In Southeast Asia, close to 7-million children of both primary and lower-secondary school age are not in school, have dropped out or have never been to a school. Despite provisions of free and compulsory education, there are still significant pockets of children who are not in school. They have dropped out from the formal system or have never been in school, even though some of these countries have reached or are within reach of achieving universal primary education. As a diverse region, Southeast Asia is home to complex challenges when it comes to providing access to education.
While primary school participation in most countries is universal, the quality of learning is often low for a variety of reasons. The problem is worsened as primary school education is no longer adequate to meet the demands of today's economy. According to Professor M. Ramesh of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, universal secondary school education is essential and the quality and relevance of education at this level is paramount.
Millions of poor parents make difficult choices about whether to educate their children. This cost-benefit assessment forces parents to choose between school or having their children support the family needs by working. It determines their children’s enrolment, grades, and learning outcomes. It has been observed that the highest proportion of out-of-school children belong to the poorest households. The children from the lowest quintile in Indonesia are almost 5-times more likely to be out of school than those from the highest quintile. Out-of-school children of lower secondary school-age in all countries follow the same trend.
Another deterrent is the quality of educational services provided in rural areas. The proportion of primary school-age out-of-school children in Indonesia are 3-times higher in rural than in urban areas. Of those who are not in school, around 2-in-3 children of primary school-age in the Philippines live in rural locations. The trend is the same among lower secondary school-age children.
Education plays a key role in eradicating poverty. A review of more than 60 studies reveals that greater education coverage is associated with substantial reductions in the income gap between households across the income distribution. When a country goes from a primary level enrolment rate of 50% to 100%, an 8% rise in the share of income goes to households in the poorest decile.
Enrolment in primary school however, is not the same as completion. According to the 2018 World Development Report by the World Bank, only about a quarter of the poorest children in low-income countries—compared with three quarters in the richest—complete primary school. Children from the poorest families are less likely to start school. Those who do start school are more likely to drop out early.
For some children, staying in school has failed to translate into effective learning. According to World Vision, despite rising levels of school attendance across the world, many children have yet to master the basics of reading. To improve the education system in Southeast Asia, World Vision has developed Literacy Boost, an innovative programme that makes reading a social and cultural activity that is stewarded not only by teachers in schools but also by volunteers in the heart of village life. The method includes training teachers in new techniques to teach reading, evaluating initial proficiency and starting up after-school activities such as reading clubs, mobile libraries and training workshops for families, which are all run by community members.
In this photo-essay, we explore the conditions of these out-of-school children in five Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. Information for this photo-essay originated from: