Women in Parliament Tackle Problems of Male Students
Published: 06.02.2012 13:20
Photo: Postimees/Scanpix
The parliamentary Women’s Assembly will meet on February 7 to discuss in depth the shortcomings in the nation’s education system which affect young men in particular.
For every 100 Estonian men, there are now around 250 women having higher education - a gap inordinately wide, said Heljo Pikof, chairwoman of the assembly.
Another problem is that 12 to 14 percent of Estonian youths never receive an education beyond the lower secondary level, she said, while the dropout rate in grade schools is also much higher among boys.
One of the questions up for debate will be the accordance between modern realities and expectations that the society and schools have of men, Pikhof said. Measures that would work towards a gradual reduction of the dropout rate at the junior secondary level below the EU target of 1 percent, and ensure more gender-balanced intake for the universities, will also be on the agenda.
Representatives of the Women's Associations Roundtable, Riina Kütt and gender equality expert Ülle-Merike Papi, will talk about international experience with gender-sensitive education policies.
The parliamentary Women's Assembly was founded in September 2011 and comprises all 20 women MPs in the 101-seat legislature.
Ingrid Teesalu