Education and
Rural Areas
Key message
Key challenges
- Children from rural areas are more than twice as likely to be out of primary school than their urban peers.
(UNICEF, 2022) - Disadvantages and disparities for the most marginalised — girls, ethnic minorities, and the disabled — are further compounded for those living in rural areas. In Ethiopia, 30% of rural young women were literate, compared to 90% of urban young men.
(EFA, 2014) - Rural areas face a shortage of experienced, quality teachers, contributing to large class sizes and worse learning outcomes for rural children. In South Sudan, rural Jonglei State has an average pupil/teacher ration of 151:1, in comparison to 51:1 in the more urban Central Equatoria State.
(EFA, 2014) - The education of children living in largely rural countries was disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Weak or zero internet connectivity required for remote learning in the many rural and remote areas of the Plurinational state of Bolivia forced the government to cease education programming altogether in many instances.
(Dube, 2020) (Eulich, 2020)
Make the case
- Education is the most effective tool to escape rural poverty. In rural Indonesia, education was the single most important factor in the likelihood a household would escape poverty. Finishing lower secondary school doubled this probability, while simultaneously reducing the chance of returning to poverty by one-quarter.
(McCulloch et al., 2007) - Education increases the chances of obtaining stable, secure work. In rural El Salvador, 7% of workers without a primary education have a secure, working contract, in contrast to nearly half of those with a secondary education.
(EFA, 2014) - Rural children who are educated are healthier. In rural South Africa, each additional year of education completed led to a 7% decrease in the probability of becoming infected with HIV.
(Bärnighausen et al., 2007) - Education can reduce intergenerational poverty in rural households. In rural Nicaragua, chronic poverty was 21% less likely when household heads had at least six years of education. In rural Senegal, boys with educated mothers were nearly one-third more likely to find higher paying employment outside of agriculture.
(Stampini & Davis, 2006) (Lambert et al., 2011) - Children living in rural areas who are educated have greater rates of civic participation. In rural India, educated children were more likely to campaign, discuss electoral issues, attend rallies, and have dialogue with local government officials.
(Krishna, 2006) - Children living in rural areas who are educated have greater rates of civic participation. In rural India, educated children were more likely to campaign, discuss electoral issues, attend rallies, and have dialogue with local government officials.
(Krishna, 2006) - Education boosts income and access to better jobs for those living in rural areas, particularly for girls. A young rural woman with a secondary education has a 10% greater chance of accessing higher paying and more stable wage labor. Young rural women are twice as likely as young rural men to neither work nor attend school.
(IAFD, 2019) - Education empowers rural families to diversify their income, building flexibility and resilience, and increasing earnings. In rural India, 17% of women with no education work outside of agriculture, compared to 72% of women with a secondary education.
(EFA, 2014) - Technology in schools can increase academic achievement in rural areas. In India, DVDs of classes taught by expert teachers increased test scores for 72% of students in rural areas after just eight months.
(EFA, 2014)
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