Literacy Rates in Developing Countries 【Chad】

Literacy Rates in Chad By: Jasbrina Dhaliwal

What is Literacy? ●

In general terms, literacy implies the ability to read and write at a specified age (varies depending on country) and at a level to be successful in today’s world

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In Chad, this age is 15; more specifically, the definition for literacy in Chad is that those over age 15 can read and write French/Arabic

Literacy Rates in Chad ● ●

Total: 40.2%; Female: 31.9%; Male: 48.5% In comparison, Zimbabwe (a country also in Africa) has a literacy rate of 83.6% [total]

Chad’s Literacy by Year

General Overview: Chad; the country ●

Life expectancy at birth is 50 years

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Over 80% of the workers in Chad are involved in (subsistence) agriculture, animal husbandry, or fishing ○

About of children between ages of 6-18 have worked in the informal economy in urban areas

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Only 24% of the population lived in urban areas (2005)

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Chad is still strongly dependant on foreign aid

Factors Contributing to Low Literacy

1.

Education

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Only ¾ of the children in Chad are enrolled in school; girls often kept at home: only 40% of young (15-24 years old) women can read and write

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Education is often unaffordable for some families due to lack of adequate funding (often, payment towards teachers salaries are requested)

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Chad suffers from a severe shortage of teachers; classrooms are often crowded, 50-100 students are in each class

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Most schools in rural communities are particularly lacking in Staff, teaching materials, facilities, running water, and electricity

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There is a lack of secondary schools, so many children finish Education early

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In 2009, Chad spent just 2.3 % of its gross national income on Education; compared with an average spending of 3.6% by Developing Sub-Saharan African countries

1. ●

Education Cont.

Primary school enrollment (2003) was estimated at around 61% of age-eligible students ○

Secondary school enrollment (2003) was at 12% of age-eligible students

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It is estimated that only 25% of all students complete their primary education

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The student to teacher ratio in 2000 was about 71:1

“ In Chad, … access to quality education remains a significant challenge.

-UNICEF

2.

Child Soldiers ●

In Chad, child soldier use has been extensive

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There are an estimated 7,000- 10,000 child soldiers

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Part of the problem is the shortage of schools or training centres where youngsters can be placed; with few other opportunities, for many a soldier/fighter seems to be the only option

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Poverty is also a problem; locals sometimes see the recruitment of their children into armies as a way of protecting themselves and their village from bandits

3. ●

Family & Life For girls, early marriage is very common- it is one of the main reasons why girls leave education ○

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Over two-thirds of young women will have been married before the age of 18

Most children are educated by their families- taking on domestic and economic tasks in their early teens

Effects Of Chad’s Low Literacy Rate

1. ●

Economic Development- Unemployment Most developing nations have unemployment rates of between 10%- 20% ○

Chad has a higher rate: 68.2%

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80% of Chad’s total employment is in the agricultural sector; not many jobs such as doctors, clerks, accountants, nurses, teachers, CEO’s, etc. (jobs that require at least a secondary education)

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Chad is one of the poorest countries in the world; many people struggle to produce enough food

2.

Poverty

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Majority of the population has a low standard of living; shown through the poor housing, low standard of health, high infant mortality rate, high levels of malnutrition, lack of overall education, and high poverty levels

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55% of the population is below the poverty line ○

although this has approved over the years, over half the population is still living below the poverty line

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The citizens of Chad cannot afford adequate housing, vaccines and other basic necessities

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Thus, Chad has a very low standard of living, which is a direct result of Chad’s lack of economic growth and development

3.

Maternal Mortality

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Chad is among the top 4 countries of highest maternal mortality

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Several factors ○

These include; frequent pregnancies, births too close together, and women giving birth too young

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As well, a woman’s access to resources to control her fertility and health and her access to health care all have an impact on maternal mortality as well.

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Being educated about health issues makes it possible to avoid delays in reaching care when it may be needed

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However, the level of education in Chad is low- thus making it less possible for chances of women being educated about health issues

Solutions What can Chad and we as Canadians do to help?

Education ●

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The biggest possible factor; a direct way to help increase literacy rates in a country is the improve its education system ○

Staff, teaching materials, facilities, running water, and electricity are required to better schools for the children- in turn they’ll learn better/ more- improving the country’s literacy rate (slowly)

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In order to require these, more teachers are required; perhaps have people (that can speak the language and is qualified) from overseas come work in Chad to teach (there is a severe lack of teachers; it is harder for children to learn when there are more students and less teachers)

Chad has to spend more of its gross national income on education (it was low compared to other [developing] African countries)

Donation ●

Anyone who is able can donate to charities that help to improve Chad’s (and other developing nations’) education system ○

Ex. http://www.aidforafrica.org/?cat=99&type=member-charities ; donation helps aid in part education

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Donate school supplies to Chad as they are low on materials

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Donating to improve and open up more school will also help with the child soldier issue- with a place for children to go, they won’t be conflicted to join the army

Media

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Media is a good way to get people all across the world more aware of the problem of low literacy in these developing countries and the effects it has on the whole nation

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Social media; Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, etc.

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It is a good way to reach a wide audience and thus more people can become aware of this issue

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Educate the public about the issue of early marriage for girls- girls should be in school not starting families at young ages

What is the significance? ●

Why should we care?

As you have read, literacy rates affect a very wide range of things; from child soldiers to maternal mortality. Because of Chad’s low literacy rate, over half of the population is in poverty and a very large portion of the work force consists of agricultural work. Because of the horrid state of the education system in Chad, classes are overcrowded and a minimal percentage of kids actually continue education in secondary. Because of this, there is a staggering low amount of people in professional jobs; and thus healthcare too, is infected. In the end, low literacy rates affects many things; some small, and some big such as ‘there is very few doctors because many children do not continue education’. Thus, we can confidently say that literacy is a bigger issue than we may think it is. Through improving a developing nation’s education system, it can take the steps to become a better nation. If we help with this issue of education,, slowly but surely Chad (and other developing nations’) will better themselves as a country.

Bibliography http://literacy.kent.edu/Oasis/Workshops/facts/whatis_lit.html http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Chad.aspx http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/chad_81925.html http://www.our-africa.org/chad/child-soldiers http://www.our-africa.org/chad http://www.everyculture.com/Bo-Co/Chad.html http://chadadevelopingnation.weebly.com/economic-development.html http://www.saferbirthinchad.org/what-we-do/problems-and-solutions/

Thanks for Reading!