Welcome to NARA Education
Why Should We Care That Children Are Out of School?
CREATIVE TEACHING METHODS
EVERY TEACHER SHOULD USE TODAY
Education is the foundation for a life of independence and freedom. All of us here at NARA Education believe that education can help people support themselves to live the life they want.
However, there are too many out of school children and early school dropouts. This is a phenomenon across all countries in the world, no matter the economic status, but the rates are higher in poverty stricken or war torn countries. There are 273 million out of school children in the world, with the majority of them in south Asia and sub-saharan Africa. Some of these countries are aware of and trying to improve the situation, like Pakistan who has declared an education emergency, but some do not deem it as a priority.
So, what is the actual importance of school attendance? Why should we care that there are so many out of school children? By answering these questions, we can understand why we need to break down these barriers to education so that all children can attend school for empowerment.
Lack of Education
The most obvious reason that we should care about out of school children is that they are not getting the quality education that they deserve. As our global society evolves and technology becomes more complex, we need a more educated global workforce to push innovation further. Literacy, creativity, problem solving, and critical thinking are essential for this, and early school dropouts just don’t have those practices built up to contribute to the level needed.
The importance of school attendance is that being in school introduces children to exciting new concepts that makes them want to keep learning. We have great examples in our own NARA Education schools, like Fateh who told us that learning about plants was the most exciting thing for him this year so far and that he cannot wait to learn more about them.
Once children get excited about learning, they carry that curiosity and openmindedness into all aspects of their lives and into adulthood, an example of school for empowerment.
Lack of Social Skills
Participation in this evolving global society does not just depend on a solid academic foundation, but also a social one. Collaboration across cultures and borders is becoming essential and this highlights the importance of school attendance. Attending school promotes a positive sense of belonging, a stable routine, and support.
Out of school children lack the social skills and patience to work with others to solve problems because they have not been put in those situations on a daily basis in school. Starting in preschool, children can practice these skills in a play setting that gets more academic as the years progress, making them easily transferable to the real world, given they don’t become early school dropouts.
This is another way to use school for empowerment since most of the emerging education trends today have a greater focus on the entire person (not just academics) to turn them into full global citizens.
Increased Violence
Out of school children have a higher risk of becoming involved in violence themselves, or becoming victims of violence. A UK report found a direct correlation with the importance of school attendance and violence, saying that the safe, structured environment of school and the education of empathy and problem solving reduced the risk of youth getting involved in violence.
Early school dropouts who have not developed critical thinking skills, have the potential to become radicalized, manipulated, and taken advantage of by those looking to exploit their lack of education and involve them in violence. This is not just present with out of school children, but entire uneducated communities can become victims to propaganda.
A major problem in most of the countries where the number of out of school children is high is that it is unsafe to go to school due to conflict and violence, especially for girls. Conflict currently affects about a quarter of a billion young people’s ability to attend school, making this a vicious cycle.
Stuck in Poverty
Preventing children from being stuck in poverty is one of the important ways to use school for empowerment. Out of school children have a much greater chance of getting stuck in poverty, compared to those who regularly attend school. In fact, in the last 40 years, extreme poverty has been improved by 40% just by making education more available.
When children are in school, they are also escaping a cycle of child labor that traps them in low paying jobs with no way forward. The importance of school attendance is that while getting their education, children escape long hard labor, but then also use school for empowerment and take better jobs to have financial independence later.
The question is what can we do when the schools are dangerous and stuck in poverty themselves? Less than half of the schools in sub-saharan Africa even have clean water, electricity, or computers, so of course there are early school dropouts there because the situation is no better than their homes.
Suffering of Global and Local Economies
When there are more out of school children, that eventually means less educated adults, which affects both local and even global economies. When people don’t have the skills to do the jobs needed in this rapidly evolving world, then growth, innovation, and collaboration between counties suffers. Unesco estimates that early school dropouts will cost the global economy about $10 trillion by 2030 if we don’t do something about out of school children fast.
Building strong local economies that contribute to the global economy is one of the best ways to use school for empowerment, so that people can have control over their own lives and drive growth within their communities. These will be lost if we don’t stress the importance of school attendance.
Conclusion
At NARA Education, we recognize that something must be done with the number of out of school children, but we also know that physically attending school is not an easy reality for many children in poverty stricken areas. We believe more than ever in school for empowerment, so we are bringing our virtual school technology to those out of school children.
To keep them from becoming early school dropouts, we want to get as many children in school whether physically or virtually as we can. If we work together to keep children educated, we can save them from a lack of education and social skills, increased violence, poverty, and ultimately the suffering of local and global economies.
If there is no education, then there is more radicalism, totalitarianism, and intolerance, and we want to combat that as a global society.
Help us decrease the number of out of school children! Donate to NARA Education today.
Ilona Sindhu
Ilona is a writer focused on Old Norse Mythology, drawing from her Hungarian, Pakistani, and Texan roots. She holds a BA in Dramaturgy and Theatre History from NYU, an MS in Religion and Literature from the University of Edinburgh, and is currently working on her PhD. After working in theatre, dance, finance, and academia, her work blends myth, culture, and storytelling across borders.
Published: June 13, 2024
Published: June 13, 2024
Published: September: 25, 2026
16770 Imperial Valley Dr, Suite 125A, Houston, TX 77060, USA 
info@naraeducation.org 
+1 281-686-4137
16770 Imperial Valley Dr, Suite 125A, Houston, TX 77060, USA info@naraeducation.org