Introduction
What are the targets?
Why are the targets important?
Are the targets achievable?
How will progress be measured?
1.1 The elimination of poverty and progress towards sustainable development will only take place with increased and improved levels of education. The commitment of the international community to this end has been reaffirmed on many occasions1 but for millions of the world’s poorest people, Education for All remains an unfulfilled commitment.
1 For example, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights (1948); the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989); the World Conference on Education for All (1990); the Beijing Declaration (1995); and the Copenhagen Declaration (1996) which set the two international education targets.1.2 This paper is a contribution to dialogue and action on how to achieve Universal Primary Education (UPE) and the elimination of gender disparities in schooling - two internationally agreed development targets2 that were reaffirmed recently at the World Education Forum in Senegal3.
2 OECD (1996), Development Assistance Strategy. Paris: OECD.3 World Education Forum (2000), The Dakar Framework for Action. Education for All: Meeting Our Collective Commitments.
1.3 The International Development Targets encompass the expansion of educational opportunity for all children. They are:
· Universal Primary Education4 in all countries by the year 20151.4 One sixth of the world’s population is unable to read and write. Over 20% of school age children, two thirds of them girls, do not benefit from primary education -within formal schools or elsewhere. Children who do attend school often fail to achieve literacy, let alone develop broader skills and values. This is a huge impediment to sustainable development and is a denial of fundamental human rights.· Progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women demonstrated by eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 20055
4 Universal meaning inclusiveness and equality of opportunity; Primary meaning a basic level of education (not necessarily through formal schooling), and an essential requirement for further learning; and Education meaning an effective process of learning which develops the skills, knowledge and attitudes required to realise the full potential of every child.5 Gender equally in education - equal opportunities for girls and boys to learn, achieve and contribute.
1.5 At the World Education Forum, the international community reaffirmed its collective commitment to the achievement of the international targets. It elaborated the targets to emphasise the importance of inclusion, equity and quality.
· Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to - and complete - free and compulsory primary education of good quality.1.6 The two international education targets do not represent the totality of individual and national aspirations, needs and goals6. Education for All includes adults as well as young people. Literacy and the acquisition of new skills are important for the elimination of poverty and for enabling poor people to reap the potential benefits of globalisation. Nevertheless, UPE is the first priority for widening the life chances of those who live in poverty, an absolute precondition for sustainable development and, an essential step on the ladder of lifelong learning.· Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to, and achievement in, basic education of good quality.
· Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence for all, so that recognised and measurable learning outcomes are achieved, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.
6 The Dakar Framework for Action set three other Education for All goals:· Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.· Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes.
· Achieving a 50% improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.
1.7 Education is at the heart of development. The countries which have made the greatest progress in reducing poverty in recent decades are those which have combined effective and equitable investment in education with sound economic policies. Education enables people to use and extend their capabilities, develop skills, improve their livelihoods and increase their earning potential. And it also empowers them to participate in decision-making and in the transformation of their lives and societies. Education is central to the achievement of greater equality in society, including between men and women.
1.8 Investment in education for girls has been shown consistently to be one of the most important determinants of development, with positive implications for all other measures of progress. World Bank research7 has demonstrated that education increases the likelihood of women choosing to have smaller, healthier families and deciding to send their own children to school.
7 For example: Hill, M. A. & King, E. M. (1993; 1995).1.9 Education contributes significantly to the improvement of health by enhancing peoples’ capacity to care for their own health and that of their families, and to make more effective use of health services. Good primary education can help to foster agricultural innovation and improve the capacity of people to make use of their environment in a sustainable way.
1.10 The processes by which education can effect such changes are complex. It must involve a meaningful learning process which develops not only literacy and numeracy, but also life skills and the capacity to think and to reflect. Education should encourage initiative, flexibility and adaptability, the personal qualities which are conducive to greater empowerment, behavioural change and access to a wider range of livelihood opportunities.
1.11 The human costs of failing to enable all people to realise the right to basic education on an equitable basis are incalculable. All other efforts to improve health and nutrition, address the causes and impact of HIV/AIDS, reduce infant, child and maternal mortality, enhance opportunities for more productive livelihoods and promote a civil society committed to democracy, good government and the achievement of other fundamental rights, are undermined. Inequitable access or discriminatory practice contribute to social polarisation.
