The importance of education cannot be overemphasized. Countries that understand this fact have made education a priority and it is evident with the growth the countries experience the impact education makes on the growth and development of a country.
The government of nation are expected to make sure to prioritise education and eve based on United Nation’s requirement, education is a right of every person, so it has basically become a compulsory duty of government. It is, therefore, not farfetched to monitor education statistics in order to make projections and plans concerning education.
#1: Literacy Rate
Literacy and getting formal education dates to many centuries ago, even beyond hieroglyphics and what we now know, as writing. However, for those early centuries, was limited to those who were on the higher level of the social strata. Now, however, with the widespread production of schools and books, individuals can aspire and achieve formal education. In recent times, there has been advocacy for making education cheaper and more accessible. But despite this progress, there are quite a number of countries that are operating below expectation, as far as education and literacy rate is concerned.
As expected, the literacy rate is lower in developed countries, making clear again how intertwined education and development of nations is. According to UNICEF Data conducted in 2016, literacy rates among youths are lowest in Central and West Africa.
According to latest research conducted by World Atlas, countries like Andora, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, amongst others, including countries that were part of the former Soviet Union have a near 100% literacy population. Many countries in developing countries are at the bottom of the ranking with Nigeria having a literacy rate of a 51.0%
#2: Child Labour
Children are supposed to be in school but many of them are victims of child labour getting involved in one form of unpaid or paid labour. Sometimes, the work is harmful but most times, it is not harmful because in most cases, they work for the family to help increase the family income. That is why this is prevalent in poor homes and poorer countries.
Survey conducted based on Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS) and other nationally representative surveys, 2010-2016 by UNICEF global databases in 2017, indicates that in the world poorest countries, around 1 in 4 children are engaged in child labour.