Primary and secondary education Why We need to invest in it

“Children from the poorest 20 per cent of households are less likely to attend primary school than children from the richest 20 per cent of households, according to data from 43

developing countries. Disparities based on household wealth vary widely among African countries: In Liberia, children from the richest households are 3.5 times as likely to attend primary school as children from the poorest households, while in Zimbabwe, the richest children’s chances of getting an education are just slightly better than those of the poorest

children. Disparities based on area of residence are also marked. In 43 countries with available data, 86 per cent of urban children attend primary school, compared to only 72 per cent of

rural children. The largest disparities can be seen in Liberia and Niger, where urban children are twice as likely as rural children to attend primary school. ( Source , UNICEF)

 

"Gender disparities in primary schooling are slightly larger in rural areas than in urban areas and among poorer households. Asian countries with data on gender parity

show significant variation. In Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand, gender parity in primary education is just as likely for children from the poorest 20 per cent of households as

for those from the richest 20 per cent. In other countries, however, gender parity is much more likely for children from the wealthiest households. This is true, for example, of both

Bangladesh and Pakistan. In Pakistan, however, far fewer

girls than boys in the poorest 20 per cent of households

are in school; in Bangladesh, boys in this quintile fare

worse than girls.” ( Source: UNICEF)