|
|
 |
| EFA 2000 Assessment > Thematic Studies > | |
|
|
| Achieving Education for All: Demographic Challenges | |
|
|
Objectives of this paper
The 1990 World Conference on Education for All in
Jomtien reaffirmed the commitment of countries to meet basic
learning needs of all children, youths and adults. Specific
goals, in the light of which countries agreed to establish
national targets, included universal access to and completion
of basic education by the year 2000 and the reduction of adult
illiteracy, with specific emphasis on eliminating gender disparities
in educational opportunities. However, problems of economic
stagnation, continued population growth and economic and social
disparities both among and within nations have posed various
challenges to making this a reality.
A decade has passed since Jomtien. What progress has
been accomplished towards the goal of education for all? Is
it possible to quantify the impact of demography on public policy,
particularly on education? To what extent did policies directed
towards universal access to primary education, the elimination
of gender gaps and increasing net primary school enrolment ratios
succeed in overcoming the challenges of population dynamics
and resource constraints? Which policies have been the most
effective and what can countries learn from the experience of
others?
This
paper examines what has been accomplished and what remains to
be done, first from a global perspective and then with a focus
on the less developed regions where the demographic transition
is still underway and where universal basic education is still
far from reality. Changes in enrolment ratios, literacy rates,
gender disparities, public investment in education, as well
as shortages in educational provision and inadequate conditions
of learning are considered against the backdrop of demographic
changes. Regional figures, however, hide considerable variations
within regions and even within countries, masking important
differences in policies. In order to detect these variations,
the situation of individual countries is presented for some
specific issues. The relative success of national policies in
meeting EFA goals is also examined through a comparison of the
E-9 countries that together account for more than half of the
world's population (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India,
Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan).
Specifically, the paper:
- Describes
population growth at the world and regional level and summarises
the recent international debate on population, development
and education with a focus on the impact of education on
population dynamics;
- Examines
the impact of demographic growth on the achievement of education
for all in the less developed regions of the world, outlining
different policy approaches adopted in pursuing the goal
of education for all against the demographic pressure;
- Quantifies
how E-9 countries have progressed towards universal primary
education and the effort needed to fill the remaining gap
by 2010 in terms of additional students to enrol, using
different enrolment benchmarks;
- Highlights
some of the challenges ahead and the main priorities for
action towards the achievement of education for all from
the perspective of population and sustainable development.
THE
ROLE OF EDUCATION IN THE CONTEXT OF POPULATION GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
The world population has grown rapidly…
During the last forty years, the world population doubled, leading
to a figure of six billion in 1999. By the middle of the next
century, the world population is projected to grow further to
between 7.3 and 10.7 billion, with 8.9 billion considered the
most likely estimate. About half of the world's citizens are
currently under the age of 24.
While fertility declined in all regions of the world, except Sub-Saharan
Africa, from a global total of over 5 births per woman in 1950
to an estimated 2.7 births at present, the young age structure
of the world population still implies a growth of 78 million
per year. Another 30-40 years will have to pass, according to
the scenario based on medium fertility assumptions, before the
annual population increment falls back to the size of 1950.
Even more significant than the rate of growth or the magnitude of
the numbers involved, is the fact that ninety-seven per cent
of the world population increase occurs in the less developed
regions of the world. Every year the population of Asia is increasing
by 50 million, the population of Africa by 17 million and that
of Latin America and the Caribbean by nearly 8 million .
… but so has the world economy
Demographic growth must not be seen in isolation.
In general, it is where population growth outpaces economic
growth, and thus Gross National Product (GNP) per capita declines,
and where population growth reinforces social and economic
disparities that pressure on economic stability and social
cohesion may occur.
Economic growth and wealth creation in the last century
have both been spectacular. While over the three centuries from
1500 to 1820, world GDP roughly tripled, during the 170 years
after 1820 it increased more than 40-fold. Against this background,
the world population growth seems modest . However, there has
been much less success in distributing wealth than in creating
it - not just across countries but also within them, creating
new imbalances and further problems to be faced.
There
is no general pattern in the relationship between population
and development…
Whether rapid population growth influences the pace
of economic development, or indeed whether it is the pace of
economic development that influences the rate of population
growth, is a question that continues to attract the attention
of the scientific and popular debate. For many years, empirical
studies have failed to find evidence of strong or consistent
relationships, either positive or negative, between demographic
change and subsequent economic growth. Causal links and interrelationships
between population and development are complex and as they also
differ between countries it is difficult to identify general
patterns. Furthermore, the level of economic development that
a country achieved prior to the onset of rapid population growth
has an impact on the consequences of that growth: in general,
the more advanced the level of development, the less the impact
of population growth.
