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| Frequently Asked Questions | |
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What is the education for all movement?
Participants at the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990 pledged to provide primary education for all children and massively reduce adult illiteracy by the end of the decade. The education for all movement was born.
Were these goals reached?
Only partially.
Some 10 million more children went to school every year during that decade.
The overall adult literacy rate rose to 85 per cent for men and 74 per cent for women.
Enrolment in primary school rose from 599 million in 1990 to 681 million in 1998.
The number of out-of-school children fell from an estimated 127 million children to 113 million children.
Globally, there was a 5 per cent increase in enrolment in pre-primary establishments.
What were the shortcomings?
In the drive to universalize primary education quality often took a back seat. In South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, less than three out of four pupils reached Grade 5. In the least developed countries taken together, a little over half reached this level and many drop out after the first or second grade.
Despite progress in actual numbers, illiteracy rates remain too high: at least 875 million adults remain illiterate, of which 63.8 per cent are women – exactly the same proportion as a decade previously.
Where do these figures come from?
The EFA 2000 Assessment, launched in 1998 took stock of the status of basic education in 180 countries and evaluated the progress achieved during the 1990s. The most in-depth evaluation of basic education ever undertaken, the EFA 2000 Assessment results were presented at the World Education Forum (26-28 April 2000, Dakar, Senegal).
What is the World Education Forum?
The World Education Forum was a conference held in Dakar, Senegal (26-28 April 2000) to review advances in basic education in the 1990s and to reinvigorate commitment to education for all. The some 1,100 participants from 164 countries adopted the Dakar Framework for Action, committing themselves to achieve quality basic education for all by 2015.
What were the specific goals set in Dakar?
(i)expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children;
(ii)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;
(iii)ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes;
(iv)achieving a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults;
(v)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;
(vi)improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills
Who should act to meet these goals?
Although education for all is everybody’s business (governments, international agencies, donors, and NGOs and civil society, the prime responsibility for achieving these goals lies with countries. This is stipulated in the Dakar Framework for Action which also assigned the international community to launch a global initiative to develop strategies and mobilize resources to support national efforts. UNESCO was charged with coordinating the work of the EFA partners and to sustain the global momentum.
How do these aims fit in with other global development goals?
World conferences organized by the United Nations in the first half of the 1990s gave rise to seven global development goals to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable development. The International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Bank and the United Nations have pledged to work together towards these aims, two of which coincide with those set in Dakar: elimination of gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and enrolment of all children in primary school by 2015.
Why should Dakar succeed where Jomtien failed?
Good question!
Firstly, the climate has changed. The international community has become more determined. During the 1990s, education was finally acknowledged as a right and its importance for social and economic development stressed, civil society began to play a more active role and non-governmental organizations became more outspoken. A momentum was thus created. This momentum must now be nurtured and transformed into political will and action on the ground.
Secondly, Dakar addressed the issue of funding and pledged that "no country seriously committed to basic education will be thwarted in the achievement of this goal by lack of resources". Resource mobilization and management are now at the heart of the education debate and a global initiative is being developed to provide a framework for co-operation between countries and development and donor agencies.
Thirdly, the notion of accountability built into the Dakar Framework for Action is another encouraging factor. The EFA Observatory’s reporting on progress will be invaluable in providing early warning signals.
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