RI needs to prioritize girls' education: Unicef

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) has urged the Indonesian government to make the education of girls a priority if it is to improve the country's development prospects.

In its recent report, Unicef warned that international development efforts were drastically short-changing girls and that without accelerated actions to get girls into schools over the next two years, global goals to reduce poverty would not be reached.

The world body said a Ministry of Education report confirmed the seriousness of the situation in Indonesia, particularly for girls who wished to go to secondary schools, or those from poor families and in rural areas.

"Data from the Ministry of Education compiled last year shows significant gender gaps in school dropout rates, both at primary and junior secondary levels. Girls are more likely to drop out of schools than boys.

"In primary schools, out of every 10 children who drop out, six are girls and four are boys. It's the same in junior secondary schools. The gender gap slightly widens at the senior secondary schools to seven girls dropping out of every three boys," Unicef's representative in Indonesia Steven Allen said.

He said the results of this education gap between the sexes could be seen in the national adult literacy rate.

"Nearly 20 percent of women are illiterate compared with less than 10 percent of men," he said.

He asserted that Indonesia stood little chance of substantially reducing poverty, child mortality, HIV/AIDS and diseases if it did not assure both girls and boys equal access to basic education.

Unicef also criticized the government for its low spending on education, which is now the lowest in East Asia and Pacific.

The UN body has identified a number of issues that impede girls getting equal education, including gender biased textbooks, gender stereotyping and early marriage.

Unicef claimed the textbooks widely used in schools across the country reinforced the gender stereotypes.

National Development Planning Agency's (BAPPENAS) Education and Religious Affairs Director Nina Sardjunani agreed with Unicef, blaming the society's conservative perception toward girls.

"The textbooks our children use in schools portray the gender stereotype that women should stay at home, thus, they should just get married early and be good housewives," said Nina.

This gender stereotyping indicates a form of "voluntary discrimination" practiced by both females and males, according to Unicef.

"It is evident in some majors offered in schools. You'll see a lot of female students enroll in social sciences or cooking, and male students enroll in engineering," Nina said.

Although the situation now has changed as more female students are going to engineering and technical schools, Nina said the government still had a lot of homework to do to change stereotypes.

"We need to change this perception that women belong nowhere but at home. We need to raise the public's awareness that women are no less better than men," Nina said.