…although
in developing countries slower population growth seems to be
beneficial to economic development
Analytical and empirical findings seem to support
the conclusion that on balance, slower population growth would
be beneficial to economic development for most developing countries.
Moreover, recent analyses, based on data since the end of the
1970s, have revealed fairly large negative associations between
rapid population growth and growth rates of per capita output. Lately, the predominant view is that slower rates of population
growth can buy more time to adjust and can increase countries'
ability to attack poverty, protect and repair the environment
and build the base for future sustainable development ..
How do demographic and economic trends interact in different countries?
It is instructive to examine the way in which demographic and
economic trends developed and interacted in different countries.
In general, in countries such as Pakistan and Nigeria, where
fertility rates remain high, economic growth and wealth per
capita cannot afford the annual expansion of the population
at its current level. Conversely, countries such as China,
Indonesia, Brazil, and Egypt, where the population is growing
at slower rates and the demographic transition is underway,
benefit from increasing rates of economic growth and present
an increased wealth per capita. Although any conclusion is
preliminary, the evidence presented seems to shows, for the
E-9 countries, a negative association between rapid population
growth and growth rates of per capita output.
Rising
levels of education play an important role in accelerating the
pace of the transition
Concern with rapid population growth has led researchers
and policymakers to examine the determinants of fertility change.
In particular, increased participation of women in education
has proved to have an important impact on reducing maternal,
infant and child mortality, to be consistently associated with
lower fertility and to contribute to gender equality . The Jomtien
conference as well as most of the education and development
conferences held in the 1990s underlined the centrality of education,
recognizing its role and benefits in combating poverty, empowering
women, promoting human rights and democracy, protecting the
environment and controlling population growth. In this perspective,
education has been conceptualised as a fundamental right of
all human beings and a goal in itself on the one hand, and as
an essential means of action for pursuing development objectives
in the perspective of sustainability on the other.
THE DEMOGRAPHIC CHALLENGE TO EDUCATION
If education is to provide, in the longer term, part
of the policy response to population growth and other societal
problems, in the short term the pressure of population growth
on education systems remains the dominant issue in the developing
countries.
Achieving universal basic education can represent very different
challenges for different countries, depending on the national
human and financial resources that can be mobilised as well
as the rate of population growth and the age structure of the
population.
In many parts of the developing world educational progress has
been substantial…
In many parts of the developing world educational
progress has been substantial over the 27-year period between
1970 and 1997. Estimated adult literacy rates in the world rose
from 63 to 78 per cent during this period. World total enrolment
at the primary level increased from 411 million in 1970 to 542
million in 1980, and to 668 million in 1997. This growth took
place exclusively in the developing world in which enrolment
increased from 313 million in 1970 to 579 million in 1997.
…with primary enrolment now growing at almost double the pace than
before Jomtien…
Between 1990 and 1997, that is since Jomtien, primary
education enrolment in all developing countries taken together
grew by about 72 million pupils - at almost double the pace
than that observed during the 1980s. Net enrolment ratios also
reflected a positive development, showing that growth in enrolment
outpaced the growth of the primary school age population.
The number of out-of-school children of the official
primary school age group was 95 million in 1990 and was expected
to decline further to 88 million in 2000 and 79 million in 2010. In particular the number of out-of-school children decreased
in Eastern Asia and Oceania and to a lesser extent in Latin
America and the Caribbean.
…but in some regions, a growing minority continues to be left out
Conversely, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arab States
and somewhat less in Southern Asia the achievement of universal
primary education has been hindered by the growth and age-structure
of populations. Efforts to increase primary enrolment ratios
have had to work against a rapidly growing population. Thus,
despite significant growth in enrolment, the number of out-of-school
children did not decline correspondingly.
Different policy strategies have adopted in order to expand access to
schooling
Many countries in all of the less developed regions organised national
policy meetings on Education for All in the early 1990s and
several of them adopted EFA policies and plans. Policy strategies
aimed at favouring the expansion of access to schooling included
a movement of decentralisation of the management of education
institutions as well as, in some cases, of curricula; the building
of new partnerships and a more marked involvement of the community;
the introduction of instruction in the mother tongue; the diversification
of schooling and the promotion of programmes for drop-out children;
the sensitisation of parents to the value of education; and
the institution of free primary education.
