Providing education to girls from remote and rural areas - UNESCO ...

Advocacy BriefProvidingEducationto Girlsfrom Remoteand RuralAreas

Bista, Min B.; Cosstick, Frances ElizabethProviding education to girls from remote and rural areas: advocacy brief.Bangkok: UNESCO Bangkok, 2005.8 p.1. Girls education. 2. Rural areas. 3. Boarding schools.4. Educationally disadvantaged. 5. Educational strategies. I. Title.ISBN 92-9223-051-4© UNESCO 2005Published by theUNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education920 Sukhumvit Rd., PrakanongBangkok 10110, ThailandPrinted in ThailandThe designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the publication donot imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning thelegal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiersor boundaries.APL/05/OS/158-250

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Providing Education to Girlsfrom Remote and Rural AreasThe Dakar Framework for Action calls on the worldcommunity to find appropriate strategies foreducating underserved groups and those childrenwho live under difficult circumstances. To achieve thisEFA goal, one approach that countries mightconsider is the use of boarding schools. This policybrief documents how boarding schools have beenused in order to ensure access to education forchildren who might otherwise be deprived of it. Thebrief discusses both advantages and disadvantagesof this educational strategy. Finally, it provides usefulhints for maximizing the effectiveness of the boardingschool approach.Concept of Boarding SchoolsBoarding schools, also referred to as residentialschools or feeder hostels, are educational institutionswith dormitory facilities where students may live orboard during the school year. The dormitories havesleeping, lavatory, eating, study and recreationalareas. There is often accommodation for teachingand support staff. Schools can be integrated orsegregated. They can be for a particular ethnic orminority group, open to students in a specified area,or for those with unique qualifications andcharacteristics. Dormitory facilities may be separatedby sex, age, or even familial relationship when familiessend more than one child. Dormitories most often arelocated on the school campus.A distinction should be made here between privatelyestablished, financed and managed boarding schoolsthat cater to the children of more affluent families andthose that are established, financed and managedthrough public means to serve underserved groupsand children living under difficult circumstances. Inmany parts of the world, the term “boarding school”refers to private schools that collect fees from parentsand are independently governed and managed, offera curriculum that is different from the nationalcurriculum, provide residential facilities to children andare not subject to government rules and standards.Boarding schools in this policy brief, however, aredefined to include institutions supported by the statethat are created specifically for the purpose ofproviding both academic programmes and housing forchildren. Particular attention under such a scheme isoften given to those groups who otherwise may nothave access to school at all: girls, those coming fromrural and remote areas, and those living in difficultcircumstances.Experiences and PracticesChildren of remote and rural – usually minority –populations in Nepal, China and Viet Nam, as well asnomadic children in Mongolia and Central Asia, havebenefited from education in boarding schools. Someboarding schools, such as those for the Khmer in VietNam, have been initiated by leaders of ethnicminorities in order to enhance their children’seducational foundation through schools that bothstrengthen ties with the majority culture and maintaintheir own. Some countries in Central Asia, during theirsocialist years, were able to achieve near universalbasic education due, in part, to boarding schools.Remote rural populations in those countries not onlyaccept, but expect, boarding facilities to supportbasic education.Many African countries have a long boarding schooltradition, particularly at the secondary level. Thispractice dates back to the colonial period. Today,there are still boarding schools in parts of EnglishspeakingAfrica that are modeled on the Britishexperience. Indeed, in many ways, little has changedsince those days: The distance from villagecommunities to secondary schools continues tomake secondary education inaccessible to manychildren. As a result, many children drop out of schoolafter the primary level. In this context, boardingschools play a key role in providing secondaryeducation. Furthermore, in a number of Africancountries, student meals are government subsidizedso that it may cost less for parents to have theirchildren fed a comparable diet in boarding schoolsthan at home. In Ghana, boarding schools comprisesome 80 percent of all schools. In fact, some parentsbelieve that schools do a better