6.74% in 2016, due to the conflicts in the North East and the inability of some states
to submit data on private schools (Federal Ministry of Education 2016). In general,
educational challenges mostly affect the poorer strata of society, and especially girls
(Save the Children International 2013), e.g. for every 100 boys of primary school age
out of school in 2017, 121 girls were denied the right to education (the second
highest such fraction globally) (UN 2019).
Other major challenges include stagnant learning outcomes, lack of effective
teacher training, low school readiness and lack of infrastructure. In most SSA
countries, only a relatively low percentage of teachers in pre-primary, primary and
secondary education have adequate training (48%, 64% and 50% respectively)
(UN 2019). The majority of schools in the region, and especially in rural areas, do
not have access to electricity, potable water or the internet further taking a toll on
school attendance (UN 2019). For example, at the upper secondary level, 57% of
schools have electricity, but only 25–50% have access to drinking water, hand
washing facilities, computers and the Internet (UN 2019).
1.2.5 SDG 5: Gender Equality
Women inequality is pervasive across SSA. As discussed above, despite the significant progress in bridging gender disparity in primary education (almost parity
between male and female students), there is a markedly lower registration of female
students in secondary and tertiary education (UNDP 2016). On a more positive note,
women are well represented in the labour market. In particular, SSA has one of the
highest representation of women in the labour force, accounting for as much as 61%
of the total labour force (World Bank 2014). However, these jobs are usually lowly
paid, insecure and rarely reaching the managerial level (UNDP 2016; UN 2019). On
the contrary, many SSA countries have some of the highest proportions of female
members of parliament, with the average across SSA countries (24.2% of members
of parliament are female) exceeding the global average (23.6%)
4 (SDG Centre for
Africa 2019).
Gender inequality is a cross-cutting issue in SSA that, if tackled effectively, can
have positive lasting consequences for many of the gender-based aspects of other
SDGs such as education, health, poverty and food security among others (Nhamo
et al. 2018). Fully incorporating women into the sustainable development agenda,
increases also the probability of leaving no one person behind, including children,
elders and disabled, considering that women play a major role as care-takers in the
absence of strong social services in many parts of the continent (Rosche 2016).
4 Rwanda has by far the greatest female representation in the parliament (61.3%), with Senegal and
Mozambique having more than 40%. Still, there are several countries where women hold fewer than
10% of parliamentary seats (e.g. Congo, Central African Republic, Swaziland, Nigeria).
1 Sustainability Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Context of the. . .
15
to submit data on private schools (Federal Ministry of Education 2016). In general,
educational challenges mostly affect the poorer strata of society, and especially girls
(Save the Children International 2013), e.g. for every 100 boys of primary school age
out of school in 2017, 121 girls were denied the right to education (the second
highest such fraction globally) (UN 2019).
Other major challenges include stagnant learning outcomes, lack of effective
teacher training, low school readiness and lack of infrastructure. In most SSA
countries, only a relatively low percentage of teachers in pre-primary, primary and
secondary education have adequate training (48%, 64% and 50% respectively)
(UN 2019). The majority of schools in the region, and especially in rural areas, do
not have access to electricity, potable water or the internet further taking a toll on
school attendance (UN 2019). For example, at the upper secondary level, 57% of
schools have electricity, but only 25–50% have access to drinking water, hand
washing facilities, computers and the Internet (UN 2019).
1.2.5 SDG 5: Gender Equality
Women inequality is pervasive across SSA. As discussed above, despite the significant progress in bridging gender disparity in primary education (almost parity
between male and female students), there is a markedly lower registration of female
students in secondary and tertiary education (UNDP 2016). On a more positive note,
women are well represented in the labour market. In particular, SSA has one of the
highest representation of women in the labour force, accounting for as much as 61%
of the total labour force (World Bank 2014). However, these jobs are usually lowly
paid, insecure and rarely reaching the managerial level (UNDP 2016; UN 2019). On
the contrary, many SSA countries have some of the highest proportions of female
members of parliament, with the average across SSA countries (24.2% of members
of parliament are female) exceeding the global average (23.6%)
4 (SDG Centre for
Africa 2019).
Gender inequality is a cross-cutting issue in SSA that, if tackled effectively, can
have positive lasting consequences for many of the gender-based aspects of other
SDGs such as education, health, poverty and food security among others (Nhamo
et al. 2018). Fully incorporating women into the sustainable development agenda,
increases also the probability of leaving no one person behind, including children,
elders and disabled, considering that women play a major role as care-takers in the
absence of strong social services in many parts of the continent (Rosche 2016).
4 Rwanda has by far the greatest female representation in the parliament (61.3%), with Senegal and
Mozambique having more than 40%. Still, there are several countries where women hold fewer than
10% of parliamentary seats (e.g. Congo, Central African Republic, Swaziland, Nigeria).
1 Sustainability Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Context of the. . .
15