Technological Infrastructure and Use of ICT in Education in ... - ADEA

54 Working Group on Distance Education and Open Learning
Global Monitoring Report for 2002 rates sub-Saharan and North Africa,
together with East Asia, as high-risk with respect to achieving these
targets. These figures should be compared to primary school enrolments
for many developed countries, which average 95-100%.
These disturbing trends notwithstanding, some African countries have
fared very well. For example, Cape Verde had a primary enrolment ratio
of 99%, South Africa 100%, Egypt 92%, and Morocco 79% in 1998 (Human
Development Indicators, 2002). Thus, again, the diversity of educational
provision across the continent is evident.
Chart 2: Net primary enrolment ratio 1998 – Selected
African countries
5. Socio-Economic Context of Sub-Saharan Africa
Source: World Development Indicators database (2001)
There are several factors, usually always related to living in poverty,
which keep children out of school. Child labour is still a common survival
strategy for families in many developing countries, as shown in Chart
3 below. UNESCO estimates that there were 113 million children out of
school in 1998, 97% of which are in developing countries and 60% of
whom are girls. Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest proportion of children
out of school, constituting up to 40% of the world total.
Chart 3: % of children aged 10-14 years in labour force
in selected African countries
Source: World Development Indicators (2001)