Quality Education
the problem
The fourth Sustainable Development Goal is Quality Education, to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities”.
In Cameroon, primary education is free, being paid for by the government. However uniform, books and parent & teacher association (PTA) payments mean that many parents still cannot afford to send their children to primary school.
In some rural communities, children simply cannot access schools, either through living too far away from the schools or the schools being unfit for purpose. Also, in communities that are able to access education, some families prefer their female children to remain at home, to learn housework and then get married, whilst their male children attend school and gain an education.
As a result of this, UNESCO found that in Cameroon in 2018, the male literacy rate was 82.6% and the female literacy rate 71.6% for ages 15 and over.
The Nkafu Policy Institute has also found that in Cameroon “the number of women and girls involved in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) remains under-represented due to gender stereotypes, unsupportive and even hostile policies and environment at a national level”
Solution
- Ensuring children can attend school despite necessary payments for uniform, books and PTA.
- Facilitating access to schools for all, through the construction of schools where necessary, particularly in rural communities, and the refurbishment of schools that require repair or improvement.
- Changing attitudes so that all communities realise the importance of female children going to school and receiving an education.
- Empowering female children to enter the male-dominated field of STEM.
our ongoing efforts
- Scholarships to enable children to attend school, and providing parents with assistance to pay tuition fees.
- Constructing schools and refurbishing schools in need of repair to grant children access to quality education. Within schools this includes the construction of gender-segregated toilets/latrines to promote safety and hygienic practices.
- Promoting the importance of female children attending school and encouraging them to enter the field of STEM.
- Providing water to schools to facilitate safe sanitation, hand washing and reproductive hygiene practices.
- Providing food to schools to enable children to access quality nutrition, which is fundamental to their cognitive development.
challenges
We lack adequate funding to provide scholarships to all children that require them, as well as implementing the entirety of our plans for school construction and refurbishment. Similarly, our capacity to provide food and water to schools, as well as organising workshops within the community to counter gender stereotypes regarding education, is greatly constricted by our financial resources. Whilst we have plans in place, and our efforts are making a demonstrable impact, this impact could be greatly enhanced by your in kind or cash donations.
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