In my country, education is supposed to be for everybody, the government will tell you that it is free for basic levels, and you will see campaigns about sending every child to school, but when you really look around, the story is different. On paper, there is no rule that says a girl can not go as far as she wants in her studies or a boy should stop at a certain level, but in reality, so many things come in the way, poverty, culture, lack of resources, and sometimes even some people’s personal mindset.
Where I grew up, you could see the difference in how boys and girls were treated when it came to schooling, some families believed that once a girl could read and write, it was enough, because “she will eventually get married.” For the boys, they were encouraged to keep pushing, even if the family had to borrow money for their fees, this mindset is slowly changing,
,we thank God for that, but trust me, in many rural areas it is still very common except that family is very exposed to the outside world
Another thing that affects the education system is money, they will say education is free, but then you will still have to pay for uniforms, books, exam fees, and sometimes even extra levies that the school will bring up, some parents just can not keep up, so the child just ends up staying at home, and in most cases, when there is only enough money for one child, the boy is picked over the girl.
The quality of education also depends on where you are too,you see In the cities, you might find better facilities and more qualified teachers, and In the villages, it can be one teacher handling multiple subjects for all the classes, Some schools do not even have proper classrooms , the kids just learn under a tree or in a half-broken building. I have seen situations where children have to walk for more than an hour just to get to their school, and during the rainy season, some stop going because the roads are just too bad.
Personally, I have seen people with the potential to go far, but life just cut their dreams short, I know one girl in my area who was brilliant , she always did top her class , but after her father died, her mother could not afford her school fees anymore, she had to stop in junior secondary school and start helping her mom sell goods at the market, Meanwhile, her younger brother continued his studies because “he is the man of the house.” See things like this still happen a lot in some areas and in certain Families.
The good thing is that things are slowly improving, there are NGOs and scholarship programs helping children stay in school, and more parents are beginning to see the value of educating both their sons and daughters equally, but we really do still have a long way to go.
If you ask me, I think everyone should be allowed and encouraged to pursue education to the highest level they want, education opens doors, and it is not just about getting a job , it changes how you think, how you see life, and even how you raise your own children in the future, The educational system in my country has the potential to do more better, but it needs more investment, better policies, and a very serious mindset change in some communities.
No one should have to stop learning just because of their gender or where they were born, if we want the future to be better, then every child deserves the chance to sit in a classroom and dream as far as they want.
This is my response to the Hive Learners Prompt Week 178 , Edition 1
Image Is Mine
