Giving Compass' Take:
- Maysa Jalbout suggests bold strategies for universities to address education inequality and the digital divide.
- How can you support shifts toward equitable education practices? What can donors do to help build solutions for education inequality?
- Read about why free college doesn't close equity gaps.
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Universities can turn one of our world’s most unconscionable injustices—unequal access to quality education—into one of the greatest hopes for our future.
Universities must address the education divide not only as a moral obligation but as an opportunity to tackle some of today’s biggest challenges. They need to shift their mission from educating the few to educating all, leading the way in educating the most vulnerable people in their communities and around the world.
Most of the world is grappling with worsening and persistent challenges resulting from the slow or nonexistent progress for the most vulnerable disadvantaged people.
Education is both a remedy and at the root of inequality. Data shows that education attainment is directly related to higher levels of income and equality.
For example, the World Bank estimates that every year of a women’s education increases her income by 10-20 percent. Yet, girls and women lag behind in access to education in many parts of the world, including in traditionally male-dominated fields such as STEM education in the developed world.
Low-income, rural, and first-generation students around the world are much less likely to enter and complete university. And, only 1 percent of refugees have access to higher education globally.
Universities should be bold and consider two potential strategies that can deliver results at a large scale with greater impact:
- First, universities should make higher education open for all who need it—regardless of status and financial ability.
- Second, universities should give higher education a higher purpose—making learning possible for everyone at all levels of education.
Universities can help develop new education solutions. By increasing investment in education, research, and innovation to similar levels as other areas such as health, universities could develop solutions to some of the most persistent education challenges.
Read the full article about universities can have an impact on inequality by Maysa Jalbout at Brookings.