SINGAPORE, Jan 29: DHL, the world's leading logistics company, recently commissioned a report looking into out-of-school children in Asia, and the effect this has had on those economies.
A Way Back to School shows Asia could be losing nearly US$34 billion per year in GDP due to children dropping out of school. The report supports the company's GoTeach programme which delivers a range of educational and vocational opportunities to young people in disadvantaged communities in seven Asia Pacific countries, says a press statement of Media OutReach.
According to the report, some of Asia's fastest-growing economies may struggle to reach their full potential due to high rates of out-of-school children, with some countries deprived of up to 2.0 per cent of their GDP as a result.
Out-of-school rates in all seven countries -- Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam -- rose exponentially as children grew older, with at least one in every three children dropping out of school by upper secondary-age.
"While everyone recognises the social importance of keeping children in school, the economic costs of failing to do so may come as a shock to many," said Christof Ehrhart, Executive Vice President of Corporate Communications and Responsibility, Deutsche Post DHL Group.
"The Asia Pacific region cannot rely on its rapid economic growth to automatically improve social outcomes like school retention. Although India's economy is growing at around 7.0 per cent per annum, nearly 20 percent of its children exit school before secondary level, while Indonesia -- where economic growth has helped halve poverty levels since 1999 -- still sees one in five students drop out of school by lower secondary age."
The report's findings suggest that poverty remains the most common cause of children exiting school before completion, typically to provide additional sources of income for their families. Improving parental awareness of the benefits of completing secondary education -- which include wage premiums of up to nearly 45 per cent in some countries -- tend to result in higher rates of students staying in school than other traditional measures like grants and subsidies.
According to the report, schools catering to the special needs of low-income or disadvantaged students also contribute significantly to reducing out-of-school levels.
DHL's GoTeach programme operates in all the seven countries examined in the report, delivering a range of educational and vocational opportunities to young people in disadvantaged communities.
Working in partnership with global non-governmental organisation (NGO), Teach for All, GoTeach educational activities benefited nearly 11,000 children in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and the Philippines in 2017.
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