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  • Title: Meeting the need. Special report: educating girls.
    Author: Taylor D.
    Journal: People Planet; 1993; 2(1):7-9. PubMed ID: 12318186.
    Abstract:
    Educated women are more productive, more confident, marry later, use family planning, and have healthier children. There are an estimated 600 million illiterate women in the world, which is double the number of male illiterates. Improvements have been made in the past 10 years in educating girls. Current figures indicate that 65% of girls and 78% of boys enter primary school in developing countries vs. 20% and 11%, respectively, 10 years earlier. 37% of girls and 48% of boys are in secondary schools. An additional 56 million girls need to be enrolled in order to achieve parity with boys. The education of girls in Africa has suffered setbacks in the past decade due to economic recession. Primary school enrollment fell from 80% of eligible children in 1980 to 76% in 1986. Many countries are having difficulty keeping pace with population growth and educating more girls. There are many factors which interfere with girls' schooling: shortages of schools, lack of educational materials, cost of schools or educational materials, girl's status in society, competition with other household chores, child labor, time schedules of classes, flexibility of schools in allowing dropping in and out of school, lack of the appropriate kind of resources, distance to schools, lack of sanitation, and values emphasizing "respectability" rather than autonomy. Many countries are using innovative solutions to these difficulties. For example, in Bangladesh, Liberia, Morocco, and Tanzania, schools are "double shift" where classes are conducted in the morning, in the afternoon, and sometimes again in the evening for adult education. Communities and shanty towns are constructing their own crude buildings as schools close to home. However, in Egypt school construction is not the only answer; 400 new primary schools were opened and male enrollment increased from 90% to 100% and female enrollment rose to 74%. In Nigeria, cost of books and uniforms prevents many from attending. Poor families must be selective in choosing who will attend. Scholarships and pay as you go plans are being tried in many countries. Labor-saving domestic technology and measures to conserve natural resources provide greater opportunity for girls constrained by domestic chores. Compulsory schooling helps to reduce child labor. Increasing female teachers, building dormitories near school, and providing sanitary facilities also have increased girl enrollments. Times are changing.
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