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CHAPTER TWO

2. LITERATURE REVIEWS

This chapter contains two parts. The first part discussed related literatures which is

theoretical while the second part explains empirical literature.

2.1. Theoretical literature2.1.1 Constraints on the impact of formal education

Some of the major factors influencing the provision of formal education and limiting its

effectiveness for poor and disadvantaged people are1. Global economic relations: - these play a key role in determining the effectiveness of

formal education in achieving development for society as a whole. Even where the state

invests heavily in education and is committed to social equality and development

2. Differentiated access and opportunities: - education promotes social advancement,raises the states of women and leads to improvements in health and childcare. However,

educational opportunities is limited by the proximity to urban centers, poverty, and by

discrimination based on gender, class race or cultures. For example, in Costa Rica, the

national figures for adult illiteracy in 1984 were 7 percent, but in the poorest rural areaswas almost 20 percent. The discrimination suffered by the people because of their

cultures or limits their access to education and their opportunities to use it effectively.They have to choose between potential alienation from their own culture, and the need to

master language and cultural forms of the dominant society in order to survive

successfully within it. These choices are experienced differently by women and men.(Eade and William, 1995).

3. Gender: - this is crucial factor in determining educational opportunities; girls often

fore worse than boys interims of primary school enrollment. There are considerable

differences in the level of the males and females education in most arts of the world. Inthe Afghanistan, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Somalia, and Nepal, females illiteracy in 1990

was twice as high as the figures for males. In Salvadoran rural womens organizationfounded by Oxfam only one percent of the members could read one percent of themembers could read and write. Bangladesh is an extreme example, where of the 60

percent of all children who enroll fewer than 10 percent are girls the ratios are generally

worse at secondary level and above. Fewer than have as many girls as boys are enrolledin secondary school in Sub-Saharan Africa 15 percent and 44 percent respectively. There

are many factors for unequal educational opportunities of girls and boys. Mothers are

likely to have received inadequate schooling themselves, and their daughters generally

bear the burden of domestic work and childcare from an early age. The expectation ofearly marriage or (fact of teenage pregnancy) is also used to justify cutting short girls

education. In self-fulfilling cycle, since greater employment opportunities exists for men

than women, boys education takes priority over girls education because they are morelikely to be able to use it. Cultural factors can reinforce gender based discrimination

women are often regarded as bearers of traditional culture, particularly, culture identifies

are threatened. In such circumstances, they may be formal education (Eade and William,1995)

4. Poverty:-the poorest people are hardest hit inflation, unemployment, and cuts in

services. They cannot always afford to keep children at school, particularly at thesecondary level. Costs of education including clothes, books, equipment and

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maintenance, and fees. The economic difficulties of poor families increase the pressure

on children to earn money either instead of or in addition to going to school. A furtherformal education is irrelevant to their economic and cultural need which in often born out

by a chronic lack of employment opportunities which make use of skills gained at school.

In addition, poor children live in environment where study is difficult and where poorhealth, over work, and malnutrition may leave them without energy and concentration to

learn (Eade and William, 1995).

2.1.2. The gender gap in education.

Low adult literacy rates prevail throughout the developing world. In fourteen developing

countries where literacy date are available, only one in five adult women can read, where

as the literacy rates for men ate as low in only five of these countries. Recent estimates

suggest that only one out of two women in Asia is literate and only out of three in sub-Saharan Africa (UNESCO, 1992).

School enrollment rates have been raising for both girls and boys at all levels in the past

two decades. Primary school enrolment, in particular, has out paced the growth of youth

population, although a few low income countries especially, in sub-Saharan Africaexperienced decline in primary enrollments in the 1980s. (UNESCO, 1992).

Many countries have no universal primary education for males and females. But girlsenrollments continuous to lag behind in many others, most dramatically in south Asian,

west Asia, north Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa. With exception of sri lanka

2.1.3 Gender literacy and cultural difference

Gender literacy and cultural difference one area of apparent controllers concerns theextent to which the obstacles to girls and womens education are similar across cultures.One view is that in all cultures, although in varying degree, male/female relationship

place obstacles in the way of girls and womens full participation in education.

Patriarchy is manifested in two ways: the sexual division of labor, and control overwomens sexuality. Both these factors so condition a womens world-view that marriage,

husband, and family become the be-all and-all for the existence. They also limit womens

mental horizons and push education from her attention. As girls grow up, socialized into

their future roles as sexual division of labor the second components, control overwomens sexuality, ensures that women maintain their roles as wives and mothers and is

the cause of womens inability to control their fertility and its associated consequences,

including unwanted pregnancies, the practice of early marriage, restricted physicalmobility for women, and domestic violence. (UNESCO, 1992),

Who benefits from all this? Whose interests are served as by these existing conditions?In feminist theory, it is undoubtedly men who benefit. Does this mean that feminists are

setting women against men and women and men against women? The answer is no most

feminists seem to be seeking a more egalitarian society in which women are treated asequals with men According to feminist theory, the problem of womens illiteracy will

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not be solved merely underlying problem is not technical. For change to occur, individual

men in a male-dominated state will have to re-examine and modify their own values andattitudes.

An alternative view is that cultural difference between countries is more important thansome feminist would accept. For example, successful literacy ventures in Pakistan are

often community based; the important thing is to change total attitudes. In Feriur-ban

Karachi this has been done.

Successfully using flexible working hours both formal and non-formal teaching methods,

and education both parents and children, adults are motivated to learn via primary

economic interests (functional literacy) who has become the subject of the basiceducation curriculum. Residential facilities for teachers based in community have led to

greater school community interaction and help facilitates more opportunities for girls and

for more women. The whole programme has helped produce a positive, confident self

concept of women. However, cultural constraints are undeniably powerful. For, example,the word child, which is gender is neutral in English language, has masculine

connection in south Asia. Here the stark reality is that, by and large, girls are denied thatjoyful care free period of growing and learning that is called child hood. Very little value

is attached to girls she is caught in a men of cultural practices and social prejudices from

the moment of her birth. Although she works twice as hard as her brother, and her laborcontributes to the survival of the family, neglect and malnutrition, treated as lesser human

being and brought up to believe that she does not count. Therefore, in any society that

aims to social justice in any policy that seeks to move towards quality of educational

opportunity, attention has to be focused is contrary to entrenched cultural values. Changesin education that do not enhance the states of women are not likely either to be generally

accepted or to reduce womens present state of under development.

2.1.4. Problems that female student face in Addis Ababa high schools

Another researcher (Emebet, 2003) classified problems of girls education undersubheadings of economic constraints, family related barriers and cultural barriers

economic constraints.

The impact of poverty on womens education can be studied at two levels:Country level and family level. Although the degree of poverty in country affects the

education and in general the life of its citizens, the effect can be moderated by the socio-

economic status a family has within the society (Emebet, 2003 p.33)

In discussing the effects of poverty on the education of women, Njeuman (1993)

explained that much improvement has been observed in the education of women since the1960s (Emebet, 2003). However, poverty is still slowing the progress. Discussing

African, the pointed out that among thirty poorest countries in the world, twenty are

found in Africa. Under these circumstances, the major concern is the provision ofeducation for children in general; it is difficult to give special attention to girls, she

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further pointed out that although many developing countries put sign out amounts of

money and energy into education, several of them were not able to provide it for allschool age children. (Emebet, 2003 p.34),

Enrollment of girls in school does not guarantee success and completion in these poorcountries. Strongest (1990) noted that in all developing countries were the United Nations

under took studies, during recession years; girls often experienced a change in parental

plans for enrollment. In such years parents choose retain daughters at home assist withwork and income generating activities, which would result in lower female attainment.

(Emebet, 2000)

Because of this fiscal strait, the inequality of males and females in the area of educationis quite staggering. Hyde (1993:101) pointed out that in Sub-Saharan Africa, one of the

most enduring kinds of educational inequality is one observed between males and

females

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