Stimulating social and economic development

Education is by no means a magic wand and cannot be expected to solve all the pressing dilemmas facing humanity. Yet, despite the fact that education is a kaleidoscope of diverse content and methodologies, there is solid proof that it contributes to poverty reduction, helps to improve health, contain disease, advance the status of women, generate productivity and innovation, increase environmental awareness, strengthen participatory, representative decisionmaking, and promote respect for diversity. “The evidence is unequivocal: education saves and transforms lives” (UNESCO 2014c: 24).

Although learning has been the soil in which civilizations have grown throughout history, measurements of the impacts of systematic education have only been carried out in recent decades. Incomplete as such assessments might be due to differences in education systems and additional factors that influence results, the statistics do provide indisputable evidence of the importance of education.

Healthcare

Many avoidable diseases continue to stalk the globe and many avertible deaths occur. Statistics show that education plays a central role in containing disease and reducing mortality rates (UNESCO 2014c: 5) Education improves health by giving people relevant knowledge and skills. It also provides a platform for delivering health and nutrition interventions through schools. According to the World Health Survey (WHO 2021a) completing lower secondary school increased the odds of good health by 18 per cent compared with having no education or less than primary education. Parents who are educated have healthier hygiene practices and know how to treat minor illnesses before they become serious. Malaria, which is an extremely fatal disease in sub-Saharan Africa, is also preventable. In regions where there is a high risk of catching malaria, the odds of malaria parasites in children were 22 per cent lower when mothers had primary education and 36 per cent lower when mothers had secondary education. Educated mothers are far more likely to take precautionary measures such as using mosquito netting over the children's beds (UNESCO 2014c: 4).