Kids in the Classroom: Improving Education for Children in Developing Economies

openingdoors.alj.com Opening doors The Abdul Latif Jameel Magazine Autumn 2017 In this month’s issue we talk about Featured Articles VAT: securing the financial future of the GCC Kids in the classroom: Renewable Energy in the GCC: The Human Impact Improving education for children Good vibrations – reducing the cost of water desalination in developing economies A war on waste and a spray that stays © Abdul Latif Jameel IPR Company Limited. All copyright and other intellectual property rights are fully reserved. The Abdul Latif Jameel Magazine Feature Autumn 2017 Highlights Abdul Latif Jameel has been investing from the heart of Arabia across the promising MENAT region and beyond for over seventy years – shining a light on new opportunities for investment and growth. Trusted to open new doors; now, we are opening more. Helping people who strive for better, to have better: better means; better lives; better prospects. Helping businesses who look further, to reach further. Into new markets, new homes, and new considerations. We can do this because we are determined in our quest for new potential; and we succeed because we never lose sight of why this matters. In this magazine, we showcase our investment in the development of the economies and the quality of life of people in the region. Contents Kids in the classroom: Improving education for children in developing economies 01 UK shoots towards goal of a cleaner driving future 03 Renewable Energy in the GCC: The Human Impact 04 New corporate website for Abdul Latif Jameel 06 Toyota expects 25 years of hybrid success in Turkey 06 Inaugural J-WAFS fellowships support crucial water security research 07 Cleaner energy for 40,000 homes in Jordan 08 VAT: securing the financial future of the GCC 09 Art Jameel strengthens partnership with V&A 11 Innovative new finance app for Turkey’s car buyers 11 J-WAFS in action: Good vibrations – reducing the cost of water desalination 12 New hope for global water and food systems 14 J-WAFS in action: Rocks for Crops - Delivering affordable potassium fertilizer across Africa 15 Remarkable customer service results for Abdul Latif Jameel Motors’ dealers in China 16 A war on waste and a spray that stays: J-WAFS cultivates innovation to address pressing food and agriculture problems 17 Entries open for MITEF Saudi competition 19 A major new cultural development for the Middle East: Work begins on Jeddah arts center 19 Real people, real stories – Creating the right culture 20 Global experts gather for J-WEL launch 21 Bab Rizq Jameel finds jobs for almost 20,000 Saudis 22 New materials handling facility gears up for success 22 Breaking ground on a second residential development 23 Events round-up 23 Editorial Team – You can contact the editorial team by sending an email to [email protected] The term “Abdul Latif Jameel” refers broadly to several distinct, separate and independent legal entities. Abdul Latif Jameel is not itself a corporate entity, association or conglomerate run by an overarching parent company but merely refers to a group of distinct and wholly separate legal entities that are collectively referred to as Abdul Latif Jameel. Abdul Latif Jameel is not a corporate group as defined in section 1161(5) of the Companies Act 2006. © Abdul Latif Jameel IPR Company Limited. All copyright and other intellectual property rights are fully reserved. The Abdul Latif Jameel Magazine Autumn 2017 Kids in the classroom: Improving education for children in developing economies A new policy report published by the Rachel Glennerster, Executive Director of According to the United Nations’ (UN) Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab J-PAL, says2: “This knowledge represents Millennium Development Goals Report, by 2015 (J-PAL), based at the Massachusetts Institute the state of the art in rigorous evidence 91% of primary school age children (6-12 years of Technology, has determined which types old) in the world’s developing regions were from a wide range of programs tend to be the on how to address the global schooling enrolled in education, up from 83% in 2000.3 most effective ways to increase the number challenge. Of course, not every program There was also a significant rise in the enrolment of children enrolled in and attending full-time found to be effective in one place levels of children aged 12-16 – up to 65% in 2014, education in low and middle-income countries. should be implemented in another compared with 55% in 2000.4 – but these broad insights, when The report – Roll Call: Getting Children into However, 61 million primary school children School1 – drew lessons from 58 randomized trials considered alongside local data and were out of education in 2015, along with more across 28 low and middle-income countries. It contexts, can help inform the decisions than 202 million secondary school children.5 aims to provide a framework for policymakers of policymakers and others seeking