Innovating for Girls Education

The fulfillment of girls’ right to education is first and foremost an obligation and it is morally imperative. There is overwhelming evidence that girls’ education is a powerful transformative force for societies and for girls themselves. While there has been a significant progress in improving girls’ access to education over the last two decades, many girls continue to be deprived of this basic right.

 Girls in many parts of Malawi are still unable to attend school and complete their studies due to cultural, financial constraints. When girls are in school the perceived low returns from poor quality of education, low aspirations or household chores and other responsibilities keep them from attending school or from achieving adequate learning outcomes.

Innovation can be an important strategy in addressing the nature and scale of barriers that girls face. There is need to ensure that they get formal academic education that is appropriate and commensurate with the challenges of the 21st century.

 Smart and creative use of technology is one route to overcoming gender barriers to girls’ learning and fulfillment of their goals. Innovation in partnerships, policies, resource utilization, community mobilization, and most of all, the engagement of young people themselves could be the most important catalyzing forces.

 International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day declared by the United Nations in 2011 and celebrated annually on 11 October. In recognition of the importance of fresh and creative perspectives to propel girls’ education forward. The theme for this year’s Day of the Girl Child is: Innovating for Girls’ Education.