POVERTY HAS INHIBITED children in low-income homes from getting adequate education. The pandemic worsened the situation to such an extent that the United Nations calls it a “generational catastrophe” [1] , disruptive as it has been, of the learning process for more than 1.5 billion students globally.

This “generational catastrophe” amongst underprivileged students was almost immediately visible to members of Soroptimist International Penang (SIP), a global volunteer movement. It accentuated inequalities, especially affecting female students.

SIP has been working closely with schools, community groups and families to ease the situation. Through community engagement, partnerships, and conversations, SIP has always been looking for tangible ways to help those in need, and have found that grassroots activism is both effective and efficient. Through these efforts, SIP has been able to pinpoint the causes of the “generational catastrophe” among low-income families in Penang.

Periods and PCs

Results from the Kotex Period Poverty and Stigma study from 2022 revealed that one in two students do not want to go to school during their menstrual periods, with 5% of the respondents indicating that they could not afford sanitary pads. Instead, they would use batik cloths, old textiles and newspaper to manage. Others reported skipping school when menstruating. [2]

Skipping school means missing lessons. And missing lessons will make it difficult to keep up with the curriculum. When the children realise that it is too difficult to catch up with the rest and their examination results are far from satisfactory, they may start wondering why they should attend school at all.

As of now, are female students at risk of dropping out of school?

Yes.

Will these girls be denied access to equality in education in the coming years?

Yes.

Will this adversely affect these girls’ path to employment and decent living?

Yes.

From SIP’s viewpoint, this is a call for innovative projects to be developed to help underprivileged women and girls step into pathways that improve their livelihood and standard of living.

Another issue is the ownership of electronic devices for online learning. The generalisation of online schooling has created greater division and isolation for those without devices to access online classrooms. Some students suffer the added penalty of living in areas without digital coverage. This digital divide has and will continue to cause disparities in academic achievement.

SIP works closely with two local schools where more than 50% of the students come from B40 families and exhibit lower-than-average academic performance, besides showing high absenteeism rates. Most come from broken homes and underprivileged backgrounds, and a majority are girls.

Government initiatives to aid these students do not always effectively reach those who need it most: girls from underprivileged backgrounds.

SIP has been at the forefront of the GIRLS IN STEM project in the two schools. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is now central to Penang’s education objective to develop and nurture a technology workforce. SIP’s aim is to create awareness and spark interest in STEM. This will take time to establish but SIP is motivated to create a positive learning environment for girls aged between 12 and 13 and to plant that crucial first seed so a future in STEM becomes possible for them. SIP has also distributed reusable menstrual pads and educated the girls on how to use them; this is to minimise the need for them to skip school and weather their menses at home.

SIP’s core project, the Education Fund, provides grants to students to pursue higher education and vocational training. They are all from single-mother families and low-income households. To date, more than RM500,000 have been disbursed, and has aided 51 students who come from single-mother and low-income households. During the pandemic, SIP donated 51 laptops, 80 desktops, 47 iPads and 25 pocket Wi-Fi units to selected students. [3]

Moving Together

SIP is working to the best of its ability, but to bridge properly the educational gap between gender and social standing, all NGOs must act together. Indeed, there is no arguing that inequality in education exists everywhere in the world. But by working in partnership with the government and the corporate sector, these NGOs can identify measurable, achievable and tangible ways to impact one community at a time.

One of the most effective ways to start the ball rolling is through grassroots activism. It was obvious to people at SIP who saw how once the girls had received their laptops, they could immediately resume their schooling. Where internet access was an issue because they lived in remote areas, pocket Wi-Fi units allowed them to get connected instantly.

Corporate companies can also provide aid through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) projects, which would, in turn, align their company to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) that explicitly call for businesses to solve development challenges such as ending poverty, ensuring quality education and fighting for gender equality.

Education is not only a fundamental human right; it is a right which, in one way or another, affects the exercise of all other rights. The lack of equality in education affects the proper functioning of societies, starting with behavioural issues and social problems in schools—a vicious cycle that extends into adulthood, and into the next generation.

Footnotes

• [1] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report entitled “The State of School Education - one year into the COVID pandemic” (March 2021)

• [2] https://www.kotex.com.my/en-my/education/1-in-2-girls-report-wanting-to-skip-school-when-menstruating

• [3] https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2021/09/24/meeting-lockdown-needs