I believe that education is an effective tool
to fight poverty. A well-educated individual is a productive worker who
receives a higher salary. Beyond the material effects, a well-educated
individual is a better neighbor, a better citizen and a better parent. In spite of this, developing countries face serious issues regarding the access and quality of education. For example in rural India, the Annual Status of Education Report conducted in 2010, shows that 53% of students of Grade 5 could read a Grade 2 level text and 36% could solve a three digit by one digit division problem. My country -Peru- faces similar educational challenges: the National Evaluation of Students of 2011 shows that 5.8% of students achieved the expected results in reading comprehension and 3.7% achieved the expected results in mathematics.
How to improve quality of education is a puzzle. After one year in the MPA/ID and many papers read, it is time to look for answers where education is developed: in the schools. During this summer I will work as an intern in Pratham, an organization that under the mission "Every Child in School and Learning Well" is engaged in improving the quality of education in India. The project in which I will participate has the objective to -through quantitative and qualitative analysis and field visits- identify effective interventions to address the gap gender in the access to post primary educational opportunities for girls.
During the internship I will share in this blog my experiences and thoughts. I will like to thank to the Women and Public Policy Program and the Culture Bridge Fellowship for supporting this experience. Join me in this adventure!
