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Meeting A Need
Accessibility and quality are two of the basic measures by which to assess educational systems in developing countries. In Brazil and the Philippines, public education is ostensibly available to every child. However, the tragic reality is that underprivileged children in these two countries are victims of their family's economic circumstances, under-funded educational systems and teachers who are underpaid and/or poorly trained. Working-age Brazilians have an average of 4 years of schooling. Half of ten year olds in Brazil are functionally illiterate.(The Economist, April 12, 2007) .In terms of world standards, Brazilian students fare poorly. In tests administered in 40 countries by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Brazil came dead last in math proficiency and fourth from the bottom in reading. In addition, Brazil has the dubious distinction of being near the top among the world's countries in the category of grade repetition. According to a survey conducted by UNICEF (United Nations Children's Fund), more than half of all Brazilian first-graders have to be held back. The Philippine think tank, the IBON Foundation (www.ibon.org) reported that in 2006, some 2.5 million children between the ages of 5-17 yrs. were working to augment family income or simply to feed themselves. IBON also reported that in 2006, 2 million children in the Philippines dropped out of school. Very few Filipino households have books, or study desks and only a small fraction of the population has computers. The I.Can Foundation through its Little Libraries program in the Philippines and Brazil delivers literacy learning to poor children who do not have the opportunity to attend school regularly. |
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©2006 I.Can Foundation
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