Amartya Sen is correct to point out the value
of basic education to economic and human development ("To
Build a Country, Build a Schoolhouse," Op-Ed, May 27). The United Nations' goal
of achieving universal basic education, though important, is
not ambitious enough.
Secondary education is also
essential if the benefits that Professor Sen describes, particularly for young
women, are to be realized. Evidence shows that secondary education postpones the
age of marriage and provides young women with better knowledge of their bodies
and the importance of family planning.
Secondary
education also provides young women with advanced skills necessary for narrowing
gender gaps in the labor force. More study is necessary to identify thresholds
at which additional years of education translate into specific health, economic
and demographic benefits.
The American Academy of Arts
and Sciences is assembling an international team of experts to undertake
this work. But we know enough to be sure that secondary education should not be
neglected.
MARTIN MALIN Cambridge,
Mass., May 29, 2002
The writer is staff director
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Project on Universal Basic and
Secondary Education.
Document 86 of 298. 