Education
© UNICEF / HQ00-0952 / Roger LeMoyne
The Big Picture
Of an estimated 700 million primary-school-age children in the world today, roughly 93 million are not in school. Nearly three quarters of these children live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. They are mostly children of ethnic minorities from remote regions, working children, children living in conditions of emergency and conflict, children affected by HIV/AIDS, and children with disabilities. And they are mostly – 53 per cent – girls.
Few actions have as profound an impact on not only children but on society as a whole as ensuring quality education. Research has shown that for every year of schooling, wages for women as well as for men increase by a worldwide average of about 10 per cent. Quality education keeps children in school and makes them less vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Children of educated mothers are more likely to survive and to be healthier because of better nutrition and immunization rates. Educated mothers tend to send their children to school, a key to breaking the cycle of inter-generational poverty.
UNICEF in Action
UNICEF actively promotes quality education for both girls and boys. But it also recognizes that a special effort is required on behalf of girls, who are often more marginalized and disadvantaged.
In Afghanistan, starting in 1999, UNICEF took the bold step of starting home schools for girls and boys when girls were prohibited from attending public school. By the end of 2001, home schools were reaching 58,000 Afghan children. In Ethiopia, UNICEF-sponsored community outreach and teacher training resulted in a 14 per cent increase in the primary school enrolment of girls. In the Syrian Arab Republic, nearly 3,000 adolescent girls enrolled in ‘Back to School’ classes that provide disadvantaged girls with basic education in half the usual time.
The Millennium Development Goals, now widely accepted as universal benchmarks for measuring global progress in development, promise primary education to all the world’s children by 2015. Furthermore, they aim to eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education at all levels by 2015.
UNICEF’s approach requires advocacy at the highest levels of government; advocacy among partners and national officials to make girls’ education a priority in sector plans; mobilization of communities and institutions to implement acceleration measures; the safeguarding of quality to avoid future setbacks; and strong local participation to promote ownership and sustainability. Finally, it means anticipating the consequences of acceleration and planning accordingly, in terms of facilities, staffing, recurrent costs and management.
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