Causes and Effects

Financial constraint: Money plays a huge role in the education sector. Money determines the kind of education that will be delivered and also the type of education that is going to be accessed. Many people have not been able to access quality education because of their financial situation. Individual institutions also have not been able to deliver quality education due to the lack of finances. 

 

Bookish nature of education: Many schools have limited education to only reading and writing. Such institutions neglect the practical and vocational part of education. This reduces the quality of education that the students will receive because the students’ different skills will not be developed. 

A poorly resourced and unsafe learning environment: A learning environment that does not have requisite resources for education delivery hinders students’ maximum reception. Also, an environment that is unsafe for both teaching and learning does not permit quality education

Lack of Representation:  It can hinder the development of the skills necessary to represent oneself. This is further evident through the continuing oppression of women in some developing countries. These women usually marry at a young age and must perform domestic chores. In a nation such as  Nigeria, many women without quality education struggle to find jobs. Additionally, these women typically cannot read or write and often grow reliant on their husband’s income. In the end, the lack of access robs women of their potential. 

 

Unemployment:  Without access to quality education, individuals are more prone to remain at the bottom of the list when it comes to obtaining a job. Even as little as a high school diploma can open up many opportunities for employment.

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Promotes Exploitation: Many individuals must resort to incredibly dangerous jobs just to make a living if they have limited education. Specifically, women and girls in developing countries often resort to various methods of exploitation to provide for themselves and their families.  Exploitation can include sweatshop labor, prostitution, and child marriage.

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Difficulty Raising Children: Children often rely on their parents when it comes to their own education; however, it can be quite difficult for a parent to assist their child if they never had access to education. It is important to understand how the lack of quality education can have consequences on future generations. Uneducated parents face issues such as the inability to help children with their homework or not knowing how to help them find their full potential. 

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Poverty Trap: Ultimately, lacking access to a proper education puts an individual at risk of falling into the poverty trap. The poverty trap involves the inability to escape poverty due to a lack of resources. This can also lead to an intergenerational poverty gap, meaning children of those already in the trap are more likely to be at risk as well. Education provides the ability for one to access the knowledge necessary to make a living. Without it, it is difficult to escape the trap. 

 

Poor health: Healthcare of the general population is a major reason education is important.

Primary education is important for learning about personal health and hygiene. Education is how health professionals and governments communicate important information to society. Important basic health that is taught at school includes:

• Pregnancy and prenatal care

• Basic hygiene like cleaning teeth and washing hands;

• Sexual health

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Lack of a voice: People who are undereducated do not have the skills or confidence to speak up for themselves. This is a part of the reason many women remain oppressed in the developing world. Girls who are undereducated are married young – often still as children – and forced into domestic chores rather than education.

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Not able to make smart political decisions: If too many people in society lack the ability to think critically about the big challenges of the future, we won’t collectively make smart political decisions. Education is about more than money. We need to educate our society so they can make democratic decisions like: 

• Who should I vote for in the next election? 

• Is climate change action important?

• Is it good for me that my taxes are spent on foreign aid?

A politically uninformed society may lack the knowledge to make smart decisions. Or, they might be easily duped by a smooth-talking populist