The
lack of access of African children to education is mainly due to the
insufficient number of schools, the inability of families to pay for education,
the need for many children to work to earn a living, to early marriage (which
prevent girls from continuing their studies) and discrimination that affects
millions of children orphaned by AIDS.
Going
to school doesn't mean "only" escape from the prison of illiteracy.
Access to basic education latches in a virtuous circle that produces its
effects from generation to generation.
There
is evidence that education increases the chances of integration into the labor
market and with it the possibility of having a better income than that mean
people aren't educated.
Girls
and girls who attend the school are more likely to attain economic
self-sufficiency in adulthood and can defend more effectively their rights, at
work and in the family. Statistics show that young women with a primary
education cycle behind have fewer pregnancies and more spaced between them, and
know how to nurture and care for children in a more balanced manner.
Adults
and children received basic education have increased susceptibility to send
their children to school. The first-person experience suggests parents the
importance of education for their children, especially for girls. For this
reason, investing in education of children today also means working for the
welfare and development of children.
The
experience accumulated in the field has enabled UNICEF to verify that investing
in primary education, more than any other level of education, the highest
return in social terms: health, employment, self-esteem and personal fulfillment.
For this reason UNICEF considers education one of the priorities of its action
for human development.