1.12 The importance of education to individual, community and national development is reflected in its recognition as a human right. The right to a primary education is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948: Article 26) which states that at least in the elementary and fundamental stages education should be free. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989: Article 28) makes it clear that it is national governments or States Parties which are responsible, on the basis of equal opportunity, for making primary education compulsory and free for all. UPE contributes to the progressive realisation of other rights while progress towards gender equality in schooling sharpens the wider focus on women’s rights as human rights.
1.13 Declarations on the goal of UPE have been made as long ago as the 1960s, with an initial target date of 19808. A later target of UPE by the year 2000 was set within the World Declaration on Education for All in Jomtien in 1990. Globally, 80 million more children were in school at the end of the decade than in 1990, but approximately 113 million children are still denied the opportunity of a primary education.9 (Annex 1). The decline in enrolments in sub-Saharan Africa during the 1980s has been arrested but economic decline, conflicts across the region and the impact of HIV/AIDS on children and education systems are major threats to the achievement of UPE. There has been some progress towards greater gender equality at school although in sub-Saharan Africa recent evidence suggests that the gender gap has widened slightly since 199010, where household labour, early marriage, unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases continue to threaten schooling.
8 UNESCO World Regional Conferences on Education Karachi (1960), Addis Ababa (1961), Santiago (1962) and Tripoli (1966).1.14 Nonetheless, UPE is achievable if the lessons of the past are learned, and provided governments, with civil society and the support of the wider international community, take appropriate and urgent action. A business as usual approach will fail to meet the target. A more strategic approach is required; one which recognises the centrality of education within wider development policies and gives it strong political backing together with appropriate resource priority.9 International Consultative Forum on Education for All (2000) Statistical Document: Education for All 2000 Assesment. Paris: UNESCO.
10 Hyde, K. (1999), Trends in Girls’ Education in sub-Saharan Africa 1990-2000: What Have We Learned?, A paper presented for UNICEF at the Sub-Saharan Africa Conference on Education for All 2000; Johannesburg, South Africa.
1.15 The question of what it would cost to achieve UPE, and whether governments can afford it, is difficult. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)11 and some international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have estimated that to meet the UPE target, national governments and funding agencies need to find an additional US$7-8 billion annually. This is an approach which assumes that the problem is a lack of resources per se rather than national political commitment. In reality, sustained progress is only possible with strong political commitment at the country level and a clear recognition of the very different costs of providing education in different countries. The important message is that all governments can afford UPE if they choose to give it priority, and if they make effective use of their own resources, and if funding agencies deliver on their commitment, made in Dakar, that no country seriously committed to Education for All will be thwarted for lack of resources12.
11 UNICEF (1998), State of the World’s Children. New York: UNICEF.1.16 Progress can be made towards greater gender equality, although achieving the 2005 target will be problematic in many countries. Recent global figures from the World Bank13 estimate that girls will make up 47% of combined primary and secondary gross enrolment by 2005. This will demonstrate significant progress. Placing a gender target ahead of UPE is strategically advantageous. It focuses attention and effort on tackling gender disparities, the benefits of which will serve to reinforce efforts to achieve UPE.12 World Education Forum (2000), The Dakar Framework for Action. Education for All: Meeting Our Collective Commitments.
13 World Bank (1999), Poverty Trends and Voices of the Poor. Washington: World Bank.
Monitoring progress is an integral part of achieving the targets
1.17 There are three main indicators14 for UPE and two for gender equality (Table 1). These have been agreed by the international community as minimum benchmarks for the monitoring of progress at the global level, and, by extension, for assessing the performance of governments and agencies. This has been difficult in the past because of lack of timely, reliable figures. The development of national and international capacity to collect and analyse data is critical. Each country needs to be able to assess its own progress and identify trends in order to be able to concentrate its efforts on the most effective strategies. Good data is also essential to improve accountability, particularly of governments to their citizens, and of agencies to the taxpayers who fund them.
14 OECD (1998), Methodological Note. Paris.1.18 The international indicators need to be supplemented at the level of country planning, particularly to inform judgements on quality and participation. Country and context specific indicators and benchmarks are needed, especially in relation to measurable learning outcomes.
|
Table 1 UPE and gender equality indicators UPE by 2015 · Net enrolment rates of
99% by 2015 · Completion rates of 99%
by 2015 · Literacy rates of 15-24
year olds of 100% by 2015 Progress towards gender equality and the empowerment of women demonstrated by eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005 · Ratio of girls to boys
in primary and secondary education of 50: 50 by 2005 (equal
participation) · Ratio of literate
females to males (15-24 year olds) of 100% by 2015 |
