2.1 Introduction
2.2 The importance of female participation in education
One of the most enduring types of educational inequality is that of gender. At a global level, the gender gap in education has been reduced significantly in many of the countries of the North although it remains extreme in parts of the South, particularly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). South Asia has the largest gender gap at both the primary and secondary levels followed by SSA.
In the poorest countries of the world, gender inequality is reflected in lower enrolment, attainment and achievement, and higher wastage rates for girls. While SSA has the lowest levels of education as a region, it has, nonetheless, made the most progress in increasing schooling for girls and women over the past three decades (UNESCO, 1993). Thus, the enrolment of girls has increased at a faster rate than that of boys although starting from a much lower base level. This is largely the consequence of the expansionary education policies followed by post-independence African governments. Even so, gender inequalities with respect to enrolment levels and educational outcomes are still very marked both in absolute terms and in relation to other developing countries. During the 1980s, two-thirds of primary school-aged African children who were out of school were female (Colclough, 1994). While it is true that the enrolment gap between boys and girls has diminished in many SSA countries at the primary level, the education of women and girls remains highly inequitable, particularly at the tertiary level.
Generally speaking, economic recession and structural adjustment policies (SAPs) have over the past decade deepened social and gender inequalities in African societies. Widespread concerns have been expressed about the adverse impacts of SAPs on education sectors mainly in terms of declining overall enrolments for both males and females and deteriorating quality of provision at all levels. Due to the multiple political, social and economic constraints operating against females in SSA, deteriorating economic conditions have had a particularly damaging effect on the education and employment prospects of women and girls (Elson, 1994).
The very considerable private and social benefits arising from the education of girls are now well documented (see, for example, Floro and Wolf, 1990, King and Hill, 1991, Herz et al, 1991). The level of women's education affects economic productivity, child health and welfare, and influences the length of time daughters are sent to school. As schooling tends to improve the mother's knowledge and use of health practices, each additional year of schooling is estimated to decrease the child mortality rate (Hartnett and Heneveld, 1994). Research reported in two World Development reports (See IBRD 1989 and 1992) confirms that female education reduces fertility, especially where family planning services are available. Female education is linked with later marriage, lower fertility, desire for smaller families, and increased practice of contraception. The relationship is stronger as women's education increases (see Herz et al, 1991).
There also seems to be a strong link in rural areas of SSA between education of women and agricultural productivity although this has not been adequately researched. In the rural areas of Ghana (where currently three-quarters of female farmers have no education), lack of female education limits farm productivity. Inadequate literacy and numeracy skills are also reported to affect adversely the efficiency of women traders (BRIDGE, Ghana, 1994). Another study on Ghana finds that maternal education is the main influence on children's schooling, whether for boys or girls. But the effect on girls is twice as great - with respect to both girls' actual enrolment and the probability that girls will continue to the next grade (Herz et al, 1991).
The positive impact of maternal influence on schooling has been found right across the developing world in different cultural settings. Studies conducted in Latin America indicate that parent's income and own years of schooling have a strong positive impact on children's education with the mothers' educational level appearing to have a greater impact (Bustillo, 1989). An ILO study on vocational training in Zambia (Kane, 1990) also shows that well educated women are more likely to educate their daughters.
The influence of mothers on their children's education is particularly important in the African context where in many countries a relatively high proportion of households have a female head. This includes many of the countries of Southern Africa where male migration is widespread. Many women are the prime movers with respect to their children's education and their own levels of education and command over resources are important factors in their ability to send children to school (Fuller et al, 1994). In rural Botswana where 48% of households have a female head, it has been found that investment in a daughter's schooling is higher for those households. A recent household survey in Botswana also found that the mother's literacy levels and reading practices were closely related to their daughters' level of school attainment (ibid).
Research has shown that both the social and private rates of return to girls' primary education are generally high. For this reason, King and Hill (1993) recommend that governments should invest in basic education for girls in both formal and non-formal settings. Recent World Bank studies have suggested that returns to secondary education for girls and boys are now comparable to those for primary (Herz et al, 1991). However, rates of return estimates for SSA countries should be treated with caution since the data and/or the methodology used in many country studies are seriously flawed (see Bennell, 1995).
Due to the undoubtedly positive impacts of female education, a somewhat instrumentalist view has emerged from the World Bank and some other aid donors regarding gender and education. Primary education is now seen as a particularly 'good investment' both generally and from a gender perspective. However, the factors militating against the education of African girls cover political, social and economic factors. While it is important that the economic and social benefits are highlighted, the key issue remains one of equity, namely that education must be recognised as a basic human right. Furthermore, it is important that women are not merely the 'objects' of policy but rather that they themselves become part of the process of transformation of not only education but social attitudes. Thus, investing in girl's education cannot be a 'quick fix' solution to economic and social problems, since any kind of progressive change will need to involve a long term process of political empowerment as well.
