HAVERTOWN, Pennsylvania — Worldwide, over 66 million girls do not attend school. While significant steps have been made toward achieving gender parity in education, progress has slowed in recent years and some areas still have high inequality. Here are three ways that research has shown improve girls’ enrollment in primary and secondary schools.
1. Make schools more affordable
As of 2011, school was not free in more than 50 countries. Some of the world’s poorest countries have startlingly high fees for schooling. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the annual per capita income is $231, school fees average about $44 per year per student. When families cannot afford to educate every child, girls almost always end up staying home.
To encourage more low-income families to send their daughters to school, countries should work to eliminate or reduce enrollment fees. Studies in Malawi, Tanzania and Uganda show significant increases in female enrollment rates after the reduction of school fees. After Uganda introduced free education in 1997, primary school enrollment for the poorest fifth of girls increased 36 percentage points. After three years, the gap between male and female enrollment was only half a percent.
Formal school fees are not the only financial barriers to education; the cost of school uniforms, books and other supplies can weigh heavily on poor families. Scholarship programs that offer compensation for these indirect costs have proven particularly effective in drawing girls to schools. When the Bangladeshi government began offering secondary school stipends to rural girls, enrollment in the pilot areas rose to double the national average. The stipends, which covered tuition, schoolbooks, supplies, uniforms, transportation and exam costs, were so successful that the government extended the program to all rural areas in the country.
2. Make schools safer and closer
Distance is another obstacle to girls’ education. When a girl has to walk or travel far to get to school, she puts her safety and, in some cultures, her reputation at risk. The likelihood of street harassment and violence discourages parents from allowing their daughters to travel outside the community to be educated. In India, a girl’s chances of attending primary school decrease by one to two percentage points when the distance to school increases even slightly.
Establishing schools in remote rural areas can significantly boost a country’s female enrollment rates. Indonesia reached nearly full enrollment for both boys and girls by building 60,000 new schools in conveniently located areas. There is now close to no gender gap in nationwide primary school enrollment rates.
Even if a girl makes the journey to school, she is not necessarily safe once she arrives. Teacher rapes are shockingly common, with over 2,000 cases reported in Zambia in 2010 alone. Even more occurrences of sexual violence go unreported, as girls often fear humiliation and harassment in their communities.
To ensure girls’ safety in schools, governments should recruit and train more women as teachers. Having qualified female teachers not only reduces the risk of sexual assault, but also gives girls strong role models.
3. Make schools more “girl-friendly”
To encourage girls to enroll in and stay in school, it is important to address their practical and cultural needs.
Schools must have private latrines where girls can take care of personal hygiene. Studies in 30 different African countries show that girls stay home during menstruation if their school does not have private toilet facilities. In Sierra Leone, more than a fifth of female students reported missing school because of their periods. Girls’ latrines should be separate from those of boys, and have walls and a hand washing station.
In certain cultures where gender segregation is the norm, schools should make accommodations for the inclusion of girls. These efforts can include boundary walls between female students and male teachers, separate school hours for boys and girls and separate schools for girls, if necessary. While some may argue that these practices perpetuate gender discrimination, it is more beneficial in the long term to educate the girls. If parents feel that schools do not respect cultural requirements, they may not allow their daughters to attend at all.
Lastly, schools should work to reduce gender stereotyping in the classroom. A report by the Council on Foreign Relations stated that in one country’s curriculum, “While males mentioned were often described as leaders, fighters, or soldiers, girls were most often described as breast-feeders, pretty, or pregnant.” In Nigeria, studies show that teachers give boys more opportunities to lead groups and use learning materials. Changing lessons to reflect equal opportunities for boys and girls can help convince girls that they deserve an education.
– Caitlin Harrison
Sources: UNDP, Council on Foreign Relations, The Guardian, CNN Money, CNN, Huffington Post, Girl Rising,
Photo: Camfed