In terms of education, there is a growing concern about the educational gap between the richer and poorer countries. There is a trend that education in rich countries is continuously improving while in poorer countries, education is deteriorating.
Causes
- Poor Government Funding on Poor Countries in Contrast with the Overflowing Support in Rich Countries. Poor countries despite their effort in enhancing their educational system, they do not really put too much budget on it because funds are mostly allocated in military improvement or economics. Meanwhile, in rich countries, education is given much importance that is why their educational system has improved tremendously.
- Poverty is not Properly Addressed in Poor Countries. Some underdeveloped countries do not really focus too much in alleviating poverty. If people’s living condition is not improved, they will not be able to get educated. More children will continue to suffer and their number is admittedly increasing. However, in developed countries, as much as possible, there should be no citizen living in poor condition. Because of this, people can have at least secondary or vocational education if not university education
Solutions
It is important for poor countries to deal with the abovementioned causes. To be specific following can be done:
Firstly, poor countries should realize the great importance of education in improving the overall development of a country. Once this is done, the government of poor countries can modify its financial plans putting more emphasis on education. This way, schools can have more resources to improve methods in educating students. More equipment and laboratories will be provided so that students can experience a more realistic training and not just based on theories.
Secondly, poor countries can adopt the educational system of developed countries. This surely is a tedious task for it requires reforming the entire system but it can narrow the gap in education between rich and poor countries. If rich and poor countries will use somewhat the same educational system, poor countries can catch up with they are missing for years. They will learn what rich countries are learning. This way, students from poor countries can be competitive and will not be left behind in terms of knowledge and skills.
Finally, poor countries should utilize technology in education. There are a lot of changes in education recently and these have to be applied. What was known before may have changed now due to recent discoveries. There are also subjects that did not exist before and now being offered as majors, like computer-related subjects. Poor countries should be updated with the latest trends in employable courses. Schools in poor countries should also be used to make students aware on what is currently being used worldwide, such as computers, overhead projectors and the Internet.