Why Is Education Important for Children in Africa? Here’s Why
Given the circumstances of many of those in Africa, often involved in political unrest or conflict, you might wonder Why is education important for children in Africa? We’ll be answering that question here.
Let’s start with a quick summary, then we’ll head into more details...
Here are 6 main reasons why education is important for children in Africa.
Education is the best way to eradicate poverty
Improves the per capita income of the country
Increases the quality of health services
Brings down average crime rates
Makes an impact on the future of good leadership
Promotes gender-based equality
“Education is the key to unlock the golden door to freedom”
– George Washington Carver
A famous quote with a depth of meaning. Education unarguably gives you control over your life and puts you on a path of freedom where you get the freedom to choose and the freedom to be what you want.
The importance of education has been emphasized in depth across the world and is now taken even more seriously in the 21st century.
The rising importance given to education is the predominant reason why the white-collar job market has been and is still booming.
Sadly, despite how the majority of economies are progressing in the field of education, Africa remains stranded ...or perhaps stuck with finding the right level of importance for the education of their children.
Age-related facts regarding education in Africa
According to UNESCO, out of all the regions, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate when it comes to educational exclusion.
It’s believed that around one-fifth of children 6-11 years of age, followed by one-third of youth 12-14 years of age are out of school.
In addition to this, around 60% of youth in this region between the age of 15-17 are not in school. Especially among girls who are between 6-11 years, whom it seems rarely if ever attend school.
When analyzing this pattern it becomes evident that the majority of children in Africa are either school dropouts or those who have never been.
For those who understand the significant impact education makes on a country, the people of the country, their health, and their lifestyle, these statistics sound seriously alarming.
Here we’ve listed some crucial reasons why education is important for children in Africa.
Education is the best way to eradicate poverty
If you know one or two things about Africa, then it’s likely that the overall level of poverty stands among the top points you would think of.
Surprisingly, many experts believe that the lack of a stable and high-quality education system, along with children and families giving less importance to education is the root cause of poverty in Africa.
It’s also said to be the primary cause of many other challenges that African people are facing daily.
While there is a much wider theory on how education can eradicate poverty than we can enter into here, the key takeaway is that when children are educated at an early stage they will develop diverse knowledge and skills throughout their academic journey.
This academic journey creates greater employment opportunities, higher-paying job creation, and even supports innovation. Innovation which, can accelerate the economy towards a better and sustainable future and help to eradicate poverty along with many other challenges the economy is facing.
This is why donations are important, to help develop academic facilities and aids learning in Africa. Our store here at Brothers4Change helps to drive these types of projects forward.
Improves the per capita income of the country
A country’s economic growth and stability heavily depend on quality education.
Only when children are educated will they be encouraged to progress up the academic ladder to create a community of educated citizens who promote an advanced nation.
In the long run, a country with high literacy rates is the one that supposedly has a higher per capita income.
Per capita income is a measure of how much money a person makes in a country – or specific geographic region. A good per capita income almost always promotes a flourishing economy.
Increases the quality of health services
Africa still struggles with poor health services and a lack of a proper education path for children. This contributes and therefore results in an economy with a scarce resource of health professionals.
In truth, certain illnesses and treatments, especially those of advanced health professional requirements, are treated overseas in most of the high-developed countries.
But sadly, not everyone can afford overseas health services.
In a situation where a patient can’t afford the high expenses that come with overseas medical treatment, the patient is invariable left with few choices, and often times are left to survive by their own means.
So when children are educated and encouraged to take up career paths in the health service field, the health sector of the economy improves and so does its quality.
Even the infant mortality rate in Africa is high.
So if children are encouraged to direct their career in the health domain such as pediatrics, pharmacy, and nursing, it guarantees that these mortality rates will likely reduce. This promotes a healthier life pattern for the entire nation, just like other developing nations.
Brings down average crime rates
Sadly, Africa also has alarming crime rate statistics year on year. Here’s a snapshot of crimes rates per region. Given the huge population differences, this is a scary statistic for the African continent.
image source: ella.practicalaction.org
The truth is when people are living through poverty where satisfying one meal for a day seems challenging, they become easily vulnerable to temptation, and crime. This even forces children to turn to illegal activities at an early stage of life.
Educating children will firstly help them differentiate between what is right and what is wrong, and keep them occupied in the process of learning. This deters them from getting involved or carrying out illegal activities.
Child marriages and prostitution are all illegal and unethical activities. They stem from poor education at an early stage for children, who finds no other way to make a living or survive as they grow.
Makes an impact on the future of good leadership
As we all know, bad leadership is the main reason why Africa is the way it is for many years now. this all attributes to a lack of education at an early stage.
Leadership is a quality, a personality, and character. Leadership is developed and progresses into a way of life.
Only in a functional education setting can children at an early stage understand and learn the qualities of leadership and the greater impact it has on the nation as a whole.
Education is a fundamental tool for fostering wise leadership at an early stage in children.
What happens when an uneducated individual or one without a sufficient educational background is chosen for a leadership position, is that it invariably leads to corruption, dictatorship. This in turn leads to a weaker economy and social and political unrest within the country.
Promotes gender-based equality
The reason why there is a significant gender disparity, solely for women in the African community is because of a lack of education, and confinement to a set of norms and traditions that degrades the rights of women.
When children, girls, and boys alike are educated at an early stage, they understand more fully the rights, respect, and position they deserve as an individual in the society.
Indeed, the right education will ensure girls are aware of illegal and unethical issues like child marriages, slavery, and prostitution. It helps prevent them from being led astray by unscrupulous groups or individuals.
In the long term, this can create a way for women’s empowerment, equality (especially in workplaces and for employment opportunities). Empowering a fairer society for all the women of the country, helping them claim the due respect and rights they deserve. The same can be said for all the children in Africa.
This is why education is important for children in Africa.
Education help for children in Africa...
Having been on the front line of helping students in Africa maintain their learning. We have developed our site to provide a great shopping experience for you, but one that helps children in Africa too – at no extra cost.
By purchasing from our store, you are enabling us to fund our projects in Africa and other continents to aid children and projects in other impoverished areas.
