Education is a right, not a privilege

Jul 16th, 2011 1:24 PM UTC
By Field

Richard Adrien from RESULTS talks about a new report that highlights the systemic barriers faced by girls in education sectors around the world.

On July 12, RESULTS Educational Fund in partnership with the Global Campaign for Education released an innovative report, “Make it Right: Ending the Crisis in Girls Education,” which explores the systemic barriers that girls face once they are enrolled in school.

Make it Right takes a holistic approach to probe deeper into the legal, policy and budget frameworks needed to achieve gender equality and equity in education. It also provides key recommendations that the international community and global governments must heed in order to make education a reality for both boys and girls.

According to the report, 53 percent of out-of-school children are girls. Although this figure represents an improvement since 2000, stark gender disparities still hinder progress in meeting the developmental goal of achieving gender parity in education. The report argues that statistics which highlight the rise in girls’ primary school enrollment often fail to capture the true experience of millions of girls. Beyond the enrollment numbers are the countless stories of girls forced to drop out of school for a myriad of factors, such as childhood marriage, gender-based violence or the responsibilities associated with domestic chores. The plight of girls is further exacerbated by the constraints brought on by poverty. Given that schools are microcosms of society, it is no surprise that gender disparities are prevalent in schools around the world.

The bleak reality of gender inequality in education is further revealed by the following statistics: in 47 out of 54 African countries, girls have a less than 50 percent chance of going to secondary school. Around the world, two-thirds of illiterate adults are women. Denying girls a quality education is a human rights violation that denies whole families and communities the benefits derived from educating girls. Development experts would agree that educating girls is an effective poverty-alleviating tool that benefits households, communities and societies —consider that children born to educated mothers are two times more likely to survive past the age of five.

I urge global advocates to take action to make it right for girls and ensure education is a right — not a privilege — for the millions of out-of-school girls. Read more on girls’ education and learn how you can take action. To learn more about RESULTS, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

-Richard Adrien, RESULTS Educational Fund

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