job of bringing upPolicy Brief on Providing Education to Girls from Remote and Rural Areas1○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○children than they can. However, in recent years,there has been a tendency in Africa to discontinueboarding schools due to governmental fiscal “belttightening.”Nonetheless, many educators advocatethem as a necessary investment for EFA.AdvantagesWhen managed and operated properly, boardingschools can yield benefits for students, parents andeducators. Some of these are discussed below:Promote access to schooling. The primary goal ofstate boarding schools is to increase access tolearning opportunities of children from underservedand disadvantaged communities. Boarding facilities,for example, make schooling for many rural childrenpossible.Attain gender equality in enrollment, retention andachievement. A study in Nepal showed that feederhostels for girls promoted girls’ enrolment, retentionand achievement in education. Feeder hostels bringgirls from remote and rural areas of the country,where opportunity for obtaining secondary educationdoes not exist. These hostels provide food andaccommodation and, most importantly, anopportunity to attend a secondary school. Uponcompletion of their schooling, the girls areencouraged to take up teaching, thereby becomingimportant role models for the girls who follow. TamilNadu in India and the Central Highland provinces ofViet Nam are advocating more hostel facilities for girlsto increase enrolment and retention in secondaryschool. In 2000, a regional consultation for Ministersof Education in Nairobi agreed that boarding schoolsfor girls were important in achieving EFA goals.In some cultures, parents are reluctant to send theirchildren, especially girls, to school. In many countries,parents of poor and large families require children’slabour for food production and for care of youngersiblings. Despite state subsidies, there are generallycosts attached to sending children to school thatparents often cannot meet. In such cases, boardingschools may provide a reasonable transitionalarrangement. For example, in Sa Pa, Viet Nam,scholarships for girls enable them to attend boardingschools.Provide improved learning environments tochildren. Boarding schools can be a choice formany families that cannot offer adequate facilities forstudy. Where homes are overcrowded and do nothave electricity, boarding schools can offer a betterstudy environment.Enhance academic performance of children,especially girls. Boarding schools are believed tohelp enhance academic performance of children.Malawi research claims that boarding schoolsenhance girls’ academic performance since they donot have to spend time going long distances toschools and are not burdened by domestic chores athome. Boarding schools in eastern and southernAfrica are generally same-sex schools, and it hasbeen shown that academic performance among girlsis higher than in co-educational schools.Give security and protection to girls. In societieswhere girls’ movement outside home is notpermitted, boarding schools can give security andprotection. In Mongolia, for instance, rural parentsare more likely to encourage girls than boys tocontinue schooling because they perceive thatboarding schools offer personal protection andeducation that ensures their daughters of future jobs;conversely, boys are perceived to be better able tofend for themselves. Malawi research also tends toconfirm that boarding schools provide security andprotection to girls.Protect children in emergency situations. Boardingschools have been an important protection forchildren at risk of emergencies, such as from naturaldisasters or civil wars. At times, schools can continuetheir operations. Students from flood-, winterdisaster- and other calamity-prone areas have beenensured shelter, food, education and recreationduring the disaster. In Nepal, non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) are operating hostels to offershelter and education to street children and thosedisplaced by ongoing conflict.Meet nutritional needs of children. Experience fromMongolia and Viet Nam shows that well-managedboarding schools provide good nutrition, hygiene, andsanitation; a balanced daily routine of personal care;education; assistance for the boarding schoolcommunity; sports and recreation; and study habitsthat children introduce to their own homes andfamilies and to their lives as adults. One studyconducted in Mexico reported that children attendingboarding schools were better off in terms of theirnutritional status compared to those who were not inboarding schools.Promote socialization and mainstreaming of poorand minority children. Boarding schools can be ameans of socializing and mainstreaming childrencoming from rural and remote areas and thosebelonging to ethnic and linguistic minorities. Childrenare introduced to new ways of living; new routinesand responsibilities; new technologies; and newteachers and