Education in Egypt: Access, Gender, and Disability – Part 2 Gender
There is a gender gap in education in Egypt described as “persistent” in several sources. (Loveluck &Unicef: 2012) Let’s consider some overall statistics. The total population of Egypt is currently about 91 million. It is divided equally between sexes with about 45 million each of males and females. (Ahrahm Online: 2012) According to Unicef, the enrollment rate in primary education is 95.4% with 96.1% boys and 94.7% girls. The more disturbing statistic is that 2.8 million children between the ages of 6 and 18 have never enrolled in school or have dropped out. This represents 8.1% of children in that age group according to Unicef.org. These children don’t typically live in urban environments and often are wage earners for their families and come from poor households. They may have disabilities. Boys are enrolled in school in numbers 2.8% higher than girls nationally. As we’ve noted in past posts, quality of education is a serious challenge. Unicef.org states that less than 10% of schools (most of which are government funded) meet quality standards that have been set by, however rarely enforced, by the government. Other studies have indicated that female enrollment ratios are as much as 20% lower than for males with higher dropout rates. (Loveluck: 2013)
The title of the article accompanying this photo was “Let us Learn”: The cry of Egyptian Women (Ahram Online) http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/37923/Egypt/Politics-/“Let-Us-Learn”-the-cry-of-Egyptian-Women.aspx
We take a closer look at an area that is known as “Upper Egypt”. Beginning on the southern tip of Cairo, the massive expanse of land covers the area to the border of Sudan at Lake Nasser. This area includes severe poverty – up to 80% of the country according to The World Bank, while it has only 40% of Egypt’s population. Alarming statistics from The World Bank give a picture of the current reality for women tere:
• 70 percent of young women in Upper Egypt are jobless.
• Illiteracy rates for young people in Upper Egypt are at 17 percent, higher than the national average, with illiteracy rates for females more than twice those of males.
• Less than 4 percent of illiterate females are employed.
• Almost all young women in Upper Egypt with no formal education are jobless
On the brighter side, The World Bank article also states that, “Returns on education in Upper Egypt are high, with labor force participation rates for female university graduates as high as 58 percent, higher than the national average of 47 percent, and 84 percent for male university graduates.”*
* All statistics from World Bank, Report #71674