Latest news with #EconomicCommissionforLatinAmericaandtheCaribbean
Miami Herald
6 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
School dropout rate reaches 27% across Latin America
June 4 (UPI) -- Latin America is facing an escalating education crisis as school dropout rates continue to climb, affecting not only the region's poorest countries but also those with historically strong public education systems, such as Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay. In Argentina, despite its educational potential, nearly 40% of the population -- about 17.9 million people -- lives in poverty, a factor that directly impacts school attendance and completion. Statistics show that roughly 160 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are of school age -- nearly a quarter of the region's total population. About half of them do not complete their education, and many are considering leaving their home countries for the United States, Spain or other developed nations in search of better opportunities. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and other international organizations have warned that the region's dropout crisis poses a serious threat to its development. A report by the Inter-American Development Bank found that 27% of students drop out before completing their education. UNESCO estimates that around 23 million children and teenagers in the region are not enrolled in school. Countries with the lowest dropout rates include Chile (7%), Peru (10%) and Bolivia (16%). The highest rates are in Guatemala (57%), Honduras (53%) and Uruguay (37%). Venezuela's rate is estimated at 27%, while Paraguay and Ecuador report dropout rates of 32% and 28%, respectively. In Mexico, more than 4 million children and teenagers are not in school, and another 600,000 are at risk of dropping out, according to a UNICEF report. The problem becomes more pronounced with age: three in 10 teens aged 15 to 17 are no longer attending school. ECLAC attributes part of the crisis to extended school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, which lasted more than 70 weeks on average. These interruptions severely disrupted schooling and widened existing inequalities, particularly at the secondary level. Experts agree that school dropout is a multifaceted issue. While the pandemic worsened the situation, studies show the trend predates COVID-19 and is rooted in deep structural problems. Contributing factors include poverty, single-parent or broken families and low parental education levels, all of which push many students to leave school to work or care for family members. Teenage pregnancy is another key factor. Other factors are student disengagement, lack of motivation, disruptive classroom environments and the inability of youth to see education as a path to a better future. Drug use and recruitment by drug trafficking gangs further undermine student retention. Although less prevalent today, the traditional lack of value placed on technical education in the region has also contributed to the problem. Stronger connections between vocational training and the job market could provide a path forward for many young people. Early school dropout significantly undermines economic development across Latin America. Young people who leave school early are less likely to find formal, stable or well-paying jobs, leading to a less skilled workforce and lower productivity. This, in turn, slows national economic growth, reduces competitiveness and hampers innovation. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
School dropout rate reaches 27% across Latin America
June 4 (UPI) -- Latin America is facing an escalating education crisis as school dropout rates continue to climb, affecting not only the region's poorest countries but also those with historically strong public education systems, such as Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay. In Argentina, despite its educational potential, nearly 40% of the population -- about 17.9 million people -- lives in poverty, a factor that directly impacts school attendance and completion. Statistics show that roughly 160 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are of school age -- nearly a quarter of the region's total population. About half of them do not complete their education, and many are considering leaving their home countries for the United States, Spain or other developed nations in search of better opportunities. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and other international organizations have warned that the region's dropout crisis poses a serious threat to its development. A report by the Inter-American Development Bank found that 27% of students drop out before completing their education. UNESCO estimates that around 23 million children and teenagers in the region are not enrolled in school. Countries with the lowest dropout rates include Chile (7%), Peru (10%) and Bolivia (16%). The highest rates are in Guatemala (57%), Honduras (53%) and Uruguay (37%). Venezuela's rate is estimated at 27%, while Paraguay and Ecuador report dropout rates of 32% and 28%, respectively. In Mexico, more than 4 million children and teenagers are not in school, and another 600,000 are at risk of dropping out, according to a UNICEF report. The problem becomes more pronounced with age: three in 10 teens aged 15 to 17 are no longer attending school. ECLAC attributes part of the crisis to extended school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, which lasted more than 70 weeks on average. These interruptions severely disrupted schooling and widened existing inequalities, particularly at the secondary level. Experts agree that school dropout is a multifaceted issue. While the pandemic worsened the situation, studies show the trend predates COVID-19 and is rooted in deep structural problems. Contributing factors include poverty, single-parent or broken families and low parental education levels, all of which push many students to leave school to work or care for family members. Teenage pregnancy is another key factor. Other factors are student disengagement, lack of motivation, disruptive classroom environments and the inability of youth to see education as a path to a better future. Drug use and recruitment by drug trafficking gangs further undermine student retention. Although less prevalent today, the traditional lack of value placed on technical education in the region has also contributed to the problem. Stronger connections between vocational training and the job market could provide a path forward for many young people. Early school dropout significantly undermines economic development across Latin America. Young people who leave school early are less likely to find formal, stable or well-paying jobs, leading to a less skilled workforce and lower productivity. This, in turn, slows national economic growth, reduces competitiveness and hampers innovation.
