Education enhances lives. It has the ability to end cycles of poverty and disease, and give a base for sustainable development (http://www.unicef.org/girlseducation/). Most think of education as different subjects in school such as science, math, history, etc. However, education is so much more. Students and children can learn a variety of different preventive topics like sex education, diseases, and poverty. Having a broader curriculum benefits everyone by establishing the base of sustainable development. This education is not always available to everyone even with globalization efforts. The main problem is the ignorance of inequalities within gender differences not allowing both male and females to obtain education. But education is a basic human right regardless of gender, race, or economic status.Education is necessary for everyone no matter your race, gender, or ethnicity. From education people are able to get better jobs and protect themselves from common problems because they have the knowledge and capital to fight back. However, education is not made available to everyone based on inequalities within culture and society. Recently institutions have been trying to globalize their education systems but have not yet succeeded. The American Council on Education has documented that “very few higher education institutions demonstrate a significant level of internationalization” (Global Competency). With educated students around the world, having a better understanding of different cultures and ethnicities everyone will be more capable of responding to global issues. This will also provide education about the equal rights for all humans, making everyone aware and knowledgeable that these rights must be upheld. Currently in America, less than one percent of students study Arabic or any other crucial language. Colleges are the most qualified and resourceful institution to take on this challenge. More global education needs to be incorporated within an international scale, which includes learning a variety of foreign languages. Even more beneficial would be to introduce these topics into elementary and secondary education. Education does not have to be limited to these topics but rather can expand and further the levels of understanding. Expansion of education is necessary in places like Africa where availability of schooling is not the only problem.
According to UNICEF, 93 million children were not able to obtain education in 2006. 80 percent of these children lived in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Much of Africa’s education is not provided for rural regions. Even worse is that less education is provided for women. This is strongly correlated with income levels of women. It has been found that families with lower income in Africa either, do not send their children to school or their children perform poorly because the lack of resources and enhanced stresses at home. Western Cape of South Africa is one of the country’s wealthiest provinces and has had “strong institutions, including governing structures, schools and universities.” Because of these benefits the area has a higher enrolment of students in school and a higher income rate. Education in this region began under apartheid rule. Under the apartheid, education was the antithesis of a race blind culture and society. There were separate departments for each racial defined group. Departments operated schools for four major ethnic groups in urban areas. Each of these departments was overseen by a larger deciding department. Not only were these segregated groups restricted from education they were also differentially funded. “At the peak of the apartheid , schools serving white students had more than ten times the funding per pupil than the schools serving African servants” (Ladd, 4). As government changed and fell under new rule more responsibility was placed on the national government. The government distributed funds to each province, which they could then spend in the way they thought most appropriate. Difficulties still existed because wealthy provinces would receive more money than rural areas. However, the government was able to conquer this problem by distributing funds among provinces- racially blind. Thanks to the use of national norms, public resources were equalized. The post apartheid schooling system has experienced limited improvement, but still improvement. Between 1996 and 2002 “most provinces took steps to increase the number of classrooms, and the ratio of learners to classrooms” (Ladd, 9). Changes are continually being made to improve education throughout Africa with curriculum reforms titled Curriculum 2005. Another system of fee charges was implemented to encourage students to stay in school. This system helped keep low income families in school and greatly affected the availability of education to middle class and poverty class (Ladd, 10).
Africa has a divided education system-that is gender based- and many women are without the ability to obtain education. Botswana is one city that has made education their second biggest priority, second only to training. Providing education to everyone in Botswana is still difficult, so “distance education” has started to expand. Still children are not even awarded the opportunity to enroll in the education institution (Access to Education). This only happens in certain areas of Africa. Even more important is the difference within gender roles. African tradition puts more importance on male children then female children. “Lower wage reflects lower education levels, and gender inequality in education is related to growth” (Lutz and McGillivray, 3). This relationship is easily seen in the rural areas of Africa. And in these rural areas women have an even rougher life. Women get paid less than men but more importantly have a higher rate of poverty due to their lack of education; due in part to the unequal distribution of funds. Women lack property and inheritance which in turn restricts housing security and economic options. But, if women cannot receive education and training, they will forever be in poverty. Without the availability of education, women are also pulled into dangerous work environments and are more prone to disease. This is when education is even more necessary. Education does not have to be limited to training, it can also be teaching societies about disease and sex, and the struggles behind those two issues. Just as measures have been taken to make education more available for people, there also has been a program to increase education for women; called the Poverty Alleviation Program. No matter how strong the program, it is hard to overcome the deep rooted troubles of women in Africa. 
