Issues+and+Background+Hum3+Group3

=Issues and Background=

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Universal Education for All
As a significant global issue, universal education for all should become reality, not only for moral reasons but also for the fact that this issue is connected to other global issues. Providing education to everyone is a moral obligation in itself. Education is a human right, and giving everyone access to schools brings a deeper sense of equality onto Earth. Suffering residents of impoverished countries experience a never-ending cycle: no access to a decent education, difficulties in finding jobs without the benefit of decent schooling, insufficient amounts of money due to unemployment, and no access to a decent education due to insufficient amounts of money. We, as the “elite” of the world, have a responsibility and the ability to save the billions of people on Earth who are stuck in this cycle. Less than one percent of what the world spent each year on weapons was needed to put every child into school by the year 2000 (Shah), and this shows that, while not very much has happened in favor of this issue, we have enough money and resources to solve this global problem. Even though these moral factors should be enough to act on education for all, yet another reason for universal education is the fact that the issue affects numerous other world problems. Connections to other global issues include the link between poor education and poverty and the link between poor education and the digital divide. As the cycle reveals, likelihood of unemployment and poverty is higher without proper schooling. The UN’s Literacy Decade reinforces the link between the digital divide and education in its statement, “In order to survive in today’s globalized world, it has become necessary for everyone to learn new forms of literacy and to develop the ability to locate, evaluate, and effectively use information in a variety of ways (“United Nations Literacy Decade-Why the Literacy Decade?”).” Part of the meaning of this assertion is that digital education is especially needed in today’s globalizing planet to increase the use of technology in developing countries. In addition to the specific examples of the links of education to both poverty and technology, there is the fact that literate and educated people may more easily contribute to the world. For example, if the one-fifth of the world that didn’t know how to read and write knew how to read and write, they could communicate with the rest of the world in a more straightforward way, contribute to other growing global problems, and actively take part in them. In effect, this issue triggers a chain reaction; if this issue worsens, other global problems could also worsen, but, if this issue starts improving, new solutions to other global issues might start appearing. Thus, education for all should be a major priority for all of us, as it is central to our individual consciences and to the welfare of the world.

Sources

Shah, Anup. “Poverty Facts and Stats.” Global Issues. 24 Nov 2006. 21 Jan 2008 <[|http://www.globalissues.org/TradeRelated/Facts.asp>.]

“United Nations Literacy Decade-Why the Literacy Decade?.” UNESCO. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. 21 Jan 2008 <[|http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=53899&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html>.]

What is being done to stop, prevent or fix this issue? (This might be steps by the United Nations or a specific organization.)
Education for all is a global issue that is affecting the world right now. It is a global problem because education is a human right. It is meant for not only rich countries but poor countries as well. If everyone knew how to read and write, they could take part and contribute to other global issues such as the environment and economy. The main problem is that there is a cycle going on in impoverished places. People who are poor can’t afford education, people without education can’t easily find jobs, and people without jobs are poor. If this cycle is broken by providing free education to poor people, this problem, linked to poverty and technology, would be gone. This issue is affecting the world by putting poor countries at a disadvantage and rich countries in a somewhat clueless state. Half of the human race, the nations with lots of poverty, cannot communicate with the other half because the poor countries are illiterate. Thus, education can make the world more equal if everyone has it, but it can also divide and separate the world if not everyone has it. Again, education is linked to issues like technology, so the education inequity also accounts in part for the Digital Divide. One specific situation is the gender disparities in schools in developing countries. These countries still value boys more than girls because they see boys as moneymakers for their country. However, the world is becoming less sexist, and girls must now be educated in literature, math, and technology in order to survive in the world. For example, poor areas in China honor sons more than daughters and would more likely send boys to school. Therefore, if there was not enough money to send all children to school in that particular area, girls would, among other disadvantages, most likely remain illiterate for a large portion if not all of their lives. UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, is taking many large steps in the right direction to fixing this issue. They have started the Literacy Decade (2003-2012), in which they extend the reaches of education and literacy to the impoverished people who do not have it. They have already established a very convincing campaign and proposed six lines of action towards achieving global literacy. Another project is the Education for All campaign, aiming to build schools and education programs in low-income countries. They not only outline how they have progressed so far but how much they have yet to go and what areas need improvement. Government policies have also changed to allow more opportunities in education, such as more gender parity. The world is making progress with this issue, but there is still much that can be done.

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