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The lack of education in Africa is a problem
The lack of education in Africa is a problem
Importance of education in Africa
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I. BACKGROUND
Most countries in Africa spend a vast amount of their Gross domestic product (GDP) on military and defense (Takhal, 2012). However, education is the greatest investment for success in a world that has become progressively more interdependent and interconnected through commerce, political, and social issues. It would be detrimental to Africa to remain solely focused on strengthening their military capability while devaluing access to universal primary education (Takhal, 2012). Africa’s greatest resource is their youth and they can achieve so much if they have access to universal primary education that is supported through secondary and post-secondary education. More than half of Africa’s population is under the age of thirty (Takhal, 2012). In Sub-Saharan Africa, 47% of the overall population is under the age of fifteen with an expected increase of five to fourteen year-olds by more than thirty-four percent over the next twenty years (Takhal, 2012). According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), most countries in sub-Saharan Africa spend ten times more on university students than primary school students (Takhal, 2012). With this disproportionate allocation of educational expenditures it is no shock that there are millions of primary school-age children out of school (Watkins, 2013).
In 1990, the Conference on Education for All, held in Jomtien, Thailand, vowed to reach universal primary education by the year 2000 (Henock Kifle, Mohammed Hussain, Hailu Mekonnen, 2002). However, as of 1999 there were approximately 120 million primary school-age children still not in school, with the majority in Sub-Saharan Africa (Henock Kifle, Mohammed Hussain, Hailu Mekonnen, 2002). The Mi...
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...rom Education: a crucial step towards peace in Central African Republic: http://www.unicef.ca/
Henock Kifle, Mohammed Hussain, Hailu Mekonnen. (2002, June). Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa. Retrieved from Global Poverty Report 2002: http://www.cpahq.org/
Takhal, A. (2012, March 21). Africa Must Invest its Primary Education Sector. Retrieved from Horseed Media: http://horseedmedia.net/
UNICEF. (2013, October 18). UNICEF. Retrieved from Central African republic: Seventy percent of school children still not in classrooms: http://www.unicef.org/
UnitedNations. (2008, September 25). End Poverty 2015 Millennium Development Goals. Retrieved from United Nations: http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/
Watkins, K. (2013, January 16). Too Little Access, Not Enough Learning: Africa's Twin Deficit in Education. Retrieved from Brookings: http://www.brookings.edu/
In conclusion, the suffering from malnutrition as well as the lack of education in rural Africa are spotlighted in both Dettwyler and Lee’s books. Both anthropologists give an insight into the true nature of the many problems faced by the people and how they confront life and death in a completely foreign manner. Even though both areas suffer from similar problems, steps are slowing being taken in the right direction to help educate people by setting up programs and making better schools. Although both the societies and their issues differ greatly, both are advancing toward similar solutions.
The eight Millennium Development Goals proposed by the UN during the Millennium General Assembly of 2000 will not be reached in Africa by 2015 if international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund continue to impose unethical and punishing economic policies through the Structural Adjustment Program (SAPs) on the poor and undeveloped countries of Africa and if the wealthy old core countries continue to break promises and hesitate to donate enough financial aid to Africa to help it recover from the destructive effects of the SAPs and the AIDS pandemic, and to also ensure gender equality and rights of women in Africa.
Priscilla. “The World Economy and Africa.” JSpivey – Home – Wikispaces. 2010. 29 January 2010. .
In the documentary “Time for School 3”, aired in 2009, executive producer Pamela Hogan, conducted an informative and thought-provoking project, which scrutinized the lives of seven children living in Afghanistan, Benin, Brazil, India, Japan, Kenya, and Romania. Despite living in diverse countries, these seven children shared one attribute; the tussle of receiving a basic education.
The World Bank Group. "Understanding and Responding to Poverty." PovertyNet. 16 March 2001. Online: http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/mission/up3.htm.
