2020 GEM Report published: Exclusion in education remains persistent
Discussion details
The 2020 GEM Report on inclusion and education was launched on 23 June at an online event that brought together inclusion champions, ministers, teachers and celebrities from across the world to discuss around the theme of the report – inclusion. Click to watch the recording of the launch event.
This year’s report shows that exclusion in education is persistent: millions of children are denied of their right to quality education due to discrimination on the basis of gender, wealth, disability, ethnicity, language, migration, displacement, incarceration, sexual orientation, or religion. The Covid-19 pandemic has added new layers of exclusion.
Poverty remains an important determining factor for access to education: In low- and middle-income countries, adolescents from the richest 20% of all households were three times as likely to complete lower secondary school as were as those from the poorest homes. Among those who did complete lower secondary education, students from the richest households were twice as likely to have basic reading and mathematics skills as those from the poorest households.
The Report also shows the weight of intersecting disadvantages for some learners. For example, hardly any poor rural young women complete secondary school in at least 20 countries, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa.
Learners with a disability also face challenges. Laws in a quarter of all countries require children with disabilities to be educated in separate settings. In 10 low- and middle-income countries, children with disabilities were found to be 19% less likely to achieve minimum proficiency in reading than those without disabilities.
The European Union has a long-standing commitment to support partner countries in strengthening education systems that leave no one behind. The EU supports around 100 countries in providing quality, inclusive and equitable education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. Thanks to the contribution of EU citizens, today more children, especially girls, can attend school.
EU-funded projects are presented among the good practice examples in 2020 GEM Report:
In Egypt, Ministry of Education and Technical Education (MoETE)’s decree calls for integration of children with mild disabilities in the mainstream schools. EU-funded Expanding Access to Education and Protection of at-Risk Children in Egypt project supports 200 public primary schools to accommodate 6,000 children with disabilities.
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"Nour, who has learning difficulties, was recently referred to this school by a school for children with major disabilities believing she can better fulfill her potential at in inclusive school. Across 7 governorates, 2,495 teachers were trained on the features of different types of disabilities that are eligible for inclusive education according to the Egyptian law. 1,063 psychologists, social workers, teachers, and principals were trained on early identification of disabilities. With the continuous funding of the EU, UNICEF and MoETE are planning to expand the model nationwide so that more differently-abled children could fulfill their potential with the right and timely intervention."Source: https://www.unicef.org/egypt/stories/differently-abled-differently-empowered |
In Malawi, EU-funded Skills and Technical Education Programme promotes quality, equitable and gender-balanced vocational education and training. To increase the enrollment and retention rates of girls, the programme combats the school-related gender-based violence, one of the biggest reasons for exclusion and drop-out of girls, by raising awareness, establishing principles for safe and violence-free schools and reporting mechanisms, and empowering student through GBV prevention clubs in school.
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“Poverty, disability and gender equality concerns threaten inclusion in technical and vocational education and training in Malawi Gender stereotypes were pervasive in study programmes, attitudes and behaviours, and gender-based violence by instructors, administrators and peers was common. About 29% of female college students had experienced disrespectful or demeaning language from other students. A companion analysis in three colleges showed that one in four female students had been asked to have or had had sex with an instructor (Malawi Ministry of Labour Youth Sports and Manpower Development, 2018b). Female student security was also an issue. Just one college had a lockable gate. In several hostels, female students’ rooms could not be locked. Codes of conduct have been published for instructors, administrators and trainees, accompanied by a trainee orientation programme, as part of the EU-funded Skills and Technical Education Programme.” 2020 GEM report, p. 294 |
Scholarships are effective instruments to increase access to education for girls, the poor and other vulnerable groups. In the tertiary level, 2020 GEM Report finds only 30% of the scholarships to African students can be classified as inclusive, in the sense that they offer full funding and meet at least one developmental objective. Being one of the biggest scholarship aid providers, the EU offers inclusive scholarship programmes to students and academics from the partner countries. Its flagship programme Erasmus+ and its degree mobility component Erasmus Mundus and Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme are among the good practices presented in the 2020 GEM Report.
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