While education is a basic human right and a sustainable development goal which needs to be fulfilled, there are problems that still exist. Despite increased accessibility in recent years, many children do not have the opportunity to learn. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the problem is deeply rooted, as most of the children live in poverty and the regions face the problem of gender inequality. Moreover, the schools in these areas do not even have basic facilities and resources. The country faces the biggest challenges in providing schools with basic resources. The situation is extreme at the primary and lower secondary levels, where children do not have access to drinking water, electricity, computers, and the Internet.
Despite years of steady growth in enrolment rates, non-proficiency rates remain disturbingly high. In 2018, some 773 million adults—two-thirds of which are women—remained illiterate in terms of reading and writing skills. The sheer magnitude of school closures due to pandemic is likely to set back progress on access to education. Women and girls are at the most disadvantage. About one-third of countries in the developing regions have not achieved gender parity in primary education. These disadvantages in education also translate into lack of access to skills and limited opportunities in the labour market for young women.
Teacher effectiveness has been found to be the most important predictor of student learning. There are not enough teachers to achieve universal primary or secondary education, and many of the teachers that are currently working are untrained. There are 130 million children in school who are not learning basic skills like reading, writing and math. Globally, the UN estimates that 69 million new teachers are required to achieve universal primary and secondary education by 2030. To offer every child primary education, 25.8 million school teachers need to be recruited. Meanwhile, in 1 out of every 3 countries, less than three-quarters of teachers are trained to national standards.
Another issue is the barrier to inclusive education. social norms in many countries pose an obstacle to inclusion. Deeply entrenched attitudes lead to the resistance of accommodating students with disabilities and learning issues, as well as those from minority cultures. Prejudices against those with differences can lead to discrimination, which inhibits the educational process. An example of this can be Nepal, where children with disabilities are often excluded from gaining an education. Based on research conducted in May 2018 in 13 public schools in five districts across Nepal, Human Rights Watch found that segregating children with and without disabilities has denied many children with disabilities their right to education.
