Girls’ education in developing countries

Around the world 100 million primary school-age children do not go to school – two-thirds of them are girls. Girls’ education is emerging as one of the top priorities of the international development community.

Poverty, inequality and culture are the main reasons children do not go to school. In some developing countries traditional culture dictates that girls start wearing the burqa, a gown covering them from head to foot, when they are ten. They are expected to stay at home and can go outside only if they are accompanied by a male relative. These rules make attending school very difficult.

So parents also should learn how an education can open up the world for their daughters by teaching them skills that will help them earn an income, avoid being exploited and produce more able and healthier children because mothers with education use the knowledge they have acquired to improve the health of their children and other family members

To help girls attend school, UNICEF is working with Government and local communities to create ‘child-friendly’ schools.

A good education can be delivered without buildings, uniforms, or even books, but it cannot be achieved without good teachers.

In such “friendly” schoolstraining and attracting women are offeredto educate girls. With more female teachers, schools are better able to teach girls. Women teachers make families more comfortable about sending their daughters to school, and they are more sensitive to girls’ needs. Moreover, female teachers also provide a role model for girls and for other women, and their monthly salary helps their families.

The benefits to societies are also great. Girls’ education is now recognized as a cornerstone of development. Educated mothers invest more in their children’s schooling, thus improving both families’ and societies’ development prospects. They are also likely to have fewer children.

Having fewer children allows families to invest more in the health and education of each child, thereby raising the productivity of future generations.

Reforming education systems to increase girls’ attendance is no easy task. Those countries with the greatest disparities in access to education are among the poorest countries in the world. But if developing countries wish to improve their living standards and catch up with the industrialized world, not educating one’s girls to the same extent as boys will surely prove even more expensive.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14