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Knowledge is crucial for overcoming poverty. It should be natural for children to have access to the latest knowledge, so that they can lead good lives, contribute, lead as adults. However, for millions of children, education remains but a dream. A shortage or absence of teachers, study materials, textbooks, equipment, coupled with poverty and disease in the respective countries make school attendance difficult. In many developing countries, children go to school hungry, sick or exhausted from work or household chores. And those are the lucky ones! There are more than 124 million children of primary and secondary school age who do not attend school at all. Over 10 million boys and 15 million girls never receive a basic education.
All children must have the opportunity to attend school. Despite great progress in recent decades, many children still do not receive a primary education. What are the main reasons?
**Poverty **is the number one reason for the lack of education. Many children in developing, as well as some developed countries, do not have access to primary education. These children find themselves on the margins of the educational system. Poverty, unemployment and the illiteracy of their parents increase the risk of children never attending school. Children from disadvantaged backgrounds, after some basic education, are forced to abandon their schooling.
**Lack of school space and school equipment **– although various humanitarian projects do provide some schools, the population explosion counteracts these good deeds.
In addition, in many countries, tuition fees are mandatory, which parents cannot afford. Textbooks and teaching aids may be inaccessible to many.
Children provide cheap labor and therefore many children are forced to go to work to provide a livelihood for the whole family.
**Population explosion **– In circumstances of dire poverty, households often consist of multiple children, often without any father in the home to provide for them. This is due to the lack of birth control education and local cultural norms, whereby a greater number of children is regarded, for example by African parents, as their greater and only “wealth”. Often children as young as 12 years give birth to more children. Hence it is a vicious cycle of too many mouths to feed, and too many children who are forced to suffer from a total lack of basic needs and education.
Malnutrition, illness, disability – in developing countries, children suffer from malnutrition, illness, and often physical or mental disabilities. These children are not able to attend school.
War conflicts – if children live in a country threatened by armed conflict, it is clear that schools are closed and children do not attend school at all. In the worst case scenario, children are even recruited to fight in war zones.
Discrimination – children are excluded from education for various reasons: members of minority races, children with disabilities, girls for whom education is not the norm under local cultural customs, etc.
Shortage of teachers – many developing countries do not have sufficient financial resources to maintain schools and to pay the salaries of teachers.
Corruption in public administration – developing countries are notorious for corruption in particular, which will of course be reflected in the education and healthcare systems.
Which regions are affected the most? Sub-Saharan Africa is the most affected area. More than 32 million children of primary school age remain uneducated. In Central and Eastern Asia and the Pacific, there are more than 27 million uneducated children.
Poor education has a negative effect on the population, impeding the social and economic development of these nations.
Worldwide, 59 million primary-school-age children are denied an education. Almost 65 million do not have access to secondary school education (the worst situation is in Sub-Saharan Africa, where one in four children is denied the right to education). Nearly 800 million people worldwide are illiterate. In 2019, the illiteracy rate among adults aged 15 years and older was 34.7 % in Sub-Saharan Africa. In South Asia, the illiteracy rate was 27.1 %.
Conflicts and natural disasters have disrupted the education of 75 million children. Schools tend to be too isolated. Many children have to walk 1 to 3 hours from their homes to school. In countries where children are forced to go hungry, are disabled or have to work in households, the time spent at school can not be afforded by families.
Lack of educational funding contributes to the absence of school buildings and materials (400 million pupils worldwide have no desks in their schools). Lack of funding also contributes to the low number and quality of teachers.
**Did you know… if a mother can read, her children have a 50 % greater chance of survival in the first 5 years of life. **
Poor families often see no option but to marry off their underage daughters, which is the main cause of the lack of childhood education worldwide, especially for girls. These victims of child marriages have a limited education due to cultural obligations, such as housework and pregnancy.
There are more than 124 million children of primary and secondary school age who do not attend school. Over 10 million boys and 15 million girls never receive any basic education. Low literacy in developing countries is often caused by a lack of basic equipment in schools.
Did you know… as many as 115 million children of primary school age are not enrolled at school.
Millions of children around the world face barriers to the access of education. The consequences of a lack of education for regional development are grave. Literacy increases job opportunities and access to higher education. In economic terms, literacy rates are directly related to the value of a region’s human capital. A literate population is more easily trained, generally has a higher socioeconomic status, enjoys better health and employment prospects. Social studies have revealed a significant correlation between the level of literacy in the early 19th century and successful modernization and economic breakthroughs in the late 20th century, as literate people could be characterized by a greater innovative-activity level, providing opportunities for modernization, development, and economic growth.
The overall global situation can be seen on the map below:
If parents are illiterate, unemployed or sick, all the factors contributing to poverty and the risk of the child leaving school or not going to school at all are doubled.
The global education of children in times of war or conflict is declining. According to UNICEF, about 48.5 million children do not go to school because they live in high conflict or war zones. In Syria, more than 2 million children cannot attend school, and one-quarter of the schools are no longer used for educational purposes. About 50 000 educators have either fled the country or died in conflicts.
In most developing countries, public school education is not free. The cost of books, uniforms and teachers’ salaries are borne by the pupils’ families.
There are 150 million disabled children worldwide. 80 % of these are in developing countries, with the rate increasing. Nine out of ten of these children do not attend school. The reasons range from physical barriers to the negative attitudes of teachers. Gender discrimination, child labor, poverty and over-population are among the main barriers to the access of education.
The impact of child labor There is evidence of a relationship between child labor and educational outcomes. The African continent has areas with less than 50 % literacy among children ages 18 and under. It is worth mentioning that while girls are less likely to be in school, boys are more likely to repeat grades or drop out altogether.
The impact of abuse Children who are victims of physical or psychological abuse, including bullying and abuse at school, tend to have inferior educational outcomes.
Studies have found that violence against children correlates with poor educational outcomes in the long run. Even in developed countries, individuals who are exposed to sexual or physical abuse in childhood are more likely to drop out of college.
This correlation also extends to other forms of violence. Within schools, for instance, violence and bullying among children tend to go together with poor learning outcomes.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, 11.07 million children leave school before completing their primary education. In South and West Asia, that number reaches 13.54 million.
Although many developing countries are reducing the inequality between girls and boys in education, much effort is still needed before achieving universal primary education.
Education is one of the first steps to overcoming poverty. We must educate children around the world. This is the only chance of a better life for the next generation.
How can we do it? Read the Solution section!
All children must have the opportunity to attend school. Education provides better opportunities to individuals and communities. The right to education is a basic human right. Yet millions around the world are still deprived of this fundamental right.
What can we do to help advance the right to education?
Raise awareness about the importance of education. Education is a human right protected by law – one that must be guaranteed to everyone. Help to spread these important truths to your audience on social networks.
**Support educational activities in developing countries. **Many organizations provide school supplies for children in developing countries, assisting in the education of children as well as adults there. The poorest countries in particular are dependent on external support to break the vicious cycle of poverty and illiteracy.
Support the economic activities of females in developing countries. When females receive an income, they reinvest 90 % of their income in their families, as opposed to 30 - 40 % for males.
Ensure access of your children to quality education. Decisions on education will have a major impact on the future lives of all children. The influence of parents can go beyond their own children, to inspire other members of their families and communities to take the right path in the access to education.
Contact your policy-makers to ensure that human rights principles are applied to all aspects of educational activities. Educational institutions must meet the needs of all learners. Policy-makers must ensure the right to education for all. Ensure that your country is advancing in the right direction towards education for all.
Never stop learning yourself. Set a good example to your friends and family; inspire them to stay motivated and focused on their education.