Keeping the Promise: Five Benefits in Girls’ Secondary Education May Rihani Senior Vice President and Director Academy for Educational Development October 2007

Why focus on post primary? Quick statistical overview Huge gains in primary enrollment, reaching a world average of 83.8 percent in net primary enrollment However, large numbers do not continue on to secondary school –The rate of secondary enrollment drops to 59.3 percent –In sub-Saharan Africa, only 17 percent of girls are enrolled in secondary school

Sub-Saharan Africa, where 25% or fewer girls are enrolled in secondary school, 2002/2003 Sources: UNESCO Global Education Digest, 2005, and EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2006

Barriers and challenges: Why fewer girls? Economic constraints: The direct financial cost plus the “opportunity cost,” in particular for rural girls Cultural constraints: Distance and safety concerns Educational constraints –Only the best-performing children are allowed to continue –Lack of adequate number of female teachers, which impacts the participation of girls Inequity constraints: Girls face behavioral inequities in the classroom and a lack role models

Why investing in girls’ secondary education is imperative Primary education’s benefits are not sufficient to move nations socially and economically forward in a meaningful way Given globalization, benefits of primary education are a necessary but not sufficient condition The benefits of secondary education enable girls to make a quantum leap in terms of their social roles, decision making, and empowerment What are these benefits?

Main benefits of girls’ secondary education I. HEALTH Girls’ secondary education is related to infant mortality –Gender gaps are negatively related to children’s mortality (Where only half as many girls as boys go to school, 21 more children die per 1,000, Hill and King, 1995) –Infant mortality is one quarter lower where girls are educated as much as boys (Klasen, 1999) Secondary education is associated with delays of entry into reproductive life

Main benefits of girls’ secondary education I. HEALTH (con’t) Postponement of marriage and reduction of family size –A study of Brazil finds that illiterate women have an average of six children each, while literate women have an average of 2.5 children each (UNESCO 2000) Higher rates of children’s immunization –A multi-country study shows that educated mothers are about 50% more likely to immunize their children than uneducated mothers (Gage et al.,1997) Improvement in children’s and family nutrition

Secondary education is related to lower fertility rates and unwanted pregnancies Girls’ secondary education and teen birthrates for selected countries, 1995 Gross secondary enrollment rates for girlsBirths per 1,000 girls, years old Source: Population Action International, 1998 Top seven countries in girls’ secondary education Bottom seven countries in girls’ secondary education

Secondary education is associated with lower children’s stunting Gross % of girls enrolled in secondary school Gross % of children younger than 5 with severe stunting 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 120% Burkino Faso BurundiChad GuineaMozambiqueNiger Argentina BahrainBarbados Girls’ secondary education and severe stunting, selected countries Countries with fewer girls in secondary schoolCountries with more girls in secondary school

Marriage, sexual relations, and parenting No education Primary education only Secondary education only

Main benefits of girls’ secondary education II. MITIGATION OF HIV/AIDS Half of the more than 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS are women and girls A 72-country analysis finds that where the literacy gap between boys and girls exceeds 25%, HIV prevalence exceeds 5% of the cited breakout level (Over, 1998) A study of Zambia finds that AIDS spread twice as fast among uneducated girls compared to educated girls (Vandermoortele & Delamonica, 2000)

Main benefits of girls’ secondary education II. MITIGATION OF HIV/AIDS (con’t) Secondary school creates a valuable window of opportunity since it captures girls when self esteem and self confidence can be most important When secondary school introduces the “fourth R,” “Responsibility,” which includes life skills and relevant quality curriculum, then girls and boys can learn healthy behaviors

Main benefits of girls’ secondary education III. EDUCATION The existence of secondary schools in a catchment area tends to increase primary school enrollment and quality Ensuring that all students are within a reasonable distance of an affordable middle school increases parental commitment to schooling Parents’ involvement in school leads to higher quality education

Main benefits of girls’ secondary education IV. SOCIAL BENEFITS Secondary education equips students with critical thinking skills, increasing civic participation and democratic change As students pursue secondary education, they are less likely to engage in or become victims of crime and youth violence Secondary education reduces the risk of human trafficking by increasing economic opportunities and making children less vulnerable to outside influences

Main benefits of girls’ secondary education V. ECONOMIC BENEFITS Primary and secondary education can become a tool for poverty alleviation With secondary education, girls and women are empowered to access additional work opportunities Girls’ secondary education produces health benefits that have positive economic impacts on families

Main benefits of girls’ secondary education V. ECONOMIC BENEFITS (con’t) Girls’ secondary education produces high returns in terms of wage growth According to a 100-country study by the World Bank, increasing the share of women with secondary education by 1 percentage point in a country boosts annual per capita income growth by 0.3 percentage points, on average

Vicious Cycle Very low % of girls’ participation in secondary education Heavy economic opportunity cost to women and families High infant and child mortality Mothers with low functional and analytical literacy Large number of pregnancies High material mortality

Virtuous Cycle High low % of girls’ participation in secondary education Heavy economic opportunity cost to women and families Low infant and child mortality Educated mothers with functional and analytical literacy Fewer pregnancies Lower material mortality/higher economic productivity Women are empowered to access additional opportunities and are more highly engaged in their communities and countries Higher level of socio-eco- nomic development because all members of society are educated and engaged

Investment in Secondary Education The 2006 EFA Global Monitoring Report states that in 2002 developing countries spent 15.5% of total government expenditures on education 91.8% of total public educational expenditures were spent on primary education Two questions for consideration 1.Should public expenditures on education be increased? 2.Should public expenditures on secondary education be increased?

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