Education in Africa. The Idealism of Education Policies

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Introduction

The modern world can be characterized by the dominance of humanistic values, which are viewed as the basis for future evolution. For this reason, the global community is focused on eliminating all cases of inequality and providing people in different regions with similar opportunities. Education is one of the issues of concern as it is vital today. High-quality education enhances the expertise and skills needed in the job market. It gives both the rich and the poor equal opportunities in society. However, in Africa, the standard of education is a subject that has elicited debates over the years, hence warranting the need for further discussions. The main concern is the measures that need to be taken to ensure quality education in Africa, as at the moment, there are severe problems with high rates of adolescents out of school, poor quality, and inaccessibility.

Exclusion

Education exclusion is one of the leading social problems in Africa. It results in the establishment of private schools for elites or looking for education abroad to ensure a better quality of knowledge (World Bank Group, 2018). These facts show that there are multiple unresolved problems in Africa deteriorating the functioning of educational establishments of all levels. The central issues include lack of schools, poor working environment, barriers to education, and lack of governmental support (Hakura et al., 2016). These problems deprive a significant part of the population of a chance to get the desired education, find a job and succeed. For this reason, it is vital to introduce measures that will help to promote positive change and increase the accessibility of education.

Out of School Rates

The high number of children out of school remains a central challenge in Africa. In accordance with the report provided by UNESCO (2019), 5 million children in Northern Africa and 32.2 million in Sub-Saharan Africa did not attend school in 2018. Specifically, 20% of Africans aged 6 to 11 years and 33% aged 12 to 14 were out of school in 2019 (Tchamyou, 2020). Moreover, there is a significant gender divide as girls are more likely to be out of school. UNESCO (2019) shows that in Sub-Saharan Africa, the number of out-of-school boys is 14.1 million, while 18.1 million females did not attend any educational establishment in 2018. It becomes a serious problem threatening the future development of the region and limiting people in their chances to succeed in the future.

Reasons

The reasons why children are out of school are diverse and result from the local peculiarities. UNESCO (2019) reports that the lack of governmental support and regulation, along with the low power of authorities, creates an environment dangerous for pupils. Furthermore, inappropriate living conditions, poverty, and child labor are also included (UNESCO, 2019). The combination of these factors negatively affects most African territories and the education system. Another problem is that many countries are affected by the conflict and deny education (Tchamyou, 2020). Under these conditions, all educational establishments experience a lack of support and suffer from the absence of policies creating the appropriate legal field (Hakura et al., 2016). Finally, local culture, presupposing early marriages, and lack of awareness about education are also factors decreasing the image of education (Tchamyou, 2020). These reasons also indicate the need for a radical change to create a new paradigm beneficial for the education system.

The Lack of Schools

The lack of schools in Africa is one of the fundamental concerns of international agencies. The focus on the improvement of the situation helped to increase the school enrollment rate and is above 80% on average in 2018 (UNESCO, 2019). However, these efforts are still not enough because of the complicated access to schools for pupils living in various regions, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO, 2019). Reports show that every third child had problems accessing the primary educational establishment in 2019 (UNESCO, 2019). Moreover, there is a particular inequality and disparities in education as high-quality schools with a safe and comfortable environment are available only to the high class (UNESCO, 2019). Under these conditions, the insufficient supply of educators and schools is the central reason for emerging multiple problems in the educational sphere and high rates of children out of school.

Child Labor

Child labor is another significant barrier to education in Africa. International Labour Organization (ILO) (2017) reports that in 2016 one-fifth of all children had to work in Africa. Moreover, 9% of them had to perform hazardous work with a serious risk to their health (ILO, 2017). It means that 72.1 million African children did not have a chance to attend school because of their duties at their workplaces (ILO, 2017). Many international organizations are concerned with the situation as it has multiple adverse effects on the future of the region; however, there are still numerous adolescents who had to work to support their families (ILO, 2017). It means that poverty is directly linked to child labor and the quality and accessibility of education. Elimination of this factor is a key to promoting improved school enrollment rates and reconsidering the situation.

Class Sizes

A low number of schools and educators results in big classes. For instance, average class sizes exceed 70 pupils in Malawi, Tanzania, and the Central African Republic (Bowne et al., 2017). It creates specific barriers to acquiring education. First of all, teachers cannot ensure effective academic activities because of the too big number of learners (Bowne et al., 2017). Second, it prevents pupils from focusing and concentrating on a subject. Finally, overcrowded classes can precondition the emergence of sanitary issues and bullying cases or aggressive behaviors (Bowne et al., 2017). Under these conditions, the education system of Africa suffers from the insufficient supply of teachers and facilities to satisfy the demands of all learners (Bowne et al., 2017). It stimulates the growth in drop out and out of school rates, deteriorates the quality of education, and demotivates children to study as their efforts can remain unnoticed.

Costs

Finally, the cost of education is a disputable issue regarding its accessibility and quality. A study performed in 2015 discovered that most schools in Sub-Saharan Africa had fees as the governments could not finance and support education (Ilie & Rose, 2016). For this reason, for many households, the price was too high and constituted about 20% of their budget (Bowne et al., 2017). It means that many students cannot get an appropriate education. However, abolishment of fees can precondition the increase in the number of students, overcrowded classes, and poor functioning of schools (Ilie & Rose, 2016). That is why costs remain a serious barrier to acquiring education, and there is a need for a wise policy aimed at eliminating fees and supporting schools. At the moment, they had to resolve existing problems on their own, which reduces these establishments’ capabilities.

