Girls' Education Monitoring System: Girls' Education and Crises

摘要

Education for all children has been the goal for most nations of the world since it was articulated in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. The difficulty in achieving the goal was recognized in the World Conference on Education for All, held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990. The Jomtien conference also focused world attention on the fact that girls enrollment and persistence in primary school was lower than that of boys in many developing countries. Multiple supply and demand factors were identified as contributing to girls not enrolling in and not completing primary school. Government fiscal and management capability as well as educational systems that reinforce stereotypes about female roles and low academic performance or provide uncomfortable physical and social environments for girls have been identified as supply-side constraints. Poverty and the related factors of direct and opportunity costs to families, together with household and community perceptions about the limited relevance of schooling for girls, are seen as depressing demand. Research efforts also began to show that girls education is a key component in improving economic and social wellbeing. Investment in girls'education has been related to increased productivity and labor force participation, decreased fertility and infant mortality, and increased child health. Recognizing the potential development gains to be achieved from educating girls, many countries have recently engaged in a variety of interventions to promote female education.