Education is a fundamental aspect of human development that plays a crucial role in personal, societal, and global progress. Completion of secondary education can pave a smooth transition from early childhood to adulthood, preparing children for tertiary education and the formal job market as well as building human capital of economies. Historically, girls have suffered from unequal access to education at all levels globally. Over time, gender parity has been more widely achieved in primary and lower secondary school in most countries but, the same has not been true at upper secondary school.

Not very long ago, girls of upper-secondary age (15-17) in East Asia and the Pacific also faced disparities in access to education. In 1998, approximately half of the girls of this cohort in the region were out of school compared to a little more than one third of the boys as illustrated in the graph below with regional average of 31 countries with available data. The dynamic region has achieved significant strides in reducing the proportion of girls of this age group who were out of school. Regrettably, taking a closer look at the trends and projections in the graph from the Child Atlas below reveal concerning patterns for boys of upper secondary school age more than girls.

Ideally, both groups of children should have experienced a decline in out of school rates and the decline for girls should have been steeper to catch up and converge with the decline in boys to achieve gender balance. Instead, we observe near convergence of the trend lines of the two groups briefly since 2004, led by a decline in the proportion of out of school girls and a rise in the proportion of out of school boys. However, the two groups started diverging slowly again and by 2020 the difference between them was similar to the difference back in 1998 (8 to 9 percentage points). Overall, between 1998 and 2000, the rate of girls fell by 29 percentage points compared to only a 12-percentage point fall in the rate for boys. Consequently, in 2020 gender imbalance had intertwined, shifting the burden from girls to boys, with 23% boys of upper-secondary school-age out of school compared to 15% girls.

It is important to recall that regional averages conceal variations within the region, as well as the enduring disparities among various groups of children at the sub-national level within countries. These inequalities within East Asia and the Pacific can be observed by looking at data disaggregated by gender, residence, and wealth quintile in individual country pages of the Child Atlas. The constraints boys face result from an interplay of these dimensions along with other factors like cultural roles and expectations and education laws in the country. In about 9 countries with available data, compulsory education ends at the age of 15 and below. This contributes to higher dropout rates and is particularly true for boys from lower-income households who face a significant opportunity cost of continuing their education instead of entering the labor market.

Let's for instance look at the inequalities in Thailand, which alongside Kiribati, Fiji and Samoa have some of the highest gender differences above 10 percentage points in the proportion of children of upper secondary school age who are out of school. The figure below shows huge gaps between the richest and poorest children (3% vs 33%), followed by high gender gaps (11% girls vs 25% boys) and comparatively lower differences among urban-rural residence of children (16% in urban areas vs 20% in rural areas).

Researchers have identified that school enrollment and boys' underachievement can be attributed to various classroom-related factors such as learning abilities, skills, behavior, prior learning experiences, and attitudes toward learning. Additionally, internal influencing factors encompass aspects like self-perception, ethical conduct, disposition, attitudes toward relationships and behavior, as well as external factors, including expectations for further education and the influence of the social environment. Moreover, the country's education law imposes compulsory schooling until the age of 15, which does not encourage enough boys to stay longer in school and complete upper secondary education.

The projections till 2030 show that progress will be slow in East Asia and the Pacific. All boys and girls of upper secondary school age who are out of school will neither be in school by 2030 nor will the differences between them be eliminated by the end of the decade. While it is important to recognise the efforts made towards securing education for more girls, the global community should accelerate progress further with a focus on boys to ensure equitable and prosperous societies in the region. Moreover, limited research on boys' educational inequalities in East Asia and the Pacific demands increased attention from the academic and research community.