Teachers Quality

Poor quality processes are another barrier to education in Africa. UNESCO Institute of Statistics states that in 2019 only 25% of pre-primary teachers and 50% of secondary school teachers have an appropriate level of training and experience (Raikes et al., 2020). Unprepared educators are a serious concern deteriorating the image of the sphere and preventing children from acquiring appropriate knowledge. Moreover, the poor school management is another factor promoting high children of school rates. The inability to create safe and favorable conditions is a key factor reducing parents’ willingness to enroll their children in school (Raikes et al., 2020). Furthermore, 70% of Sub-Saharan African countries faced teacher shortages in 2018 because of the low salary, poor working conditions, and lack of motivation (Musau, 2018). For this reason, the education sphere in most African states requires new and well-trained specialists to support its evolution.

Port primary Education

Post-primary education in Africa also experiences numerous challenges. Most of them are result from underdeveloped primary education as there are no students prepared and motivated enough to continue their education. Family issues, such as early marriage and the necessity to work, precondition high drop-out rates (Petroni et al., 2017). About 30% of all learners decided to stop their learning in 2018 (Momo et al., 2019). The lack of trained specialists means that post-primary education will also experience the same problems as teachers will not guarantee the high quality of academic activities (Ilie & Rose, 2016). The costs remain high, and families cannot afford it, which makes the situation worse. Finally, the existing disparities and inequalities in the educational sphere make students from private schools more attractive for employers (Engelbrecht et al., 2016). It means that learners from the other schools are in a vulnerable position. For this reason, post-primary education suffers from systematic causes peculiar to the whole sector.

Recommendations

The facts outlined above indicate the urgent need for intervention and improvement. The positive change can be attained by radical alteration of existing policies. Currently, most states in Africa devote little attention to the educational sphere, preferring to solve issues in other sectors. However, education should be viewed as an investment in the future of the nation, meaning that serious funds should be devoted to the creation of infrastructure and supporting new policies vital for protecting pupils and teachers. The elimination of root causes mentioned above can be attained only with the help of governments responsible for monitoring unfair, unethical, or discriminative practices and their prevention. Education should become free for all people with a focus on supporting schools and their work. It will contribute to the elimination of disparities and the provision of new opportunities to children across the continent.

Conclusion

Altogether, education in Africa remains a problematic issue. Regardless of multiple attempts to ensure that all children have a chance to acquire needed knowledge, there are still barriers preventing them from it. These include lack of schools, high costs of education, inappropriate conditions in schools such as the big size of classes, or unprepared teachers. These factors affect the educational sectors of all African states and the quality of people’s lives. The positive change can be attained only with the help of governments as it is vital to reconsider the attitude to the sphere and guarantee children can learn in safe environments.

References

Bowne, J. B., Magnuson, K. A., Schindler, H. S., Duncan, G. J., & Yoshikawa, H. (2017). A meta-analysis of class sizes and ratios in early childhood education programs: Are thresholds of quality associated with greater impacts on cognitive, achievement, and socioemotional outcomes?Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 39(3), 407-428. Web.

Engelbrecht, P., Nel, M., Smit, S., & Van Deventer, M. (2016). The idealism of education policies and the realities in schools: The implementation of inclusive education in South Africa.International Journal of Inclusive Education, 20(5), 520-535. Web.

Hakura, M. D., Hussain, M. M., Newiak, M. M., Thakoor, V., & Yang, M. F. (2016). Inequality, gender gaps and economic growth: Comparative evidence for sub-Saharan Africa. International Monetary Fund. Web.

Ilie, S., & Rose, P. (2016). Is equal access to higher education in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa achievable by 2030?Higher Education, 72(4), 435-455. Web.

International Labour Organization (ILO). (2017). Global estimates of child labour. ILO. Web.

Momo, M. S., Cabus, S. J., De Witte, K., & Groot, W. (2019). A systematic review of the literature on the causes of early school leaving in Africa and Asia.Review of Education, 7(3), 496-522. Web.

Musau, Z. (2018). Africa grapples with huge disparities in education.Africa Renewal, 31(3), 10-11. Web.

Petroni, S., Steinhaus, M., Fenn, N. S., Stoebenau, K., & Gregowski, A. (2017). New findings on child marriage in sub-Saharan Africa.Annals of Global Health, 83(5-6), 781-790. Web.

Raikes, A., Koziol, N., Davis, D., & Burton, A. (2020). Measuring quality of preprimary education in sub-Saharan Africa: Evaluation of the measuring early learning environments scale.Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 53(4), 571-585. Web.

Tchamyou, V. S. (2020). Education, lifelong learning, inequality and financial access: Evidence from African countries.Contemporary Social Science, 15(1), 7-25. Web.

United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2019). New methodology shows that 258 million children, adolescents and youth are out of school. UNESCO. Web.

World Bank Group. (2018). Overcoming poverty and inequality in South Africa: An assessment of drivers, constraints and opportunities. World Bank. Web.

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