UPI
6 days ago
- Business
- UPI
School dropout rate reaches 27% across Latin America
June 4 (UPI) -- Latin America is facing an escalating education crisis as school dropout rates continue to climb, affecting not only the region's poorest countries but also those with historically strong public education systems, such as Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay. In Argentina, despite its educational potential, nearly 40% of the population -- about 17.9 million people -- lives in poverty, a factor that directly impacts school attendance and completion. Statistics show that roughly 160 million people in Latin America and the Caribbean are of school age -- nearly a quarter of the region's total population. About half of them do not complete their education, and many are considering leaving their home countries for the United States, Spain or other developed nations in search of better opportunities. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean and other international organizations have warned that the region's dropout crisis poses a serious threat to its development. A report by the Inter-American Development Bank found that 27% of students drop out before completing their education. UNESCO estimates that around 23 million children and teenagers in the region are not enrolled in school. Countries with the lowest dropout rates include Chile (7%), Peru (10%) and Bolivia (16%). The highest rates are in Guatemala (57%), Honduras (53%) and Uruguay (37%). Venezuela's rate is estimated at 27%, while Paraguay and Ecuador report dropout rates of 32% and 28%, respectively. In Mexico, more than 4 million children and teenagers are not in school, and another 600,000 are at risk of dropping out, according to a UNICEF report. The problem becomes more pronounced with age: three in 10 teens aged 15 to 17 are no longer attending school. ECLAC attributes part of the crisis to extended school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic, which lasted more than 70 weeks on average. These interruptions severely disrupted schooling and widened existing inequalities, particularly at the secondary level. Experts agree that school dropout is a multifaceted issue. While the pandemic worsened the situation, studies show the trend predates COVID-19 and is rooted in deep structural problems. Contributing factors include poverty, single-parent or broken families and low parental education levels, all of which push many students to leave school to work or care for family members. Teenage pregnancy is another key factor. Other factors are student disengagement, lack of motivation, disruptive classroom environments and the inability of youth to see education as a path to a better future. Drug use and recruitment by drug trafficking gangs further undermine student retention. Although less prevalent today, the traditional lack of value placed on technical education in the region has also contributed to the problem. Stronger connections between vocational training and the job market could provide a path forward for many young people. Early school dropout significantly undermines economic development across Latin America. Young people who leave school early are less likely to find formal, stable or well-paying jobs, leading to a less skilled workforce and lower productivity. This, in turn, slows national economic growth, reduces competitiveness and hampers innovation.
Daily News Egypt
03-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily News Egypt
ECLAC Forum in Chile to Assess Latin America and Caribbean's Progress on Sustainable Development Goals
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is hosting a high-level forum at its headquarters in Santiago, Chile, from 31 March to 4 April. The forum aims to evaluate the region's progress towards achieving the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. ECLAC Executive Secretary Jose Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, Peru's Deputy Foreign Minister Felix Denegri, and senior UN officials, including Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, will deliver speeches at the event. Prensa Latina, a partner of TV BRICS, reported on the forum. The sustainable development programme, adopted in 2015, aims to eliminate poverty, improve healthcare and education, and reduce inequality. A new report will be presented at the forum, highlighting the region's advancements and challenges, particularly in health, gender equality, and economic growth. The report will also address obstacles to achieving faster progress. High-level attendees include foreign ministers from Bolivia and Antigua and Barbuda, as well as Chilean ministers responsible for social development, health, and women's issues. Barbados will be represented by officials responsible for housing and social empowerment.