fellow students from outside theirPolicy Brief on Providing Education to Girls from Remote and Rural Areas2○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○community. In Viet Nam, China and Nepal, boardingschools provide an environment where poor andminority children learn to socialize with others beyondtheir own community or culture and, thus, acquireskills that serve them in later life, in the broadercommunity, or as a link to the dominant culture andnational language. Malawi research claims thatboarding schools strengthen national unity by housingchildren of different ethnicities together.Provide effective links between the communityand the larger society. Boarding schools provide acentralized location for learning and living that can bean effective link between the remote communities oforigin and the larger society. Children from remotecommunities increase their options for the future bylearning skills that will assist them in contributing totheir own communities, in adapting to the largercommunity, or in bridging the two.Reduce the cost of educating children. Wheresettlements are highly scattered and populations aresparse, it can be extremely costly to establish andoperate full-fledged schools. Studies done in Nepalhave shown that it is very costly to run schools in thehigh mountains, where the average number ofstudents per school is less than 25. Small schoolsare generally not cost effective in a centralizedbureaucracy. Boarding or residential schools can,therefore, be established where it is not feasible toestablish and operate a small community school. TheGovernment of Nepal is considering establishingresidential schools in the mountain districts bymerging very small schools. Analysis shows thatproviding education through boarding schools wouldbe much cheaper than the existing system, whereeducation is provided through very small schoolsscattered throughout the districts. While the start-upcost of a boarding school is relatively high,maintenance costs can be kept in check by usingenvironmentally friendly technologies and supervisedboarding houses in the community.Disadvantagescurriculum alien to the indigenous population.Boarding schools played a major role in the extinctionof indigenous native cultures, languages and religions.Boarding schools cause cultural illiteracy. Somebelieve that children attending boarding schools canbecome culturally illiterate. Being away from home atan early age means being unable to learn manycultural values, beliefs, practices, and customs thatare needed to function effectively in the community.Once these children return to their communities, aprofound loss of identity may result.Boarding schools cause a sense of alienation.Boarding schools are physically and emotionallyisolating from families and communities. Childrenstaying in boarding schools can develop feelings ofnot being loved, wanted or cared for. It can havenegative effects on children’s learning achievementand growth.Boarding schools may increase the risk of physicaland sexual abuse. Some studies 1 have reported thatchildren are at higher risk of abuse in boardingschools. Such incidents of physical and sexual abusemay never get reported, and children live with thepain of abuse throughout their lifetimes.Girls are at risk of pregnancy and dropping out.Zimbabwean and Nigerian research indicates thatgirls in boarding schools are at risk 2 of becomingpregnant and then dropping out of schools. The riskof pregnancy prevents parents from sendingadolescent girls to boarding schools.Children’s growth and learning may be harmed.Where sufficient state and/or local budgets are notavailable to meet the costs of running boardingschools, the health of children is at risk. Under-fundedboarding schools that are not maintained andrepaired can compromise health as children sufferfrom cold, dampness or coal smoke fumes;insufficient or inadequate food; poor attendance ofteachers; and low quality teaching/a poor socialenvironment that leads to a poor education.Boarding schools are not without problems anddisadvantages. Critics charge:Boarding schools contribute to cultural extinction.Boarding schools are viewed as a threat to the child’sculture. In the last part of the 19th and the first half ofthe 20th Centuries in North America and Australia,boarding schools were a key aspect of policiesfocused at assimilating indigenous children into adominant European-oriented society throughlanguage, lifestyle, education and religion.Compulsory education enforced a culture and1A 1999 DANIDA study looking at 25 Distant EducationCentres in Malawi that provide education for up to 70% ofsecondary students reported that the biggest problems citedby all girls interviewed were sexual abuse and pregnancies.Institute of Development Studies researchers report on jointstudies with Ministry of Education officials in Ethiopia, Guineaand Tanzania, “Home Factors: Wary parental views onschooling of girls, risk of early pregnancy” and “Distance toSchool: Parents fear additionally for the safety of girls whiletraveling.”2The use of the word “risk” indicates here perception basedon widely known experience.Policy Brief on Providing Education to Girls from Remote and Rural Areas3○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Eventually parents lose their confidence in the schoolsystem. If boarding schools are not properly staffedand resourced, they can ruin the health, as well asthe schooling, of children.Girls may be discriminated against. Wheredormitories are unsupervised and under-funded, suchas those built by communities and not attached tothe school, girls can be overly burdened by domesticchores. Where girls have to find their ownaccommodation, they risk becoming housemaids tomale students or host families. In these situations, thegirls’ education is compromised.Useful Hintsfor Using Boarding Schoolsas an Educational StrategyEducational planners and policy makers must be fullyaware of the many advantages and disadvantages ofusing boarding schools as an educational strategy.Some useful hints for using boarding schools as aneducational strategy are:Ensure that the school is able to meet the totaldevelopment needs of children. If boarding schoolsare to be used as a strategy for educating children,they should be able to function as extended familieswhere students and teachers live and learn together,and where opportunities are created for children todevelop every aspect of academic, cultural, athletic,and social life. The school should offer an environmentfor students that is safe, academically challenging,diverse, active and fun. Boarding schools should notjust be a collection of children coming from poorhouseholds or underserved groups. Where possible,they should bring together children from differentcommunities.communities or authorities in a timely fashion due todistance and communication difficulties. Children ofminority families may be reluctant to report difficultiesoccurring in the school, and so problems may notreceive prompt action, or any action at all. The needfor good management can not be sufficientlyunderscored.Use boarding schools as community centres.Boarding schools can be used for the development ofthe local community. The school should be open as acommunity centre for meetings, adult education inthe evenings and children’s school holidays. Such aschool is a useful focal point for knowledge- and skillbuildingfor the community at large, and for theintegration of school life into community life.Gain parental confidence. The success of boardingschools depends upon the trust and confidence theyinspire among parents who decide whether thechildren will attend school, which children will go, andfor how long. This will require that the school beperceived as an institution that addresses parentalconcerns, recognizes the language and culture of thestudents, and guarantees adequate information,frequent visits and good medical attention.Ensure frequent contacts between children andfamily members. There is no substitute for the familyin matters of giving care, love, affection, earlyeducation and socialization to young children.Children grow mentally, intellectually and sociallythrough adult contacts in the family and community.Children should not be removed from families forexcessively long periods of time. Schools mustensure that there is frequent contact betweenchildren, families and their relatives. Children shouldbe able to go back to families at regular intervals, andfamily members should be allowed to visit theirchildren in school.Ensure that the school is well-managed. Theatmosphere within the boarding school, both theclassroom and the dormitory, is critical for the physicaland mental health/development of the child. Onlywell-managed boarding schools can provide a positiveexperience for children. School management mustensure that there exists a peer or buddy supportsystem, and that there is good rapport betweenteachers and students, as well as between parentsand teachers. Boarding schools for minorities aregenerally placed a long distance from town centresand, therefore, the staff have considerably moreautonomy than do their town-based peers. If the staffare not disciplined, themselves, the student body cansuffer without the remedial action that might be takenif the school were in a more central location.Misdoings may not be reported to families,Ensure that the curriculum includes local andcultural studies. Centrally prepared andimplemented curricula are notorious for ignoring localcultures, languages, and realities. Rigidity, irrelevanceand impracticality of centrally prepared curricula andteaching-learning processes can hinder local andcultural learning. Curriculum planners must ensurethat children’s right to learn their language and cultureis preserved.Policy Brief on Providing Education to Girls from Remote and Rural Areas4○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ConclusionReferencesThe