 percent in 1993 to almost 90 percent today. There is equal participation in education between boys and girls, giving all children an opportunity to learn.

2. Earthquake Recovery

In 2010, a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake left Haiti in shambles, with 200,000 people killed and billions of dollars in damages. After four years of work, the UNDP reports that 97 percent of debris from the hard-hitting earthquake is gone from the streets of Haiti, 11,000 displaced families are back in their homes and more than 4,000 meters of river bank have been protected against flooding.

3. Clean Water

More households are using safe, clean water. The U.N. reports, “Nearly 65 percent of households now have improved access to water, compared to 36.5 percent in 1995.” The increased availability of hygienic water is key to fighting cholera, acute diarrhea and other waterborne diseases. This progress will continue, especially in rural areas, thanks to the country’s newly launched “Total Sanitation Campaign.”

4. Infant Mortality

The health of Haiti’s youth is improving, with infant mortality ranking lower than the global average, down 44 percent since 1990. Additionally, the number of underweight children under the age of 5 has been cut in half, meeting the MDG three years ahead of schedule.

5. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The Haiti MDG report boasts a rise in per capita GDP from $1,548 in 2009 to $1,602 today. Extreme poverty has stabilized at 24 percent since 2012.

Although Haiti is on the path to success according to MDG indicators, there are undoubtedly aspects of the country that still need attention. More children than ever are attending school, but there are still far too many kids dropping out and repeating grades. Clean water access has improved, but in order to eradicate cholera entirely there needs to be more widespread sanitation reform, especially in rural areas.

But without a doubt, the aforementioned successes are extremely commendable. With a sustained push, a Haiti without extreme poverty could be on the horizon.

– Grace Flaherty 

Sources: New York Times, UN, World Bank
Photo: UN

, , ,

The Effects of Poverty on the Adult Brain

effects of poverty on the adult brain

A recent study examined the effects of poverty on the adult brain and how it is influenced by childhood development. Results of the study showed that children from poor families performed more poorly on academic tests later in life. Furthermore, the study found that children who dealt with stress inducing factors, such as poor housing, in addition to poverty performed the worst of all tested subjects.

What does this mean for the future of children that are presently living in extreme poverty? With more than 1 billion children worldwide who lack one or more essential needs critical to survival and development, this can present even more problems in the future.

Most children living in extreme poverty face stress-inducing factors in addition to poverty. According to UNICEF, 101 million children currently do not attend primary school, and 148 million children under the age of 5 are underweight. A total of 270 million children worldwide do not have access to health care, and one out of five do not have access to clean drinking water, according to CARE, a nonprofit aiding in the fight against extreme poverty.

With more than 300 million children worldwide chronically hungry and 90 percent suffering from long-term malnourishment, these stressors can have lasting effects on their intellectual performance, and subsequently their financial stability, as adults.

For every additional year of primary school in developing countries, a girl’s wages are raised by 10 to 20 percent. This shows a direct correlation between education and income.

Children from poorer households are three times more likely to not attend school than those from wealthy homes. The largest population of non-attending school aged children is in sub-Saharan Africa, where 45.5 million children do not attend primary school. Much of this is caused by poverty, as many parents and families cannot afford required school fees and supplies to send their children to school.

Extreme poverty certainly involves several stress inducing factors besides lack of money, and these issues compound the problem of intellectual performance further. According to Professor K. Luan Phan, the author of the study, “the stress-burden of growing up poor may be an underlying mechanism that accounts for the relationship between poverty as a child and how well your brain works as an adult.”

By this same logic, helping these children out of extreme poverty today will lead to more intellectual men and women of tomorrow – men and women who will have the education needed to help other children escape poverty.

– Christopher Kolezynski

Sources: PsyBlog, The Borgen Project, CARE, Compassion
Photo: Flickr

,

Search for Teachers in the Philippines

Since 1985, the Metrobank Foundation has carried out an annual search for the best teachers in the Philippines. Every year, the foundation accepts applications from teachers around the country for its Search for Outstanding Teachers (SOT) program. After multiple rounds in an extensive search process, the Metrobank Foundation selects 10 teachers to honor for their contributions to education in the Philippines.

The Metrobank Foundation states that the program is designed to promote a culture of excellence in the field of education in the Philippines. The award is meant to motivate educators to be the best possible teachers.  As a result, students receive a higher quality education and many teachers receive credible reviews.

