Impact of Pverty on Education

The impact of education on poverty

Poverty has many forms in reality and it has an adverse effect on education; and like other developing countries around the world we struggle with implementing measures to lessen poverty. We also believe that it is through education that we will be able to get rid of poverty. There are many business men and women who have shared their story with us and told us that it was through their investment in education why they were able to break generational poverty which took a lot of sacrifices on both theirs’ and their parents path.

The United Nation believes that education is a key factor in the fight again poverty and thus one of their Millennium Development Goal states that all children in the world will have access to primary education by 2015 and Jamaica is keenly working to achieve this goal.

It is believed that education gives one an increased understanding of the world in general, technical and practical knowledge. Which in turn results in one becoming more confident in their abilities and thus realizing their rights and opportunities; this enables and allow them to improve their lives as well as to stand up for themselves.

CIA World Factbook stated that Jamaica has a population of 2.8 million according to the 2011 census with a poverty rate of 41.3 %. It also stated that the per capita income was (USD) $7,074.00 and the human development index is 0.73.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has eight millennium developmental goals for 2015 which includes eradicating extreme hunger and poverty and to achieve universal primary education.

This programme consist of world leaders who have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals through UNDP network links and coordination of global and national efforts to attain these goals. In the annual ministerial review in 2009 it was stated that Jamaica had achieved the MDG of universal primary education and is on track for ensuring environmental sustainability and eradicating extreme hunger. There have also been significant achievements in poverty reduction and primary education enrollment.

According to Ames et al poverty is a multidimensional problem that goes beyond economics to include, among other things, social, political and cultural issues. Hence solutions to poverty cannot be base exclusively on economic policies, but a comprehensive set of well-coordinated measures.

They stated that the World Bank’s 2000 World Development Report defines poverty as an unacceptable deprivation in human well-being that can comprise both physiological and social deprivation. Physiological deprivation involves the non-fulfillment of basic material or biological needs, including inadequate nutrition, health, education and shelter. It also said that a person can be considered poor if he or she is unable to secure the goods and services