Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 5 of 22 BACK | NEXT Preface Executive Summary I. Introduction II. Development of the Policy Paper III. Education and Poverty Reduction IV. The Changing Context V. Experience of the Asian Development Bank VI. Assistance Policies and Support for Education VII. Role of the Asian Development Bank VIII. Dimensions of the Education Policy IX. Education Policy Principles X. After the Policy Paper XI. Recommendation Appendixes

Policy on Education

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III. Education and Poverty Reduction

6. The relationship between education and poverty reduction is very clear: educated people have higher income earning potential, and are better able to improve the quality of their lives. Persons with at least a basic education are more likely to avail of a range of social services, and to participate more actively in local and national government through voting and community involvement. They are less likely to be marginalized within the larger society. Education empowers; it helps people become more proactive, gain control over their lives, and widen the range of available choices (Box 2). In fact, the opposite of marginalization is empowerment, and basic education is one of the keys to empowerment, both for individuals and groups.¹⁰ The combination of increased earning ability, political and social empowerment, and enhanced capacity to participate in community governance is a powerful instrument for helping break the poverty cycle. In fact, education is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalized adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty and obtain the means to participate fully in their communities.¹¹

7. Poverty is both a cause and an effect of insufficient access to or completion of quality education. Children of poor families are less likely to enroll in and complete schooling because of the associated costs of attending school, even when it is provided free. The cost of uniforms, supplies, and transportation may well be beyond the means of a poor family, especially when the family has several children of school age. This means that choices have to be made, and the choice is often to drop out of school or, worse yet, to deny schooling to girls while enrolling the boys, thereby contributing directly to maintaining the inferior status of women. And as poor children who are enrolled grow older, the opportunity cost (their lost labor and the foregone income it may entail) becomes greater, thus increasing the likelihood of abandoning school. Dropping out of school because of poverty virtually guarantees perpetuation of the poverty cycle since the income-earning potential of the child is reduced, not to mention overall productivity, receptivity to change, and capacity to improve quality of life. Lack of education perpetuates poverty, and poverty constrains access to schooling. Eliminating poverty requires providing access to quality education.

8. Education is recognized as a basic human right. Education is closely linked to virtually all dimensions of development—human, economic, and social. It is also a key factor in improving governance. Appendix 1 provides more detailed discussion of these linkages. Investment in education supports a much broader agenda including health, nutrition, the values of the environment, and community participation. Expanding girls’ education, for example, has a positive effect on fertility, infant mortality, nutrition, and enrollment rates of the next generation. An educated populace has easier access to important information about HIV/AIDS prevention and other public issues. Keeping children in school is a well-recognized strategy for reducing child labor. The synergies of education investment are powerful, and underscore the importance of education to facilitate achievement of a range of social and economic goals.

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