Primary education will no longer suffice to meet demands of tomorrow's
societies…
If the completion of primary education enables people to take care
of their own and their family's hygiene, nutrition and health,
further education is required in order to participate effectively
in today's knowledge-based economies and societies. The number
of enrolled young people of secondary school- age grew by about
83 million throughout the world between 1990 and 1997, of which
74 million were in developing countries. Positive trends in
net enrolment ratios during the 1990s confirm that, in general,
enrolment of secondary school age youth grew faster than the
relevant age population. In some countries, however, more than
half of the pupils of secondary school age were enrolled in
primary school, as repeaters or late entrants.
… although in the less developed regions it still represent the only educational
opportunity for the majority
Overall the proportion of the official school age population actually
enrolled in secondary education continues to be low. In the
year 2000 it was estimated to be higher than 50 per cent only
in Eastern Asia and Oceania (55 per cent) and the Arab States
(51 per cent). In Latin America and the Caribbean and in Southern
Asia only 44 and 43 per cent respectively, of the official school
age population were enrolled in secondary school. In Sub-Saharan
Africa their proportion did not reach one quarter of the population
(24 per cent) and in the least developed countries taken together,
it amounted to only 18 per cent. Primary education remains therefore
the only educational opportunity for more than 80 per cent of
the school age population in the least developed countries,
for more than 75 per cent in Sub-Saharan Africa, and for 45
to 57 per cent in the other developing regions. It is therefore
crucial that primary education be able to answer the basic learning
needs of tomorrow's adults.
Illiteracy declined in developing regions, but not at the desired pace…
Levels of literacy within a population are an indicator of the human
potential that can promote the social, economic and cultural
development of a country and many studies have confirmed that
throughout the world the best predictor of the learning achievement
of children is the education and literacy level of their parents.
The estimated number of literate adults aged 15 years and over went
from 2.7 billion people in 1990 to 3.4 billion in 2000, that
is, from 75 to 79 per cent of the world's adult population.
If illiteracy rates decreased in all of the less developed regions,
this decline did not progress at the desired pace and efforts
of governments had to work against the obstacle of an ever increasing
population. In the least developed countries taken together,
one adult in two is still illiterate, that is, lacks the basic
reading, writing and numeracy skills essential to develop and
function at both the individual and societal level. In the year
2000, among the less developed regions, the problem of illiteracy
seems to be particularly serious in Southern Asia, Sub-Saharan
Africa and the Arab States, with estimated percentages of illiterates
of 46, 40 and 39 per cent respectively.
…and gender disparities in access to educational opportunities are
still large
The mid-decade meeting of the Forum on Education for All held in
Amman in 1996 judged insufficient the progress achieved in closing
the gender gap during the 1990s and reaffirmed the education
of girls and women as "the priority of priorities". The share
of girls in the primary school age out-of-school population
decreased only by one percentage point during the 1990s, from
60 to 59 percent. In the least developed countries considered
alone, the proportion of primary school age out-of-school girls
increased even, from 54 to 56 per cent. At the regional level,
the disparities were more pronounced in Southern Asia and Sub-Saharan
Africa, where female enrolment ratios would have to increase
by 12 and 9 percentage points, respectively, in order to attain
gender equality. The regional averages however, hide marked
differences across countries. For example, in the African region
south of the Sahara, countries where the enrolment of girls
is some 25 percentage points lower than that of boys, such as
Benin and Chad, co-exist with countries where the gender gap
penalises boys, such as Botswana and Lesotho.
Similarly, women's access to educational resources remains inadequate in
a large part of the developing world. It was estimated that
in 1990 there were 322 million illiterate men and 560 million
illiterate women (i.e. over 30 per cent of the adult female
population) in the world. In 2000, the percentage of illiterate
women was estimated to be 26.4, and the gender gap will have
decreased slightly (from 13.3 percentage points in 1990 to 11.7
in 2000).
The educational disadvantage of women is only one aspect of the
discrimination from which they suffer in many countries where
women are the poorest of the poor. In order to succeed in closing
the gender gap in educational opportunities, against the obstacles
posed by poverty and demographic pressure, priorities and commitment
of governments would have to be directed at overcoming this
tendency to devalue women that is the heart of the problem.
