Inside Panorama

Educated vs. Uneducated Ratio

The argument of what an 'Educated Person' is will be one that will last for all time. But for now, lets keep it simple, right down to the basics. Someone who can read, write, and lets throw in some basic math and science skills.

The aim of many NGO's out there is to increase the number of educated people in a geographical area. Which is great. There's no argument about whether that's a good thing or not. But what about the ratio of educated to uneducated people? As of today, the estimated world population is 6,446,131,400. Now, some sources say that the average literacy rate is about 75% of this population, but of course this isn't a fair representation because the gap of educated people between world powers and third world countries is monumental.

I was just in an area where the minimum amount of children per 'House' (explanations and pictures of these so called 'Houses' will come soon) is 10. Out of those 10, the family would be lucky if they get 3 of them in school (out of which usually only 1 completes primary AND secondary education). Because of the male domination in these societies, from those 10 children, say 5 are girls, they'll be married at approximately 15; and by the next 10 or so years, will have another 10 children.





Whether this next generation will be educated or not remains to be seen. But the ratio of educated to non-educated will not improve, in fact, it will probably decrease.


So maybe we all need to look at the larger picture and target the roots of the problem rather than the leaves at the top.

posted by Sarah @ 2:48 PM