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Latin American women opt against motherhood in shift from traditional gender roles
By Maria Paula Laguna and Sarah Morland MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A growing number of Latin American women are choosing not to give birth in a radical departure from the traditional family roles that have long dominated in the region. Latin America and the Caribbean has experienced the most dramatic decline in birth rates of any region globally since 1950, according to data from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (CEPAL). As in South Korea, this has raised fears of an ageing population that burdens the taxpayer. But it also reflects how women are turning away from deeply-ingrained expectations of motherhood, in part because of a lack of state support and in part because they are prioritizing their own careers and livelihoods. Mexican property manager Iran Sosa founded the Nunca Madres (Never Mothers) global online community for Spanish-speaking women in 2021 with Isabel Cortes, a Colombian commodities trader, to address a lack of space where Latinas could discuss social issues and cultural taboos regarding decisions about motherhood. "When I was a little girl, the only representation I had of women who were not mothers were bitter, single, Disney stereotypes, the childless witch with no family who is abandoned and thrown away," Sosa said. "Representation is always important, so we can imagine different futures and different choices." She said many of the group's members say they feel pressured into motherhood, with relatives warning them they would regret the decision not to have children and would have no one to look after them as they grow old. "People come with many fears," she said. "But how else can you make this decision, but from a place of love?" As well as an online space, Nunca Madres runs workshops where people - including mothers - share information and advice on how their decisions have affected their lives, from societal stigma to workplace discrimination to personal finance. "There is still a lot of taboo around that decision," said Cortes. "It depends on your social circle but generally it is very deeply rooted in our culture that woman equals mother." There is little global data on why women choose not to have children, but a Pew Research survey of U.S. adults last year found 57% of respondents under 50 who said they were unlikely to have children gave as a reason that they just didn't want to, 38% were concerned about the state of the world and 36% couldn't afford it. At Nunca Madres, Sosa said economic concerns were the top reason women gave, including the risk of losing their jobs or freezing career prospects, alongside the massive and often heavily lopsided unpaid labor of raising a child. Climate change, which is contributing to worsening natural disasters in the region, came next. Women questioned the wisdom of raising children in places where water is being rationed. Lucero Sanchez, a Mexican doctor who had decided when she was 16 that she did not want children, told Reuters that adult women seeking sterilization are routinely told by medical practitioners they are too young and will regret it, while teens who get pregnant are rarely told they are too young to have babies. "The biggest challenge is society," she said. "You are constantly being invited to make a different decision or your decision is being questioned as invalid." 'AGAINST GOD, AGAINST THE FAMILY' Activists have warned that a political pushback in the United States against many hard-won rights - including abortion, access to contraception, and sex education in schools - is spilling over across the region. Argentina's President Javier Milei has cut funding for sex education, contraception and abortion pills - just a few years after the procedure was made legal. He told the United Nations in September that policies around reproductive rights were "ridiculous" given shrinking birth rates in Western countries. In El Salvador, President Nayib Bukele has cracked down on a broad-ranging set of "gender ideology" policies that he has described as "against God and against the family." Those include sex education and access to contraception, say women's rights groups. El Salvador, which is overwhelmingly Catholic, already has a total ban and severe penalties for abortion. Andressa Cavalcante, a Brazilian family medic, said joining a group like Nunca Madres helped her feel "less like an alien." "Living in a country with a largely Christian-based culture that values the traditional family and considers the concept of having children as an act of faith, I often refrain from expressing my decision or opinion on the subject," she said. Cavalcante is now donating her eggs to women and LGBTQ+ couples who cannot have children. While birth rates have shrunk globally since contraceptives became widely available in the 1960s, experts at CEPAL and UN Women have attributed the steeper Latin American decline to a failure by authorities to tackle domestic violence and provide support for prospective mothers. In Europe policies such as free early childcare and paternity leave have had some success in boosting birth rates, but there are few such policies across Latin America, according to Martina Yopo, a sociologist at Chile's Pontifical Catholic University. Meanwhile, more women have been joining the workforce. The percentage of women in Latin America and the Caribbean in the labor force rose 8.8 percentage points to 51.3% between 1990 and 2023, according to the World Bank, even as they continue to shoulder the bulk of unpaid domestic and care work. More support from governments in terms of social and healthcare security would help Latin American women as their roles shift, said Sosa. "It's about autonomy," she said. "They need to recognize that we exist, and not only that, but many more generations of girls are growing up and making the same decisions."
