Education

Education

Are Children In The US Getting Their Dollar’s Worth When It Comes To Education?

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$139,000 dollars – this is the average amount spent by the government for the education of a child in the US right from kindergarten to graduating out of high school. This amount is dismal and fares poorly when compared to several other developed nations, especially those countries in the Scandinavian Peninsula.

This is the result of a study done by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, which was involved in the study of education systems in forty-six countries all over the world. The study was undertaken to gain a better understanding on the factors that impact and contribute to education. The United States achieved a rank of twelve when it comes to the average amount spent on education for a single student. Australia ranks right behind US by spending $142,000 for each student. Luxembourg ranks first among the countries surveyed and they spend a whopping $248,000 dollars for each student.

child1The Organization’s chief executive who was a key part of the project stated that though the world has changed rapidly when it comes to education, there are huge more things to be done. It was found out that most developed nations spend slightly more than 5% of their GDP for education. The US was found to have spent somewhere near 6% of its GDP on education. This places it seventh on the list right behind other first world countries like the UK, Costa Rica and Colombia.

The study found out that nations should take more effort to make education equitable and inclusive for all irrespective of their socio-economic status. Also steps should be taken to instill the sense and pride in lifelong learning to attain the global sustainable development goals by 2030. Kids in the US spend on an average 9000 hours in the classroom right from kindergarten to high school. That is higher than the time spent by kids in the classroom in other countries.

Read also – Kids Of UK Immigrants More Likely To Go To University

Education

Kids Of UK Immigrants More Likely To Go To University

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For many immigrants in the UK, these are the good times they have been waiting for. The result of all their hard work has finally paid off. They were the ones who were denied better opportunities in their native land. They were the ones who vowed they would do all in their power to see that the same fate would not befall their children. And it is with a sense of pride that these people have finally seen the fruit of their hard work.

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In a recent study conducted in the United Kingdom, it was found that the children of immigrants were the ones who were most likely to go in for further education, then the children of British-born parents. Nearly 60% of people in the age group of 20-40 with parents who were born abroad were found to have been accepted at Universities across England. The researchers feel that this may have a lot to do with the value system being followed in most immigrant homes, where parents extol the virtues and benefits of education. In such homes, education is seen as the means to fight the many injustices that were meted out to them. A degree is often likened to a passport in these homes- a passport to a better future.

Read also – Michelle Obama Supports Girls Education In Impoverished Liberia

Education

Michelle Obama Supports Girls Education In Impoverished Liberia

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Liberia is one of the poorest African countries in the world. The civil wars that ravaged this nation between the years 1989 and 2003 have virtually stalled the country’s economic growth. Even diseases like Ebola have left its mark in this country, as a nation-wide epidemic was detected in 2014. Over four thousand Liberians lost their lives then.

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Liberia was founded with the noblest of all intentions. It was designated as the home of the free slaves of America. Even a school in the town of Kakata is named after the famous American civil rights leader Booker T. Washington.

Recently, Liberians had the opportunity to meet another famous African American. First Lady Michelle Obama, accompanied by her daughters and her mother, stopped at a Liberian camp for young girls. She then urged the young girls to follow the path of knowledge, to study and accomplish the dreams that they dared to dream. Michelle Obama’s speech was said to be so inspiring that many were moved by it and promised to do all they could to reopen the schools that had been forced to shut due to lack of funds.

The efforts to reopen these schools have been given the necessary impetus by the United States Agency for International Development. It has promised financial aid of $27 million to the Let Girls Learn initiative.