Unequal Access to Education
I taught these young kids about dental hygiene with other FIMRC volunteers
The Gender Gap
While in Uganda, I didn't have that many direct experiences with education. I taught health lessons in a few different schools, but that gave me only a limited insight into education in Uganda. The biggest indicator of the overall low educational attainment of people in the area came from the interviews I conducted as part of the Community Health Educator Program evaluation. The first few days I conducted surveys, I was surprised how many people--men and women alike--dropped out of primary school. Not only were these individuals failing to complete the equivalent of a US eighth grade education, but they were dropping out much earlier than that--if they ever attended school at all. As noted by Anne Firth Murray (2008), poverty precludes access to education (and other services) for all living in absolute poverty. Yet, a gender gap in education still exists, and it widens with age (Murray 2008). In Eastern and Southern Africa, the ratio of boys to girls in primary school is 94%, and while this statistic is somewhat promising, the gap widens significantly in secondary school (UNICEF 2007:133).
Upon entry into secondary school, the gender gap increases and the ratio of boys to girls increases to 85% (UNICEF 2007:133). This increasing gender gap reflects that fact that even fewer girls are likely to attend secondary school. It is also important to recognize the shortcomings of these measures. These ratios measure enrollment in primary and secondary school, but they fail to provide any insight into attendance. Girls are much more likely than boys to skip school (often without an alternative) to help their mothers with child care for younger siblings or to help with other responsibilities (Lawson 2008). Furthermore, girls may also drop out of school due to pregnancy or marriage--both of which often occur at very young ages in Uganda.
While in Uganda, I didn't have that many direct experiences with education. I taught health lessons in a few different schools, but that gave me only a limited insight into education in Uganda. The biggest indicator of the overall low educational attainment of people in the area came from the interviews I conducted as part of the Community Health Educator Program evaluation. The first few days I conducted surveys, I was surprised how many people--men and women alike--dropped out of primary school. Not only were these individuals failing to complete the equivalent of a US eighth grade education, but they were dropping out much earlier than that--if they ever attended school at all. As noted by Anne Firth Murray (2008), poverty precludes access to education (and other services) for all living in absolute poverty. Yet, a gender gap in education still exists, and it widens with age (Murray 2008). In Eastern and Southern Africa, the ratio of boys to girls in primary school is 94%, and while this statistic is somewhat promising, the gap widens significantly in secondary school (UNICEF 2007:133).
Upon entry into secondary school, the gender gap increases and the ratio of boys to girls increases to 85% (UNICEF 2007:133). This increasing gender gap reflects that fact that even fewer girls are likely to attend secondary school. It is also important to recognize the shortcomings of these measures. These ratios measure enrollment in primary and secondary school, but they fail to provide any insight into attendance. Girls are much more likely than boys to skip school (often without an alternative) to help their mothers with child care for younger siblings or to help with other responsibilities (Lawson 2008). Furthermore, girls may also drop out of school due to pregnancy or marriage--both of which often occur at very young ages in Uganda.
Why Does Education Matter?
Students from Arlington Academy of Hope
Education as a Means to Development
In the US, access to education is largely taken for granted, but this is not the case in rural Uganda. The unequal access to education represents a failure to meet the basic needs of Ugandan children. While girls face the most barriers to an education, all rural children seem to face a considerable challenge to completing a secondary education. Education provides the greatest way to improve the lives of women. Higher educational attainment correlates with delayed pregnancy and marriage, lower fertility rates, lower child mortality rates, and lower rates of under-nutrition (Abu-Ghaida and Klasen 2003). Furthermore, educated women are more likely to value the education of their children--helping the end the cyclic nature of poverty and insufficient education.
