Millennium Development Goals - Assignment Example

Millennium Development Part Write a short discussion of why this goal is essential for eliminating poverty. Howwill this help the development of countries? Further, how is meeting this goal significant for the already developed countries? The goal chosen is to achieve universal primary education. This goal is essential in eliminating poverty because education paves the way for progress. “Studies have shown that education is correlated with poverty, inequality and economic growth” (Bruns, Mingat and Rakotomalala 1).

According to a study by the World Bank, “education is fundamental for the construction of globally competitive economies and democratic societies” (Bruns, Mingat and Rakotomalala 1). Primary education will help the development of countries because it helps develop and improve the essential human learning and life skills which are necessary for gainful employment and productivity, which on the other hand are important for economic progress (Bruns, Mingat and Rakotomalala 2). This goal is still significant for developed countries because while most of the children in the urban areas are already given primary education, those in the rural or remote places many not have the same opportunity.

Furthermore, the more educated people there are in other countries, the more the global economy improves, which affects all countries of the world whether they be underdeveloped, developing or developed.Part 2- How successful are we globally in meeting this goal? What are the victories or concerns laid out in the discussion provided on the website? What statistics or evidence do they use to support these conclusions? Based on the facts given by UNDP, the pace of progress is insufficient since in 2009 not all boys and girls are in primary schooling, as evidenced by data on the sub-Saharan African countries alone, where at least one of four children are not enrolled in 2008 (United Nations Development Programme , par 3).

The concerns presented are the high drop-out rates among the children, that is, in the sub-Saharan Africa, more than 30 per cent of the children drop out before reaching a final grade (United Nations Development Programme , par 4). Another major concern is the lack of teachers and classrooms (United Nations Development Programme , par 5).Part 3- Discuss the data that you have been reviewing. What sorts of measures are they recording? How does this tie into the goal? What do the overall trends suggest?

How does this compare to the conclusions discussed in part 2 of your homework? The measures that they are recording are the “net enrollment ratio in primary education, proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach last grade of primary and the literacy rate of 15-24 year olds, women and men” (United Nations Statistics Division 1). These measures indicate whether the goal of achieving universal primary education is being met. The overall trend suggests that there is insufficient progress to reach the target if the current trend continues (United Nations 17).

The trends are compatible with the conclusions in Part 2 because they both show that the goal might not be met by 2015.Part 4- If you look at a specific country or countries, how well do they match the overall trends? Are there any discrepancies in the data? If so, why might this be? If one looks at the trend in the sub-Saharan Africa region, one observes that the net enrollment ratio of the region has gained 18-percentage points from 1999 to 2009, better than the overall trend of 7-percentage point (United Nations 17).

Yes, there is a discrepancy in the data due to factors present in the different regions such as abolition of school fees or due to conflicts present in the poor countries or the lack of qualified teachers in the region (United Nations 17).Part 5- Do you think the data tells the whole story here? If yes, why? If not, what other evidence might you like to see in support of the UNDP’s conclusions? I do not think that the data tells the whole story because it does not show exactly how many new enrollees are there per year, per gender and per age.

Factors which affect enrollment were not included in the research. Other evidence that one might see to support UNDP’s conclusions are the reasons why the children drop out of school even prior to completing primary education. Information about how much funding does the governments of each region allocate to free primary education will make one understand better why not all the children get access to primary education. Data on the possible barriers to getting a primary education must be gathered because once these are addressed, enrollment might be expected to rise.

The barriers per region must be identified so appropriate solutions are undertaken on a per region basis.Works CitedBruns, Barbara, Alain Mingat and Ramahatra Rakotomalala. "Achieving universal primary education by 2015: A chance for every child." 2003. siteresources.worldbank.org. 30 January 2012 .United Nations Development Programme. "Where do we stand?" n.d. beta.undp.org Web site. 30 January 2012 .United Nations Statistics Division. "Official list of MDG indicators." 15 January 2008. mdgs.un.org. 31 January 2012 .

United Nations. "The Millennium development goals report 2011." 2011. mdgs.un.org Web site. 30 January 2012 .