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Top 10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Guinea

Top 10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Guinea
Education is the key to a healthier, more economically developed society, especially when every child has a chance to benefit from it. Guinea, a small country in West Africa, is no exception. Although girls’ education in Guinea is often impeded by gender bias and traditional views of women’s roles in society, the country has made great strides to create a more equal education system. Keep reading to learn the top 10 facts about girls’ education in Guinea.

Top 10 Facts About Girls’ Education in Guinea

  1. There is a steep drop in girls’ enrollment between primary and secondary school. While close to 77 percent of girls attend primary school, only 25 percent of girls of secondary school age are attending. This dramatic difference is largely due to teen girls dropping out to help at home or as a result of child marriage.
  2. Gender bias hinders girls’ education in Guinea. Families with multiple children, especially those in rural areas, tend to choose to educate boys instead of girls. Guinean girls face the issue of being taken out of school to help with younger siblings and assist with cooking or other housework. This significantly affects their ability to keep up with schoolwork, which furthers the likelihood of dropping out altogether.
  3. Child marriage is a major barrier to girls’ education. In 2017, Guinea adopted the African Union campaign to end child marriage. Since the campaign’s launch, while 51 percent of Guinean girls are married before the age of 18, only 21 percent are married before 15. This number shows a slow but marked progress in keeping teen girls in school.
  4. A lack of proper toilet facilities keeps many girls out of school. For girls of menstruating age, the ability to dispose of sanitary pads and wash their hands in a single-sex bathroom is essential. UNICEF estimates that 10 percent of female students in Africa will skip school during their periods due to improper facilities, resulting in missed lessons and raising the likelihood of abandoning school altogether.
  5. Gender-based violence also poses a problem to girls’ education in Guinea. Sexual harassment—even assault—is not an uncommon occurrence for female students. Additionally, some male teachers may demand sexual favors for a passing grade, even if the student has earned a high mark on her own. While there is a lack of statistical data in regards to these assaults as they are often unreported, they are a common enough occurrence for families to worry about their daughters’ safety at school.
  6. There is a major disparity in literacy rates between urban and rural areas. While 53 percent of women ages 15 to 24 in urban areas are literate, only 15 percent of those in rural areas can say the same. As families in isolated areas are more likely to keep girls home to help with chores, especially if school is farther away, getting an education is much more of a challenge for rural Guinean girls.
  7. Girls’ enrollment in secondary school is still low, but primary school enrollment has seen a significant increase. Between 1990 and 2014, the number of Guinean girls enrolled in primary school quadrupled, largely due to millions of dollars of donations from the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund. This money was used to build more schools in rural areas and hire thousands of teachers, leading to a significant increase in enrollment.
  8. The Ebola epidemic of 2014 severely impacted girls’ education in Guinea. Students missed at least 33 weeks of school during the Ebola outbreak, which put girls more at risk for dropping out altogether to support their families through marriage or work.
  9. In 2004, Guinea launched the National Plan of Action for Girls’ Education. This program was designed to build interest in girls’ education, especially at the primary school level. The initiative partners with organizations such as the European Union and UNICEF to provide income and resources for schools and actively steers the “offer of education” in favor of Guinean girls, who are more likely to drop out of school. While the program has been active for several years, Guinea still faces obstacles in bringing educational opportunities to girls in rural areas.
  10. UNICEF has implemented several local associations, known as COMEFs, to support girls’ education in Guinea. These associations work to empower Guinean mothers, who often lack education themselves, to become vigorous supporters of their daughters’ schooling. UNICEF’s main objectives are ensuring safe classrooms, helping families purchase school supplies and demonstrating how education leads to a financially healthy future.

Education is a powerful tool, especially for girls who so often find themselves fighting to stay in school. The top 10 facts on girls’ education in Guinea prove that while progress may be slow, it is still happening. Implementing programs to bring educational opportunities to girls in rural areas, discouraging child marriage and eradicating harassment in the classroom is essential to create a more equal platform for education in Guinea.

