What’s the world going to do about the millions of children out of school ?
According to the UNESCO , there are about 263 million children out of school. This includes 61 million children of primary school age (5 to 11), 60 million of lower secondary school age (11 to through 14), and the first ever estimate of upper secondary school age at 142 million (15 to 19).
Children are considered out of school if they falls into any of these four categories – 1) Children are old enough to attend primary school, but are not enrolled; 2) Children old enough to go to lower secondary school, but are not enrolled; 3) Children attending primary school are at risk of dropping out ; and 4) Children attending secondary school are at risk of dropping out.
The main factors contributing to them being out of school include:
1. Do not have access to a school in their community;
2. Do not enroll despite the availability of a school;
3. Enroll but later than they should have;
4. Enroll in schools that have poor facilities/no teachers;
5. Drop out of the education system; and
6. Enroll but do not attend school.
Below is a list of 20 countries with the highest number of children out of school, between the ages of 4 to 19.
The World's 20 Nations with the Highest Number of Children Out of School
Out of School Male Female 1. Somalia 71.5 69.0 74.5 2. South Sudan 67.0 64.0 71.0 3. Niger 60.0 56.0 63.5 4. Burka Fasco 52.5 51.0 53.0 5. Mali 50.0 47.0 53.5 6. Afghistan 49.0 39.0 60.5 7. Syria 47.5 47.0 47.5 8. Chad 46.5 41.0 53.0 9. Guinea 43.0 36.0 50.0 10. Sengal 39.0 39.5 38.0 11. Liberia 38.5 39.5 38.0 12. Gambia 36.0 37.0 36.0 13. Czech Republic 35.0 29.0 40.5 14. Ethiopita 34.0 36.0 31.5 15. Pakistan 32.5 28.5 37.0 16. Guinea-Bissauu 32.5 29.5 35.5 17. Uited Rep of Tanaiza 32.5 31.5 34.0 18. Nigeria 29.5 27.5 32.0 19. Benin 29.5 26.5 33.0 20. Central African Republic 28.5 20.0 37.0
Resource: UNICEF
How do we begin, to solve the problem?
Many attempts have been taken to achieve the goal of educating every child on the planet, but each one of them has failed. How do we know this? The problem is still here.
The challenge here is to gather up-to-date information and provide the resources needed to resolve the issues of these nations. This is an enormous task.
Our approach is different. We will tackle these issues end to end to make a lasting impact. We aim to study the issues, design the best solutions to resolve the issues, continually monitor the progress and incorporate new approaches as needed, and evaluate the results from a local, national, and global level to secure positive outcomes.
Taking a closer look
As you can see in the chart, 16 countries with the most out of school children are from Africa. Three are from Asia and one is from Europe, the Czech Republic. 50% of children in four of these countries are out of school and 50% of female children in seven of these countries are out of school. What barriers are they facing that prevent them from attending school?
According to the Global Partnership for Education, the barriers are centered around poverty, cultural and internal conflict, and the lack of government funding.
