Having a disability is never a choice, but sadly it is a trait which can prematurely determine the success of the individual. This is visible in North America, with the subminimum wage legally given to individuals with downs syndrome (National Down Syndrome Society). In other cases, we see the recent integration of sign language training for health care professionals to accurately assist patients with hearing loss (Eldridge v. British Columbia, 1997). All of this being understood, we must strive to acknowledge how disability discrimination can be amplified in countries like India.

Poverty is kind of like an overruling theme in India, with roughly 300 million people living below the poverty line, it definitely finds its ways to seep through every single infrastructure in the country, damaging and hindering progress of the entire population. This is evident when we look at education rates, which are directly indicative to employment opportunities later on. India has made attempts to improve inclusivity for disabled children in the past, passing the Integrated Education of Disabled Children (IEDC) act in 1975, which worked towards integrating those with mild to moderate disabilities into regular classes with financial aid (Sharma, 2005). However, this initial attempt like the many which followed were unsuccessful, as the UN reported that 75% of children with disabilities have never attended school a day in their lives in 2019 (UNESCO Office New Delhi).

To help combat this, Dr. Bickert went to one of the only 388 hearing impaired schools in India. This is where he met a Jyoti, who at the time was in the eleventh grade, she is almost completely deaf. At the school, Dr. Bickert stood in front of every student, and asked “what do you want to do when you grow up?” with a mixture of recently learnt sign language, and some help from the teachers. Notably, only Jyoti replied, “a tailor” she said, a trade which India is famously known for with an array of designs and patterns being visibly splattered across the streets of every large city in the country. The industry is vast and has a lot of room for more to begin working in it. However, with the added of difficulty of communicating with someone who has an hearing impairment combined with the fact that many women who are buying the clothing are often not educated enough to read, many are unwilling to put up with the extra inconvenience to provide them with any real business.

Looking back, it is understandable that the other kids didn’t have an answer for many reasons which had been drilled into their minds from a young age. All children have a dream, but sadly these were minimized with reoccurring comments made to them from those who surround them on a daily basis. In an impoverished area, such as the one the school was in, in Lucknow, it can be devastating to the family if the child is born with a disability, turning them into more if a liability instead of a source of hope. While parents always want best for their child, it can be incredibly difficult to assist your own son or daughter that needs special attention to reach their goals when you can barely afford to put food on the table.  Those who wanted to become astronauts, surgeons, lawyers, are automatically written off, as there is no one like them in those positions publicly, little to no help getting an education, and a general sense of inferiority. This leads them to accept the idea that they will be limited to small odd jobs, or work on farms, just as their families have been, further continuing unable to break out of poverty.

This makes Jyoti a rare case, her bravery in her comment in front of the other students led CFTW to provide her with her own sewing machine, some tools, cloths, and some educational books to help her get started. We hope with her courage to be vocal and work towards her goals, the other students in the school can become inspired and realize they too have a chance, despite what the general public may say. The connection between poverty and disability remains strongly correlated in the country, with poverty often leading to an increased amount of disability, and in return disability continuing poverty in a cyclical manner (Rao, 2009). We here at CFTW believe that children such as Jyoti, are the cure for this issue.

Introduction  

Across the globe, women often find themselves in underprivileged positions when it comes to education. Many women are denied basic access to schooling, and with this comes a lack of ability to read or write. Even if a family contains a man who is literate, women being unable to perform these tasks has wide-ranging impacts on communities and nations.

Some countries continue to struggle with literacy in general; less than 20% of Niger’s population can read and write, and Ethiopia remains under half. Men globally lead women by as much as 8% in terms of literate population, and only approximately 11% of women in African and Indian communities have received sufficient education to read and write.

Developing greater literacy among women is a crucial issue, not only because equal access to education should be a basic human right but also because literacy improves life outcomes. When most nations are made of somewhere around 50% women—and those women are uneducated—the average education level of the population decreases, and problems that could be solved with enough scientists and researchers may be neglected.

Similarly, many women who cannot read or write live in impoverished communities, particularly in Africa and India. If these women were educated, they could turn their abilities into income generation and provide better outcomes for themselves and their families. This would boost their entire community and create positive influences.

Causes and After-Effects of Low Female Literacy

Across the world, women face many challenges in seeking equal education. In areas suffering from poverty, many women cannot spare the time to attend schooling when they must help to care for family—whether their own children or their siblings and older relatives. In India, public schooling facilities do not have separate bathrooms for women; as a result, as many as 23% of girls stop their education once they reach puberty since they do not have the resources they need to cope with menstruation at school. 

For some, physical access to a school is a problem when the only location is far away from their homes. For others, child marriage places a burden on their ability to continue their education. The reasons that women are globally less literate are many, and the effects are lasting.

Women who did not attend schooling tend to raise female children who will also drop out of schooling. This keeps families in a cycle with little to no upward mobility or improvement in their circumstances, as education is not opening the way to greater income opportunities. A nation with half of its population unable to reach their full potential cannot solve problems with the same speed, efficacy, and utility as a nation with a higher literacy rate. In fact, if India were to improve learning outcomes for women and encourage females to study in order to join the workforce like their male counterparts, the country could expect an estimated $770 billion growth in the GDP in the next five years. 

What Can WE Do?

Those of us who have been raised literate—and you have, if you are reading this—may struggle to understand what we can do to bring necessary education to young women around the world. Women in Africa and India continue to struggle to attend schooling due to a number of issues that may seem simple to solve, such as providing needed menstrual products, building schools close to communities, and prohibiting female children from being responsible for housework for the entire day. However, these issues are more complex than they may appear, and many of the communities struggling with this problem live on less than $2 per day—not enough income to generate substantive change for themselves.

