Saturday, October 29, 2016

Reflections on Girls’ Education and Gender Equality

Girls’ Education and Gender Equality


The right to education is protected under the United Nations Charter, which states that education may not be denied under any circumstance, to any person, on the basis of discrimination of gender, age, disability, legal status or otherwise[1]. The right to equal opportunity in education is furthermore outlined in Articles 10 and 28 respectively, of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Charter states that education is a fundamental human right to which every girl and boy everywhere in the world is entitled. By signing onto human rights treaties, countries agree to the terms of the treaties, and commit to works towards implementing its guidelines. Human rights treaty bodies, or committees of experts, exist to monitor and evaluate countries’ implementation in meeting the goals laid out in the core treaties. Yet despite the UN’s efforts to hold countries accountable to adhering to the treaties, millions of children, particularly girls, continue to miss out on school worldwide.

The numbers:
Girls continue to suffer disproportionate disadvantage and exclusion in education systems throughout their lives.

-UNICEF cites that 31 million primary school age girls and 32 million secondary school age girls were out of school in 2013.
-Only two out of 35 Sub-Saharan African countries have achieved education parity (equal enrollment rates) for boys and girls.
-In South and West Asia, 80 per cent of out-of-school girls are unlikely to ever start school while this is only true for 16 per cent of out-of-school boys[2].
-The UN reports that 103 million youth worldwide lack basic literacy skills, and more than 60 per cent of them are women[3].
-There are still 58 million children out of school globally and around 100 million children who do not complete primary education. Inequality in education has increased, with girls, the poorest and most disadvantaged shouldering the heaviest burden. Further more, the poor quality of learning at primary level is responsible for millions of children leaving school without basic skills. Today, gender disparity remains in almost a third of the countries with data[4].

There are many factors that contribute to educational inequality and disparities in school attendance. Some factors include cultural norms favoring the education of boys, lack of family resources for school supplies, irrelevant and gender biased textbooks, violence, exploitation and discrimination by teachers and peers, conflict and war, and unsafe schools.

UNICEF notes that when education lacks relevance and quality, and when girls are discriminated against, education has little to no effect. The quality of education directly affects outcomes and enrollment numbers. Quality of education and gender equality in education are closely intertwined. Thus, by addressing issued of quality in education, greater parity in school enrollment can be reached. UNICEF notes furthermore, that quality education is essential to real learning and human development. Here again, quality plays a critical role in closing the gender gap in basic education[5].

Education has the power to lead to the development of successful and productive societies and individuals, and it can positively influence generations to come in a trickle-down manner. But in order for it to be relevant to, safe and attractive for all children, it must be rooted in human rights and gender equality[6].

Who is doing what?
Two examples of work that the UN and it’s partners are undertaking to address the issue of gender equality in education, is UNICEF’s work through the UNGEI Initiative and their Child Friendly Schools model, and the Education for All Movement (EFA) led by UNESCO.

Empowerment
UNICEF supports governments in the reduction of gender disparities through interventions at national, local and community levels aimed at empowering girls. UNICEF serves as lead agency to  the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), which supports the rights of girls and helps countries achieve change and gender equality in education. Leading UNGEI, UNICEF empowers girls by supporting their life skills, basic education and improving learning outcomes.

One way they are doing this is through their Child-Friendly Schools model. CRF is a UNICEF-created educational model aimed at helping schools achieve safe, healthy and protective environments that meet the varied needs of children. The CFR model promotes inclusiveness, gender-sensitivity, tolerance, dignity, personal empowerment and an overall gender-sensitive environment that is conducive to learning. Child-Friendly Schools are places where human rights and gender equality are taught and encouraged, text books are revised for gender biases, teachers are fully trained and qualified, and female teachers are hired to act as role models for girls. Furthermore, the CFS model seeks to ensure that the learning environment operates in the best interests of the child. This means that educational environments are designed to be safe, nurturing places, with adequate resources and appropriate physical, emotional and social conditions where all children feel safe and empowered to learning[7]. Child-friendly schools have become the main approach through which a network of international and national partners is promoting quality education for all children. Currently, it is used 93 countries to ensure children their right to quality education[8].

Resources
UNGEI reports and publications, such as The Gender Review 2016, serve to inform the global community, partners, governments and teachers about global and regional trends in achieving parity in education access. Program outcomes and data on education, gender and sustainable development are revealed and implications discussed, including suggestions for ways forward. These publications serve to inform teachers, governments and civil society organization on best practices in education and assist them in meeting their educational goals.

