Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
gender disparities at all levels of education by 2015 are key MDG tar-
gets. Primary education in the global South tends to be affected by a
range of structural constraints that result in poor quality education and
low educational enrolment, attendance, completion and attainment
rates. An estimated 93 million children of primary school age are out of
school and only 60 per cent of children of secondary school age attend
secondary school globally, with less than 30 per cent of children in
sub-Saharan Africa attending secondary school (UNICEF, 2007).
Factors influencing the quality of education include a lack of teaching
materials and resources, large class sizes, poor school facilities and
infrastructure, low wages, limited skills and training opportunities for
teachers leading to high levels of absenteeism and poor teaching qual-
ity. Many countries in the global South were forced to cut government
spending on education and introduce 'user fees' as part of Structural
Adjustment Programmes from the 1980s, which often led to declining
primary school enrolment and retention rates - and, in sub-Saharan
Africa, a reversal of the progress made in previous decades. Recognition
of the negative impacts of school fees on poor families in low income
countries led to growing calls to eliminate user fees for basic services
and the establishment of UNICEF and the World Bank's Education for
All Fast Track Initiative (2002) and School Fee Abolition Initiative
(2005). The abolition of primary school fees in several low income coun-
tries, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, has led to rapid increases in pri-
mary school enrolment rates in recent years (Dean Nielsen, 2009).
Despite the policy priority accorded to universal primary education,
however, poverty remains a major barrier in many countries in the
global South. Even when school fees have been abolished, many parents
still struggle to meet educational expenses for school uniforms, books,
paper, pens, examination fees and parental contributions for school
building maintenance. In households facing extreme financial pressure,
children may never enrol in school or may drop out of school due to the
family's inability to meet schooling expenses.
Other barriers to education include the opportunity costs of children
attending school, due to the demands for their labour at home, as well
as the poor quality of education, use of corporal punishment and gender
discrimination. A range of factors create 'girl-unfriendly learning envi-
ronments', including gender biases in the curriculum and teaching
materials, inadequate and insanitary toilet facilities, sexual harass-
ment and humiliation of girls by male peers and teachers, expulsion
due to pregnancy and lack of childcare facilities to enable young mothers
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