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| Education for All (EFA) Observatory | |
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ACTIVITIES
FROM JOMTIEN
TO DAKAR
In March 1990,
the international community put education on the global agenda
during the World Conference on Education for All (Jomtien, Thailand)
when Governments set themselves the challenge of achieving universal
primary education by the year 2000. Ten years later, the international
community came together again at the World Education Forum (Dakar,
Senegal), to examine the results of the decade in the most in-depth
evaluation of basic education ever undertaken on a global scale.
The EFA 200 Assessment took stock of the status of education
in some 180 countries and evaluated the progress that had been
achieved during the 1990s. Its purpose was to generate vital
information on all types of programmes, activities and services
that aim to meet the basic learning needs of children, youth
and adults.
The EFA assessment
pinpointed the shortcoming in many countries which still exist
today in achieving the goal of universal primary education.
During the Forum, Governments reiterated their commitment to
ensure that universal access to quality basic education is achieved
and sustained by 2015. UNESCO was mandated to take the lead
role in orchestrating global efforts to achieve EFA by 2015.
THE VITAL ROLE
OF STATISTICS IN EFA MONITORING
The EFA
Year 2000 Assessment was instrumental in drawing attention
to the vital role of statistics in EFA monitoring and education
policy making and to the fact that data were not always available
or in formats to be of use to policy-makers. Even when they
were available, governments did not always take them into consideration
in their educational decision-making.
Regular monitoring
of the state of education in the world will be an essential
part of the follow-up to Dakar. For this reason, the UIS has
created the EFA Observatory within the UNESCO Institute for
Statistics, in order to monitor and report on progress achieved
in education on a national, regional and global level.
"Regular assessment
must be focused on helping governments develop, review and amend
national policies as necessary to ensure that EFA goals are
achieved in all countries and as soon as possible," says Denise
Lievesley, Director of the UIS.
ROLE OF THE
EFA OBSERVATORY
In its capacity
as the EFA Observatory the UIS will give priority to: consulting
data providers and users in countries and regions to find out
their needs in the light of EFA action plans;
integrating EFA
monitoring data into the regular statistical surveys; developing
new indicators and methodologies and improving existing ones;
assisting countries to improve their capacities for data collection
and analysis through training and other support. promoting awareness,
analysis and use of data at the national level to inform policy
debates; encouraging countries to develop adequate monitoring
and early warning systems of their own based on their own national
data; conducting surveys and case studies, and seeking partnerships
with other organizations to bring in a richer range of information;
issuing progress reports on advances towards the Education For
All targets in print and electronic form.
REVIEWING THE
EFA INDICATORS
One of the first
tasks of the Observatory will be to develop a framework of pertinent
indicators to examine progress towards the objectives of Education
for All. New indicators will be developed to complement and
extend the original set of 18 core indicators used for the 2000
Assessment. This is in order to make it possible to tackle more
precisely questions that were not addressed adequately in the
2000 Assessment.
As part of this
review, widespread consultations will take place with principal
actors and partners, and especially the data providers and users.
This process has already begun with Member States during a series
of regional workshops conducted in June and July 2000, and will
continue during the next round of workshops being held during
the first half of 2001. Statistical experts are being asked
to discuss questions such as: Are these indicators appropriate
for monitoring the new Dakar targets? Are there any new indicators
or better indicators which could be used? What solutions could
you suggest to overcome problems reporting these indicators?
The UIS focal
point for the EFA Observatory is:
Simon Ellis |
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