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BLOG October 12, 2010 Senegal kicks off new school year with law change to allow more children to stay in school Beginning with the 2010/2011 school year, the Ministry of Education in Senegal has eliminated the exclusive national entrance exam for the grade 6iéme, which will allow more grammar school students to continue their secondary school education! In past years, students were required to pass three rigorous exams at different points in their academic career in order to be allowed to remain in school. The first exam, the entrance exam for 6iéme, took place after the sixth year of school and was required for continuing to the secondary level. The second, the BEFEM, is required for entrance to high school, and the third--the Baccalaureate--is taken at the end of high school. If a student fails a test he/she is allowed to repeat the year and the exam once. After failing for a second time, the child is automatically excluded from school for the rest of their school-age years. This policy has prevented many children from continuing their education past the elementary level, particularly impacting children from poor rural communities who have fewer resources and less access to the quality education and academic tutoring needed to pass the exclusive examinations. The État Général de l’Éducation of Senegal has recognized that this policy conflicts with the legally recognized right and obligation of children to attend school for at least 10 years. Therefore, the government has abolished the entrance exam for secondary school because it automatically limited anyone who didn’t pass to only six years of schooling. The government has long recognized that the entrance exam for 6iéme prevented children from attending school but could not afford the costs associated with maintaining all children in school through middle school. Starting this school year, the government will implement changes to honor its obligation to provide schooling for every child. Because this will increase the number of students in middle school, the government has pledged to construct new middle schools. In the past secondary schools were located only in certain towns and students who lived in villages outside of walking distance to the town were forced to find lodging in the town if they wished to continue their education. The new schools will be located so as to enable children living in villages to attend school without leaving home. These changes have been made possible through the partnership of local communities, the international community and the Senegalese government. Local communities have donated land for the new schools, and the international community and NGOs are funding the construction and equipping of new schools. The government will then provide teachers and staff for the newly built schools. With the help of NGOs and international aid, the government is able to support more schools and educate more children. Other future changes planned for the Senegalese education system include the provision of school supplies to each student by the government, school uniforms, the replacement of the first year of secondary school with a preparatory year to help students transition between elementary and secondary school, and an increase in the number of high schools and universities throughout the country. All of these changes are projected to increase access to education, as well as the quality of education throughout the country, and were possible only through the engagement of NGOs and the international community. With more children given the opportunity to access secondary education, programs such as WGEP's Sisters-to-School can make a real difference in helping families overcome the financial, cultural and academic barriers that can keep their children from taking full advantage of these opportunities. June 28, 2010 Maternal Mortality Rates Drop, Helped Down by More Education for Women A recent study published in the medical research journal The Lancet has given new hope to the fight against maternal mortality, announcing that rates of pregnancy-related deaths worldwide have dropped significantly over the past 30 years. Progress in this area was once perceived to be at a standstill, but the new data suggests that efforts to reduce this threat to women--including educating more girls--are working. Rates have plummeted from more than 500,000 deaths in 1980 to about 340,000 in 2008. Besides improved access to medical care, the study cites several other reasons for the decline, many of which are ripple effects of increased rates of schooling for women and girls. It is well documented that education for women and girls can help raise family income, improve child nutrition, increase access to health information and medical services, and lower fertility rates--all reasons cited by the study for helping lower the number of women who die from pregnancy and childbirth. This news is most welcome; however, much remains to be done. Indeed, the New York Times noted that some women’s health advocates urged The Lancet to delay publication of the study, as they were concerned that news of a decline in deaths would cause women’s health to receive less public support. Although their reaction was misguided, their concern is understandable: 380,000 deaths--more than 800 deaths each day--is still a terrifying number. Furthermore, rates of maternal mortality are still highest in sub-Saharan Africa where WGEP is currently focused. Yet another recent study published in the journal BMC Public Health has shown that women in this part of the world frequently die--not from disease--but from preventable complications during and after pregnancy. The study’s authors have emphasized that access to education is crucial to reversing this trend, and indeed, the study found that education for women is higher in countries with a lower mortality rate. These studies are important because they illustrate that these deaths are not only measurable, but preventable. Indeed, the Lancet study points to specific ways in which these deaths can be drastically reduced—with more education for women prominent. In short, not only do we know that maternal mortality rates are declining, but we also know what is working to keep these numbers down. Women’s health advocates and supporters the world over should draw inspiration from this study to further reduce that 380,000 to as close to zero as possible. Global death rates for children also drop; education for women cited as key factor A recent study has shown that global death rates for children 5 or younger--although still at a staggering 7.7 million annually--have also been dropping over the past decade. Like the studies on lowered maternal mortality rates, more education for women has been cited as one of the factors that have helped to lower these rates. Read more… September 10, 2009 SITES WE LIKE: UNICEF Radio UNICEF Radio, available in podcasts online, is an excellent resource for up to date news and in-depth analyses of the successes and setbacks in ensuring universal girls’ education worldwide. One series, titled "Digital Diaries," broadcasts the recordings made by children and adolescents of their daily lives. A recent entry is by Fatuma, a Kenyan teenager from the slums of Kibera who wanted to share her experiences in Kenya’s school system. To read Fatuma’s story and listen to her account, please visit: http://www.unicef.org/people/kenya_43469.html UNICEF Radio Home: http://www.unicef.org/videoaudio/video_radio.html September 1, 2009 Stay Up-to-Date with the Latest News on Female Genital Cutting
In Tharaka, Kenya, the Women’s Global Education Project and local partner Tharaka Women's Welfare Program has helped to keep more than 2,500 girls in school by promoting an alternative rite of passage program, one which empowers women and celebrates their transition to adulthood without the emotional and physical trauma of FGM. Girls and their mothers attend a week of educational seminars and fun activities to rejoice in each girl’s growth, so that the loss of FGM does not entail the loss of culture or ritual.