This implies not only using all means to improve access to and
participation of girls and women in education but also conveying
through the contents and methods of that education the value
of women and an egalitarian view of human beings.
Progress in expanding enrolment has not always been matched by increases
in the quality of educational provision as it can be seen from
survival rates to Grade 5…
What matters, ultimately, is not just the volume of participation
in education but more importantly - and as stressed in the World
Declaration on Education for All - what people actually learn
as a result of participating in education. This, in turn, depends
on the quality of education. One indicator of quality that is
often used is the percentage of a pupil cohort reaching Grade
5. In general, the school experience of many children in the
developing world is relatively brief and unsatisfactory. In
Southern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan
Africa, it is estimated that less than three out of four pupils
reach Grade 5. In the least developed countries taken together,
only half of the pupils reach this grade level. Indeed, many
students drop out between the first and the second grade, having
acquired not even the most basic elements of an education. This
probably reflects both the poverty of these children and their
families and the inability of schools to respond adequately
to their needs.
… the conditions of school equipment and supplies…
Many experts have expressed concern over the conditions of learning
in over-crowded schools of the developing world, and their impact
upon achievement. Based on the responses of school-heads in
a pilot survey of conditions of learning in the least developed
countries conducted in 1995, it appeared that between the Jomtien
conference and 1995, the volume of school equipment and supplies
had either remained constant or decreased, which means that,
given the general increase in enrolments, the conditions of
primary schools had deteriorated overall.
… pupil-teacher ratios…
The expansion of enrolment during the first EFA decade made the
chronic shortage of qualified teachers more critical. In the
less developed regions taken together pupil-teacher ratios were
twice as large as those in the more developed ones, while in
the least developed countries they were three times as large.
A high pupil-teacher ratio can initially be one means for keeping
costs low while expanding enrolment. However, high pupil-teacher
ratios combined with inadequate instructional equipment and
low teacher motivation cannot contribute to learning.
… as well as from investment and spending patterns in education…
Investment in education is a key determinant of the scope, quality and
impact of education in a country. Expenditure on education can
be used as an indicator to assess the implementation of EFA
targets. While public current expenditure rose in all developing
regions except in Southern Asia, enrolments also increased.
The result was that the additional investment did not always
lead to an increase in resources available per pupil. In fact,
at the pre-primary and primary level the public current expenditure
per pupil as a percentage of GNP per capita decreased in Sub-Saharan
Africa and in Southern Asia. Thus, in these two regions it seems
that a trade-off was made after Jomtien to enrol more students
at a lower cost. On the other hand, in Latin America and Eastern
Asia and Oceania, despite the expansion of the enrolled school
age population, the expenditure per student also increased.
Among the policy measures common to various countries that have achieved
universal primary education early in their development process
is the allocation of a higher expenditure per pupil as a percentage
of GNP per capita into primary education and a lower one into
higher education compared with other countries in the same regions.
One of the necessary responses to the problems of the scarcity of
resources is a clear commitment to giving high macro-economic
priority to education, together with health and other basic
social services, re-examining - according to the suggestion
of the Jomtien Declaration and Framework for Action and the
successful examples of countries which can be considered as
high-achievers - spending patterns and unit costs at the different
levels of the education system in order to allocate higher shares
of education budgets to basic education.
A CLOSER LOOK AT HALF OF THE WORLD POPULATION
In all E-9 countries, the number of enrolled primary school age
children rose between 1990 and 1997 and the increase exceeded
the corresponding change in the number of primary school age
children in the population, thus indicating that educational
progress outpaced demographic growth. Countries, however, varied
in their pace of change. The following analysis is based on
the 1999 provisional estimates and projections of the UNESCO
Institute for Statistics. However, given the weakness in many
of the data on which estimates and projections are based, the
results should be interpreted as broad trends and used with
caution.
