8 BARRIERS TO EDUCATION
THAT CHILDREN LIVING IN POVERTY FACE

8 Barriers to Education that Children Living in Poverty Face

For those of us who grew up going to public school, there were probably more days when we dreaded going to school than there were days when we actually wanted to go. Looking back, we were the lucky ones. We were encouraged to get an education and we took it for granted at the time, but there are 250 million children around the world who don’t even have the opportunity to go to school no matter how much they want to.

26 million of these are children in poverty living in Pakistan who don’t have access to education for various reasons. This is why we started NARA Education to commit to overcoming education barriers, work around the reasons why most children aren’t in school, and use education to end poverty.

But what exactly are we up against? Let’s look at the 8 main barriers to education that children living in poverty face:

1. Education is Not the Priority

One of the biggest barriers to education is that education is not the priority for the majority of parents and children living in poverty since there are many other pressing issues for survival that the children need to be a part of. That is why in the few cases where these children do have access to education, they frequently miss school due to their other responsibilities.

We can use education to end poverty, but we unfortunately need to change the mindset of entire communities, and even nations. For example, if parents didn’t go to school, then they would not insist on their children attending, resulting in a never ending cycle that won’t be broken unless the foundational thinking changes.

2. No Funding for Education

If we succeed in changing the mindset of communities to want to send children in poverty to school, the next major hurdle to education is the severe lack of money for education in all countries, but especially in poverty stricken areas.

In countries with high poverty rates, there is minimal, if any, government funding for education, and they rely on global education aid. The problem is that, like other budgets across the world, UNESCO reports that global education aid is going to dramatically decrease in the next couple years. Without this help, the minimal access to education these countries can give will basically disappear.

3. Lack of Trained Teachers

Another of the top barriers to education globally is the lack of trained teachers. Even with desire and funding, if there is no one to teach the children, then there is no change. However, the minimal funding directly affects the number of qualified teachers that can be paid, and the ones we do have are overwhelmed by large class sizes and experience burnout. Because of this, many schools in poverty stricken areas resort to having untrained teachers teaching students.

We are overcoming education barriers at NARA Education with our strict adherence to having qualified and well paid teachers who can be attentive to their students. They create curriculums that challenge students and are board and state approved.

4. Lack of Safe Facilities

In some cases, even when there is a physical school for children to attend, it is not always in the safest area, most of the time in remote villages or bustling cities where crime is high. To make sure these are not barriers to education, the proper security and protection of students, staff, and resources needs to be implemented, but that is an added expense many cannot afford.

Additionally, many schools are in areas of conflict and are damaged or destroyed as a result. When a school is taken over by the military or outright attacked, it is unsafe for anywhere to be there, let alone to hold lessons.

5. Needing to Work

What many don’t understand is that sometimes the biggest hurdle to education for children in poverty is not that they don’t want to go to school, but that their families cannot sacrifice them to school since they need them to work. In areas of extreme poverty, every single hand in the family is needed to contribute through physical labor or selling goods.

In rural and agricultural areas, harvest season is an incredibly important time when most of the community’s income is made, so even if children do regularly go to school, their education is interrupted for weeks at a time. It is a tough balance because we strongly believe that we can use education to end poverty and child labor, but know why they need to work. This is where our virtual school technology comes in since the children can get their education on their own time while contributing to their families.

There is a major difference between helping their families survive and being forced into labor, which around 4.3 million children are, and we are committed to completely ending those atrocities.

6. Being Female

In our efforts to change the mindset of communities, overcoming education barriers also includes changing the mindset that girls should not be educated. The reasons why girls in countries with high poverty rates are not enrolled as densely as boys, range from religious to cultural to practical, but even in countries where many girls go to primary school, their completion rates lag behind boys because of family and work responsibilities when they hit puberty.

There is so much evidence to show that educated women build stronger and more economically successful communities, which is why NARA Education is focused on empowering young girls.

7. Lack of Resources

Even if there is a school nearby and there is access to education, a lot of families can’t afford tuition, books, uniforms, or even the proper nutrition needed to send their children to school, presenting yet another hurdle to education. With both our virtual and physical schools, we at NARA Education want to provide as much as we can so children in poverty can get an education. You can fully sponsor a child at a school for only $10 a month or donate a Chromebook to give a virtual school to a child in a remote village.

8. Neurodivergence or Disability

It is only relatively recently that special care has been taken to the needs of children with neurodivergence and/or learning disabilities in developed countries, so it comes as no surprise that they are barriers to education in poverty stricken communities. Due to the scarcity of resources, shortage of trained teachers, and lack of understanding about disabilities and neurodivergence in these communities, these children are more likely to be denied schooling or taken out if they fall behind.

This is where exciting new directions for the future of education and technology for education will directly benefit children with neurodivergence and/or disabilities because they can use the personalized methods and AI driven learning technology to keep up with other children their age and excel in learning.

What is NARA Education Doing About It?

Overcoming education barriers, especially for children in poverty is a giant task, and one that NARA Education does not take lightly. We are committed to removing these barriers to education so that every child can have access to education and be given the opportunity to change their lives. Even though these barriers still exist, there has been tremendous progress made across the world with higher enrollment rates for primary school children, especially girls.

We want to continue this progress with our physical schools, trained teachers, strong curriculums, and especially our unique virtual schools technology, all having the potential to bring quality education to children in poverty and breaking down barriers to education. When you donate to NARA Education, you become our partner in this.

Help us use education to end poverty! Donate to NARA Education today.

About Author

Ilona Sindhu

Ilona is a writer focused on Old Norse mythology, drawing from her Hungarian, Pakistani, and American roots. She holds a BA in Dramaturgy and Theatre History from NYU and a Master’s in Religion and Literature from the University of Edinburgh. Her work blends myth, culture, and storytelling across borders.