Knowledge Hub
Education is often referred to as the great equaliser: It can open the door to jobs, resources, and skills that help a person not only survive, but thrive.
In fact, according to UNESCO, we could cut the global poverty rate by more than half if all adults completed secondary education.
At its core, a quality education supports a child’s development of social, emotional, cognitive, and communication skills. It also has a far-reaching impact on their future earning potential, and opportunity to exit poverty, as they gain knowledge and skills at a higher level than those who aren’t in the classroom.
But education doesn’t just benefit the individual. Here’s how education can play a key role in improving many other aspects of society and ultimately ending poverty.
Poverty thrives in part on inequality. Two hundred and fifty-one million children worldwide remain out of school, according to a 2024 UNESCO report. These are most often children who are already living in poverty and facing systemic barriers in their community – be it gender, race, ability, or their status as refugees.
Education is a basic human right for all, and - when tailored to the unique needs of marginalised communities - can be used as a lever against some of the systemic barriers that keep certain groups of people furthest behind.
For example, many children growing up in Cox’s Bazar, the world’s largest refugee camp, struggle to access education. As Rohingya people, they and their families have already faced religious discrimination that forced them to leave their homes in Myanmar and live in poor conditions. Without an education, these children are less likely to find viable work once they become adults, remaining in refugee camps where the cycle of poverty repeats.
Young girls often face the biggest barriers to education, as families are reluctant to educate girls or – if they can only afford school fees for one child – will invest in a son’s education rather than a daughter’s. However, education for girls leads to healthier mothers and babies down the line.
One of the reasons for this is the connection between education and the reduced rates of child marriage - defined as being married before the age of 18. In turn, women who are married later have children after they’ve reached physical maturity. This generally leads to better outcomes for both the mother and her infant, with safer pregnancies and healthier newborns.
Additionally, mothers with an education are more likely to access the best possible health and nutrition practices for both them and their child. This includes pre-natal care, delivering in a hospital and nourishing themselves and their infant after birth, reducing the chance of complications and improving long-term health outcomes.
Illness can push families into poverty if they must take on debt for medical care, or if a parent must give up paid work to tend to a sick child. Therefore, maternal and infant health plays a key role in the financial well-being of a family.
The same children who benefit at birth by mothers with education also benefit in the long-term, as a mother’s education level has been linked to lowered rates of stunting, one of the side effects of malnutrition. A study in Kenya has confirmed this relationship: Children born to mothers with some secondary education are 29% less likely to be stunted.
Preventing stunting in childhood can reduce the risks of many developmental issues for children whose brain development and potential is limited by not having enough nutrients in their first few years. Thus, with a mother’s education, a child’s capacity for learning and development improves. In the long-term, they are more likely to be able to finish school and earn an income.
As the number of extreme weather events increases due to climate change, education plays a critical role in reducing a community's vulnerability and risk to these events.
Individuals who have received an education are more likely to be employed in the formal sector, and have more of a financial safety net to prepare for extreme weather in advance, offset losses that do occur, and recover from natural disasters.
Secondly, education gives young people the opportunity to learn about what causes climate change, how to recognise the signs of natural disasters, and how to get themselves to safety, while also increasing their awareness and interest in finding solutions to climate change in their communities.
Violence is used to control other people, most often women. Domestic abuse can stop women from going out in public and being able to work; either due to the shame of explaining an injury, or severity of the injury itself. Other times, their behaviour may be so controlled by an abusive partner they are not allowed to work at all. This creates a situation in which women are pushed into poverty, and become dependent upon their abuser for housing, food, and other daily necessities.
Girls who receive a full education are more likely to understand their rights and opportunities, both at home and within the community. This gives them the skills to advocate for themselves in exploitative or abusive relationships, and enables them to make informed decisions on the harmful aspects of practices like FGM. Furthermore, with education women are able to enter the workforce and take on positions of power, such as governance, which over time creates a culture where violence against women is not tolerated.
On the other hand, boys who receive an education are more likely to condemn gender-based violence and support gender equality.
Overall, this lowers rates of violence and the cycle of abuse, so that both women and men can lead better lives.
Poverty is a multi-faceted issue and cannot be fixed by addressing one cause alone. Because education confronts many of those issues discussed above, including health and gender equality, it is strongly linked to economic growth.
Not only is education better for the individual, but their country’s economy benefits too. Educated citizens earn more, thus paying more in taxes and placing less of a strain on the government’s budget to support people through welfare and other means.
Concern’s work is grounded in the belief that all children have a right to a quality education. In 2023, our education programmes impacted 1.1 million people.
Concern has brought quality education to villages that are off the grid, engaged local community leaders to find solutions to keep girls in school, and provided mentorship and training for teachers. For example, Concern is working to address school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV) in education programmes across Liberia, Sierra Leone, Niger, Somalia and Malawi.
We have also refined and expanded the sector-leading Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA) tool among the most vulnerable communities. This tool allows us to assess and then address children’s learning needs at an early age, so teams can identify knowledge gaps, gather robust data and monitor progress to accurately evaluate the success of education programmes over time.
