The learning crisis: Gaps in childhood education

Season 2, episode 1

The learning crisis: Gaps in childhood education

Children today are facing a learning crisis. Although more children than ever are enrolled in school, far too many are not learning. In this episode we travel to Ghana, Uganda, and Mongolia to hear about how UNICEF is bridging this gap by increasing access to quality primary and secondary education.

Producer: Priyadarshini Mitra

Sound Mix: Chandra Bulucon

Episode Transcript 

[00:00:00.00] [BELL RINGING]

[00:00:04.72] That's the sound of school getting out. A familiar sound that draws up a vision of classrooms, books, friends, the playground, and definitely some of the best times of my life. The world today is facing a learning crisis. On any given school day, more than 1 billion children around the world head off to class. That's more children enrolled in school than ever before in human history.

[00:00:32.41] But for every five school age children, one is not going to school at all. The picture gets even grimmer because those children who do make it to school, well more than 400 million of them are not learning basic skills. The World Bank calls this learning poverty. The inability of children to read and understand simple text by age 10.

[00:01:00.24] Key obstacles continue to prevent the poorest children from receiving quality education. Issues include gender based discrimination, poverty, disability, distance from schools, poor infrastructures, and unequal government spending on education.

[00:01:16.92] In this episode, we travel to Ghana, Uganda, and Mongolia to hear about how they are dealing with these challenges. I'm David Morley, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada and the host for every child podcast.

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[00:01:41.68] According to a newly released paper by UNICEF called addressing the learning crisis, an urgent need to better finance education for the poorest children. There are huge disparities in the distribution of funding for education. Education of the richest 20% of households gets nearly double the amount of funding compared with children from the poorest 20% of households.

[00:02:06.51] This disparity is most stark in 10 countries across Africa where the richest children are allocated four times as much education funding than the poorest. Ghana is one of those African countries. And the funding gap hits young girls the hardest. Nearly one in three adolescent girls from the poorest households around the world has never been to school.

[00:02:30.91] And while Ghana has succeeded in closing the gender gap when it comes to completing primary school, the gap at secondary school level is still too high. UNICEF Ghana education officer, Gloria Dakpallah joins us now to tell us more about the issue.

[00:02:49.13] So Gloria, not enough young girls in Ghana are staying in school. Can you tell us what are some of the challenges adolescent girls face that keep them away from schools?

[00:03:00.34] We all know that adolescent girls come from communities and schools are located in communities. And so having communities where there is less water, less sanitary facilities, these have adverse effects on the girl child because one, in terms of water, they have to walk miles to fetch water. You have to queue, and then the time they spend at the borehole, instead of going to learn or do other activities that they will have time to focus on their studies is challenged. And so they do not end up performing very well as they should be.

[00:03:33.67] In terms of the sanitary facilities, they come to less total sanitation facilities without the availability of these toilet facilities. There's a lot of diseases, like typhoid and cholera, diarrhea around.

[00:03:48.01] Disease and lack of proper menstrual facilities can definitely be daunting challenges for girls. And there's also a gender gap in learning. How does UNICEF support them in Ghana to overcome some of these challenges?

[00:04:02.33] Now, so what we do in terms of adolescent girls' education is building their capacity. In terms of science, maths, technology and then ensuring that they transition from junior high school to senior high school. In terms of that, we have done a lot of capacity building for teachers to ensure that we are able to address some of the teaching needs.

[00:04:23.77] In terms of making it more participatory and active in class, especially for the girls because they've not been too much involved in the science, mathematics and courses. And so this is a way of bridging the gap between the male and female which the males are always at a ahead in terms of science and mathematics. So now bridging the gap for the girls to reach, their male counterparts.

[00:04:47.12] So in terms of the integration, we run an integrated program between child protection, health, and education. And these adolescent girls who deal with the junior high school, those who cannot abstain from sex often get themselves pregnant. And then to ensure that they are back in school, I believe the re-entry policy has been rolled out. And the girls are able to sit-in class with their pregnancy to the time they are able to go and believe where they go and live. And then they re-enter back to school.

[00:05:21.01] With the concept of safe schools, we've been able to ensure that the schools are devoid of bullying, harassment, and sexual harassment, bullying, and corporal punishment. So these girls are very confident and comfortable, very assertive to come back to school and then sit and then learn. Most of these girls, do not shy back away to stay at home but they come back to school sit and then learn.

[00:05:43.27] You could realize that these girls who have been delivered where they're very vocal and then assertive girls that you had in the class championing the mathematics section championing and-- the menstrual hygiene and processes. So it's very obvious that education is very important. This is the way to break the cycle of poverty in every home and of course in Ghana. And Ghana as at large.

[00:06:10.27] Coming back to health. You spoke of waterborne diseases playing a role in keeping girls away from school. What's being done to look after the health of these girls?

