The EFA 'doctors'

UNESCO has set up mobile teams of experts to assist countries in developing their EFA action plans. The teams will be composed of specialists in areas of expertise required by the countries concerned, ranging from educational planners to experts in girls' education or in linguistic diversity. Each team will be co-ordinated by a UNESCO office and will cover two to three countries*. So far, sixteen countries have been designated to benefit from these teams.

"Technical work is being neglected in many countries," says Gwang-Chol Chang of UNESCO's Division of Educational Policies and Strategies. "Some EFA plans remain at the level of policy statements and don't include budgetary requirements or implementation strategies."

A UNESCO survey in 2001 showed that a majority of developing countries have weak educational planning systems and require assistance in drawing up their action plans (see interview with Simon Ellis on page 9).

The mobile teams are funded by a Norwegian grant of $600,000. UNESCO
is currently approaching other donors to help other needy countries complete their action plans by end of 2002.

*Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haïti, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Korea DPR, Mongolia, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tajikistan, Thailand and Yemen

Contact: Gwang-Chol Chang, Division of Educational Policies and Strategies
E-mail: gc.chang@unesco.org

Much more on www.unesco.org/education/efa

Education Today, Executive Office, Education Sector, UNESCO
7, place de Fontenoy - 75352 Paris 07 SP - France - Tel: 33 1 45 68 21 27 - Fax: 33 1 45 68 56 26/27
E:mail: t.murtagh@unesco.org