EDUCATION SHOULD BE FREE:

 EDUCATION SHOULD BE FREE:

More world could read and write. Today the share is reversed: only 17% of the world’s population remains illiterate. Primary school enrollment is now almost universal in most countries, with as many girls enrolling as boys. Pakistan, for example, has 24 million children out of school, with just 15% of poor rural girls finishing primary school. Public spending on education is among the lowest in the world. The state of Punjab is no longer building new public schools and instead, turning over management of the public schools to the private sector. The goal was to get more of the 5.5 million out-of-school children in Punjab into school, but Oxfam’s research shows this is not what’s happening. Only 1.3% of children in the schools surveyed had previously been out of school. A large majority of the schools enrolled more boys than girls, and drop-out rates for girls were reported to be higher. Non-fee expenditures like uniforms can be as much as 40% of the household income of the poorest households, so many families choose to educate only their male children. One private school principal is quoted as saying, “We as school owners cannot include the poorest of the poor in this school with other kids. It’s not like a charity; we have limited funds from the PPP, and I also need to earn a livelihood from this.”

Education is key to meeting that goal, and there has been real progress. Globally, 90% of girls now complete primary school, but only 75% complete their lower secondary education. In low-income countries, the situation is less encouraging: fewer than 67% of girls complete their primary education, and only 33% complete lower secondary school. Income and gender combine for a crushing result. According to Oxfam, in Kenya, a girl from a poor family has a one in 250 chance of pursuing her studies beyond secondary school, compared to a one in three chance for a boy from a rich family.

“Young people are natural adopters of new technologies and certainly the potential for technology and digital media to be a force for innovation, education, and change is just beginning to be realized.”

The report issues seven recommendations:

1. Protect the right to education of migrants and displaced people.

2. Include migrants and displaced people in the national education system.

3. Understand and plan to meet the educational needs of migrants and displaced people.

4. Represent migration and displacement histories in education accurately to challenge prejudices.

5. Prepare teachers of migrants and refugees to address diversity and hardship.

6. Harness the potential of migrants and displaced people

7. Support the education needs of migrants and displaced people in humanitarian and development aid.