INTRODUCTION and BACKGROUND

See References for Image Citations

Overview

My Social Justice project is about Poverty and Education. The poor are left behind, especially in the second and third world countries. I come from Vietnam, one of the second world countries in the world, a word used to describe the countries that are more economically developed than third-world countries, where lots of poverty exist in the society. Lack of education is what holds these countries back from growing and developing. However, lots of people still do not understand the importance of education. Hence, I want to educate everyone, especially the Vietnamese, to know the power of education in order to change the poverty situation of the country. Also, I want to investigate this issue to understand all the root causes and find a solution to help Vietnam be a better place as it is worth its true value.

What is education?

Education is the freedom, the opportunities to change lives for the poor, the stepping stone for the new generation to grow, and the human basic right that every citizen of any country deserves. Education is not only about books, words, or numbers but it’s also about skills, behavior, values, and belief formation. It is a recipe for a civilized and strongly developed society.

Who is able to access education?

Can everyone access education? No. Children from a comfortable income family can easily access quality education, but not poor children.

Why do poor children not have access to quality education?

• Low family income:

➡ Children have to work to support family ➡ Do not have enough time to study.

➡ Can not afford tuition: uniform, books, other supplies.

• Poor financial support from the government

• Location: poor families usually reside in areas difficult to access. Teachers are more focused on teaching in cities since they get a higher salary.

The State of Education in Vietnam?

• Primary education is free

• Middle school and high school are not free (neither public nor private)

• Few finanacial supports / scholarships are provided

• In Vietnam, most of the time teachers and parents value students who get high scores in exams instead of developing children’s creative and intellectual abilities. To get good grades for each exam students have to be trained a lot, so parents usually let their children take extra classes after school, and these classes are expensive. So even if the poor children get to receive a higher education, they will still not afford those extra classes and will be at a disadvantage to other classmates.

Why do poor parents have low income?

“In Vietnam, poor people are defined as those who earn up to VND 700,000 ($31) a month in rural areas and VND 900,000 ($40) in cities.”

• Do not have diploma ➡ Can not apply for a stable job.

What is the effect of poverty on society in general and on each individual in particular?

On society:

• Creates cycle of oppression.

• Hinders development of the country.

• Creates society's vices such as ‌selling‌ ‌drugs,‌ ‌stealing,‌ ‌violence since their lack knowledge about laws.

On each individual:

• People had less or no opportunities to escape from poverty.

• Dignity and human rights being violated.

• Mistaken ideological beliefs have limited people’s talent and development.

How can education change a country, a generation, and a life?

• Decrease injustices in society:

➡ Acknowledge the laws so that people will understand the sentence they would receive if they do wrong things.

• End poverty cycle.

➡ Increase job rate:

➡ As the country's economy is growing, there are more needs in life. However, the illiterate can only apply for labor job with a low payment. Therefore once they are taught to read, to write they can afford a degree from college and get higher payment job.

➡ Increase pay for labor jobs.

• Improve people's quality of life:

➡ More civilized community

• New generation is the future leaders of the country ➡ Education will improve their judgment & policies