World Bank

COVID-19: Education replaced by shuttered schools, violence, teenage pregnancy. World

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World/06-08-2021/Author and Source: news.un.org

A culture of “safety, friends and food” at school has been replaced by “anxiety, violence, and teenage pregnancy”, with remote learning out of reach for millions, the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, said on Tuesday.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “more than 600 million children in countries not on academic break are still affected by school closures”, James Elder, UNICEF spokesperson at a press conference at UN Geneva.

In countries such as Uganda, this has led to a “20 per cent spike in the last 15 months in teen pregnancies, or pregnancies of 10-24-year-old girls, who were seeking antenatal care. Across the globe in all continents we’ve seen child helplines, a good precursor to understanding kids who are reporting violence, seeing often triple-digit increases,” said Elder.

COVID-19 school closures

In nearly half of countries in Asia and the Pacific, schools have been closed for around 200 days. Latin America and the Caribbean have seen some of the longest closures ever with 18 countries and territories affected by either full or partial closures.

As of today, the UN agency estimates in Eastern and Southern Africa that 40 per cent of all children aged 5 to 18, are currently out of school.

Elder added that if these figures “did not resonate with those in power, then a World Bank report estimates a loss of $10 trillion in earnings over time”, for this generation of students.

Remote learning ‘out of reach’

A teenage student studies at home during the COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda.
© UNICEF/Francis Emorut
A teenage student studies at home during the COVID-19 lockdown in Uganda.

Equally alarming is the fact that the solution of remote learning is “simply out of reach” for at least a third of the world’s schoolchildren, the UNICEF spokesperson continued. In East Asia and the Pacific, “80 million children have no access whatsoever to any remote learning.

In Eastern and Southern Africa, Uganda school children have gone more than 300 days out of school, while home internet connectivity “is the lowest on the planet there at about 0.3%”.

‘Situation cannot go on’

In a call for action, UNICEF appealed for five main steps: Schools should reopen as soon as possible; governments and donors must protect the education budget; enrolment should be extended to children who were already out of school pre‑COVID‑19 – by removing financial barriers and loosening registration requirements – and cash transfers to the most vulnerable, must be increased.

“Everything needs to be done to bring an end to the pandemic,” Mr. Elder said, starting with making vaccines available everywhere by sharing excess doses and financing to support the roll-out of vaccines.

Source and Image: https://news.un.org/en/story/2021/07/1096502

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18,000 needy students to benefit from government scholarship

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Africa/Kenya/15-12-2019/Author(a): Christine Muchira/Source: www.kbc.co.ke

By: Christine Muchira

Education Cabinet Secretary, Prof George Magoha, says 9,000 Form One Students to benefit from Elimu Scholarship Programme in 2020.

The Ministry of Education has opened applications for the inaugural 2020 Elimu Scholarship Programme targeting 9,000 beneficiaries.

Eligible 2019 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) Examination candidates have until December 16, 2019 to apply for the scholarships that are funded by the Ministry of Education with support from the World Bank. They will be implemented through the Equity Group Foundation.

The Elimu Scholarship Programme, funded through the Secondary Education Quality Improvement Project (SEQIP), will benefit candidates from 110 targeted Sub-Counties and fifteen urban centres with informal settlements.

Announcing the start of the Elimu Scholarship, Education Cabinet Secretary Prof. George Magoha said the programme will boost the Government’s 100 per cent transition policy that was introduced last year.

“We are determined to utilize the Sh3 billion scholarship programme to further ensure that all the needy and vulnerable 2019 KCPE candidates are supported to gain admission to schools of their choice,” Prof Magoha said.

Equity Group Foundation Executive Chairman Dr. James Mwangi said the Foundation will ensure the selection is thorough and based on merit.

“Equity will deploy its massive infrastructure and its technical capacity to successfully implement the Elimu scholarship programme on behalf of the Ministry of Education in the selection of 18,000 needy beneficiaries of the Elimu Scholarship Programme over the next two years,” he said.

This year, Dr.  Mwangi said 9,000 Elimu Scholarship Programme beneficiaries will be selected while 1,125 beneficiaries will be picked under the Wings to Fly Programme, bringing the total number of scholarships to 10,125 this year.

“We welcome the Elimu Scholarship Programme as it widens the opportunities for more children to access secondary school education and increase their opportunities of a better future for themselves, their families and communities. We have seen the tremendous transformational opportunities that the Wings to Fly program has had on the beneficiaries with majority transitioning to universities locally and across the world including Ivy League schools.”

