Gebre-Egziabher, K.A. (2016), “Education and Development: Females’ Education and Fertility Reduction in Africa: The Case of Tigray, Ethiopia,” International Journal of African Renaissance Studies: Multi-, Inter-, and Transdisciplinarity, 11(2), pp. 102–117.
The study explored the role of women’s literacy status and educational attainment in the population dynamics process, focusing on the decline in fertility levels in Tigrays, with the objective of identifying specific intervention areas that would improve the wellbeing of women. The paper used primary data collected from the field through semi-structured and formal survey methods and a series of group discussions. Out of the 1500 households covered in this survey, females between the ages of 15 and 49 and males between the ages of 18 and 65 were randomly selected.
It is argued that women in Ethiopia play significant roles as food producers, resource managers, wage earners, and caretakers of household food and nutrition security. Giving women access to both physical and human resources could help boost agricultural productivity, just as more education and advancements for women could help reduce child malnutrition, improve women’s health, and boost societal welfare. According to the study’s findings, only 46.5% of respondents were literate, while the remaining 53.5% were not. Males appear to have a higher literacy rate than females. The findings indicate that, of those interviewed, 57.9% of men and 38.9% of women were literate, while the remaining 42.1% of men and 61.1% of women were not. The other finding indicated that respondents’ levels of literacy appeared to be correlated with their marital status. Only 5.4% of those who were illiterate and 24.8% of those who could read and write had never been married. According to studies, education is one of the most important socioeconomic factors that affect a person’s behaviour and attitude. In general, a woman’s knowledge of using healthcare centres, family planning techniques, and her children’s health increases with her level of education.
According to the study’s findings, women who have more education have fewer children overall. The study’s findings make it clear that female education is linked to a later age at first marriage, lower mortality rates, better health, and high participation in decision-making at the household and community levels, leading to the conclusion that education is a crucial factor in advancing women’s status. The paper makes the suggestion that both governmental and non-governmental organisations work to reduce fertility because it will be very strategically important for these groups and development agents to invest in women’s literacy programmes and the general improvement of female participation in the educational system.