Education In the World (Op-Ed)

            Look at the facts, In South America on average a child has fourteen years of formal education, but in Africa on average a child has four years of formal education. Ten years. Kids go to school for ten years less in Africa then they do in South America. Think, how much less would you know if you took away ten years of your education? In Africa they spend on average $48 US dollars annually per child where globally there is on average $629 US dollars spent per child for education annually. India spends 3.3% of its GDP on education while on average developed countries spent 5.8%.

            Since America spends the most on education, you would think they have the best students because of the amount of possible opportunities, right? In reality, the national drop out rate is 31%, 31 students out of every 100 drop out and never even get a high school diploma. That averages out to about 7,000 students that drop out of school each year in the United States. Our country spends so much money on education that other countries don’t have and our kids are just deciding not to attend?

            In China before 1949, the literacy rate was 20% of its people, but today they have a rate of 99% of their youth can read and write. In about 60 years China has increased their literacy rate by almost 70% and yet America can’t even seem to keep more then 75% of their kids in school until the end of senior year.

            In Afghanistan less then one third of the people are literate, but just this past month President Hamid Karzai, tried working things out with the Taliban. He and his men are having talks with them about creating peace for the schools in the war torn country. One of the people quoted in the recent articles said, "We are not afraid of guns and bombs, but don't burn the schools of your sons. Don't burn the schools of your daughters." Afghanistan is in a war state and yet the death of their selves is not the first thing on their mind, their ability to be educated is.