3. The current status of planning for EFA

As already noted, the fundamental building blocks of progress towards EFA are the National Plans of
Action developed by each country. It is important to emphasize, however, that national plans are only one limited part of the process to achieve EFA. Given the limited information currently available on the progress of particular counties, this report will focus on progress towards planning. Future reports will contain more information about the national process, including descriptions of the work of various partnerships.

All countries include the EFA objectives in all their national planning and consultations around EFA. This must be done even when the national plans pre-date Dakar in their core elements. The process of thinking through how national objectives relate to the goals of EFA is more important than the document itself.

In requesting that countries 'develop or strengthen existing national plans of action by 2002 at the latest', the Dakar Framework specified standards and conditions for the development of such plans. It is stressed that plans should be linked to Common Country Assessments and in United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks. Among other things, the national plans should:

- be developed with inputs from a broad spectrum of edu-cational stakeholders, including organizations of civil society;
- be co-ordinated with national development plans;
- relate to Dakar Goals and Strategies;
- Include provisions for monitoring progress towards EFA.

Update on actions at the national level

The completion of national action plans by 2002 represents very important initial benchmark under the Dakar Framework for achieving the goal of EFA. Accordingly, with a view to appraising the current status of preparation of plans and to identifying key areas for technical support, UNESCO undertook a wide-ranging survey in May 2001, by means of questionnaires at the country level, administered through field representatives of UNESCO and other EFA partner agencies, particularly United Nations Information Centres (UNIC). As of 24 September 2001, 66 countries and territories had responded to the questionnaire. A summary of these responses follows.

Establishment of national EFA forums
The survey found that significant efforts have been made in many countries and that innovative initiatives have been taken at regional levels. The majority of developing countries have already set up appropriate institutional bodies and mechanisms for the preparation and monitoring of education plans conducive to the implementation of the EFA Goals.

Of the 66 countries responding, 45 (68%) reported that they had already set up EFA forums or EFA-related bodies, while 21 (32%) reported that they had not yet done so.

Drafting of national plans of action
Results show that in most countries there is already an Education Development Plan (EDP). Forty-one countries of the 66 countries responding reported having a plan (62%), with18 countries (27%) saying that their plan is being prepared. Only seven nations (11%) reported not having a plan. Thirty-nine of the 41 plans were prepared before the Dakar Forum, in some cases more than 10 years before.

Data on co-operation with civil society

One serious omission in current reports on progress towards EFA is the lack of information on how many countries have included teachers' unions, NGOs and other representatives of civil society in their planning processes. In evaluating progress, it is important to determine not only the extent to which governments have sought the co-operation of civil society in drafting their plans, but also whether they have sought out representatives of the most important stakeholders outside of government. Developing a mechanism to monitor co-operation with civil society should be a priority in future data gathering.

Varying quality of national plans

The quality of the existing national plans described above varies widely. A major concern is that many of these EDPs do not conform to the basic principles laid out in the Dakar Framework for constructing national plans of action (see box, below). Specifically:

- Many of them were not prepared through the EFA process of wide stakeholder consultation.

- Confusion persists in some countries where governments consider EFA plans to be donor-driven documents for the mobilization of external resources. They do not view them as national plans to be prepared with the participation of all stakeholders for the mobilization and rational utilization of all resources both within the country and from outside.

- Some governments have set up parallel forums for the formulation of an EFA plan, resulting in two plans. Where countries already have an existing plan, the idea is to integrate EFA goals into these, rather than create a new one.

- Few of the 41 countries reported developing plans that correspond to EFA criteria. That is, they lack not only sector analysis and policy statements based on empirical and statistical evidence, but they also lack detailed action plans for the achievement of EFA goals over a certain period depending on the capacity and characteristics of the countries.

- Of the 41 countries with plans, 29 (71%) reported that the plan covered all EFA sub-sectors, while 12 (29%) did not. In addition, 34 (83%) reported that they covered all EFA target groups, while 7 (17%) did not.

- Responses reveal that half of the country plans remain at the policy levels and just short of being action plans. In 31 countries out of 39 where EDPs exist, governments are reportedly going to readjust them to EFA goals, which means that 58 out of 66 responding (88%) still need to develop or adjust the existing EDPs to EFA objectives.