Teachers of all grade levels from public and private schools can apply for the SOT program. The application comes out in January each year. After all applications are received, the Metrobank Foundation narrows the competition down to about 50 teachers. These 50 teachers undergo a thorough interview process so that by July, a selection committee can pick just 10 teachers to celebrate that year.

The award is quite prestigious, and comes with an enticing prize. Aside from winning a medal, a trophy and a plaque for the teachers to display at their schools, winners also receive 500,000 Philippine Pesos, which translates to just over $11,500. This is extremely enticing for teachers in the Philippines, where the average monthly salary for those in the teaching profession is 33,374 Philippine Pesos, or $767.60. Finalists that do not make it to the final 10 receive a smaller, but noteworthy, cash prize as well.

The 2014 search began in January, as it does every year. This year, however, was particularly special for the Metrobank Foundation because it marked the 30th anniversary of the SOT program. To celebrate 30 years of recognizing outstanding teachers, the theme of this year’s search was “Launching Dreams toward Nation Building.”

Any teacher selected for the prestigious honor of a 30th anniversary SOT winner will be not only an outstanding teacher, but also an educator dedicated to empowering Philippine youth for the betterment of the country’s future.

The Metrobank Foundation has created an honor society comprised of all previous SOT winners.  The society is called the Network of Outstanding Teachers and Educators Inc., but is often shortened to “NOTED.” NOTED ensures that SOT winners continue proving their commitment to excellence in education after they have received their awards. NOTED fosters collaboration among the top educators in the Philippines to increase creativity and professionalism in their classrooms. Additionally, NOTED provides a group for these knowledgeable educators to discuss national concerns in the field of education.

The Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education in the Philippines aid the Metrobank Foundation every year in the search for 10 well-deserving teachers. In the past, winners have included Mitchel Rodriguez, who single-handedly organized a reading program in her school to improve students’ reading habits; Rodel Sampang, a teacher that makes lessons relatable by comparing them to real-world situations; Emilyn Espiritu, an environmental scientist and educator that helped her students make environmentally conscious decisions based on her own discoveries.

The point of the SOT program is to generate a desire for all teachers to do something meaningful just like the previous winners of the competition. If every teacher in the Philippines strives to achieve the same level of excellence required to be recognized by the Metrobank Foundation, Philippine students can receive quality education.

– Emily Walthouse

Sources: Inquirer, Metrobank Foundation, Phil Star, Salary Explorer, Sunday Punch
Photo: Inquirer

,

World Learning: Connecting Minds Across the Globe

World Learning, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to empowering youth and advancing leadership in 60 countries worldwide. With three specific and unique programs—in education, development and exchange—World Learning’s initiatives cover a broad range of issues to comprehensively address critical needs in the global education sector.

The Experiment in International Learning program offers high school students opportunities to take part in “immersive, life-transforming” experiences in more than 20 countries through three-week or five-week summer abroad programs.

At the graduate and undergraduate levels, World Learning’s School for International Training (SIT) is an accredited higher education institution that provides undergraduates with semester-long programs in 30 countries, each with a focus on critical global issues.

Additionally, SIT aims to offer deep cultural immersion through fieldwork, language courses and urban and rural home-stays with locals. SIT’s graduate institute offers masters degrees in conflict transformation, international education, sustainable education, and teaching English as a second language.

International Exchange programs enable World Learning to address larger worldwide issues in education such as teacher professional development, community and school enrichment, and English language/literacy improvement. Additionally, these programs work with policymakers and education reform programs, working to achieve the support and resources necessary to promoting sustainable development in education.

In addition to education programs, World Learning brings together emerging leaders from 140 countries around the world to the United States. on exchanges. These exchange programs are unique in that they are short-term, but offer high-value learning experiences for leaders who are eager to gain professional development by connecting with U.S. and international colleagues to gain a broader view of U.S. culture and values. This program provides people of all ages with the opportunity to learn together about leadership, current issues and peace building.

World Learning’s International Development programs work to educate communities worldwide to address issues relating to poverty, such as education access and disease prevention. Working with local partners, World Learning’s grassroots programs identify specific needs, challenges and resources within communities, customizing development plans.