Inclusive and equitable education for all
The Education for All (EFA) global movement, led by UNESCO, aims to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and adults. At the 2000 World Education Forum in Dakar, 164 governments pledged to achieve EFA goals and identified six goals to be met by 2015. Goal 5 aims to eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education, and goal 6 aims to achieve gender equality in education, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to basic quality education. Not all goals have been met by the 2015 deadline. However, in September 2015, at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, Member States adopted the 2010 Agenda for Sustainable Development with goals set for 2030. This new agenda includes an education goal (SDG 4) that aims to ensure free, inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. It seeks to eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for vulnerable populations, and to ensure skills are learned which promote human rights, gender equality and non-violence. Furthermore, much like the Child-Friendly Schools model, EFA promises to benefit all children while also addressing gender disparities by aiming to build and upgrade education facilities that are child-friendly and gender sensitive, and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments.

Resources:
In parallel to its work with EFA, UNESCO produces the The Global Education Monitoring Report. The GEM Report monitors progress towards the education targets in the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework. This and related publications and online tools are produced to enable teachers, policy-makers and civil society to benefit from the research UNESCO and its partners undertake.

EFA Implementation
As the lead EFA agency, UNESCO is mandated to coordinate its partners (UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and the World Bank), and bring together Governments, the private sector, civil society, the United Nations system to facilitate a global engagement in support of the reaching and implementation of EFA goals and targets. UNESCO focuses its activities on five key areas: policy dialogue, monitoring, advocacy, mobilization of funding, and capacity development. These activities ensure, among other things, that program progress and challenges are identified, awareness is raised and dialogue is sustained, finances are harmonized and coordinated, and national capacities are strengthened.

Achievements and Shortcomings:
The status of education globally has seen positive achievements since the agreements in Dakar in 2000. The number of out-of-school children and adolescents has been halved, with 34 million more children attending school as a result of progress since Dakar. Gender parity in primary education has seen significant improvements, though gender disparity is still widespread[9].
Much work is to be done to ensure that all children have equal access to quality education. The conventions, interventions, guidelines and initiatives outlined above, serve to keep governments and the international community on track in ensuring their goals and commitments for achieving quality education and gender equality in education are met. Education remains under-financed and remains underfinanced by most governments[10].
In order to close the gap in the disparity in education, national governments must first of all stay true to their commitments to the Human Rights Treaties. National and international budgets must prioritize funding for education. A human rights-based approach to education must be implemented in schools, so as to ensure its relevance to and effectiveness for all children. The needs of girls must be prioritized with a focus not just on equal access, but also on the quality and relevance of their education. With these measures in place, girls have the potential to become fully empowered global citizens through education, and will be able to lead productive, meaningful lives.



Sources:
UNESCO, 18 October, 2016. General Education Monitoring Report. https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/
UNESCO. Education. Education for All Movement. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education
UNGEI. Vision and Mission: http://www.ungei.org/whatisungei/index_211.html
OHCHR. Human Rights Treaties. http://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/hrc/pages/hrcindex.aspx
UNICEF. Girls’ Education and Gender Equality. http://www.unicef.org/education/bege_70640.html
UNICEF. Child Friendly Schools. http://www.unicef.org/cfs/
sustainabledevelopment.un.org/topics/education




[1] UNOHCHC, 2016. UN Human Rights Instruments[1]. Retrieved from http://ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/UniversalHumanRightsInstruments.aspx
[2] UNICEF, 23 July, 2015. Girls’ Education and Gender Equality. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/education/bege_70640.html
[3] United Nations. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education/
[4] UNESCO, 2014. Global Education Monitoring Report. About Us. http://en.unesco.org/gem-report/about

[5] UNICEF, August 2012. Child Friendly Schools. Retrieved from  http://www.unicef.org/cfs/
[6] UNICEF. Girls’ Education and Gender Equality. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/education/bege_70640.html
[7] UNICEF, 18, November, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/education/index_focus_schools.html
[8] UNICEF, August 2012. Retrieved from http://www.unicef.org/cfs/index_19.htm

[9] UNESCO, 18 October, 2016. General Education Monitoring Report. https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/
[10] UNESCO, 18 October, 2016. General Education Monitoring Report. https://en.unesco.org/gem-report/

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