Education of Disadvantaged Children in OIC:
The Key to Escape from Poverty
17
increases.61 Children coming from ethnic minorities are usually the ones who encounter
language barrier problems. These racial and ethnic discrepancies may cause higher repetition
and drop-out rates, lower grades and poor academic achievement.62 According to an analysis of
DHS datasets conducted in late 1990s or early 2000s for 23 countries, for most of the countries
significant disparities could be found for educational attainment of adults and educational
attendance of children depending on the language that they speak at home.63
The negative consequences of ethnic disparities might hit harder when combined with
poverty. When these two causes of inequality are experienced together, marginalisation might
be inevitable. For example, in Nigeria 97 percent of girls coming from poor Hausa-speaking
backgrounds have less than 2 years of schooling.64
Another group of minority children who are at a disadvantage are those in lower castes
in countries where the caste system could be observed. In countries like India or Pakistan
where the caste is a significant factor, low-caste children are more likely to face disadvantages
throughout their lives. They are more deprived both economically and educationally. Research
shows that in India these disparities translate into larger gaps later in labour market outcomes.65
Language can also be a barrier for refugee children who do not speak the language of
instruction in the host country. It is estimated that 50 percent of refugee children are out of
school in the world.66 While difficulty in access to education for refugee children has more than
one reason, differences in language spoken in the host and sending country is one of these
barriers. The practices on the ground vary across countries but the UNHCR’s policies focus on
including refugee children in national education systems. This, again, requires an in advance
preparation prior to regular primary school. In other words, the earlier refugee children have a
chance to learn the host country’s official language, the easier the transition becomes.
System wide problems
In addition to household and individual level barriers in access to education, systemwide
problems also create barriers for children. These problems could be a low level of financing
from the side of the government and a low level of quality that may drop household demand for
education or create inefficient outcomes in which children go to school but do not learn
effectively. In countries where the problem of being out of school is endemic, these problems
often occur concurrently. Yet low level of quality could also occur even when financing of
education is at an adequate level.
Inadequate government financing remains a problem for improving access to quality
education in the world. As a result of their 2007 meeting in Dakar, The High Level Group on
Education for All, a group that is composed of high-level representatives from national
61 (EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2010)
62 (American Psychological Assocation Presidential Task Force on Educational Disparities, 2012)
63 (Smits, Huisman, & Kruijff, 2008)
64 (EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2010)
65 (Rawal & Kingdon, 2010)
66 (UNESCO, 2016a)