Education is extremely important for unshackling the freedom of these women who hold great potential. Today, more women are in school than men. These women take up classes in medicine, geology, engineering and computer science. Sam Mbah, a Nigerian author and activist, writes, “The traditional African society would not achieve balance and harmony without the role of the women.” Women in African society are often looked down upon however, they are fighting against stereotypes.
United Nations Development Programme. Poverty Reduction and UNDP. New York: United Nations Development Programme, Jan. 2013. PDF.
More than $3billion people in the world which is nearly half of the world’s population are living on less than $2.50 a day and more than $1.3 billion live in extreme poverty which is less than$1.25 a day. (Unicef 2013). One third of deaths a year are cause by poverty. An estimate of 600 million children live in absolute poverty, every year more than 10 million innocent children die of hunger and PREVENTABLE diseases, such as diaorreah, pneumonia and malaria 19 million kids worldwide remain unvaccinated, even a simple net would prevent malaria. During 2011, 165 million kids under the age of 5 were stunted( reduced rate of growth and development) due to chronic malnutrition 870 million people worldwide do not have enough to eat. More than half a million women die in pregnancy and child birth every year… one death a minute. Why do we have cases of poverty in 2014? “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it’s an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man made an it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings”. Mandela (2005). It’s heart breaking that in this day and age there are children dying of hunger, and easily preventable diseases. Poverty reduction is one of the most dominant themes in current scholarship, policy formation and international discussion on economic development. A sign of it importance is shown by the fact that the very first target of the millennium development goals (MDG) is in fact to reduce the people living under $1 a day by half by 2015. Relative to this dissertation the role of economic growth in in poverty reduction is of high importance. Substantial and lasting reductions, if not complete eradication of poverty has been and will continue to b...
Lack of education and poverty often go hand in hand. Education begins at a young age and is an influential factor in determining ones financial status. Today, education remains an inaccessible right for millions of children around the world. More than seventy-two million children of primary education age are not in school and seven hundred and fifty-nine million adults are illiterate and do not have the awareness necessary to improve both their living conditions and those of their children.
So when children have no other place to go they get stuck at home with no education but the knowledge they acquire from their parents. Justin Fleet elaborates on the topic that “only about 37 million African children will learn so little that they will not be much better off than those kids who never attend school.” Only 111 million children will get to attend school out of 128 school-aged kids in Africa. The rest of the 17 million get planted on a waiting list, hoping for the next year to attend school. As a result for holding intelligence from children, there needs to be a change in the society's priorities and make schooling for the youth a commitment.
Growth in Africa is not enough for its people to grow, which is leading to poverty and hunger in Africa. Today Africa is one of the leading countries having poverty and economic problems. One half of the Africans live below the poverty line which leads to low human development in Africa. The main cause of poverty in Africa is a problem in its economic system and environmental factors. Because of poverty people of Africa remain hungry as they don’t have enough money to buy their food and their basic needs. Some of the African countries have less poverty rate than others due to good government and economic system in those countries. Most of the African is facing challenges to survive and keep their family healthy.
United Nations, (2013) the millennium development goals report 2013 [ONLINE] United Nations. Available at: http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/publications/mdgs-report-2013.html [Accessed on 26 December 2013]
There is no doubt that European colonialism has left a grave impact on Africa. Many of Africa’s current and recent issues can trace their roots back to the poor decisions made during the European colonial era. Some good has resulted however, like modern medicine, education, and infrastructure. Africa’s history and culture have also been transformed. It will take many years for the scars left by colonization to fade, but some things may never truly disappear. The fate of the continent may be unclear, but its past provides us with information on why the present is the way it is.
Dei S., Schooling and Difference in Africa: Democratic Challenges in a Contemporary context. Toronto, University of Toronto Press: 2006. Print.
Queiroz, Mario de. "AFRICA: A Continent of Orphans - IPS ipsnews.net." IPS Inter Press Service. N.p., 13 Dec. 2006. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. .