A lack of equal access to education is one of the main causes of social inequality in Colombia, said the United Nations’ Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO) on Monday.
In a recent report called “Education for all,” UNESCO highlighted that the rapid growth of Colombia exposes existing inequality in social status, ethnicity and gender, which is fuelled largely by a lack of access to education, particularly in rural areas.
According to the 2012 edition of the report, Colombia has “a good adult literacy rate, but a low percentage of education among children and a particularly low index of continuing studies.”
From the beginning of school age, 42% of children from the poorest households start late where as only 11% are delayed from some of the wealthier households.
From then on into high school the gap worsens in that the vast majority of affluent households have access to education while only half of the students from families in poverty attend.
“Colombia has been one of the fastest growing countries in Latin America, but growth is volatile, affected by conflict and discrimination,” the report said, going on to hint that the rapid growth of Colombia has left some of its poorer citizens behind and thus access to education is much harder for some.