True or False: The number of illiterate people is increasing?
True. Since the original MDG for education, the number of illiterate adults has increased in several countries, including Pakistan, Senegal, and Uganda.
100
True or False: Primary school enrollment rate has increased in developing regions.
True. The current enrollment rate is 91%, up from 83% in 2000.
100
The average out-of-school rate in rural areas is about how many times higher than the out-of-school rate in urban areas?
About twice as high (16% in rural areas compared to 8% in urban areas)
100
Which continent is home to more than half of the world’s illiterate population?
Africa
100
True or False: Women account for 75% of all illiterate adults.
True. And the statistic is roughly the same for illiterate youth.
200
How many children of primary school age are not in school?
57 million. Of these, more than half live in conflict-affected areas.
200
By about how much has the number of out-of-school children of primary school age fallen since 2000?
The amount has fallen by almost half. The current estimate is 57 million children out of school, down from 100 million in 2000.
200
True or False: Increased conflict in the past 15 years has contributed to an increase in the amount of children out of school?
True. In 1999, countries affected by conflict had an out-of-school children rate of 30%. In 2012, the rate had increased to 36%.
200
True or False: The number of out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa has been decreasing.
False. In the past ten years the number of out-of-school children in Sub-Saharan Africa has been increasing.
200
Of primary school age children, about what percentage of girls do not attend school?
55% of young girls do not attend school.
300
True or False: After the MDG was announced, monetary aid towards basic education increased in low-income countries.
False. Low-income countries (which received one third of total educational aid to basic education) witnessed a decrease in aid to basic education, in contrast to middle-income countries where aid to basic education increased.
300
True or False: Most countries have achieved the Millennium Development Goal of reducing illiteracy rates by 50%.
False. Only 39 countries have achieved the mark, and all of these countries already had literacy rates higher than 80% when the MDG was announced in 2000.
300
What is the minimum enrollment rate statistic that must be achieved for the UN to consider the Millennium Development Goal for universal education as having been met?
97%. Of the prior developing countries, enrollment is now universal in Eastern Asia and Northern Africa. The target is close to being reached in all areas except Sub-Saharan Africa.
300
Of the 57 million primary age children not in school, about how many are in Africa?
33 million. Of these, more than half are girls.
300
Once in school, who is more likely to end up abandoning their education: boys or girls?
Boys are more likely to drop out of school before they have completed their education.
400
True or False: Literacy rates are currently higher for adults than for children.
False. The literacy rate for children is estimated at 91% (up from 89% in 2012) while the literacy rate for adults is estimated at 85% (up from 84% in 2012).
400
True or False: There has been little improvement towards achieving the MDG in the past 10 years.
True. The MDG report indicates most of the gains made in education and literacy rates were achieved by 2007, after which progress stagnated.
400
What could account for the difficulty in achieving universal enrollment in Sub-Saharan Africa?
Rapid growth of the primary school population, poverty, and armed conflicts
400
About what percentage of children in Africa enroll in university-level education?
Less than 10%
400
What does UNESCO consider to be the two weakest links in achieving equality in education?
Secondary school and illiteracy. UNESCO considers these priority areas in achieving equality in education.
500
How many countries have a literacy rate below 50%?
14 countries, all but one (Afghanistan) located in Africa.
500
Of the six UN-identified developing regions, which region has made the most improvement towards literacy rates?
Sub-Saharan Africa. Statistics show the primary school enrollment rate grew from 52% in 1990 to 78% in 2012. In absolute numbers the region’s enrollment more than doubled over this period.
500
What could account for children abandoning their education?
Travelling a long distance between home and school, poverty at home, stresses of the combination of working and studying, and opportunity costs.
500
Define extreme education poverty.
Extreme education poverty is defined as having less than 2 years in primary school. Children below these thresholds are unable to read or write with fluency in their native language and are unable to complete basic numerical tasks.
500
How could we achieve more gender parity in education?
Lower school fees, more female teachers, better combatting violence towards school, better sanitation systems at schools