“Get angry,” Tomasevski demands, “[and] help expose and oppose economic exclusion from education” (Tomasevski, 2006). This essay examines Tomasevski’s pressing call for indignation and action by uncovering the main obstacles to children attending primary school with a focus on the Sub-Saharan region. To preface this, it will first be established why education matters and is a human right reflected in international declarations. The essay will then narrow its effort into the economic direct, indirect and opportunity costs causing “the right to education [to] take a back seat” (ibid.).
In doing so, it will also consider what values, ideologies and priorities are underpinning the persistence of these costs and the consequential inequities and violations of children’s human rights. The discussion will be broadened to cover two other non-economic barriers to attendance, health and gender. This will serve to illustrate that “institutionalised economic exclusion” (ibid.) is not the only problem to tackle in order to ensure that all children are provided with the appropriate opportunities and environment to gain a quality and transforming education. Essentially, an integrated and comprehensive rights-based approach is necessary.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Human Right to Education
3. Economic Barriers: Direct and Indirect Costs
4. Opportunity Costs and Economic Contributions
5. The Impact of Debt and Governance
6. Socio-cultural Barriers and Health Determinants
7. Addressing Gender-Specific Obstacles
8. Conclusion
Objectives and Themes
This essay examines the systemic obstacles preventing children from attending primary school, with a specific focus on the Sub-Saharan region, by analyzing how economic and non-economic factors infringe upon the fundamental human right to education.
- The role of education in human development and poverty reduction.
- Economic barriers: direct, indirect, and opportunity costs.
- The influence of global neoliberal agendas and debt on education funding.
- Non-economic determinants of school attendance, specifically health and gender.
- The necessity of a comprehensive, rights-based approach to policy.
Excerpt from the Book
Human Rights in Development
“Get angry,” Tomasevski (2006b) demands, “[and] help expose and oppose economic exclusion from education” (p.3). This essay examines Tomasevski’s (2006b) pressing call for indignation and action by uncovering the main obstacles to children attending primary school with a focus on the Sub-Saharan region. To preface this, it will first be established why education matters and is a human right reflected in international declarations. The essay will then narrow its effort into the economic direct, indirect and opportunity costs causing “the right to education [to] take a back seat” (ibid, p.4). In doing so, it will also consider what values, ideologies and priorities are underpinning the persistence of these costs and the consequential inequities and violations of children’s human rights. The discussion will be broadened to cover two other non-economic barriers to attendance, health and gender. This will serve to illustrate that “institutionalised economic exclusion” (ibid) is not the only problem to tackle in order to ensure that all children are provided with the appropriate opportunities and environment to gain a quality and transforming education. Essentially, an integrated and comprehensive rights-based approach is necessary.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the research focus on obstacles to primary education and the necessity of a rights-based approach.
2. The Human Right to Education: Discusses the global consensus on education as an inalienable right and the disconnect between political rhetoric and actual school enrollment.
3. Economic Barriers: Direct and Indirect Costs: Analyzes how user fees and structural adjustment programs create financial burdens that prevent children from attending school.
4. Opportunity Costs and Economic Contributions: Examines how the need for children to work for family survival creates an opportunity cost that often outweighs the perceived benefits of schooling.
5. The Impact of Debt and Governance: Explores how national debt servicing limits public funding for education and highlights the need for strong political will.
6. Socio-cultural Barriers and Health Determinants: Investigates how health crises, such as HIV/AIDS, impact school attendance and why fee elimination alone is insufficient.
7. Addressing Gender-Specific Obstacles: Discusses socio-cultural hurdles like initiation rites and household expectations that disproportionately affect girls.
8. Conclusion: Summarizes the necessity of moving beyond narrow economic analysis to implement comprehensive strategies for safeguarding the right to education.
Keywords
Human rights, education access, Sub-Saharan Africa, economic exclusion, school attendance, direct costs, opportunity costs, neoliberalism, gender disparity, HIV/AIDS, primary schooling, rights-based approach, policy reform, child labor, educational equality.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this paper?
The paper focuses on identifying and analyzing the various systemic barriers, both economic and non-economic, that prevent children in Sub-Saharan Africa from accessing primary education.
What are the core themes addressed in the work?
The core themes include the impact of user fees, the role of international financial institutions, the influence of debt, and the specific socio-cultural hurdles related to health and gender.
What is the central research objective?
The objective is to move beyond the narrow view of "free education" to understand why many children remain excluded, ultimately arguing for a comprehensive, rights-based policy framework.
Which methodology is employed?
The essay utilizes a qualitative analytical approach, reviewing existing research, international human rights declarations, and case studies to evaluate the factors affecting school enrollment.
What topics are covered in the main body?
The main body covers economic barriers (direct/indirect costs), opportunity costs (child labor), political and debt constraints, and non-economic barriers such as health crises and gender roles.
Which keywords best characterize the work?
Key terms include human rights, education access, economic exclusion, gender disparity, and policy reform.
How do "opportunity costs" specifically impact school attendance?
Opportunity costs refer to the income or labor lost when a child attends school; families in poverty often rely on their children's economic contributions, making school attendance a difficult trade-off.
Why does the author argue that eliminating school fees is not a "magic bullet"?
While fee removal increases enrollment, it does not address other fundamental barriers like health crises, gender-specific cultural expectations, or the indirect costs of schooling like transport and uniforms.
What role does the World Bank play in the discussed education policies?
The paper critiques the World Bank for its neoliberal agenda and focus on market-based solutions, which the author argues have often hindered rather than helped universal access to quality education.
- Citation du texte
- Sarah Docker (Auteur), 2014, The main obstacles to children attending school in developing nations, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/288232