[00:06:20.23] In terms of anemia, you realize that, that's help. You realize that most of our girls are that age, they lose a lot of blood during their menstrual cycle. And so they-- our girls, I am fully tablets supplementation was introduced to help those who are anemic, especially adolescent girls. They become quite unconscious at some point and then lose concentration in class.

[00:06:44.09] So the girls are hopefully tablets of supplementation. . It's in there making them concentrate in class in terms of washing schools, we have a number of washing school facilities where these facilities pave way for children, especially the adolescent girls who are in that menstrual period. And they are able to have access to the changing rooms and then proceed back to classroom to them other than the other days, where they have to go back, walk back home to bring change.

[00:07:13.00] And when they go back home, trust me, they don't come back to school. They end up in the house. You can place a girl who maximum of menstruate five times a week. We have in a month. So 3 and months in a ten, and then they lose her 15 days complete, that's 15 days per a whole academic year. And you see the child has lost the whole academic term in the class that causes a lot of dropouts.

[00:07:38.02] So with the introduction of the washing school facilities, the boreholes, the handwashing facilities, their changing rooms has really come to improve education, especially in Ghana and then the district at large.

[00:07:51.95] Thank you, Gloria. The obstacles faced by girls in Ghana mirror those in Uganda quite closely such as poverty, early marriage, and the lack of basic facilities for adolescent girls to manage their menstrual needs. But what happens when you add political unrest and conflict.

[00:08:09.85] 27 million children are out of school in conflict zones. Jamila was one of those children. Let's hear from Jamila about her fight to continue her education.

[00:08:22.39] We came from South Sudan from Uganda because of some other conflicts in Sudan currently taking on places. I was 15 years old. I am having two sisters and two brothers. When that conflict came out in Kajo Keji, we had nothing to do in Kajo Keji. We had to pack our properties and we left others there. We got registered. Currently, we are in the camp.

[00:08:45.07] And because of some other circumstances, some of my two sisters are at home because of school fees. They are not in school. And life is so hard when I came to Uganda. And being a refugee is something very hard. Girls are getting married. My cousin's sister, she lived with the aunt. And when the parents had no to afford fees, they cannot afford their fees to take her to school, this girl just saw it very bad and got married.

[00:09:10.11] And by now, she is not at home since they dropped out. But here, let me see that really one thing that makes girls dropout of school like homeless. [INAUDIBLE] HIV, like even HIV positive, you don't be confident in school students, [INAUDIBLE], like death of your parents. Sometimes when you lost both your parents, it would be very hurtful to come in school like violence in marriage, like your parents. Your both parents, if they have violence in their marriage, it will make life very hard, emotional burdens. Those are the thing that makes girls sometimes not stay in school.

[00:09:45.84] But that didn't stop you from persevering and trying to get enrolled in school, did it?

[00:09:51.24] No, when I came to Uganda, it was something very hard to adapt system here. And it was very hard for me to get in school because life at home there, like basic needs were missing. We had shelters, like homes, there nothing. And I had single parent which my mother and she struggled for everything.

[00:10:08.70] After a next thing, that I applied and applied over applications. When I was succeeded with some sister, everyone's sister who brought me to school, I'm feeling not happy in school right now.

[00:10:18.54] You say you're happy in school. What do you like about school?

[00:10:22.32] I like my school because I've got to know myself. And right now, I'm having enough of my self esteem and I'm so driven now by now.

[00:10:31.44] And I hear that your school's straight talk club had a role to play in that. Tell us more about it. What do you do at the straight talk club?

[00:10:40.11] Well, in school when I joined straight talk club, I got to really what life is all about. I knew staying with others and I knew that I was not the worst but I can still do as being a refugee girl. We are very happy in that club because we get to know a lot of things. We are 155 students here in the school. Currently in the club, we talk about menstrual hygiene. We get to know a lot about the body changes. So a lot of things in the club.

[00:11:11.07] So the club is so interesting. By now we know how to live with others. We know our menstrual hygiene, how to maintain it. We know our body development. We know that if you're a girl, you can still do like the boys.

[00:11:23.07] That sounds inspiring. Jamila, there are many young girls like you, maybe your peers who are dropping out of school. What would be your message to them?

[00:11:33.58] OK, my message to my girls out there is that if you are out of school, it is not a solution that you should get married. So I'm urging them that if you're out there and you're out of school, be yourself and one time opportunity will knock you as I am. I stayed home for one year without going to school but currently, I'm not in the opportunity. I'm in the school. So you be confident of yourself that one time I'll get the opportunity and I will be in school.

[00:11:59.92] And when I was at home, I thought I was the worst and I cannot do anything. But when I reached school, I knew how to interact with others. I got to learn new things. How the straight talk club has taught us to how school-- how beneficial school is and how good I am right now in school. And I'm now having speaking skills.