– Holli Flanagan
Photo: Flickr

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Girls’ Education in Guinea: Breaking Barriers

In 2012, the female completion rate for primary education in Guinea was only 61.5 percent. In some rural areas, this number was as low as 34 percent. Furthermore, the secondary school participation rate was around 40 percent for male students, compared to less than 26 percent for their female peers.

UNICEF, USAID, and other humanitarian organizations have introduced grassroots programs promoting girls’ education in Guinea. Programs include COMEF, which encourages mothers to become advocates for their daughters’ schooling. UNICEF championed the Accelerated Girls Education Initiative, which sought to increase enrollment rates but also the quality of girls’ education in Guinea. Many of these initiatives have made great strides with gender equity since Guinea is second in the region only to Ghana in terms of gender equity in the schooling system. Yet, large disparities still exist, and many young girls face hurdles in the effort to obtain an education.

Barriers to girls’ education

Perhaps the largest barrier to girls’ education in Guinea is the deep-rooted sense of tradition and culture. In the type of cultured place as Guniea is, women are often viewed as solely mothers and housemakers. Such values often outweigh the perceived benefits for girls’ educational attainment, particularly in rural regions. It is a common belief that if a girl is educated, she will leave the home and lose her morals, making marriage and reproduction more difficult. Teen marriage in Guinea is very common- between 2008 and 2012, nearly 36 percent of teen girls were married. Thus, many girls drop out of school in favor of household chores that include watching younger siblings, cooking, marriage, and childbearing.

These traditional views create a dangerous cycle of illiteracy. Illiterate mothers are less likely to become advocates of their own daughter’s schooling. Programs have been established that encourage mothers to learn more about the importance of their daughter’s schooling and help them to become champions of girls’ education in Guinea. Through this participation and self-growth, mothers can become better role models for other mothers and their daughters.

Boys’ education is viewed more favorably by local communities, often being described as a “better investment.” This deep, systemic gender bias is very difficult to overcome. Parents that face limited resources and may only send one child to school will undoubtedly choose a son. Not only is boys’ education prioritized, but boys also face fewer challenges at school, such as exploitation, violence, and sexual assault.

Problems in schools

Female students in Guinea are often subject to sexual assault, abuse, and exploitation. Instances of teachers demanding sexual favors in return for passing marks, even if previously merited by student’s academic work, are way too common. Often there are no repercussions for the guilty teacher save a slap on the wrist. To ensure that girls have a safe learning environment, there must be codes of conduct for all teachers and strict ramifications for such behaviors, including loss of job and inability to be hired at any other institution.

Girls also face a risk to security due to lack of proper sanitation facilities. According to the United Nations Children’s Fund, an estimated 10 percent of school-aged girls in Africa skip school during women’s period or drop out due to lack of adequate facilities. With a slight improvement in sanitation in Guinean schools from 1997 to 2002, enrollment rates for girls increased 17 percent. Many schools still lack proper bathrooms with many lacking separate toilets for boys and girls and others missing complete privacy measures including cracked windows and broken doors.

There is a strong correlation between the number of female students in schools and the number of female teachers at that school. In 2017, less than half of the primary school teachers and only 30 percent of secondary teachers were female. Having a female teacher not only makes young girls feel safe in the classroom but also gives them a positive role model, making them empowered and motivated to finish their own schooling.

Effects of education

Education is a powerful weapon and shield for young girls. It protects them against child labor, increases participation in the workforce, increases earning capacity, decreases early marriage, and reduces infant and child mortality while also having positive effects on child nutrition. Educated women are more likely to understand their rights and how to exercise them socially, politically and economically. Finally, girls’ education can create a positive cycle meaning that educated mothers are more likely to enroll their own daughters in school and promote higher levels of educational attainment.

While Guinea has made significant progress in terms of girls’ educational availability, improvement is still needed. Support from government officials, religious leaders, and local community leaders may help to eradicate the traditional and apathetic view of girls’ education. Protecting girls against gender-based violence and sexual abuse and securing adequate sanitation facilities will create a safe learning environment. Increased representation of female teachers will promote female empowerment. If these main barriers to girls’ education in Guinea are eradicated then enrollment and completion rates will skyrocket.

– Jessie Serody

Photo: Flickr