Education in Africa
Peyton Wionzek and Cassidy Willie
Background of the Issue
When Europeans began colonizing Africa it started to change many education systems. Their schools were no longer about rituals and rites of passage, but would now allow Africans to compete with other countries due to the new education systems.
The main reason for the low education rates in Africa is because of the lack of proper schooling facilities and unequal opportunity for education across Africa.
Analysis of the Conflict
One major cause of the poor education in Africa is because of the lack of proper school facilities and educators. There are also unequal opportunities for education across the countries, being in a rural or remote area doesn’t help either. Because of this, children attending those schools usually get poor results in standardized tests compared to the urban schools.
The people who receive an education move to big cities or to other countries where better opportunities are available to them. The loss of skilled people makes it difficult to find others who are able to teach other people.
Countries Involved
Almost every country in Africa is involved with the struggles of education; the countries that have the worst education are Niger, Eritrea. They have the most children not enrolled in primary school, and primary school is a necessity for having a stable learning background.
Statistical Information
In the top two countries of Eritrea and Djibouti less than half of the primary school age children are actually enrolled in primary school.
In 2009, almost 50% of the regions children are out of school.
Djibouti, Central African Republic, Niger, and Rwanda are only few of the countries that have the lowest primary school completion rates. In Djibouti only 1/3 of the children complete primary school. There are also more boys completing school compared to girls.
All of the countries with the lowest literacy rates are in Africa. Madagascar having 64.9% of its population unable to read. Less than 25% of the female youth are literate in Niger.
Help to resolve the problem
What needs to be done
Plan to address the problem
First, we need to build more schools in Africa. Next, teachers need to be better trained, and we need more of them. Third, the children need to be encouraged and more motivated to go to school. They also need a way of transportation (such as a bike), if their school is far away. lastly, when possible, more advanced technology needs to be added to classroom along with electricity. The better the education; the brighter future for Africa.