One example of these projects is the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Grants Solicitation and Management program. World Learning’s development goal is to ensure that partners invest deeply in projects and provide the necessary support for successful, long-term improvements.

World Learning’s work is essential to global policy and affairs because, in essence, it pulls back the curtain from many cultures and communities and allows people to examine not only their own cultures and communities, but others as well. Education is key not only in breaking the cycle of poverty, but it’s crucial in the preserving of peace and in the building of understanding, trust, and respect across communities worldwide.

World Learning’s promotion of global communication through education, development and exchange programs and higher education opportunities are making strides in the effort to eliminate conflict and achieve equality across the board when it comes to worldwide education.

– Elizabeth Nutt

Sources: World Bank, World Learning, Inc.
Photo: World Learning

,

Fighting Terror with Education Investments

The Global Partnership on Education (GPE) held a “replenishment summit” on June 25, where it asked donor countries to provide funding for another four years. By disbursing billions of dollars in donations from 20 countries toward educational programs in 50 developing nations, GPE has become one of the most influential global education organizations.

As the chairwoman of GPE, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Guillard has been advancing the message that “it is enlightened self-interest to invest in education.” Her argument ahead of the summit has been that whoever is interested in promoting economic growth and reducing extremism should start by building classrooms and training teachers.

“Ms. Guillard says the abductions of schoolgirls in Nigeria by Boko Haram militants should act as an alarm bell for the threat of extremism and also a catalyst for protecting education.” It is “the subject of such dedicated assault by terrorists and extremists shows the potency and importance of education in such communities,” she says.

However, skepticism is still in the air as to how much impact educational programs are having on reducing extremism and terrorist threats. Moreover, the question remains as to why industrialized nations should dedicate part of their budgets toward educating children in developing nations.

Guillard argues that organizations like GPE can really make a long-term difference and that it cannot be expected that change will happen overnight. Additionally, she asserts that it cannot be expected that donor countries and organizations like GPE bear all the weight of educating children in developing countries. It is imperative for recipient nations to step up their game, she says. This is not only about just allocating funding for the public schooling system. Guilliard states that each country should be an active participant in the development and implementation of the various educational programs.

In this realm, it can be said that the summit was a success. The $22.85 billion raised from donor nations also comes with a commitment by recipient nations to increase their own investment in public education.

While there have been many missed promises when it comes to global public education, one of them being the 2015 Millennium Development Goals, the latest GPE summit promised and delivered a new round of funding for public educations. Now it is about the implementation of adequate measures and programs.

– Sahar Abi Hassan

Sources: BBC News 1, BBC News 2 Photo: VIP Properties

, , ,

5 Violations Against Women’s Rights

women's rights
Despite enormous strides made toward gender equality, the world today is still riddled with gender disparities. Below are a list of five reasons why fighting for women’s rights is so important, and why it’s still an ongoing battle.

1. Workplace Inequalities Around the World…Including the United States

For most Americans, it isn’t a secret that women still face extreme disadvantages in the workplace. Despite putting in equally long hours and given identical responsibilities as their male counterparts, women still only make 77 cents for every man’s dollar in the United States, and it’s even worse in other countries. Not only do women make less, but their responsibilities at home are often more rigorous; according to Harvard studies, men still put in a significantly less amount of time in household chores as their female partners.

2. Skewed Gender Ratios

In some countries, where population control laws were put into a much stricter affect, gender ratio disparities are skyrocketing. A favorable push of male-to-female in these countries has resulted in unbalanced gender ratio problems, where some female babies can be killed or left abandoned. In China, the gender ratio of male to female was 108:100 based on a 2013 data consensus; in India, it was 107:100.

3. Violence

According to a statement made by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2008, one in every three women is likely to be “beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime.” In fact, violence against women is so common in developing countries that oftentimes it doesn’t even make the news cycle. And while many countries fail to protect their rape victims, other countries such as Morocco and Saudi Arabia have much stricter punishments. Rape victims in these countries can be charged with crimes for being “alone with an unrelated man, or for getting pregnant afterwards,” only further perpetuating the damaging notion of rape culture.

4. Marriage and Divorce

According to UNICEF, more than one-third of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were married before they turned 18, which is considered below the minimum age for marriage in most countries. Nevertheless, these child brides risk greater chances of giving birth at earlier ages and suffer from risks of complications in childbirth and a greater chance of contracting HIV/AIDS. Courts do little to help the problem; in Yemen, it is against the law for a woman to leave the house without her husband’s permission. This results in a high percentage of women, who are afraid of the legal ramifications, to stay in abusive relationships.