August 1, 2009 This past month, the BBC reported rising food prices in Kenya to be a growing concern as it becomes increasingly expensive to purchase staples such as maize, milk, and flour. While there is debate over the direct causes of these price hikes, analysts speculate that the violent political crisis of 2008, coupled with this year’s poor rains, have made it more and more difficult for families to put food on the table. All Kenyans are suffering, but the burden is placed disproportionately on women and children who have less bargaining power in their communities and families to demand access to the resources they need. Although the government is considering implementing price controls to ease this burden, there are grassroots solutions that can help communities better cope with food insecurity. Most importantly, families must ensure that all members have equal and fair access to nutritious food, and that scarce resources are spent responsibly. It has been proven time and again that one of the best ways to ensure a family’s food security and health is to empower mothers and wives to actively participate in important household decisions so they may advocate on behalf of themselves and their children. So, how do we encourage women to speak up? According to the World Bank, the children of a mother with even just one year of primary education show a 43 percent decline in malnutrition. Women draw confidence from education, which provides them with the tools and knowledge they need to keep a safe and happy family. Moreover, the impact education has on a woman’s wages is striking: the return of an investment in schooling in terms of wages is on average 9.8 percent worldwide. With a stronger voice and economic independence, women and children can better protect themselves from economic and political volatility. Kenya’s food crisis highlights the pressing need to make girls’ education a top priority--as a means to both empower Kenyan women and to better insulate families from price shocks and insecurity. While global financial crisis has affected us all, it is still the poorest communities that are most vulnerable. In these times, it is even more essential that we continue to make significant investments in girls’ education. Read more on food access and gender issues: BBC Bread Basket United Nations Development Fund for Women July 15, 2009
Each day, a woman somewhere in the world dies in childbirth (UNICEF). This epidemic is often hidden behind other
health and development priorities. However, a series of articles recently published in the New York Times has finally ushered the
issue of maternal mortality into the foreground.
Denise Grady’s series “Death in Birth” is commendable for bringing the veiled crisis of maternal mortality to light. But Grady fails to identify workable, straightforward solutions to this needless tragedy. Reducing maternal mortality can be as easy as the ABCs; the key is universal girls’ education. As Grady describes, there are innumerable factors contributing to high rates of maternal mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, including poor transportation, lack of access to affordable medical care, and a shortage of health workers. Fixing any one of these problems would surely save lives, and we should continue to pursue these goals. But, educating young women is the one solution that can prevent dangerous, unwanted pregnancies while also improving the health of mother and child in the long run. This fact is well documented, and many countries and organizations are beginning to act; the statistics are simply too powerful to ignore. According to the World Bank, each year a woman spends in school reduces both fertility and child mortality by 10 percent. Education empowers women to know their rights and make healthy choices, helping them to help themselves and their children.With a 1-in-16 chance of an African woman dying in childbirth, compared to a 1-in-4,000 chance for women in wealthy countries, rates of maternal mortality show “the largest difference between poor and rich countries of any health indicator” (UNICEF). Education is the closest thing to a miracle cure. Expanding and improving girls’ education in the developing world will save lives and empower new generations of mothers to hold their leaders accountable for the basic services they need. So rarely is a solution so simple. Read more on maternal mortality: The Population Council UNICEF UNFPA |
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