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by Vijitha Fernando

"It is not gender but poverty and regional disparities that affect the access of girls and women to education," said Emeritus Professor of Education, Swarna Jayaweera speaking of recent trends in education and how these affect our women.

In low income urban, rural and plantation areas and in pockets of disadvantaged communities it is not gender that prevails over low rates, but the socio economic patterns of these families.

"At times even the lack of a birth certificate acts as a deterrent where most parents in these groups do not seem to be aware that an affidavit from the Grama Niladhari suffices for admission," she said.

Out of school

The result is that despite the right to education being a major right ratified for children, half of school age children, both boys and girls, are out of school.

Prof. Jayaweera made these observations at a seminar on Current Trends in Education organised by the Sri Lanka Federation of University Women (SLFUW) as part of its diamond jubilee celebrations earlier this month.

Favourable for girls

Gender equality is favourable for girls in the total enrolment in schools. In the school system there are more girls generally as boys drop out of school. In University admissions there is a majority of women in recent years.

At university level more women opt for arts, commerce and general science. In the distribution of university students it is seen that there is an increase in medicine, agriculture and law. But the numbers of women in engineering have remained static since 1975.

Other areas in computer education, librarianship etc. have opened up. If women do not take advantage of these openings they will be more marginalised in the future.

Though access is available in many areas of education, very little room at the top is occupied by women, thus perpetuating gender imbalances in employment.

Many factors are responsible for this. Macro economic policies and a demand for cheap labour, narrow range of skills available among women, the socialisation process of stereotyping, gender bias among employers - all this play a decisive role in the employment of women.

As a result there has been an increase in women in low skilled employment such as work in garment factories, as domestic workers with, at times, even graduates taking on employment as clerks. Here there is no upward mobility in employment for such women, despite their schooling.

In the past twenty years there have been two women Vice Chancellors. But less than one percent of women at management level.

Literacy

Literacy has increased to 94 percent for men and 87 for women.

Education has helped women healthwise, in maintaining family size and lowering of infant and maternal mortality.

Education, Dr. Jayaweera said, has played no role in promoting multi racial harmony.

In fact, it has helped to perpetuate racial discrimination.

There is a lack of awareness of gender and the general feeling of complacency has perpetuated gender discrimination in employment. This begins early, in the gender division of labour in the household. The good news is that recently there has been some gender division of labour in double income families and the trend is moving quietly.

Expanded

Commodity and dowry bargaining, virginity tests often condoned by parents will go on. Many women are not aware of their legal rights. Though there has been a great deal of awareness built up about domestic violence, rape, incest, sexual harassment and other gender based crimes, acceptance has been low and action, less.

Looking back it can be seen that education opportunities have expanded for women over the years.

This has in turn enlarged the boundaries of knowledge, facilitated the improvement of the health status of their families, slowed population growth and accelerated labour force participation.

But none of these have changed the gender division of labour significantly or helped to empower women strongly and specifically to counter barriers to progress.

Since 1995 there have been several reviews of the situation and some positive changes have been set in motion. The Beijing Platform for Action (1995) set goals and strategies for gender equality in education.

The National Plan of Action for Women the same year underscored the importance of equal educational opportunity, gender sensitive curricula and the elimination of gender imbalances in employment oriented education.

Prof. Jayaweera outlined some areas for possible action.

Among these is the universalisation of primary and junior secondary education, functional literacy for out of school girls and illiterate women, increased awareness of senior secondary science and tertiary education.

Diversify

There was also the need to diversify education and training opportunities and promote access to "non traditional" vocational education and the urgency of developing confidence and management skills to penetrate the "glass ceiling" through conscientisation and empowerment of women through education, both formal and non formal.

The seminar also discussed the educational trends in law, medicine, technology, banking and finance, information technology and their impact on women.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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