FAO paper: Rural
Caribbean populations face severe challenges concerning
education, poverty
Web Posted - Tue May 16
2006
JUST ahead of this weeks regional
conference on education for rural people in St. Lucia,
international focus has been turned to the Caribbean.
According to a Food and Agriculture Organisation
(FAO) paper to be presented at the Saint Lucia meeting,
there were many challenges to education for persons
living in rural areas in the Caribbean as it stated, In
the Caribbean region, the impact of poverty, HIV/AIDS
and educational deficits is acutely felt in the rural
context.
It further states that significant percentages of
the population of the Caribbean States are impacted by
poverty , while underlining the need to exert
considerable efforts to reach the UN Millennium
Development Goals in the region.
Outlining that in the Caribbean poverty rates are
higher in rural areas than in urban areas, it pointed
out that in Jamaica, for example, the rural poverty rate
is three times as high as the urban poverty rate, while
in Guyana, almost the entire rural population is poor.
The education system in the Caribbean evolved from a
colonial historical legacy which was predicated on
privilege. Education served as a primary device for
social selection and class stratification. With the
attainment of independence and the growth of
nationalism, mass education became a ...priority, the
report said.
Marcela Villarreal, head of the FAO Gender and
Population Division stated, Education is essential for
the rural poor, many of whom are women. It is also
essential for rural children who lose their parents to
AIDS. Field schools need to be developed to provide
essential skills and knowledge to orphaned children.
Educating the rural poor contributes to preventing the
pandemic from expanding rapidly in rural areas.
It is anticipated that the event would draw
participation from ministries of agriculture, education
and health and international agencies, NGOs and the
private sector and discussions would focus on food,
nutrition, education, school gardens, HIV/AIDS and
gender.
The two-day conference is scheduled to commence on
Thursday and is a part of a global partnership launched
by the FAO and UNESCO during the 2002 World Summit on
Sustainable Development to eradicate poverty and
hunger.Ç
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