by Jasmine Aguilar
The lack of proper and well-rounded education is a global epidemic. The absence of an equal education for children around the globe has detrimental effects, leading to a severe lack of development in those countries. The right to education should be accessible to all children as it is a fundamental right for every human being. Article 26 of The United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “Everyone has the right to education” and while this is true, its integration into countries is far from perfect. Even with giant stepping stones towards equal and accessible education, nearly 265 million children do not get a proper education.
This lack of proper education leads to a seemingly endless cycle of poverty. South Sudan has a literacy rate of only 27 percent, meaning that only 27 percent of their population of 12.58 million people can read. South Sudan has the lowest literacy rate in the world, but any other countries follow: Afghanistan at 28.1 percent, Burkina Faso at 28.7 percent, Niger at 28.7 percent, Mali at 33.4 percent, Chad at 35.4 percent, and the list goes on.
Until this issue is solved, many will continue to live under poor conditions with little to no chance for development. So, what can we do? We can learn. We can learn and work, because in order to give the future generations a better education, we ourselves need to be educated.
No one knows how long the process may take, but most likely years, for full accessibility education; however, the continued working and supplying to those in need of better education will allow for them to grow.
Even the smallest change now can mean the world later.