Summary
234809E
234809E
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GENDER SUMMARY<br />
EDUCATION FOR ALL GLOBAL MONITORING REPORT 2015<br />
Pregnancy is<br />
a key driver<br />
of dropout<br />
and exclusion<br />
among female<br />
secondary<br />
school<br />
students in<br />
sub-Saharan<br />
African<br />
countries<br />
can thus be addressed through effective policies and<br />
programmes to delay marriage.<br />
Globally, the risk of early and unintended pregnancy<br />
outside marriage has increased (Hindin and Fatusi,<br />
2009; Mensch et al., 2006; Presler-Marshall and<br />
Jones, 2012). While the prevalence of child marriage<br />
declined in sub-Saharan Africa between 1994 and<br />
2004, the prevalence of premarital sex before age<br />
18 increased in 19 out of 27 countries analysed<br />
(Mensch et al., 2006).<br />
Pregnancy has been identified as a key driver of<br />
dropout and exclusion among female secondary<br />
school students in sub-Saharan African countries<br />
(Makamare, 2014), including Cameroon (Eloundou-<br />
Enyegue, 2004) and South Africa (Geisler et al.,<br />
2009). In Latin American countries, the high rate of<br />
pregnancy among adolescents is a serious concern<br />
for public policy. In Chile, being a mother reduces<br />
the likelihood of secondary education completion by<br />
24% to 37% (Kruger et al., 2009).<br />
Since the late 1990s, several sub-Saharan African<br />
countries have introduced policies supporting the<br />
readmission of girls following the birth of a child<br />
(Makamare, 2014). But even where policies exist,<br />
uptake is often limited, with education providers<br />
and communities unaware of re-entry policies or<br />
unsupportive of girls’ return. In schools, stigma<br />
and discrimination against pregnant girls and<br />
adolescent mothers are common (UNESCO, 2014b).<br />
In South Africa, legislation forbids schools from<br />
excluding pregnant girls, but only about one in three<br />
return after childbirth. Those who do return often<br />
face negative attitudes and practices from teachers<br />
and peers (Bhana et al., 2010).<br />
Children’s work affects their schooling<br />
Child labour is a deeply entrenched obstacle to<br />
Education for All and the gendered dimensions of<br />
children’s work are important to note. In most of<br />
the world, paid work by children and adolescents is<br />
associated with household poverty, and incidences of<br />
child labour are higher in poorer countries. Having<br />
to work can prevent children accessing school in<br />
the first place. While combining work and school<br />
is an improvement over not going to school at all,<br />
it still has impacts on children’s education. The<br />
more hours children work per week, the less likely<br />
they are to attend school, and those who do attend<br />
are more likely to lag in the levels of schooling<br />
they attain (Understanding Children’s Work, 2015).<br />
Average grade-for-age data show that children<br />
aged 13 who work and attend school trail their<br />
non-working peers in terms of grade progression in<br />
almost all countries, likely due to repetition arising<br />
from poorer performance, later entry and greater<br />
absenteeism. Unpaid work is also a serious obstacle<br />
that affects the education of millions of children.<br />
In many countries, girls spend more time on<br />
domestic work than boys (Lyon et al., 2013), while<br />
boys are more likely than girls to be engaged in<br />
the paid labour force. Girls are also more likely<br />
to combine schooling and household chores<br />
(Lyon et al., 2013). In countries with high levels of<br />
child labour, like India, girls are more likely than<br />
boys to combine employment with household<br />
chores, leaving them doubly disadvantaged and at<br />
greater risk of repeating grades or dropping out of<br />
school. And in many countries, girls who combine<br />
household chores and employment seem at<br />
particular risk of early marriage (Lyon et al., 2013).<br />
Domestic labour interferes with schooling, and girls<br />
typically spend more time performing chores than<br />
boys (UNICEF, 2013a). Analysis of household survey<br />
data from 13 countries in Asia, Latin America and<br />
the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa shows that<br />
girls were more likely than their male peers to be<br />
assigned household chores across all countries<br />
(Understanding Children’s Work, 2015). In resourcepoor<br />
countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Malawi,<br />
hours spent in fuel collection and water haulage are<br />
negatively associated with the likelihood of girls’<br />
attending school (Dreibelbis et al., 2013; Nankhuni<br />
and Findeis, 2004; Nauges and Strand, 2013). A<br />
reduction in time by one hour for collecting water<br />
increased girls’ enrolment rates by about 8-9% in<br />
Yemen and 18-19% in Pakistan (Koolwal and van de<br />
Walle, 2010). In the absence of affordable and safe<br />
child care, older children’s attendance at school –<br />
particularly girls’ – carries a high opportunity cost<br />
for poorer families (Keilland, 2015). In countries<br />
severely affected by HIV/AIDS, women and girls are<br />
likely to be the main caregivers for chronically ill<br />
relatives, impeding their participation in school or<br />
education programmes (Evans and Becker, 2009).<br />
But in general, child domestic work is socially<br />
tolerated, nearly invisible and unlikely to be reached<br />
by child labour laws, and receives little attention<br />
from policy-makers (ILO, 2013a; UNESCO, 2008).<br />
The need for or desire of many boys to engage in<br />
paid work leads to their early exit from education<br />
(Barker et al., 2012). In southern African countries,<br />
including Botswana, Lesotho and Namibia, boys are<br />
taken out of school to herd cattle (Jha and Kelleher,<br />
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