Education Forum
26 - 28 avril 2000
Civil Society
Despite the fact that 44 million more
girls attend primary schools in deve l o-
ping countries than in 1990, and des-
pite the fact that the education of girls and
women is now on policy-making agendas in most
d eveloping nations, the gender gap is still unac-
ceptably wide. “Girl’s education makes all the
d i f f e rence, not only in terms of economic deve-
lopment but human deve l o p m e n t ,” says Mary
Joy Pigozzi of UNICEF. What, then, explains
such discrimination, when all indicators show
that girls’ schooling is a proven effective inve s t-
ment for society. Perhaps the fact that indiv i d u a l
families do not always see it as an immediate
b e n e fit. “Po l i c y - m a kers should recognise the
costs and benefits from the pare n t s ’p e r s p e c t ive ,”
suggests a recent World Bank discussion paper.
“If parents incur greater costs to educate girls
but society reaps greater gains, then gove rn m e n t s
ought to consider special measures and targ e t e d
subsidies to help girls attend school.” M a n y
g ove rnments now realise this. Southern Egypt’s
200 girl-friendly community schools are a shi-
ning example. The Egyptian gove rnment is now
integrating their best practices – active learn i n g
and child-centred class management – into the
formal education system. Malawi has cut the
costs of schooling for parents by eliminating
school fees and abolishing compulsory uniforms.
In Mashan County in China, villages and
households that take effective measures to send
girls to school are awarded priority for loans or development funds. Even a simple
m e a s u re like building separate toilets for girls is sometimes enough to keep them
in school. African and South Asian countries especially have a long way to go to
close the gender gap. An average six-ye a r-old girl in South Asia can expect to
spend six years in school—three years less than a boy the same age. And when
gender disparities meet urban/rural disparities, girls lose out even more.
A girl based in