Limited educational opportunity and obstacles in pursuing 12 years of education for girls is costing countries between $15 trillion and $30 trillion dollars, revealed a report released by the World Bank.
The World Bank’s report girl’s education globally stated that 89 per cent girls complete their primary education whereas only 77 per cent complete lower secondary education which lead them losing out on lifetime productivity and earnings.
The duration of lower secondary education in most countries across the globe is 9 years. According to the report primary education is not sufficient and by lack of resources and set up for girls to complete 12 years of schooling, they lose out on the transformative power of education in six key areas:
- earnings and standards of living
- child marriage and early childbearing
- fertility and population growth
- health, nutrition and well-being
- agency and decision-making
- social capital and institutions
Highlighting the effect of education on women, the report says, on an average women with secondary school education earn twice as much as those with no education at all.
The report also speculates that secondary education also helps in reducing the possibility of child marriage and consequently early childbearing along with reducing total fertility rate.
Not only this, but universal secondary education for girls also make them aware about health and nutrition and aide them in decision making processes.