Under the programme, poor and vulnerable children from financially constrained backgrounds and who attained 280 marks and above in 2019 KCPE, will be considered. For affirmative action, candidates who are Orphans and/or from Vulnerable Communities and those with special needs and disabilities who attained below 280 marks may be considered.

Only candidates who sat for KCPE examinations in 2019 from public primary schools in the targeted areas will be eligible to apply for the inaugural cohort of 9,000 scholarships tenable in 2020.

The 110 targeted Sub-Counties are as per the National Government Administrative areas that existed in the year 2015. The list of the targeted Sub-counties and the fifteen urban centres with informal settlements can be accessed through the Ministry of Education and Equity Group Foundation websites; www.education.go.ke and https://egfdmis.equitybank.co.ke/register_elimu

Applicants of the Elimu Scholarship Programme must meet the following eligibility criteria:

  1. Candidates with special needs and disabilities (Physical, Hearing and Visual Impairments, Autism, Albinism, Learning Disabilities and Others); or

Orphans and vulnerable children; or

Candidates from vulnerable communities in the target Sub-Counties; or

Candidates from urban centres with informal settlements; or

Candidates:

  1. whose parents/guardians are living with disabilities that have compromised their ability to meet the financial obligations of their children
  2. whose families are affected by HIV/AIDS and other chronic illnesses with debilitating effects that could render parents and guardians destitute and unable to fend for their families
  3. whose families are affected by extreme poverty rendering them unable to educate their children
  4. Who have suffered from neglect, abuse and have no support to continue with their education.

Interested applicants are advised to collect the scholarship application forms from the nearest Equity Bank Branch or Equity Bank Agent. Application forms can also be downloaded from the Ministry of Education and Equity Group Foundation websites; www.education.go.ke and https://egfdmis.equitybank.co.ke/register_elimu

Duly completed application forms and supporting documents should be submitted to the nearest Equity Bank Branch by 16th December 2019. Shortlisted candidates accompanied by parents/guardians will be invited for interviews which will be conducted by the Community Scholarship Advisory Committees.

The scholarship caters for School fees, transport to and from school, learning materials and School kit for the beneficiaries for the four-year education period. Please note that ONLY the candidates who meet the requirements will be considered for the scholarship. Members of the public are urged to share this information widely.

Any grievances regarding the scholarship programme are to be addressed to: elimu@equitygroupfoundation.com  or elimu@education.go.ke

While the Wings to Fly programme is targeting students who scored at least 350 marks in the 2019 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), the Elimu Scholarship Programme cut off mark is 280 marks except in regions with vulnerable and marginalised communities and for children with disabilities where the cut off can be lowered.

The applications will be reviewed, and only shortlisted candidates will be invited for interviews by the respective scholarship selection boards. The number of boards has been increased to 207 from 119 to adequately cater for the increased numbers.

The boards comprise of at least 13 local community stakeholders including local administrative leaders, education officials, Equity Agent representatives, Vulnerable and marginalized communities representatives, religious and community leaders in the County.

Each board is chaired by the Deputy County Commissioner or the Sub-County Education Officer and coordinated by the respective Equity Bank Branch Managers.

Speaking on the application process, Dr. Mwangi urged administrative leaders and community leaders to use their offices to create awareness on the scholarships to ensure all eligible needy children take advantage of the opportunity. “I appeal to religious leaders to use church and mosque services to make announcements on the ongoing application process. Let all Kenyans of goodwill show their care by reaching out to potential candidates who can benefit from these scholarships,” he added.

The Wings to Fly programme which is now in its 11thyear supports bright but economically challenged pupils, who would otherwise not be able to join secondary school due to financial constraints. This is through funding from Equity Group, MasterCard Foundation and German Government through KfW.

The scholarship caters for tuition and boarding fees, books, uniform, and transport to and from school as well as pocket money for the four years of secondary school. To date, 16,168 scholars have benefitted from this programme.

Last year, the Equity Group Foundation received more than 26,000 applications from needy students who sat for their 2018 KCPE examinations and were unable to finance their secondary school educatio.

