|
|
 |
| Education for All > Background Documents > Mid-Decade Meeting 1996 > | |
|
|
|
|
|
Education for All: A Goal within Reach
Six years ago at the World Conference on Education for All held in
Jomtien, Thailand, 155 countries pledged to take the necessary steps
to provide primary education for all children and massively reduce
adult illiteracy by the end of the decade. This year we are joining
forces to organize a high-level meeting at Amman, Jordan, in June, to
assess what has been done -- by nations and by the international
community -- to fulfil these commitments. At the same time Amman will
provide an excellent opportunity for all nations to review their
goals and strategies for expanding access to and improving the
quality of basic education within a reasonable timeframe.
The balance sheet over the last six years is mixed. Much progress
has been made in education in terms of higher enrolments, better
quality and greater relevance in many countries. In particular, nine
of the world's most populous countries -- Bangladesh, Brazil, China,
Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan -- are working
together to achieve Education for All. Even countries with a modest
GNP per capita, such as Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, are providing primary
schooling to eight or more children out of ten. Such success stories
demonstrate clearly that education for all is achievable and can
become a reality within a few years.
But much more needs to be done. There are still 130 million
children in the world who have no access to school, and the majority
of them are girls. A large proportion of children, one third or more
in many countries, do not complete primary education. Even of those
who do finish, many do not acquire the essential skills and knowledge
expected from primary education. Far too many children will soon join
the world's 885 million illiterate adults, most of whom are
women.
Secondary education, so vital for development, is accessible only to
17 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africa's children. Thus it is clear that a
much more concerted effort is needed to expand and improve
educational opportunities, especially for girls and women.
It is unacceptable that a world that spends approximately US$800
billion a year on weapons cannot find the money needed -- an
estimated US$6 billion per year -- to put every child in school by
the year 2000. A mere one per cent decrease in military expenditure
worldwide would be sufficient in financial terms. In Sub-Saharan
Africa, only US$2.5 billion per year would be needed to provide
universal primary education. The international community and the
developing world can and must invest in education, particularly in
primary education, to achieve economic growth and poverty reduction.
The Amman meeting will be a milestone on the road to Education for
All, which has well-known positive effects on economic development,
infant mortality rates, reproductive health, birth rates, and the
empowerment of people, especially women. Decisive and radical
solutions must be found at both international and national levels to
the problems that countries face in meeting the basic learning needs
of their populations.
International commitment to the goal of Education for All has been
reaffirmed at major global conferences, such as the International
Conference on Population and Development, the World Summit for Social
Development and the Fourth World Conference on Women. But
declarations of intent are not enough. No real breakthrough will be
possible unless the commitment is translated into a serious
rethinking of resource priorities on the part of national leaders and
the international community alike.
We wish to stress our conviction that basic education for all is
not only a human right, but also the cornerstone of human
development. Having access to quality basic education is probably the
single most effective means to ensure democracy, sustainable
development and peace.
|
|
|