5. Education

Women currently make up two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults. Whether they are kept from school in order to keep up with household chores or their father deems it time for them to marry, women are consistently being denied their right to education; a right hardly ever denied to their male counterparts. While numerous studies have been proven to show that educating women is key to eliminating poverty and aiding development, the gender gap in education in many of these developing countries is only continuing to increase.

– Nick Magnanti

Sources: The Washington Post, Harvard Summer School, Discovery, United Nations Population Fund
Photo: Act 4 Entertainment

,

World’s Students Struggle with Loan Debt

loan debt
Fear not, American undergraduates. While we may have the single most expensive higher educational system in the developed world, students from all over are still accruing debt. You may have heard the statistics, or suffer from them personally: American student loan debt has rocketed to more than $1 trillion, and more than 7 million borrowers are currently in default. Yet, students from all over the world, from Japan to Britain, are also raking up expensive debt to receive an education.

While public university tuition is free in countries like Argentina, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, this does not always mean students finish their education with zero debt. In 2012, approximately 900,000 Swedish students received help from the government, totaling close to 22 billion krona (roughly $3.5 billion). Two-thirds of those funds were loans.

The average student loan debt for the U.K. is between €12,360 and €12,850, where more than 93 percent of students have received some form of financial assistance, accruing debt in the process. The country has even seen a staggering rise in suicide rates as a result of its student debt crisis. Between 2007 and 2011, the number rose to a devastating 50 percent.

In China, average tuition runs at about ¥40,000 annually, though the average family only makes about ¥3,000 per year. Japan, too, is saddled with increasing student loan problems. Between 2001 and 2011, the number of students applying for loans jumped to 70 percent, and 60 percent of its graduating student population since 2009 has been left underemployed or unemployed altogether.

While the United States’ position on student loan debt far surpasses the rest of the world, the global severity of the situation should not be overlooked. In the 21st century, the economy has become global-if one country is hurting, other countries will be affected, too. As student loan debt manages to climb, one can only hope the institutional problem will be fixed sooner, rather than later.

– Nick Magnanti

Sources: Huffington Post, Collegestats.org, Tuition.io
Photo: Boston

Adopt-A-Camp

Adopt-A-Camp
Raising a family of 53,000 can’t be easy, but someone has to do it. In the United Arab Emirates (UAE,) the woman who does so is Saher Shaikh, the head of the Dubai-based charity Adopt-A-Camp. Directed to help some of the 5 million migrant laborers in the UAE, Adopt-A-Camp teaches laborers English lessons as well as teaches them their rights as migrant workers.

Shaikh started this organization after multiple interactions with humble and hardworking migrant workers, and realizing her possible role. Now with 52 camps across the UAE, her standards are still high, as she tells CNN, “Every camp we adopt we make bed bug-free, cockroach-free and lice-free. We physically shampoo the men’s hair ourselves,” proving to them they are just as worthy of healthy living as every other citizen of the UAE.

Over time, Shaikh has picked up some high-ranking supporters in the government, including the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Ministry of Labor. Using this support, she helps ensure payment for the men’s work, something often lacking. Shaikh says, “It was a common problem during the recession, but it still happens now and again. We’d hear from the men that they hadn’t been paid for months, or even a year, and that their families were starving and they were starving. We worked with the Ministry of Labor to help them get home, or find a better job.” This allowed hopeful futures and stability for a group of men who once could barely afford bread rolls for their families.

While standards are on the rise, there are still levels of discrepancy that affect the lives of laborers. Employers are required to pay them once a month for their work, and there is a plan of action laborers can take should they not receive payment.

Nicholas McGeehan, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, looked into this and found that the laws aren’t always enforced, saying, “Theoretically, workers can take complaints to the labor courts. Theoretically, they should be able to get their salaries back, but justice is dispensed in a very ad hoc manner, if it is dispensed at all,” showing the lack of separation between government and migrant employers.

Shaikh demonstrates an unfortunately underrepresented population of compassionate people. There is an unlikely hope that Saudi businessmen will support similar initiatives that show concern for migrant workers and offer opportunities for justice.

