Marginalized families are in the lowest income bracket, they have lower rates of life expectancy, a higher incidence of health problems, including high maternal mortality rates, and they are more poorly nourished than the rest of the population but despite all their struggles, parents in the poorest societies in the world wish to invest in their children’s education. That is their first priority when they are asked what is most important to them. We, therefore, owe them a school that responds to their expectations – and to the opportunities that come after completed education. Education that targets marginalized and poor populations will bring change to many of the systemic factors that have contributed to the delay in poor communities’ development. Education can prevent the transmission of poverty between generations. Education also has documented effect on health, nutrition, economic development and on environmental protection
Let me give you some examples of the link between education, health and nutrition.
Food insecurity and poor nutrition is due to poverty and unequal distribution of resources, but it is also due to insufficient knowledge of production methods and on nutritional facts. Children who have poor health or who are hungry will not come to school – or their performance will be impaired by poor health and nutrition. Many children in developing countries face severe nutritional and cognitive deficits from the beginning of life. Estimates suggest that up to one-eighth of all children in developing countries are born malnourished and that 47 percent of children in low-income countries—continue to be malnourished before the age of five. Early malnutrition weakens children’s physical and cognitive potential and even their non-cognitive traits such as motivation and persistence.
Through basic education, marginalized people learn more about health and are better able to protect themselves and their children against diseases. The level of health among children and young people improves if their parents have had an education. This in turn increases their likelihood of receiving, and benefiting from, an education. It is important to remember that improvements in one area, benefits several others, and we need to constantly look for the most effective synergies.
For girls, the effect of education is particularly strong. If all women in poor countries completed primary education, child mortality would drop by a sixth, saving almost one million lives each year. If they all had a secondary education, it would be cut in half, saving thirty lakh lives. Education can prevent maternal mortality by helping women recognize danger signs, seek care and make sure trained health workers are present at births. If all women completed primary education, maternal mortality would be cut by two-thirds each year. “Girls’ education literally saves millions of lives”
Education can combat the following structure of poverty.
Increased access to education can contribute to reducing poverty. Acquired basic skills such as reading, writing and numeracy, have a documented positive effect on marginalized populations’ incomes. It increases the rate of return on the economy.
A newly published paper by UNESCO shows that education is critical to escape chronic poverty and to prevent the transmission of poverty between generations. The rate of return is higher in low-income countries than in high income countries. Primary education has a higher rate of return than secondary education. Education also enables those in paid formal employment to earn higher wages: One year of education is associated with a 10% increase in wages.
Education also changes structures in food security. It found that the average annual gain in production associated with four years of schooling was 8.7%. Education becomes a catalytic force contributing to the turn of the tide of eliminating extreme poverty – in a sustainable way. It is therefore important to invest in education that provides children and youth with relevant theoretical and practical skills.
Let me end by quickly highlighting some of the issues this government has indicated will be high on their education for development agenda:
1. “Mind the school”: Design activities/programmes to reach the most marginalized and girls
- Despite tremendous success getting children into school since 2005, almost 90 million children are still out of school and the decline in out-of-school children has stagnated. The children still not in school are the most marginalized and “suffer” from multiple marginalization factors (poverty, rural, ethinic/religious/language miniorties, being a girl etcetera) As we move forward to the next generation development goals, targeting interventions to reach excluded populations is necessary.
2. What students learn matters – focusing on quality, learning and teachers
- In addition to almost 90 million out-of-school children, it has been calculated that 550 million children don’t learn the basics.
- It is obvious that the societal gains we expect from investing in education will require that going to school leads to learning.
- Both countries and the global education community are right now mobilizing to invest more in education quality and content.
3. Domestic investment matters to address inequities in society – including synergies between sectors.
- While education is a catalyst for other development goals, it is also important that sectors work together. Investing in children’s health and nutrition, for example, is important in itself, but also because it will lead to a positive cycle of children being better equipped to learn in school. When children come healthy and fed to school there is a higher chance they will learn – for life. A holistic investment in the early childhood is therefore crucial.
- At the replenishment conference of Partnership for Education in June earlier this year, partner states committed to an increase in their domestic funds to education . In-country dialogue is now going on to find the best way possible for these funds to address inequities in education and to improve education quality.
- We look forward to cooperating with a broad range of donors and volunteers in making this Khidmat Foundation’s high ambitions for education a success, and to make sure we interlink with the other areas of the sustainable development agenda.
