Basic education and gender equality

The big picture

Quality education remains a distant dream for millions of children across the globe. 93 million children, the majority of them girls, are being denied this fundamental right.

The challenge of Education for All

Countries around the world have committed themselves, through the Millennium and Dakar Declarations, to the international goals of universal primary education and the elimination of gender disparities in all levels of education by 2015. Since 2000, the number of children out of school has been substantially reduced. Enrolment rates are rising rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, South and Western Asia and the Middle East and North Africa, and the gender gap is narrowing. Yet quality basic education remains elusive for millions of children.

The latest figures on enrolment from the 2008 EFA (Education For All) Global Monitoring Report suggest that 72 million children were out of school in 2005 (57 per cent of them girls), compared to 96 million in 1999 (59 per cent girls). Yet when attendance figures are factored in, the actual number of children out of school may be as high as 93 million.  This reflects children who may be enrolled but are not attending class. For international education goals to be achieved, all children must not only enrol in school but also complete the required years of schooling.

Almost 80 per cent of the world’s out-of-school children live in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The median rates of children transitioning to secondary school in 2004 were close to 90 per cent in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa (where only 63.2 per cent of children attend). Within regions, the variation can be substantial. The level of participation in secondary education worldwide is much lower than the level of participation in primary school. The gross enrolment ratio in 2005 was only 60 per cent for developing regions; for sub-Saharan African countries it was 32 per cent.

Twenty-nine countries are at risk of not achieving gender parity by 2015.

What is basic education?

Basic education provides the knowledge, values and skills that form the foundation for lifelong learning. Education can be either formal or non-formal, with elements that include literacy, numeracy and life skills. While the core of basic education is primary school, it also extends to the lower years of secondary school in a number of countries.

A quality basic education is child-centred and gender-sensitive. It is based on a curriculum that is relevant to the needs and reality of all learners, and relies on professionally trained teachers equipped with appropriate learning materials. School is held in a child-friendly environment – one that is safe, clean and conducive to learning and play.

What is gender equality in education?

Gender equality in education means more than equal access to school for girls and boys. It combines the right to education (in terms of access and participation) with rights within education (gender-sensitive educational environments, processes and outcomes) and rights through education (relevant education outcomes that connect quality education to a wider process of gender justice in society). Achieving this goal means confronting unequal power relations between boys and girls and men and women in the education system and seeking redress, when necessary, through a human-rights-based approach to educational policy and practice. It means adapting equally to the learning needs and interests of girls and boys, creating a school environment that is friendly to both sexes and representing women as well as men in teaching, administrative and educational leadership positions.