After eight years of ongoing dedication to Adopt-a-Camp, Shaikh has managed this flourishing organization by herself, gathering members of her growing family and helping them see what they can fight for.

– Elena Lopez

Sources: CNN, Adopt-a-Camp, Saudi Gazette, Gulf News
Photo: Adopt-a-Camp

,

Universal Primary Education by 2015

The Millennium Development Goal of having universal primary education worldwide by 2015 is under examination. UNESCO put out a statement saying that achieving this goal is no longer possible, but European Union development commissioner Andris Piebalgs says otherwise.

UNESCO claims that the goal of having all children in schools is unattainable because of insufficient financing available for education.

The goal of Education For All was instituted in 2000, and 2015 was its target for completion. However, as of 2014, 58 million children around the world are still not attending school.

The report put out by UNESCO stated that governments have to be the ones to fix the problems, and called on them to be the leaders of the movement. The problem comes mostly from the inability to provide education to people who are living with disadvantages, including poverty, gender, location or other factors. Governments must reevaluate their efforts and concentrate on these groups of people.

Piebalgs believes that education must start with the government as well, claiming, “Education is the first sign of equality; [it shows] that each child has access to the education system free of charge and that a state is taking care of its citizens.”

If governments can reach out to these marginalized children, then there is a possibility to still reach the Millennium Development Goal by the end of next year. Simply getting children enrolled in school is easy to do and costs very little.

Piebalgs, however, has expressed concern about what is to follow. He said, “We’ve looked on education in a rather shallow way: we set the target of getting kids into school and that was it – we were just hoping that they would get something out of school.” Continuing, the former headmaster explained, “But for me, what is crucial is the quality of education you get: the quality is not less important than enrollment. [sic]”

The difficulty now is to determine whether simply putting these 58 million children in school over the next year is worth potentially losing the quality of the education that they may receive. Despite what may have to happen after 2015, getting these children enrolled in school and emphasizing the importance of education to them could be life-changing for them.

– Hannah Cleveland

Sources: The Guardian, The Daily Star
Photo: The Guardian

, , , , , ,

5 Reasons to Invest in Educating Women

Education is the single most impactive weapon to empower women and save them from the cycle of poverty. While the gender gap in primary education has decreased over the past two decades, significant inequalities still remain. With women comprising two thirds of the illiterate population, and 2.6 million more girls out of school compared to boys around the world, now is not the time to deny females the right to a decent education.

That’s why USAID recently launched Let Girls Learn, an effort to give girls around the world access to quality education, backed by $230 million in new programs.

Based on statistics from USAID and the World Bank, here are five reasons why an investment in a girl’s education is an investment in a better world:

1. Educating Women Saves Lives
According to USAID, 99 percent of maternal deaths occur in the developing world. However, based on data from the World Bank, child mortality is reduced by 18 per thousand births with each additional year of female education. Giving young women access to education will decrease birth related deaths, as well as safeguard the health of all families. Women who complete primary school education are more likely to ensure their children are immunized, meet their children’s nutritional requirements and practice better sanitation.

2. Educating Women Increases GDP
Family earnings are increased when a wife has received an education. Educated women are better able to provide for their families, and help make smarter financial decisions. USAID reports show that one extra year of primary school boosts a girl’s future wage 10 to 20 percent. On the larger scale, USAID data reveals that when 10% more girls go to school, a country’s GDP increases on average by 3 percent.

3. Educating Women Limits Overpopulation
Investing in women’s education keeps girls in school longer. In the developing world, 1 in 7 girls will marry before they are 15. If a girl stays in school for seven or more years, on average, they will get married four years later and have two fewer children. Additionally, when women are educated about birth control, they are equipped to practice safe family planning.

4. Educating Woman Decreases Disease
Women make up nearly 52 percent of the global total of people living with HIV. A girl who completes a basic education is 3 times less likely to contract HIV/AIDS.

5. Educating Women is the right thing to do
The bottom line is: every child deserves the right to a quality education, and girls are no exception. With programs that ensure safe, quality and empowering education –like those implemented by USAID and Let Girls Learn –the world is one step closer to being a more just and equitable place.

– Grace Flaherty

Sources: USAID, USAID 2, USAID 3, World Bank
Photo: Colorado Chamber of Commerce