Some
countries achieved or are close to achieve universal primary
education…
In China, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico and Egypt, the increase of
primary school age enrolments, representing a main goal of national
policies, accompanied by a decline of the primary school age
population implies that universal primary education will be
achieved by 2010 (or shortly after in the case of Egypt). In
China, the sharp decline of the primary school age population,
which decreased by more than 30 million pupils in just 10 years,
was one of the factors that permitted the provision of a place
in school to every child by 1990. In Indonesia, the growth in
primary school age enrolments outpaced the growth of the primary
school age population between 1980 and 1990 and practically
all primary school age children had the opportunity to participate
in education at some point during the 1980s. In Brazil, the
1990s marked the turning point in the growth of their primary
school-age population. The decrease in the number of children,
coupled with a policy aimed at increasing enrolment ratios in
primary school is predicted to result in the achievement of
universal primary education by the year 2000. In Mexico, universal
primary education was already achieved by 1980, so that a moderate
expansion of the number of primary school age children during
the 1990s was easily covered by a corresponding expansion of
enrolment. In Egypt, the growth in the number of enrolments
outpaced the growth in the number of primary school age children
during the 1980s and 1990s, and it is estimated that the number
of out-of-school children declined by more than 80 per cent
between 1980 and 2000. The expansion of the primary school age
population is projected to stop in 2000, which will facilitate
the achievement of universal primary education during the first
decade of the 21st century.
…while
the challenge remains to improve learning conditions and achievement
In such countries the challenge is now to improve learning conditions
and achievement, increase the internal efficiency of education
systems, reduce school disparities in educational outcomes,
and expand participation in education beyond primary school.
…while the challenge remains to improve learning conditions and achievement
In such countries the challenge is now to improve learning conditions
and achievement, increase the internal efficiency of education
systems, reduce school disparities in educational outcomes,
and expand participation in education beyond primary school.
In other countries, the expansion of primary enrolment was partially
offset by the growth of the youth population
In India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria the expansion of primary
school age enrolments supported by national policies was partially
offset by the increase of the primary school age population
so that, based on current trends, the achievement of universal
primary education lies in the future, at some point after 2010.
In India, primary school age enrolments rose but so did the
primary school age population, which increased up to 2000 when
it is projected to stabilize, thus leading to only a slight
decrease of the out-of-school population. Based on the trends
obtained from available statistics, it is predicted that the
number of enrolled primary school age children will not change
significantly during the first decade of the 21st century, with
the result that 20 million children could still be out-of-school
in the year 2010. In Pakistan, as in India, rapid population
growth remains a challenge to achieving universal primary education,
countering as it does a continuing expansion of primary school
age enrolments. The number of out-of-school children decreased
steadily during the 1990s, while enrolment underwent a remarkable
growth in this post-Jomtien decade. However, unlike in India,
the primary school age population is expected to continue expanding
in the first decade of the 21st century, so that additional
resources will serve mainly to keep abreast of population growth,
and the process of educational recovery will proceed at a slow
pace. In Bangladesh, some progress was made during the 1990s
in increasing primary school age enrolment ratios, after primary
education was made compulsory in 1993. However, the number of
primary school age enrolled children is predicted to increase
by 3 million, between 2000 and 2010, while the number of out-of-school
children is expected to decrease by just 1 million during the
same period, due to a new expansion of the primary school age
children cohorts. Finally, in Nigeria, by 2010 there will be
twice as many primary school age children than in 1980, as there
are no signs of a decline in demographic growth. Student demography
thus offsets the considerable efforts made to increase the number
of enrolled children, which are particularly evident after 1990.
Without an inversion of this demographic trend it will take
many more years to find a place in school for the 20 per cent
of primary school age children that are currently excluded from
it.
Four benchmarks are used to quantify the gap to achieving universal
primary education
In order to quantify the efforts needed in the E-9 countries that
have not yet enrolled all of their primary school age children,
four benchmarks have been used in this paper: universal enrolment,
net enrolment ratios of 90 per cent, the net enrolment ratio
in less developed regions in 2000 (84.8 per cent), and a scenario
in which the current rates of progress will prevail.
Based on the 1999 provisional estimates and projections of the UNESCO
Institute for Statistics, Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh will
be required to increase their enrolment by 32 per cent, 26 per
cent and 25 per cent respectively, if they are to reach by 2010
the estimated net enrolment ratio of the less developed regions
in the year 2000. These percentage increases correspond to enrolling
5 million more primary school age children in Pakistan, 3.8
million more in Nigeria and 2.7 million more in Bangladesh.
India will need to enrol more than 2 million additional children,
while in Egypt the net enrolment ratio is already currently
higher than the 2000 average.
In order to achieve 90 per cent net enrolment ratios by 2010, India
will be required to increase its enrolment by about 9 per cent,
enrolling 8 million additional primary school age children.
Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh are required to expand their
enrolments by between 33 and 40 per cent, with respect to the
level each country had reached in the year 2000.
