Crowded Classrooms and an Empty Future

                                                 Crowded Classrooms and an Empty Future

          School is often a stressful place for students in the United States. With hours of homework and seemingly countless exams, many children dread getting an education every day. However, other regions of the world face a different schooling problem. In sub-Saharan Africa, there is a lack in the quality and quantity of education. As a result, literacy rates are around 59%, compared to 84%, the global average (Pota). Why are so many children being stripped of an education, and how does this inadequacy affect the future of sub-Saharan Africa?

         To start off, education in Africa is often overlooked given the other prevalent issues, like poverty and hunger, that plague this developing region. However, poor education simply continues the cycle of poverty and hinders the growth of sub-Saharan Africa on a global scale.

         There are three main causes of inadequate education: lack of teachers, poor classroom conditions, and underfunding. In countries like the United Republic of Tanzania, there is one teacher for every 57 students, and only one-quarter of those teachers are trained (Gallagher). When there are so few teachers and an even fewer number of truly qualified teachers, students do not receive the attention they need to successfully learn. In addition, students are often crowded into classrooms without basic amenities like running water or toilets. In Malawi, for instance, there is an average of 130 children per classroom (Rueckert). Even though teachers are unqualified and classrooms are insufficient, these issues currently remain unsolved as only two percent of capital in the global sector is invested in education (Poverty and Education). Rather, money is being spent on the military, and children are not receiving advantageous conditions for their learning.

         Due to poor education, it is difficult for sub-Saharan Africa to progress and develop as its uneducated population can not work their way out of poverty. These young illiterate people are faced with lifelong obstacles such as the inability to find a job. For example, three-quarters of companies in South Africa can not fill engineering jobs because there is a shortage of workers who are educated and capable of fulfilling such a position (Pota). When companies cannot hire enough workers, their lack of production hinders the growth of the economy. In contrast, if all children can go to school, the GDP per capita will increase by seventy percent by 2050 (Gallagher). This region can begin to lift people out of poverty as soon as educated workers stimulate economic growth. Additional human development challenges such as medicine and healthcare can also be addressed by improving schooling. Specifically, maternal mortality is predicted to decrease by seventy percent if every girl completes a primary education (Gallagher). The long-standing societal issues that continually harm sub-Saharan Africa cannot be fixed without solving the lack of education.

         Organizations like the Varkey Foundation are attempting to address this education issue by providing modern materials to classrooms (Pota). New technology is utilized, so classrooms are remotely led by trained teachers in the city as local teachers supervise and provide additional help to students (Pota). However, officials believe that in order for real change to ensue, it is the government that must take action. Professor Aderinoye, the Adult Education department head at the University of Ibadan, argues that the government must make policy changes that establish education as a priority if they want this region to keep up in global dynamics ("Govt's spending"). Until a change is made, education will continue to be insufficient in sub-Saharan Africa.

Works Cited

Gallagher, Katherine. “10 Important Facts About Education in Africa.” The Borgen Project, 20 Dec. 2017, borgenproject.org/10-facts-about-education-in-africa/.

"Govt's spending on military, conflicts affecting education development in Africa - Prof Aderinoye." Nigerian Tribune [Oyo State, Nigeria], 8 Nov. 2018. Global Issues in Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A561562623/GIC?u=los42754&sid=GIC&xid=2756cff5.

Pota, Vikas. “3 Steps to Fix Education in Africa.” World Economic Forum, 8 June 2015, www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/06/3-steps-to-fix-education-in-africa/.

“Poverty and Education in East Africa: Breaking the Cycle.” Habitat for Humanity GB, 18 Sept. 2018, www.habitatforhumanity.org.uk/blog/2017/04/poverty-and-education-east-africa/.

Rueckert, Phineas. “10 Barriers to Education Around the World.” Global Citizen, Global Poverty Project, Inc, 24 Jan. 2019, www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/10-barriers-to-education-around-the-world-2/.