Worldwide Action in Education CO-OPERATION FOR DEVELOPMENT

UNESCO is committed to co-operating with its Member States in the development of education systems and human resources in general. Yet UNESCO is not a funding agency. Its own budget - based on contributions from its Member States - is lower than that of a medium-sized university in an industrialized country. Given the scope of UNESCO's programmes, the number of projects deserving support, and the urgency of the need in so many corners of the developing world, this money is no more than a drop in the ocean.

What can be done and what is being done ?

New Trends

Joint Programmes

Reconstruction of Education Systems

Emergency Action Scheme

Technical Co-operation in National Projects and
Co-operation between Developing Countries

UNESCO's Education Country Studies since 1991

THE MAGPLANED PROGRAMME

Table: UNESCO, 1990-1993 - Co-operation for development in Education

Graphs on UNESCO Co-operation for development in Education

New Trends

UNESCO acts as a catalyst. It can provide the initial impetus, assist in the exploration or diagnosis of the situation, facilitate the transition from knowledge to action. More than 5% of its education budget has been earmarked for advisory services and upstream activities to carry out sectoral and multisectoral analyses in Member States in order to identify and design projects for extrabudgetary funding support.

The operational action of the United Nations system is now directed primarily at intellectual activities such as sectoral analyses and the framing of policies, strategies and programmes at country level. For them to be consistent, relevant and effective, activities for development involving co-operation call for a logical approach which proceeds from research to analysis, then to policy formulation, and only subsequently to drawing up wide ranging education development programmes and to project identification and implementation.

Upstream planning prepares the way for concrete actions. UNESCO mobilizes support from both outside and inside the UN system for specific development projects in education. The Organization is supporting the development of national capacities for project identification and execution and is there for forging a new partnership with Member States where UNESCO concentrates on providing only those services which cannot be obtained nationally.

Joint Programmes

UNESCO also discharges its 'operational' function by helping to establish co-operation between States as well as between intellectual and scientific communities, ensuring the exchange of experience and the implementation of joint projects on a worldwide, regional and subregional basis. Important joint programmes between UNESCO and other United Nations agencies were set up or amplified following the Jomtien World Conference on Education for All (1990). In 1991, for example, UNESCO and UNICEF concluded a further co-operation agreement on two major joint projects, one on the development of indicators for following up the objectives of education for all, and the other on the analysis and dissemination of key innovations in basic education.

Reconstruction of Education Systems

This specific form of technical co-operation aims at contributing to the in-depth transformation of education systems in countries with expressed needs for changes. It concerns, in particular, countries in urgent need of reconstruction of their entire education systems, requiring support for the analysis and development of their policies and programmes, the conduct of other upstream activities and the redesign of their education systems. Priority is given to LDCs, countries in Africa and those undergoing socio-economic transformations. Resource needs are defined and donors brought into the partnership of reconstruction. UNESCO's assistance is designed to develop national capacities for policy analysis and formulation, particularly in the area of human resource development, and to involve ministries of finance and planning, along with external funding sources. Drawing from the experience gained, subregional and regional trends serve as a basis for identifying priorities for regional action and co-ordination.

Emergency Action Scheme

UNESCO's emergency action scheme aims at enabling countries having to cope with emergency situations to meet their immediate needs for education and to begin the process of reconstruction.

As part of the overall programme of services organized by the United Nations system, UNESCO's thrust bears on the co-ordination of inputs for education. This addresses situations arising from natural and other disasters, as well as from political conditions, and gives special attention to the most vulnerable population groups, including girls and women, children, ethnic minorities, refugees and displaced persons. Emphasis is placed on reestablishing national capacities for carrying out education activities. This means setting up management structures, providing teaching materials and repairing buildings. Under this programme, UNESCO took action in Ukraine following the Chernobyl disaster, in the Caribbean, China, Nicaragua, Bangladesh, Tunisia and Sri Lanka following cyclones and floods; in the Philippines, El Salvador, Egypt, Costa Rica, Mexico, Armenia and Yemen following earthquakes; and in Afghanistan, Cambodia, Lebanon, Somalia and only recently in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, following acts of war.

Technical Co-operation in National Projects and Co-operation between Developing Countries UNESCO assists Member States on request in identifying, preparing and implementing national projects financed by various funding sources. For that purpose, based on its global experience, the Organization co-operates with educational institutions in Member States by: facilitating exchanges of information and experience with institutions in other countries, through various specialized networks; helping to identify priority areas where international inputs are required; providing international expertise; helping to develop national capacities. In this way, effective links are established between those requesting technical co-operation and those offering it. Within a region or subregion, this approach results in an original synthesis of bilateral and multilateral co-operation combining the advantages of each and avoiding their drawbacks.

       Albania                     Maldives
       Angola                      Mali
       Benin                       Mauritius
       Burkina Faso                Mozambique
       Cambodia                    Myanmar
       Chad                        Papua New Guinea
       Congo                       Philippines
       Dominican Republic          Sao Tome and Principe
       Gabon                       Sri Lanka
       Honduras                    Viet Nam
       Lebanon