Finally, the ideal universal enrolment scenario implies a growth in enrolment
ratios that is estimated to range from 5 per cent in Egypt to
55 per cent in Pakistan, with respect to the current situation
of each country. The percentage increases required to achieve
universal primary education correspond to enrolling almost half
a million primary school age children more than in 2000 in Egypt,
5 million more in Bangladesh, 7 million more in Nigeria, almost
9 million more in Pakistan and 19 million more in India. Based
on these figures, the universal enrolment scenario seems to
be difficult to reach for these countries by 2010, unless major
efforts are made and additional resources are mobilised to increase
the rate of educational progress.
The situation of the E-9 countries reflects that of the other developing
countries. In 2000, 32 of the 107 developing countries for which
estimates were available had achieved net enrolment ratios of
more than 95 per cent, another 28 between 80 and 95 per cent,
while 47 countries were below the 80 per cent mark, with 15
countries having less than half of the official primary school
age population enrolled in school.
MAIN PRIORITIES AND OPEN CHALLENGES AHEAD
It is important to acknowledge the efforts that have been made
during these ten years by many national governments, multilateral
and bilateral organizations, and NGOs, as well as individuals,
including local policy makers, teachers and parents. Thanks
to these efforts, the targets seem more easily attainable today
than ten years ago. Recognising such progress however, should
not lead to a slowing down of the pace of the educational recovery,
since the achievement of education for all still lies ahead
Enrolment target should be harmonised with the attainment of sufficient
quality standards
In order to enable all countries to achieve universal primary education
without sacrificing the quality of the teaching/learning experience,
countries starting from different points of departure may have
to establish different intermediate national targets, combining
the common urge with realistic timeframes. In order to harmonise
quantity, that is the expansion of enrolment, with quality,
that is achievement, the minimum sufficient standards to be
attained need to be defined, measured and guaranteed, while
progressively expanding enrolment.
Reliable and timely data on learning outcomes are needed
More research is needed on learning achievement, in order to be able
to assess, monitor and guide the progress towards the universal
acquisition of basic literacy and numeracy skills, as well as
"life skills". Efforts and progresses have been made in this
direction. At least 50 nations carry out national assessments
of learning achievement (International Consultative Forum on
Education for All, forthcoming). The International Association
for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) has carried
out numerous international assessments over the last 40 years
. Although some developing countries participated in these study,
however, it was mainly developed countries that were involved.
Conversely, in recent years, a number of international assessment
projects have been undertaken with the aim of involving developing
countries, proving also for them both the feasibility and utility
of this type of exercise.
The remaining gaps should be targeted sharing successful initiatives
and policies
Renewed efforts will be required to reach the child population that
is still out-of-school, bearing in mind that progress may now
require larger efforts than those required previously, given
that those that are not in school yet are likely to be the most
difficult to reach for different reasons.
Although much has been done to promote the participation of girls and
women in education, innovative experiences have to be shared
and multiplied in order to overcome continued discrimination
against girls and women and fully address gender issues.
Also in the area of adolescents' and adults' literacy and education,
countries could benefit from an exchange of information and
experiences involving intergovernmental organisations, NGOs,
associations and private partners.
Macro-economic
priority should reflect the importance of primary education
Funding schemes should reflect the highest priority of primary education
given that in the developing world this represents the only
educational opportunity for a share of the child population
that ranges from 45 to 80 per cent depending on the region and
that it has proved to have a powerful impact on health care,
reproductive and social behaviours which are at the core of
sustainable development.
The spirit and goal of education for all should be shared by the
whole society
Schooling risks to fail its mission if it educates according to values
and visions that are not supported, shared and conveyed by the
society as a whole. Reforming education implies therefore a
parallel process at the societal level with the aim of constantly
instilling the vision of education for all and its goals into
the minds of the world's societies.
International cooperation should mark a shift from a global world towards
a more united one
Education for all represents a challenge for all regions of the world,
with the poorest and most populous countries requiring particular
attention and support also by the international community. Agreeing
that education for all calls out for a response from the "world
as a whole" means going beyond the simple acknowledgement that
we live in a global world. "Global" does not necessarily means
safe, good for everyone, or harmonic. It simply points at the
interdependence among the parts so that what happens in one
part of the globe may have repercussions on what happens in
several other parts.
Globalisation, however, provides the opportunity to direct the chain of interdependent
actions and reactions towards progress for all human beings.
The responsible and ethical management of globalisation may
contribute to a more co-operative and united world.
|
|
|