Boys are more likely than girls to repeat primary grades in 130 of 142 countries, according to a new UNESCO Global Education Report, data showing their poor progress through school. The report titled ‘Leave no child behind: Global report on boy’s disengagement from education’ states that no less than 132 million boys of primary and secondary school age are out of school.
It states that boys are more likely than girls to experience physical bullying and are often targeted because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity or expression (SOGIE). Boys are more likely than girls to repeat elementary grades in 130 of 142 countries, with data showing their poor progress through school.
In 57 countries, with data on learning poverty, 10-year-old boys are worse than girls in mastering reading skills, and adolescent boys lag behind girls at the secondary level. “While girls are more likely than boys to not attend school, in many countries boys are at greater risk of failing to advance and complete their education. As it stands, 132 million boys are currently out of school,” the report said.
Highlighting the factors causing boys to withdraw from education, the UN report attributed the main reasons to strict discipline, corporal punishment, gender norms, poverty and propensity for the need to work. For example, poverty and the need to work may drive boys to drop out of school. Gender norms and expectations can also affect their willingness to learn. In particular, some themes may run contrary to traditional expressions of masculinity, making them unpopular with boys. Harsh school discipline, corporal punishment and other forms of violence also negatively affect boys’ academic achievement, while increasing absenteeism and dropouts.
“In many countries, boys are at greater risk than girls of repeat grades, failing to meet various education levels and having poor learning outcomes in school. While the loss of boys was most notable in income contexts, it has shifted and now includes many low- and lower-middle-income countries,” it said. Damage is most prevalent.
The right to education remains incomplete for many boys. Many children and young people of primary and secondary school age are out of school. More than half of them are boys. It has been a matter of concern that the COVID-19 pandemic will lead to an increase in the number of school dropouts. In 2020, the last school year before the pandemic, an estimated 259 million children and youth of primary and secondary school age were out of school, 132 million of whom were boys. “There will not be a clear picture of the COVID-19 impacts on enrollment before the end of 2022,” it said.
Globally, almost no country with the data has achieved gender parity at the tertiary level. Gender Equality Index data in 2019 for tertiary enrollment showed 88 males for every 100 females enrolled at the tertiary level. While dropout and drop out of school was primarily a concern in high-income countries, many low- and middle-income countries have seen a reversal of the gender gap, with boys now lagging behind girls in enrollment and completion.
“In 73 countries, boys are less enrolled in higher secondary education than girls. In mathematics, on the other hand, the gender gap working against girls at the beginning of the millennium has narrowed or equalized with boys in half of all countries with data.
“Practices such as streaming of classes and gender segregation contribute to boys’ low motivation, low achievement and disengagement from education. Conflict and forced migration amplify challenges in accessing and completing education. The UNESCO report noted that language barriers, mobility and discrimination contribute to educational exclusion. Experts point out that prolonged school closures and the long-term impact of COVID-19 on learning loss and school dropout could exacerbate existing gender inequalities unless Steps are not taken to meet the learning needs of everyone.
“Despite the apparent deprivation and disadvantage of boys in certain contexts, there are few programs and initiatives addressing this phenomenon holistically, with system-level, gender-specific policies being even rarer. Gender inequalities in education There has been little policy attention to issues that harm boys. Current policies are mainly in high-income countries. Some low- or middle-income countries have specific policies to improve enrollment of boys.
Equal access to education and preventing drop out of boys, reforming or optimizing traditional practices, such as initiation ceremonies, which take boys and youth out of school, identifying and addressing barriers to girls’ education Builds on the text of the wider task to be addressed. , making learning gender-transforming, safe and inclusive for all learners and creating a gender-transforming and inclusive learning environment that meets the needs of all learners are among the recommendations made in the report.
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