In as many as 130 out of 142 countries, it is more likely that boys will repeat primary grades as opposed to girls, with data indicating their poorer progression through school, as per a new Global Education report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
Apart from pointing out that about 132 million boys of primary and secondary school age are not in school, the Leave no child behind: Global report on boys disengagement from education report stated that boys are more likely to face physical bullying and are often painted as targets when it comes to their real, or even perceived sexual orientation gender identity or expression (SOGIE), as reported by news agency PTI.
Diving into the data
With data on learning poverty, in as many as 57 countries, boys aged ten fare poorly as opposed to girls when it comes to their mastery over reading skills. And at the secondary level, boys in their adolescence continue to fall behind girls.
The report went on to point out that while girls are more likely not to attend schools, boys, in many countries, are at a higher risk of failing to advance to complete the pursuit of their education. Currently, there are 132 million boys who are out of school.
But why are boy students disengaged from education? What are the factors leading to it?
“Poverty and the need to work, for instance, can lead boys to drop out. Gendered norms and expectations can also affect their desire to learn. In particular, certain subjects can run counter to traditional expressions of masculinity, making them unpopular with boys. Harsh discipline, corporal punishment and other forms of violence at school also negatively impact boys’ academic achievement, while increasing absenteeism and dropouts," the report stated, as per a report in PTI.
Going global in view
Looking at this from a global perspective, there is almost no country with data that, at the tertiary level, has achieved gender parity.
For tertiary enrollment, the gender parity index data in 2019 shows that 88 men for every 100 women were enrolled. The disengagement and dropout rate was, in the past, a worry for high-income countries alone, but now, this is the new reality for many low and middle-income countries as well. There has been a reversal in gender gaps and boys are now behind girls when it comes to enrollment and completion.
In as many as 73 countries, fewer boys than girls are enrolled in upper-secondary education. But when it comes to Math, the gender gap that was working against girls has now narrowed or equalised with that of boys in half of those countries that have the data.
What is leading to not just disengagement including low levels of motivation and underachievement among boys? Online classes and gender segregation surely contribute to it. Conflict and forced migration is also an obstacle to accessing and then, seeing one's education through. Linguistic barriers, mobility and discrimination are also factors that lead to education exclusion, mentioned the report.
“Scarce policy attention has been given to gender disparities in education that disadvantage boys. Existing policies are predominantly in high-income countries. Few low or middle-income countries have specific policies to improve boys’ enrollment,” the report stated, as quoted by new agency PTI.
The report has a few recommendations to make as well which include advancing equal access to education to prevent dropouts of boys; ensuring that learning is a lot more gender-transformative apart from being safe for all learners; creating environments that address the need of one and all, and a lot more.