world community has pledged to achieveEducation for All goals by 2015. Past experience hasdemonstrated that one single set of educationalstrategies is not enough to achieve these goals. Itcalls for adoption of multiple, context-specificeducational strategies that cater to the needs ofthose who cannot be served through conventionaleducational methods and strategies. In this regard,experience shows that boarding schools can play aninstrumental role in promoting access to education forchildren from remote or rural areas, particularly girls.Available research also seems to suggest that apartfrom promoting children’s access to schooling, theboarding school approach can be used to achievegender equality in enrolment, retention andachievement; enhance the academic performance ofchildren, especially girls; give security and protectionto girls; protect children who are at the risk ofemergencies; meet the nutritional needs of children;promote the socialization and mainstreaming ofchildren; reduce the cost of schooling; and provide animproved learning environment to children. It shouldbe noted, however, that this strategy is not withoutproblems. Experience has also proven that boardingschools can pose a threat to local cultures, renderchildren culturally illiterate, and promote a sense ofalienation amongst children. Educational plannersmust take these problems into account. In sum,boarding schools must be well-managed andsufficiently funded to be considered a viable approachto EFA.ADB. (nd) “Country Assistance Plans – Mongolia.”. [4/5/2004].ADB. (nd) “Indigenous Peoples/Ethnic Minorities andPoverty Reduction: Viet Nam.” http://www.adb.org/Documents/Reports/Indigenous.Peoples/VIE/chapter.3.pdf.. [4/5/2004], and Batbold, G. (nd) Rural Basic Education Policy inMongolia. Ulaanbaatar: Ministry of Science,Technology, Education and Culture of Mongolia.Batbold, G. and Orgilmaa, L. (2003) “Study ofPolicies on Rural Basic Education in Mongolia,” Dept.of Primary and Secondary Education, Ministry ofScience, Technology, Education and Culture ofMongolia. Ulaanbaatar: UNESCO Representative inBeijing, Inruled UNESCO Nanjing, China.Bensalah, K., Sinclair, M. and Hadj Nacer, F. (2002)“Education in Situations of Emergency and Crisis:Challenges for the new century.” Paris: ID21education. .[4/21/2004].Brock, C. and Cammish, N.K. (1997) “Factorsaffecting female participation in education in sevendeveloping countries,” DIFID Education. London:DIFID, Serial No. 9.Bloom, J. and Kleinfeld, J. (1973) “A Long Way fromHome: Effects of public high schools on villagechildren away from home.” Fairbanks: University ofAlaska. . [4/13/2004]Cammish, N. and Brock, C. (4 March 1999) “Girls,Schools and Limits to Change.” ID21 Society andEconomy. . [4/21/2004].Charen, M. (20 February 2004) “Futile reform.”Support,.townhall.com. .[4/19/2004].Policy Brief on Providing Education to Girls from Remote and Rural Areas5○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○CERID. (1996) Promotion of Girls’ EducationThrough Recruitment and Training of FemaleTeachers in Nepal: A country case study.Kathmandu: Center for Educational Research,Innovation and Development.Frost, G. (1999) “Learning the value of girlseducation. Oxfam. Sa Pa, Viet Nam.” .[4/19/2004].Colclough, C. et. al. (21 December 2001) “Africa’sEmpty Desks – New Ways to get More Girls intoPrimary School.” ID21 society & economy..[4/21/2004].DANIDA. (1999) “Increasing Girls Acess to Educationin Malawi, UN Update.” Linlongwe, Malawi: UNDP.. [4/15/2004].Davis, J. (2001) “American Indian Boarding SchoolExperiences: Recent studies from nativeperspectives,” OAH Magazine of History. No.15.ISSN 0882-228X. . [4/19/2004].Demir, E.E. et al. (nd) “The Role of Turkish Schools inthe Educational System and Social Transformation ofCentral Asian Countries: The case of Turkmenistanand Kyrgyzstan,” Central Asia Literacy Forum.. [4/6/2004].DIFID. (2004) Discourse 1: Alternative Types ofSchool and Schooling Structure. London: DIFID.. [4/19/2004]DOE. (2001) A Study Report on Increasing theSupply and Quality of Female Teachers throughRevitalizing the Feeder Hostel. Kathmandu:Department of Education.education@independent.co.uk. (19 February 2004).“Is it the end for all-girls schools?”. [4/19/2004]FAWE. (8 November, 2000) “Regional MinisterialConsultation on Closing the Gender Gap inEducation,” FAWE Press Release. Nairobi, Kenya.. [4/15/2004]Francis, P. et al. (20 June 2002) School-CommunityTies Wear Thin: How stakeholders view the decline ofNigeria’s primary schools. London: ID21 education.. [4/21/2004].Gardashkanova, M. (2001) “Trends and Indicatorson Family and Children’s Well-being in Azerbaijan.”Country paper. Baku: UNICEF Innocenti ResearchCentre. . [4/13/04].Geboe, C. and Arnold, R. (1995) “Effects of theProposed Budget Reductions on the Education ofAmerica Indian Students.” Brownbag Discussion #4.. [4/13/2004].Goldsmith, H. (2000) “Are Boarding Schools forAbused Kids Preferable to Foster Care?”