Women who are able to go to school, drop out more often than not throughout Africa. Young women must help out at home with chores and childcare because it is the cultural standards for their communities. With the rates of HIV/AIDS pandemic, many students are without parents and have forced responsibilities to do everything on their own. This does not leave much time for children to become educated. Not only that, but teachers also have a bias against female students. According to UNESCO and national studies, Africa is making significant advances in overall enrollment, including rural areas. “Despite such a high increase, given the low gender ratio of enrolment, Sub-Saharan Africa remains furthest from achieving the goal” (Africa Union, 14). Good news is that female enrollment is continuing to rise every year.
One of Africa’s biggest societal problems, mentioned earlier, is the HIV/AIDS epidemic. With education this problem could be improved, even demolished. Currently there are not enough teachers to reach out to all children in AIDS affected areas. New methods of education are being tested because traditional education systems aren’t enough. Some new educational systems are “interactive radio and community run schools” (Coombe and Kelly, 439). Improvement in prevalence rate is seen with an increased rate of women in higher education. “The decline in prevalence rate for 15-19 year old women in Lusaka was more marked for those with secondary and higher levels of education” (Coombe and Kelly, 440). This is significant evidence that the more educated people are, the less vulnerable they are to infection. Being literate is one of the most beneficial skills in life through education. However having knowledge will not solve the problems. People will still make their own choices and be pulled into situations that are not ideal, “knowledge must be complemented by attitudes and values that will lead to appropriate decisions” (C and K, 441). However, education and the habits it instills will have long term benefits for skill and behavior. Through the routine of everyday education students learn to apply themselves, endure constraints, and acquire a sense of direction for the future. That lesson is priceless.
Change comes in different ways, but in this case it must come from government intervention and the community. Without the government, change will only be minimal. Education must be made available through a system of intervention. Legal changes being made in Africa are focusing on the curriculum, recruitment, training, and assignment of teachers, with the goal of increasing the number of female teachers. “Training modules cover gender issues, adolescence reproductive health, teenage pregnancies, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS and civic education” (Africa Union, 20). With this broad range of training many issues can hopefully be conquered not only in Africa but around the world. Civil Societies have also made initiatives to promote gender equality. Women’s groups are addressing issues including education, pregnancy, and science. One particular group is lead by Forum of African Women Educationalists (FAWE).
Because of FAWE’s efforts, countries including Botswana, Kenya, Guinea, Malawi, and Zambia now allow women to enroll in formal education after pregnancy. In Nigeria a gender development institute launched a Girls Power Initiative to equip girls with human rights and skills to “cope with growing up.” These are only a few of the ways communities and people are trying to overcome the education deficit. Groups alone cannot do it all. Complete change can only be accomplished with the staff, the environment, and the procedures and regulations supporting the change. Education, if made available to everyone and managed correctly can start a trend around the world that will improve everyone’s way of living. Globalized education has its pros and cons but overall it is one of the most important changes that should be implemented.Sources:
Global Competency is Imperative for Global Success The Chronicler of Higher Education 55 No 21 1, Jan30 2009 Dhurbarrylall, R. (2005).
Development of Distance Education in Mauritius. Quarterly Review of Distance Education. 6(3), 185-197. Lewin, K. M. (2009).
Access to Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Patterns, Problems and Possibilities. Comparative Education. 45(2), 151-174.
Measuring and Analysing Educational inequality: the distribution of. Ewout Frankema and Jutta Bolt
The Road to Gender Equality in Africa: an overview The Africa Union Commission Addis Ababa, Ethiopia July 6, 2004
Trends/cases Education as a Vehicle For Combating HIV/AIDS Carol Coombe and Michael J. Kelly http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/file_download.php/8b101702cb719eb63573e502e05f8a8eprospects119.pdf
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