Belgium puts education at the forefront

During the Belgian EU presidency, we organised two events on education in the Global South. For as crucial as education is, progress remains sluggish. We hope to turn the tide with new initiatives, innovative funding and fresh ideas.

Where would we be without education? It teaches us the knowledge and skills we need to find our place in society and to build a future. It teaches us to better understand the world we live in, and it helps us forge an identity with certain values such as civility, equality and solidarity. Education is therefore a universal human right.
 

More than just learning

In poorer countries, education is a powerful lever for economic development. The impact is especially remarkable in girls' education: every dollar invested in girls' education would yield $2.8, while each year of additional education increases gross domestic product by 10%. This effect is more pronounced among girls than among boys.

If girls can go to school, they not only learn about their rights but also have a firmer footing if they want to start a business, for example. What is more, if all women received secondary education, child mortality would decrease by 49%. Moreover, in Sub-Saharan Africa and West and South Asia, the number of child marriages would drop by 64%.

It is important to remember that more happens in school than just learning. The children can also get a meal or be vaccinated there, or they are sensitised for democratic values and become less susceptible to fake news – as during the coup in Niger.
 

Forbidden in Afghanistan

Benefits abound, yet education in the Global South still struggles with major difficulties. Access to primary education is pretty good, but for secondary education, the picture looks much less rosy. Many girls stop going to school in their puberty (see below).

An extreme case is Afghanistan where it is forbidden for girls to attend secondary school and college while female teachers are not allowed to teach there. In 2021, an estimated 2.5 million girls were uneducated.

What is more, the coronavirus crisis undid much of the progress made in education. Schools were closed in more than 180 countries. The learning process was interrupted, with the result that an estimated 24 million children may not return to school. Distance learning offered only a partial solution because many do not have the resources for it.
 

Inadequate access and quality

The underperformance of education in the Global South occurs mainly for two reasons. First, participation remains poor, especially for adolescent girls. This is because they marry, become pregnant or they are responsible for household chores or have to work in the fields. Another major barrier sometimes is the lack of toilet facilities at school – separate toilets for girls – in addition to the violence they may experience at school or on the way to school.

In addition, the quality remains lamentably poor. In many countries, pupils hardly learn anything: for example, they can almost not read or count by the end of primary school. This may be due to a lack of books and equipment (laptops, etc.) but the main reason lies with the teachers who are not properly trained.

Two Team Europe initiatives

During the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU, the Directorate General for Development Co-operation of our FPS organised two events on education. On 31 January 2024, views were exchanged on how to keep girls in school while the high-level event on 11 April launched two Team Europe initiatives (TEI) (TEI = cooperation between the EU and some Member States).

One TEI focuses on improved vocational education in Africa that provides training linked to concrete employment afterwards, with particular attention being paid to job opportunities for women.

The Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa (RTIA) – an EU TEI with Belgium, Finland, France and UNESCO – aims to boost the competencies of teachers in Africa. Belgium is also adding 4 million euros for the Teach2Empower programme, which will allow 25,000 teachers to be trained each year. Teach2Empower is being implemented by the Belgian development agency Enabel together with VVOB and APEFE, both specialising in education.
 

New challenges

Additional support is much needed, because, in addition to poor participation and quality, a number of new challenges are complicating progress. For example, many schools are in conflict regions, such as eastern Congo, Yemen, Palestine, Sudan, the Sahel or Ukraine. The school buildings overthere are targets of attacks or they are seized by military personnel. In some cases, they are surrounded by minefields.

Climate disruption is also a growing concern: buildings may be destroyed by storms or they are inadequately adapted to withstand extreme heat and so on.

Both conflicts and climate disasters can displace populations and for the children, this immediately means the end of their schooling. Hence, it is becoming increasingly necessary for humanitarian aid to also include education. Life in a refugee camp is tough. With the offer of education, families still have some sense that normal life is resuming. Schooling protects the children and prepares them for a more peaceful life after the camp.

Another major problem is the lack of funding for the education sector. While everyone seems to agree that education is essential, the results take much longer to materialise than in health care, for example. Education support is more of a long-term investment. Hence, it is easily overlooked, both by the countries themselves and by the international community.
 

The most powerful weapon

For Belgium, education has always been at the forefront and is a top priority for Minister of Development Cooperation Caroline Gennez. The high-level event fervently sought innovative financing such as turning debt into project financing or involving the private sector. The development banks in attendance – including the Islamic Development Bank – and the World Bank committed to paying more attention to education.

Both events were successful in bringing together the entire education sector – including the private sector and partner countries in the Global South – for constructive exchanges of views. All players involved were mobilised to avoid losing sight of education and the debates offered solutions to the many challenges.

After all, as Nelson Mandela once said, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." As early as the 7th century BC, Kuang Chung suggested, "If you want results within the year, sow seeds. If you want results in 10 years, plant a tree. If you want results that last a lifetime, educate the people."