.[4/13/2004].Haag, P. (2000) “K-12 Single-Sex Education: Whatdoes the research say?” ERIC Digest. Champaign,Il. . [4/19/2004]Harber, C. and Davies, L. (eds.) (1997) SchoolManagement and Effectiveness in DevelopingCountries: The post-bureaucratic school. London:Cassell.Iarskaia-Smirnova, E. (2001) “Teaching Gender andDisability: A hidden curriculum in a boarding school.”Paper given at ESA Sociology of Education stream,28 August-1 September, 2001. Helsinki, Finland.. [4/19/2004].IIEP Newsletter. (Oct/Dec 1996) “Adjustment orTransition? The Reform of Technical and VocationalEducation in Central Asia and Mongolia.”. [4/6/2004].India, Government of, Department of Education. (nd)“National Programme for Access with Equity inSchools: Draft scheme for strengthening of boardingand hostel facilities.” .[4/19/2004].Policy Brief on Providing Education to Girls from Remote and Rural Areas6○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Kadzamira, E. (2000) “Providing Boarding Facilities forGirls: Overview of the status of provision in Easternand Southern Africa,” .[31.05.04].Kanstrup-Jensen, A. (2001) “Educational Constraintsand Resources Among Ethnic Minority Groups in theLao PDR.” . [4/7/2004]Kratli, S. (2004) “Education Provision to NomadicPastoralists: a Literature Review.” Working Paper126, London: DIFID.Kratli, S. (October 2000) “The Bias Behind NomadicEducation,” The UNESCO Courier. .[4/5/2004].Krikorian, O. (February 2003) “Suffer the Children,Armenian Weekly Online.” .[4/5/2004].Marr, C. J. (nd) “Assimilation through Education:Indian boarding schools in the Pacific Northwest.”University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections. . [4/19/2004].Mitra. (June 2001) A Study Report on Increasing theSupply and Quality of Female Teachers throughRevitalizing the Feeder Hostel.Nyamdava, P. (November 8-12, 1999) “Vulnerabilityand Gender Issues in Health and Education:Examples from Mongolia.” Draft paper for the ManilaSocial Forum.People’s Daily. (17 June 2002) “‘Horse-back’ SchoolsTake Root in Grasslands.”. [4/5/2004].Porteus, K. (2003) “Pushing the ‘Problems’Underground? Left Behind Learners in South Africa.”Johannesburg: ID21. .[4/21/2004]Ruis, J. (nd) Escuela No 1-593 Yapey. La Jaula,Argentina: ISES.Song Ngan. (16 Sept. 2003) “Tireless Teacher HelpedEducate Khmers.”.[3/31/2004]TACIS. (nd) “Higher Education System inTurkmenistan.” . [4/5/2004].Tamil Nadu, Government of. (2003) “BackwardClasses, Most Backward Classes and Minorities,”Welfare Department Policy Note 2003-2004.Demand No. 9. Tamil Nadu, India. . [4/19/2004].Tajikistan Country Report. www.childrenstrategies.org/English%20creports/Tajikistan%20Final.pdfTroubled Teen Options. (April 19, 2004) “Boardingand Private Schools. What are Boarding Schools?”.[4/19/2004].Turkmenistan Country Report. www.childrenstrategies.org/English%20creports/Turkmenistan%20Final.pdfUNESCO. (nd) “Evaluation of EFA for 2000,” LaoPDR Report: Part 1: Descriptive Section: Cont:1.. {4/7/2004]UNICEF. (30 April 2003) “Examples from the Field:UNICEF and girls’ education in rural areas.”www.un.org/esa/coordination/ecosoc/hl2003/RT1%20Unicef%20field.pdfUNDP. (nd) “Poverty reduction (Yen Bai),” [3/31/2004]Vietnamnet. (30 December 2003) “Indigenousstudents take to higher education.” [3/31/2004]Quisumbing, A. R. et al. (2004) Land and Schooling:Transferring Wealth Across Generations.Reilly, C. and Suvannus, V. (1999) “Informal LearningAmong Deaf Children in a Thai Boarding School.”. [4/13/2004]VNS. (28 Februray 2004) “Viet Nam, Laos InkStudent Exchange Education Pledge.” .[3/31/2004].Policy Brief on Providing Education to Girls from Remote and Rural Areas7○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○

○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○Song Ngan. (16 September 2003) “Tireless teacherhelped educate Khmers.” .[3/31/2004].WIN News, (2001) “Kenya: Boarding school offersnew life for Masai child brides,” The Boston SundayGlobe. 12/10/2001. .[4/15/2004].Wah Ching Centre of Research on Education inChina. (2004) “Basic education,” China EducationNews. Volume 6, Issue No.3. .[2/22/2004].World Vision. (2004) “Children isolated due to lack ofservices.” (Azerbaijan), . [4/5/2004].Co-AuthorsMin B. Bista is a Professor of Education in theFaculty of Education at Tribhuwan University,Kathmandu, Nepal. He has authored severalarticles, policy papers and books on educationaldevelopment. For over a decade, he has beeninvolved in providing consulting services to nationalgovernments and donor agencies in the areas ofeducational policy analysis, planning, programmedesign and evaluationFrances Elizabeth Cosstick is an educationresearcher and policy writer with many years ofprogramme management experience in South-EastAsia. She is an advocate for aboriginal, human andchild rights. Currently, she resides in Ottawa,Canada.Policy Brief on Providing Education to Girls from Remote and Rural Areas8○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○○