By Angela Anderson
— and research shows that adults with less than five to six years of education tend to remain non-numerate and functionally illiterate for the rest of their lives. In low and middle income countries, compared with the richest 20%, the poorest 20% are five times as likely not to complete primary school and six times as likely not to be literate. Regarding these facts, it is evident that throughout the developing world the quality of education is not up to the standards required by our new world economy.
Why is education a global issue when so much of it happens locally? To answer that; education is central to the construction of a genuinely democratic society. Moreover, education provides essential and individual power to reflect and make concise decisions. We live in an age defined by global trade and communication, with all of us connecting our efficiency for better results. With a better education, our workforce and social systems become more efficient, which results in a better life for everyone.
South Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are the three regions where these issues of education are most severe, but for countries around the world educational attainment is not happening for a larger portion of their population.
Using data collected by UNESCO Institute for Statistics from 108 countries, we put together a table depicting those nations where 70 percent of the population or less has completed a minimum level of education, (primary school), between 2010 and 2015. The results are shown below.
Money isn’t everything, but it is a key foundation for a successful education system. Most of these countries lack proper funding for supplies, teachers, buildings, and food. The following list is obtained from Global Citizen Foundation and relays issues with worldwide education that are most concerning:
Lack of Teachers:
There not enough teachers globally to achieve universal primary education, and many of the teachers that are currently working are also untrained, leading to children failing to learn the basics, such as math and language skills. Globally, the UN estimates that 1.6 million additional new teachers are required to achieve universal primary education by 2018, and 5.1 million more are needed to achieve universal lower secondary education by 2030.
Lack of Supplies:
Outdated and worn-out textbooks are often shared by six or more students in many parts of the world. Global Citizen reports that in the United Republic of Tanzania, for example, only 3.5% of all grade 6 pupils have sole use of a reading textbook. In Cameroon, there are 11 primary school students for every reading textbook and 13 for every mathematics textbook in grade 2. Workbooks, exercise sheets, readers and other core materials to help students learn their lessons are in short supply. Teachers also need materials to help prepare their lessons, share with their students, and guide their lessons.
Lack of Education for the Disabled:
Being denied access to school is common for the world’s 93 million children with disabilities. In some of the world’s poorest countries, up to 95% of children with disabilities are out of school. A combination of discrimination, lack of training in inclusive teaching methods among teachers, and a straightforward lack of disabled accessible schools leave this group uniquely vulnerable to being denied their right to education.
Lack of Transportation:
For many children around the world, a walk to school of up to three hours in each direction is not uncommon. This is just too much for many children, particularly those children with a disability, those suffering from malnutrition or illness, or those who are required to work around the household. Imagine having to set off for school, hungry, at 5am every day, not to return until 7pm. Many children, especially girls, are also vulnerable to violence on their long and hazardous journeys to and from school.
Lack of Food:
The impact of hunger on education systems is gravely under-reported. Being severely malnourished, to the point it impacts on brain development, can be the same as losing four grades of schooling. Around 171 million children in developing countries are stunted by hunger by the time they reach age 5. Stunting can affect a child’s cognitive abilities as well as their focus and concentration in school. As a result, stunted children are 19% less likely to be able to read by age eight. Conversely, good nutrition can be crucial preparation for good learning.
Lack of a Free Education:
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights makes clear that every child has the right to a free basic education, so that poverty and lack of money should not be a barrier to schooling. Despite impressive increases in the number of children going to school, for many of the poorest families, school remains too expensive and children are forced to stay at home or work themselves. Families remain locked in a cycle of poverty that goes on for generations. In many countries in Africa, while education is theoretically free, ‘informal fees’ see parents forced to pay for ‘compulsory items’ like uniforms, books, pens, extra lessons, exam fees, or funds to support the school buildings. In other places, the lack of functioning public (government) schools means that parents have no choice but to send their children to private institutions that, even when technically ‘low fee’, are unaffordable for the poorest families who risk making themselves destitute in their efforts to get their children better lives through education.
It is our goal that once BEFA expands, the countries listed in the previous scatterplot will be first on our list to assist in funding and policy work. It is our end goal, and our entire mission, to create a better education for all; for all students, all over the world.