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Short Summary |
Although total primary school enrolment rates
have recently risen in every region of the developing world, there
is still a significant gender education gap. Of 650 million children
of primary school age in the world, 103 million do not attend school,
and the majority of them are girls. This progress report focuses on
girls' education. It argues that the educated girls of today will
most likely be the empowered mothers of tomorrow- able to have fewer,
healthier, better nourished and more educated children. The report
features countries like Bolivia, Kenya and Cameroon, with successful
gender-sensitive strategies for getting and keeping girls in schools.
Such strategies include reforming the education system, formulating
innovative scholarship programmes, and providing food-for-education
incentives. It also focuses on countries such as Rawanda, Iraq and
Malawi whose progress in narrowing the gender education gap has been
slow, mostly due to conflict, AIDS and/or rapid population growth.
A set of recommendations for ensuring girls education is provided,
namely eliminating school fees (which discourage parents from enrolling
girls in school); engaging men and relevant civic groups as advocates
for girls' education, and promoting alternative schooling for girls
affected by AIDS, conflict and natural disasters. |
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