Source: https://www.kbc.co.ke/18000-needy-students-government-scholarship/

Image:  Rolf Dobberstein en Pixabay 

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Education International assesses World Bank’s Development Report on education

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Prensa Internacional de la Educación

Resumen: Justo antes de las Reuniones de Primavera del Banco Mundial, la Internacional de la Educación está lanzando una publicación que reúne múltiples voces de todo el mundo para proporcionar un Chequeo de la realidad en el Informe sobre el desarrollo mundial de educación de 2018 del Banco Mundial. El lanzamiento de esta publicación marca el final de la serie de blogs semanales Reality Check del Informe de Desarrollo Mundial (WDR) de la IE que se ha estado ejecutando enwww.worldsofeducation.org durante casi 6 meses. Si bien es importante que el Banco Mundial haya dedicado un tema del WDR a la educación por primera vez, los docentes y académicos del mundo han encontrado algunas deficiencias significativas en su contenido. Esto es aún más difícil ya que la política del Banco Mundial afecta directamente a los educadores a través del asesoramiento sobre políticas a los ministros y la política impuesta a través de préstamos condicional del Banco Mundial. Hay una oportunidad perdida bastante importante en el informe: el Banco debería haber presentado argumentos sólidos sobre cómo cerrar la brecha financiera en educación para cumplir con el ODS 4. De acuerdo con el Informe Global de Monitoreo Educativo, existe una brecha financiera de $ 39 billones por año desde ahora hasta el 2030 en los países de ingresos bajos y medianos. Esta brecha no se aborda en absoluto en el informe. En resumen, el Banco debería haber enfatizado que las prioridades políticas deberían ser determinadas por los gobiernos nacionales en consulta con los maestros y el personal de apoyo educativo que conocen de primera mano las necesidades sobre el terreno para lograr una educación de calidad para todos.  David Edwards, Secretario General de la IE, dice en su introducción a la publicación: «Los educadores son los que mejor pueden usar la evaluación para mejorar el aprendizaje. Los educadores pueden proporcionar la evidencia contextual específica que debe informar la reforma de políticas, de lo que funciona y de lo que no funciona en el aula. Y, por lo tanto, los educadores deben tener un lugar en la mesa para guiar la reforma de las políticas. La promesa de la educación no se logrará a menos que se fortalezca y amplíe el diálogo social. Por esta razón, la Internacional de la Educación pide que en materia de educación, el Banco Mundial intenta algo nuevo, da un paso atrás y escucha a la comunidad educativa «. «Verificación de la realidad de la Internacional de la Educación: El Informe sobre el desarrollo mundial de la educación de 2018 del Banco» está disponible aquí: http://go.ei-ie.org/WDR2018RealityCheck

Just ahead of the World Bank Spring Meetings, Education International is launching a publication that brings together multiple voices from around the world to provide a Reality Check on the World Bank’s 2018 World Development Report on education.

This publication launch marks the end of EI’s World Development Report (WDR) Reality Check weekly blog series that has been running on www.worldsofeducation.org for nearly 6 months.
While it is important that the World Bank has dedicated an issue of the WDR to education for the very first time, the world’s teachers and academics have found some significant shortcomings in its content. This is all the more difficult as World Bank policy directly affects educators through policy advice to ministers and imposed policy through conditional World Bank loans.
There is a quite substantial missed opportunity in the report: The Bank should have made a strong case for how to close the financing gap in education to meet SDG4. According to the Global Education Monitoring Report, there is a financing gap of $39 billion a year from now until 2030 across lower and middle income countries. This gap is not addressed at all in the report.
To summarize, the Bank should have emphasized that policy priorities should be determined by national governments in consultation with teachers and education support personnel who know firsthand the needs on the ground to achieve quality education for all.
EI General Secretary David Edwards says in his introduction to the publication: «It is educators who can best use assessment formatively to improve learning. It is educators who can provide the context-specific evidence, that should inform policy reform, of what works and what does not work in the classroom setting. And it is, thus, educators who must have a place at the table to guide policy reform. Education’s promise will not be achieved unless social dialogue is strengthened and expanded. For this reason, Education International asks that on matters of education, the World Bank tries something new, takes a step back, and listens to the education community.»
«Education International’s Reality Check: The Bank’s 2018 World Development Report on Education» is available here: http://go.ei-ie.org/WDR2018RealityCheck
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Indian: DBT has shown mixed results for education system: World Bank official

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Indian/November 14, 2017/By: PTI/Source: http://indianexpress.com

The conditional stipend for girls going for secondary education in Bangladesh led to a movement to bring girls to schools and the enrolments rose to 53 per cent of the total strength, said Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director for the World Bank in India.

The direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme has shown mixed results for the education system, although it can have a major impact on poverty levels and nutrition, a senior official of the World Bank said Sunday. The DBT scheme can have major impact on poverty levels, access and nutrition, said Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director for the World Bank in India, adding “whether it has any impact on outcomes of learning – mixed results so far.”

