2
Regional and case trends in education quality and youth development
Women’s enrolment at the tertiary level in the CEECIS region also faltered in the early 1990s, but in most subregions began to recover, as shown in Figure 19. In Central Asian countries, where attitudes regarding women's role in society grew more conservative during the transition period, the female share of enrolment in tertiary education dropped and stayed below 50 per cent during the 1990s. The education level of many women in Central Asia has been strongly influenced by their reproductive roles and re-emerging patriarchal values. Figure 19. Female share in tertiary education enrolment, 1989–99 60
Percentage
55
50
45
40
ê
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
Central Europe
South-Eastern Europe
Western CIS
Former Yugoslavia
Baltic states
Caucasus
1998
1999 Central Asia
Reprinted from UNICEF Innocenti Research Center (2001) A Decade of Transition, Regional Monitoring Report,
Reprinted from UNICEF Innocenti Research No. 8, Florence, UNICEF IRC. Centre, 2001. Note: Former Yugoslavia does not include data for Bosnia and Herzegovina; Central Asia does not include data for Uzbekistan. Source: MONEE project database. The number of women in tertiary education has been estimated for the following years and countries: 1989 for Latvia, 1989 –90 for Republic of Moldova, 1995–97 for Hungary and 1999 for Albania.
Students among marginalized ethnic groups have also faced particularly difficult education challenges. Roma children living in Central and South-Eastern Europe have routinely had difficulties accessing or staying in school. The proportion of Roma with more than primary education has tended to be much smaller than that for the majority populations in which they live. Many Roma children face difficult economic circumstances at home and are isolated as a result of cultural differences and societal prejudices against them. Roma children often do not speak the language of their host communities, and the quality of the schooling they receive is not always equal to non-Roma communities. These collective barriers prevent many Roma children from starting school and also cause many enrolled Roma students to drop out (UNICEF IRC, 2001). Data are limited on trends in enrolment in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the region and on youth employment rates according to type of education attained. Further research is needed on the extent to which education reform efforts focused on TVET support equity in education access, labour market needs and youth employability.
Kosovo Data on enrolment trends in Kosovo for the past two decades are very limited. The SOK reported net primary enrolment (7–15-year-olds) at 95.4 per cent in 2003/2004, with a strong ethnic disparity (USAID, 2008,
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Demand for Education Innovation: Adolescent and youth perspectives on education quality in the CEECIS Region