Education

Education in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character, or physical ability of an individual (e.g. the consciousness of an infant is educated by its environment, through its interaction with that environment). In its technical sense, education is the process by which society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, values, and skills from one generation to another through institutions.The right to education has been described as a basic human right.

For children, education is essential in providing them with the necessary skills required to obtain a job and thereby earn money to survive. In many countries, children are denied this education due to a lack of facilities - teachers, schools, equipment, money - and as such are deprived of the opportunity to progress in society. In the UK, political parties often criticise each other for failing to create an education system that ensures every child has equal opportunities. The importance of education, and its repurcussions for the future of both individuals and nations as a whole, has not gone unnoticed.

Facts

• Around the world there are some 93 million primary-school aged children missing out on school - of whom a disproportionate number are girls
• An educated girl is more likely to marry later and have fewer children. The children she does have are more likely to survive, they will be better nourished, and are more likely to be educated themselves
• Educated girls are better placed to protect themselves from HIV/AIDS and other diseases
• In Somalia, only 17% of school-aged children attend school, while in Cambodia, around 14% drop out of school in their first year due to malnutrition, family arrangements, and a lack of pre-school provision
• In the UK, married or cohabiting parents in 2008 were more likely to be educated to degree level or higher (28%) than lone parents (11%)

Education has important consequences for a child's future, and efforts continue across the world by both goverments and charities to ensure that equal access is offered to all children, regardless of age, gender, race or ethnicity.

Useful Websites

www.unicef.org/girlseducation

Discusses the issues of children's education and its importance in solving global problems such as poverty

www.right-to-education.org

A charity that aims to promote social mobilisation and legal accountability, focusing on the legal challenges facing the right to education

Interested? Want to get involved? Check out these local charities...

Cambridge to Africa

 Jacari - Oxford

Kenya Education Partnerships Oxford