Ahmad advocated that the DBT scheme be made a part of the broader reform programme in schools to achieve desired goals. “DBT has to be part of a broader reform programme in the school system,” he said in his address at a conference on DBT in education organised by the Centre for Civil Society (CCS).

Citing the huge impact of conditional grant in improving enrolment of girls in secondary education in his home country Bangladesh, he stressed on the importance of decentralisation of schools. The conditional stipend for girls going for secondary education in Bangladesh led to a movement to bring girls to schools and the enrolments rose to 53 per cent of the total strength, he said.

Ahmad said the DBT scheme should be enabled across every single service through investing in capacity of states to bring together the functions of unique IDs, financial systems, financial transfers and registry. CCS president Parth Shah called for complimentary interventions like ease of opening schools, fixing accountability and measuring learning outcomes to boost DBT’s effects on education.

Source:

http://indianexpress.com/article/education/dbt-has-shown-mixed-results-for-education-system-world-bank-official-4933840/

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Book: Fair Progress? : Educational Mobility Around the World

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World Bank / 22 de octubre de 2017 / Fuente: World Bank Group

PREVIEW for book expected March 2018: Fair Progress? Educational Mobility Around the World will look at an issue that has gotten much attention in the developed world, but with, for the first time, new data and analysis covering most of the developing world. The analysis looks at whether those born in poverty or in prosperity are destined to remain in the same economic circumstances into which they were born, and looks back over a half a century at whether children’s lives are better or worse than their parents’ in different parts of the world. It suggests local, national, and global actions and policies that can help break the cycle of poverty, paving the way for the next generation to realize their potential and improve their lives.

Download:

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/28428/211210ov.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y

URI:

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/28428

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Nigeria: World Bank Pledges Continuous Support for Nigeria On Child Education

Allafrica

Nigeria/August 30, 2017/Souce: http://allafrica.com

The World Bank Group said on Tuesday that it would continue to support Nigeria toward boosting the literacy rate, especially among school-age children.

Olatunde Adekola, the Senior Education Specialist, African Region of the World Bank, made this known in a sideline interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, at the ongoing 10th Pan African Literacy for all Conference, Abuja 2017.

NAN reports that the conference was organised by the Reading Association of Nigeria, RAN, with support from the International Literacy Association, and the Federal Ministry of Education, among others.

«World Bank is more than 100 per cent in support of what RAN is doing. We believe in this effort and for the World Bank, we will continue to support the country to enhance literacy.

«This is because literacy is a critical determinant of a country’s economy, growth, development and standard of living of the people.

«There is need for concrete action to strengthen the literacy systems, policies, structures and the desire for the achievement of sustainable development goals.

«There is need to think through holistic approach to providing inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels especially for the vulnerable groups and particularly, the girl child,» Mr. Adekola said.

The official said the World Bank had inaugurated a one-million-dollar project to enhance literacy in the northern parts of the country.

According to him, the project is a global partnership for education tagged ‘Nigeria Partnership for Education’.

He said: «It is carried out by the World Bank and other development partners such as USAID, UNICEF and DFID in the North-west of the country.

«The focus of the project is first, to strengthen the government systems to deliver basic education for the children by improving the basic education service delivery especially at the early primary level.

«There is need to think through holistic approach to providing inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels especially for the vulnerable groups and particularly, the girl child,» Mr. Adekola said.

The official said the World Bank had inaugurated a one-million-dollar project to enhance literacy in the northern parts of the country.

According to him, the project is a global partnership for education tagged ‘Nigeria Partnership for Education’.

He said: «It is carried out by the World Bank and other development partners such as USAID, UNICEF and DFID in the North-west of the country.

«The focus of the project is first, to strengthen the government systems to deliver basic education for the children by improving the basic education service delivery especially at the early primary level.

«The project has a life span of four years. We are almost two years into it now.

«We still have about two more years and the outcome is very good because we are now seeing more girls in school.

«Nevertheless, we need partnerships, collaboration and cooperation between and within state and non-state actors to address the issue of literacy as a tool for problem-solving.

«However, we will continue to support the country to enhance the literacy level in the country,» he explained.

Mr. Adekola, who is also the Task Team Leader for the Global Partnership for Education in Nigeria, said the conference would focus more on literacy, reading, language and learning issues.

He stated that the idea is to ensure that children become familiar with the language in which they will be taught as a step toward improving their literacy.

Source:

http://allafrica.com/stories/201708290558.html

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