In this unit, you learnt that globally, there are large numbers of children who are out of school. UNESCO estimates that these children include 59 million of primary school age, 62 million of lower secondary school age and 138 million of upper secondary age. This trend militates against meeting universal primary and secondary education by 2030, a primary education goal that countries the world over are working towards. You also learnt that in many countries, there are large numbers of youths who are not in employment, education or any form of training â the NEETS. This problem is most acute in developing countries where young people make up a large share of the population â these countries have what are called âyoungâ populations. The greatest challenge in countries with young populations is catering for the large numbers of young people in terms of educational provision and employment. As you have noted from the case studies in the unit, many of these young people feel that they cannot influence their destiny, are locked out of economic opportunities, and that their concerns and views are not taken into account. This does not only retard economic development, it is also a time-bomb that can explode any time. Youth unemployment is a huge risk that is threatening social security. Added to the problem of youth unemployment are issues of access to education and training by women and girls, disabled people and those in geographically unsuitable places for the building of schools. Unless alternative ways of education and training are provided, these marginalised groups of people will remain unreached by education.
The problems highlighted above make open schooling compelling in many countries, especially in the developing world. As you have read in this unit, the openness and flexibility of open schools make them more attractive to all the marginalised groups highlighted above. This unit therefore underscored the importance of mainstreaming open schooling to expand access and to equip young people with the requisite skills and knowledge for employment. The next unit will flesh out distance education as a mode of provision, not only at the schooling level, but more broadly in the education sector.
Before you proceed to Unit 2, check your understanding of concepts that were dealt with in this unit by going through the quiz in Moodle
References
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), (2021) Out-of-School Children and Youth: https://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/out-school-children-and-youth
- South African Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU), (2023). Profile of young NEETs aged 15-24 years in South Africa: an annual update. https://www.saldru.uct.ac.za/2022/06/30/profile-of-young-neets-in-south-africa/
- World Bank (2012a). Kingdom of Morocco: Promoting Youth Opportunities and Participation. Washington, DC: World Bank
- World Bank (2014a). Tunisia: Breaking the Barriers to Youth Inclusion. Washington, DC: World Bank.
- Global Economy, (2024) Youth Unemployment: Country rankings: https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/rankings/youth_unemployment/South-East-Asia/#:~:text=Youth%20unemployment%2C%20ages%2015%2D24,countries%20where%20data%20are%20available
- Middle East and North African countries (Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen)
- The Global Economy, (2023) theglobaleconomy.com/search_site.php?q=Youth+unemployment+-+globally&x=0&y=0#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=Youth unemployment – globally&gsc.page=1
- International Labour Organisation, (n.d.) Youth employment policy in Pacific island countries: https://www.ilo.org/suva/areas-of-work/youth-emp-policy/lang–en/index.htm#:~:text=Youth%20unemployment%20in%20the%20Pacific,governments%20to%20promote%20full%20employment .
- World Health Organization (2011). World Report on Disability. Geneva: WHO.
- Namita Datta, Angela Elzir Assy, Johanne Buba, Sara Johansson de Silva, Samantha Watson, et al. (2018). âIntegrated Youth Employment Programs. A Stocktake of Evidence on What Works in Youth Employment programsâ. World Bank, Washington
- UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), (2021) Out-of-School Children and Youth: https://uis.unesco.org/en/topic/out-school-children-and-youth
- Kanwar, A. (2020) in Mays, T. & Singh, R. K. (2020)
- COL, (2020) Towards more resilient schooling: Possible models for the future.
In this unit, you learnt that globally, there are large numbers of children who are out of school. UNESCO estimates that these children include 59 million of primary school age, 62 million of lower secondary school age and 138 million of upper secondary age. This trend militates against meeting universal primary and secondary education by 2030, a primary education goal that countries the world over are working towards. You also learnt that in many countries, there are large numbers of youths who are not in employment, education or any form of training â the NEETS. This problem is most acute in developing countries where young people make up a large share of the population â these countries have what are called âyoungâ populations. The greatest challenge in countries with young populations is catering for the large numbers of young people in terms of educational provision and employment. As you have noted from the case studies in the unit, many of these young people feel that they cannot influence their destiny, are locked out of economic opportunities, and that their concerns and views are not taken into account. This does not only retard economic development, it is also a time-bomb that can explode any time. Youth unemployment is a huge risk that is threatening social security. Added to the problem of youth unemployment are issues of access to education and training by women and girls, disabled people and those in geographically unsuitable places for the building of schools. Unless alternative ways of education and training are provided, these marginalised groups of people will remain unreached by education.
The problems highlighted above make open schooling compelling in many countries, especially in the developing world. As you have read in this unit, the openness and flexibility of open schools make them more attractive to all the marginalised groups highlighted above. This unit therefore underscored the importance of mainstreaming open schooling to expand access and to equip young people with the requisite skills and knowledge for employment. The next unit will flesh out distance education as a mode of provision, not only at the schooling level, but more broadly in the education sector.
Unit one quiz
Before you proceed to Unit 2, check your understanding of concepts that were dealt with in this unit by going through the quiz in Moodle
References
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