MDG's Part 2: Universal Primary Education

It’s easy to see why eradicating extreme poverty and hunger is a good development goal. Obviously millions of children should not be constantly hungry. But why is universal primary education an achievement the world should aim for?

Education is key if you want to do more than simply interrupt the poverty cycle – and we want to smash right through it for good. People who have been educated in some way are simply more likely to find a better job, no matter where they are. They generally have a wider variety of skills and are likely to receive more opportunities, and ultimately better education often means better rates of pay.
Lots of children start school, but never have a chance to finish it. In Zimbabwe, for example, thousands of children have had their schooling interrupted through no fault of their own. Many have to quit school to help support their families, or take the place of a parent who has died of AIDS. If the opportunity arises for them to return to school, they’re hopelessly far behind their classmates. And even for those who can manage to stay in education, the meltdown of Zimbabwe’s economy has meant that teachers are often on strike or simply unable to afford to get to their classes. So these children are stuck either way.

Thanks to Viva Network Zimbabwe, our Harare-wide network of local projects and churches, we’ve been able to start a programme called Bridging Schools, which is helping kids catch up who have had to leave school. Many projects wanted to help get kids back to school but didn’t have the resources. We train the teachers in the special issues facing these children, provide lunch, and hold devotions. Then we use local churches within the network as classrooms for the Bridging Schools. In 2009 we expected to help 250 kids through Bridging Schools … we ended up with 947 students! Our goal is to bring these students to a level where they can return to public school and be completely up to speed with classmates of their own age, instead of being placed with children years younger than them.

In Kenya one of the largest problems facing universal primary education is the number of children living in slums. Nairobi has great public schools, but none of them are in the giant Kibera slum where 70% of the city’s population lives. So Viva has joined up with 40 local projects and churches to help bring primary education into this area. These were schools run voluntarily by churches and small projects, but without proper training or resources the teachers were overwhelmed and the students often received a low standard of education.

But now, we’ve arranged for government funded schools to ‘lend out’ their teachers for a day each month. They train the slum school teachers in teaching techniques, classroom discipline, and clearly presenting information. In addition, we make sure every child attending these schools gets de-wormed. It’s hard to concentrate on your schoolwork when there are worms in your stomach, stealing all your nutrients!

Through these slum schools we’re educating more than 4,800 students in Kibera Slum. Thanks to their teachers’ training and classroom skills, the students consistently come out on top in Kibera-wide exams.
Education doesn’t just give kids a future; it also helps them in the present. When children are at school, they’re not roaming dangerous city streets or otherwise getting into trouble. Particularly for girls, keeping them in school is one of the best ways of preventing them from being trafficked. When children attend school regularly their teachers can keep track of their location and health issues … school provides one more layer of protection for children whose parents are often sick, absent or overworked.

So my conclusion: aiming for universal primary education is not just a great development goal, it’s actually an achievable one. Together we can do it!


~ J. in Oxford


Want to learn more about Viva’s work educating kids? Visit www.viva.org/BridgingSchools or www.viva.org/SlumSchools.