Instead, it is primarily the role of NGOs and charitable organizations to lend a helping hand to improve outcomes for these young women. CFTW is one organization that is passionate about providing support to the whole person, not just by offering financial assistance and education but also spiritual healing and mental help. CFTW has been hard at work building schools so that more students have greater access; these schools have appropriate facilities, such as separate bathrooms, to encourage young women to continue attendance.

If you would like to do your part to help solve the problem of female literacy around the world, consider a donation to charitable organizations like CFTW. If you are not in a financial position to make this contribution, you can also make a difference by volunteering your time or offering a needed service that you are skilled at so that charities can spend time accomplishing their goals for these young women. 

Around the world, people of all ages feel the effects of an educated society—or the lack thereof. In third world countries in particular, education is often viewed as more of a privilege unattainable by many than a right for all. A number of common undertones inform why academic achievement is out of reach for the majority of third world residents; the good news is that by understanding what causes educational inequality and lack of access, charities and kindhearted people around the world can work to fix this situation and improve the lives of people around the world.

Funding

One of the primary challenges facing children seeking to attend school is funding. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all children, regardless of financial status, should have access to education. This has prompted schools around the world to reduce or even eliminate school fees, but this is not yet ubiquitous. Many schools in third world countries continue to require fees in order to attend, and for families at or below the poverty level, this may be a bridge too far.

Even if the school itself does not charge a fee, compulsory items such as pens and notebooks can place a severe financial burden on low-income families that may prevent them from being able to afford schooling. And because many children in third world countries are relied upon as an additional source of income, schooling means not only losing a portion of an already small income (as one worker takes up education) but also paying additional fees for the schooling itself.

Resources

Many third world countries struggle to offer appropriate educational resources. In one out of every three countries, less than 75% of teachers are sufficiently trained, and classrooms are either nonexistent or severely underfunded in many locations. Some schools in education-sparse countries like Malawi lack basic amenities like running water or toilets, and as many as 130 students may be in one classroom together.

A lack of Learning materials is also a significant contributor to the education crisis. Outdated textbooks are common, and in some countries like Cameroon, there are as many as 13 students to every one textbook. Teachers are responsible for supplying their own workbooks and other core materials, and in countries where these teachers likely did not receive sufficient education themselves, they may be no better off financially than their students. 

Unfortunately, most third world countries have little or no allocation of government money toward education, which places a high demand on foreign aid. Despite this, only 20% of global educational aid goes to low-income countries. However, small contributions can make a world of difference; it currently costs $1.25 per day to send a child to school for 13 years. If each country were able to allocate just 15 more per child, many more individuals would be in a financial situation to attend schooling. This is where the comprehensive work of charities and generous donors comes in, to cover the gaps that low-income countries are unable to bridge themselves. Just 15 cents per day amounts to less than $55 per year to grant access to education for a child.

Exclusion

One of the primary drivers behind increasingly poor education in third world countries is the variety of factors that drive exclusion and inequality in schooling. What immediately comes to mind is likely the gender divide, which sees fewer girls attending school due not only to gender bias, but also to lack of access to critical products like menstrual pads that allow them to attend with dignity. One in three girls marries before the age of 18 in the developing world, which typically requires them to drop out of school if they did attend in the first place.

In addition, distance to schooling or general school availability in zones of conflict also impact access to academia. And because many poverty-stricken households are rural, this issue only compounds for those most at risk. Disabled children also face an uphill battle to attend schooling; up to 95% of children with disabilities in the world’s poorest countries never attend school at all. Discrimination and lack of proper training for teachers means that disabled students who do make it to the classroom are suspended or expelled more than twice as often as their non-disabled peers.

What to Do

The global education crisis still has a long way to go before equal academic opportunities are presented to all people of all geographical locations and genders. Change cannot come on its own, and that is why charities rely on people like you to share a little of their good fortune. Even a small donation can mean the difference between an educational opportunity for a child and a missed chance at a better outcome in life.

For marginalized children and youth, especially those living with miserable conditions, education is more than just attending lessons. For them, going to school is more like improving health, safety, nutrition, and lifestyle as a whole.

David Beasley, WFP Executive Director, says, "In the poorest countries, children often rely on schools for their only meal of the day. But with many schools now closed because of COVID, 370 million children are missing out on these nutritious meals, which are a lifeline for low-income families. They are also being denied the health support they normally get through school. This could do lasting damage, so when schools reopen, it is critical that these meal programs and health services are restored, which can also help draw the most vulnerable children back to school."

COVID-19 has forced the world's learners - over 90% - to stay out of school. 

The worst is that nine out of ten of the world's youth live in either developing or under-developed countries. Sadly, where (including India, South Africa, and a few others) opportunities for distance learning are quite limited due to the low caliber or unavailability of internet connections.

Fortunately, or maybe, unfortunately, schools are set to open by this week; in some regions they have resumed already.

So, as countries are grappling with when to resume school, the Global Education Coalition (UNESCO, UNICEF, WFP, and World Bank) urges governments and education authorities to consider all the risk factors associated with the reopening of schools.

Considering all those factors, a list of precautionary measures will be issued to all schools - to aid in their reopening plans. Adherence to anti-COVID behaviors can reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Measures are not for schools only; children and their parents are also requested to cooperate with schools and practice the given instructions.