Furthermore, enrolment is only one part of around the world as attempts are made to to improve access to education and the issue. Even if children are enrolled, it does further increase the provision of education for learning for all.” not mean that they will actually attend - and children in every country. Rachel Glennerster, Executive Director of J-PAL attendance figures remain challenging. In India, 1 Roll Call: Getting Children Into School, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, August 2017 4 Net enrolment rate, secondary, both sexes (%), The World Bank, accessed October 2017 2 4 common barriers to girls’ schooling – and how to overcome them, ONE, 9 August 2017 5 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, accessed July 2017 3 The Millennium Development Goals Report 2015, United Nations, accessed October 2017 © Abdul Latif Jameel IPR Company Limited. All copyright and other intellectual property rights are fully reserved. 01 The Abdul Latif Jameel Magazine Autumn 2017 for example, 29% of enrolled primary Also, since 1960 the average level of claimed that more than 21 million look at ways to maximize the number of school students were absent during schooling across the MENA region has children across the MENA region were children enrolling in and attending school. unannounced visits.6 In Uganda, the quadrupled9 and illiteracy has halved “either out of school or at risk of figure was 35%. 7 since 1980. However, while the overall dropping out.”11 The report produced by J-PAL determines trends are positive, there are still that “student participation is sensitive A Middle East School Report obstacles to overcome. According to its calculations, more than to the perceived costs and benefits of Enrolment statistics around the Middle 12 million were already out of school, education”, so seeking ways to increase East and North Africa (MENA) region are Room for Improvement six million were at risk of dropping out, the benefits and reduce the costs is generally positive. According to the UN, there is a and three million were out of school an obvious route forward. This can be stark disparity between educational due to the conflicts in Syria and Iraq. It achieved, according to the report’s The same UN report found that 99% of opportunities in developing regions also claimed that girls living in the MENA authors, through several methods. primary school age children in North based on household incomes, where region were 25% less likely to be in Africa were enrolled in school in 2015. In “children in the poorest households are education than boys. Western Asia, that figure fell slightly to four times as likely to be out of school as 95% - but was still four percentage points those in the richest households.”10 Improving attendance Informing policy with research that make sense where these specific high than the combined figures for the Further, in 2015 a joint report by UNICEF Against this backdrop, it is crucial for Following its assessment of 58 needs are present. world’s developing regions.8 and the UNESCO Institute for Statistics policymakers across the MENA region to randomized trials, the J-PAL report provides a high-level view of the impact … Across very different settings, of a range of different activities on many studies have shown that school school enrollment and attendance. participation is sensitive to changes in these real and perceived costs and 1. Reducing the travel time to school 2. Subsidies and in-kind transfers attendance. When children are not 5. Changing perceptions around the Because costs for educational benefits. But precisely how these policies Travelling incurs costs in time and Secondary school fees are found in sick, and not sapped of energy as future impact of a good education interventions can be high, J-PAL are designed and implemented can money, and in some areas also 63% of low-income countries and they battle against illness, they are Making children, and parents, more analyzed the cost-effectiveness of have important implications for their carries an exposure to unnecessary 22% of middle-income countries. In much more likely to attend school. aware of the benefits of education different approaches. The report finds effectiveness and particularly their danger. The J-PAL report assessed contrast, only 6% of high-income In India, providing preschoolers can help improve attendance. When that some programs – like increasing cost-effectiveness.” studies in Afghanistan and Pakistan countries charge for secondary with deworming medication lifted eighth-grade boys in the Dominican access to deworming and iron pills – can into the impact of leveraging existing school education. Those who can preschool participation rates by Republic were questioned about their achieve high impacts at relatively low cost. While there are nuances to consider in infrastructure to create new schools least afford to pay for education are almost 6 percentage points.

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