[00:12:22.71] There's a lot of things I got in school. I'm so happy to be in school. When I finish school, I would like to become a nurse and treat the whole nation.

[00:12:32.83] And I hope that all your dreams get fulfilled, Jamila. Your determination to be educated is so encouraging to hear. You're setting a great example for girls not only in Uganda, but all over the world. Now, let's go to another corner of the planet. In the vast Asian country of Mongolia access to education faces a different barrier. The population is semi-nomadic traveling with their livestock to find fresh pastures. The winters are harsh and long and schools are often a large distance away.

[00:13:10.20] For the youngest children, not having access to quality early learning is a major issue. 7 out of 10 children from the poorest families do not go to kindergarten. Speciose Hakizimana, year the deputy representative of UNICEF Mongolia. Can you tell us what are the challenges in Mongolia with regards to early childhood development?

[00:13:33.03] And in terms of early childhood development, you know that childhood development is helping children to get ready for learning through the kindergartens mostly. One of the obstacles is that insufficient infrastructure. And this infrastructure is not enough in the country. The second is the quality of the learning that is given to those existing ones because they are few, they are overcrowded, and the management of classrooms is very difficult for a single teacher to have two to three shifts.

[00:14:10.02] A third one is the household the children are living in. The capacity of the mother who is maybe not well educated to have the importance of sending that child consistently to school. That is one of the barriers that we observe in Mongolia as well.

[00:14:31.18] And why is this important? How is UNICEF working towards making it better.

[00:14:36.36] Why UNICEF is working on early childhood development is that it is important for a child, for less than five years to get good health, to good nutrition, safe environment, get well protected against violence, against all abuse. UNICEF values that integration of services on the child so that you have a comprehensive well-being status.

[00:15:05.70] We are trying to find ways of having more kindergartens to reach the most disadvantaged people in the remote area. And we are also working on having integrated services so that the children who are two to three-- to two to five years using these kindergartens get health and nutrition and child protection services around and also get water and sanitation facilities in the same place.

[00:15:37.38] We are investing a lot in getting the kindergartens services living in remote areas, getting access to at least one-- to one kindergarten. Another bottleneck for accessing early child development services is that, for example, in harsh winters, when the families, the herders families lose their livestock, the first thing they do is to have coping mechanisms. Sometimes they can be negative for children development. They can reduce the quantity and the quality of meals for the children. They can take the children from school. They can move in an area where there is no infrastructure.

[00:16:23.88] What UNICEF is doing on top of working with the Ministry of Education is that we are working on shock responsive social protection measures that are adapted to the-- we are piloting in one of the provinces we are working in. Where-- identifying with the families what are their basic needs and supplementing with a few, very low wage, $15 three times during our winter. So to support those families so that they can at least keep the children at school, feed them correctly and continue supporting and sustaining their families.

[00:17:02.58] UNICEF Canada through its women unlimited project is in fact, working with a group of women philanthropists to support work related to early childhood development in Mongolia. How will this be able to ultimately make an impact?

[00:17:17.88] Thank you for this question. The impact, the funding from donors like the ones UNICEF Canada is bringing in Mongolia can be effective, can be huge if it is working on three lines, action on the ground, capacity building, and policy advocacy. Why is it important to support action on the ground is because it provides immediate results for the specific family. When it produce capacity building of local and central government, it helps to make intervention more successful. And at policy advocacy level, it takes initiative at scale and make them the ones who are successful sustainable as well.

[00:18:03.49] Thank you, Speciose. In fact, UNICEF Canada's women unlimited initiative is a circle of 50 women who are committed to creating maximum impact for children across three countries, including Mongolia over a four year period. Women unlimited also works in Ghana where the initiative aims to both help keep adolescent girls in school and ensure they receive quality education.

[00:18:30.51] And in Bolivia, women unlimited is working to reduce violence in schools and communities, a key barrier to primary education. You can find out more about this at unicef.ca backslash women unlimited. We have another reason to celebrate the contribution of the women unlimited team.

[00:18:51.99] The first week of February is international development week. This uniquely Canadian tradition now in its 30th year offers an opportunity to pause and to acknowledge Canadian contributions to poverty reduction and international humanitarian assistance in the developing world.

[00:19:10.35] We'll meet some more women who've taken charge of building a better world for children, in next month's, International Women's Day special episode of for every child. I'd like to end this episode with the thought that all children have the right to go to school and learn, regardless of who they are, where they live or how much money their family has. The lesson of the learning crisis is clear. Not only do we need to make sure all children have access to education, we must ensure that the quality of that education improves and better prepares children for their futures.

[00:19:49.90] We are working to build a world in which every child learns and has a fair chance at reaching their potential. Equity in education is the foundation of that goal only then will children have the best possible chance of lifting themselves out of poverty. We must empower them with the skills they need to access opportunities and create new ones for themselves. Thank you for listening.

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