Education is also closely linked with other desirable outcomes--such as better health. For me, it is easy to see how many of these institutions and cultural norms are related. Young age at pregnancy and marriage contribute to high drop out rates for female students. Low educational attainment can leave women feeling disempowered, subject to their husbands' control and afraid to seek family planning services against his will. Large family size increases the burden on these women, forcing their own daughters to drop out of school at an early age to help perform the household chores. Without providing adequate access to education for young girls and alternatives to meet the family's household needs, it seems nearly impossible to end this cycle, creating generations of disenfranchised women. Education is perhaps the single most important issue for development, though the principle of indivisibility emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the relations between many different avenues (Petchesky 2000).
Gender, Education, and Empowerment: Lessons from the Field
I taught at the Arlington Academy of Hope with another FIMRC volunteer. It is arguably the best school in the area, and it is privately funded by donors and sponsors from the US and elsewhere. Admission into the school is competitive, and children are held to high standards for attendance and academic performance. We taught a lesson on puberty, sexual health, and gender to a group of students at the Primary 6 level (second highest primary school level). At the end of the lesson, we set up a gender activity where the students categorized different descriptors, chores, and jobs as appropriate for men, women, or both. For the most part, the students agreed that both men and women could be intelligent, hardworking, and so forth, which I found quite reassuring. Once we got to the traditionally male careers (doctor, nurse, teacher), the boys demonstrated their belief that they should still be jobs for men. On the other hand, the girls demonstrated their belief that they, too, were capable of holding such highly esteemed professions. Despite the lack of consensus on whether or not women should be doctors or lawyers, the activity demonstrated something important: the girls had internalized the belief that they were just as capable as the boys. For me, this experience illustrated the transformative power of education and its value as a tool to promote gender equality.
In the US, access to education is largely taken for granted, but this is not the case in rural Uganda. The unequal access to education represents a failure to meet the basic needs of Ugandan children. While girls face the most barriers to an education, all rural children seem to face a considerable challenge to completing a secondary education. Education provides the greatest way to improve the lives of women. Higher educational attainment correlates with delayed pregnancy and marriage, lower fertility rates, lower child mortality rates, and lower rates of under-nutrition (Abu-Ghaida and Klasen 2003). Furthermore, educated women are more likely to value the education of their children--helping the end the cyclic nature of poverty and insufficient education.
Education is also closely linked with other desirable outcomes--such as better health. For me, it is easy to see how many of these institutions and cultural norms are related. Young age at pregnancy and marriage contribute to high drop out rates for female students. Low educational attainment can leave women feeling disempowered, subject to their husbands' control and afraid to seek family planning services against his will. Large family size increases the burden on these women, forcing their own daughters to drop out of school at an early age to help perform the household chores. Without providing adequate access to education for young girls and alternatives to meet the family's household needs, it seems nearly impossible to end this cycle, creating generations of disenfranchised women. Education is perhaps the single most important issue for development, though the principle of indivisibility emphasizes the importance of acknowledging the relations between many different avenues (Petchesky 2000).
Gender, Education, and Empowerment: Lessons from the Field
I taught at the Arlington Academy of Hope with another FIMRC volunteer. It is arguably the best school in the area, and it is privately funded by donors and sponsors from the US and elsewhere. Admission into the school is competitive, and children are held to high standards for attendance and academic performance. We taught a lesson on puberty, sexual health, and gender to a group of students at the Primary 6 level (second highest primary school level). At the end of the lesson, we set up a gender activity where the students categorized different descriptors, chores, and jobs as appropriate for men, women, or both. For the most part, the students agreed that both men and women could be intelligent, hardworking, and so forth, which I found quite reassuring. Once we got to the traditionally male careers (doctor, nurse, teacher), the boys demonstrated their belief that they should still be jobs for men. On the other hand, the girls demonstrated their belief that they, too, were capable of holding such highly esteemed professions. Despite the lack of consensus on whether or not women should be doctors or lawyers, the activity demonstrated something important: the girls had internalized the belief that they were just as capable as the boys. For me, this experience illustrated the transformative power of education and its value as a tool to promote gender equality.