Provisions for monitoring

At least 48 of the 66 countries do not seem to have reliable capacities for data collection, processing and/or analysis for preparing EFA action plans. Moreover, in the majority of countries, education information systems, which are prerequisites for providing necessary data and information for EFA, are reportedly weak and need to be improved in terms of data collection, analysis or utilization.

Most developing countries said that they would require methodological and technical support for the preparation of the EFA plans or the strengthening of existing plans. Specifically, 55 (83%) of responding countries indicated that they needed support, while only 7 (11%) said that no support was needed. Four countries (6%) did not respond to this question.

To sum up, it is clear that most countries need to revisit their existing plans or to develop them in accordance with the EFA criteria. And most need help in doing so.

Establishing the credibility of national plans The quality of national EFA Plans is of fundamental importance to establishing their credibility with both national and international agencies. A list of dimensions essential to such quality is given here: - There must be a fully participatory educational planning process. This should include the major institutions of the civil society in order to ensure ownership of the educational reform process across each nation. - Plans should be comprehensive, addressing all six EFA goals agreed upon at Dakar and also addressing the issues covered by the Flagship Programmes (see Chapter 4). - EFA plans must relate directly to national plans for poverty reduction. Education is, after all, the most powerful tool for such reduction. - It is vital that EFA plans be feasible. It must be possible to implement them in light of the foreseeable financial and institutional environment and available human resources. - The drawing up of EFA plans is not merely a technical exercise. Countries need to create a campaign for public support on a scale that is commensurate with the importance of EFA for their future. This means constant high-level advocacy and persuasive public relations and communications work. - Countries must assure that indicators, targets and measures of good quality are included for each EFA goal area. There must be ways of securing base-line information and full accountability for results at each stage of implementing national plans. - Regional structures can also play an important role in establishing and enforcing the credibility of national plans. - Meeting the above criteria is a management challenge of a very high order. However, countries in so doing are shaping the key that can unlock the door to sustainable development, greater prosperity, a richer cultural environment and closer social cohesion. Such vital goals cannot be achieved easily, but they are achievable if they become the national priority.

Capacity building

The problems described in the previous sections suggest that a serious strategy for co-operation should be thought out and worked out urgently in order for agencies to provide the required technical and financial support for preparation and adjustment of the plans. This strategy should be based on the respective comparative advantages and capabilities of partner agencies - national, regional and global - with a view to increasing the effectiveness and efficiency of the support. This assistance must take two forms: technical support and financial assistance.

Technical support
The number of countries out of the total of 55 asking for specific types of external support:
Organization of national EFA forums 17
Data and information system 34
Sector analysis and policy assessment 23
Formulation of a new education policy 17
Studies on certain educational aspects 36
Policy simulation techniques 31
Educational expenditures and finance 33
Macro-economic framework 31
Monitoring and evaluation 37
Organization of donor round tables 32

Financial assistance
Donor co-ordination arrangements aimed at providing financial assistance for national planning of EFA have already been set up in some countries, among them Morocco and Viet Nam. These could be replicated in all recipient countries for support in the preparation of EFA Plans. Suggested practices include designation of a UNESCO Field Office or other development agency representative as a focal point. This agency would consult with the relevant national authorities to evaluate the magnitude of the work and the type and cost of the services required.

Update on actions at the regional level

Under UNESCO leadership, a number of EFA mechanisms are being set up to co-ordinate the identification of needs, fund-raising, assistance to countries in the development of national action plans, capacity-building of ministries of education and so forth. Numerous regions report progress in the development of such plans:

Sub-Saharan Africa
By all accounts the 46 nations of sub-Saharan Africa face some of the greatest challenges in meeting the goals of EFA. Problems such as widespread poverty, the pressures of population growth and heavy debt burdens have been compounded by issues such as political instability, armed conflicts and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Countries in the region have committed themselves to working both co-operatively among themselves and through a variety of partnerships to achieve the goals of EFA. Forty-five of the 46 countries have nominated national EFA co-ordinators, and they have pledged to 'mobilize all stakeholders, partners and governments' to ensure that each country has completed a national plan of action by September 2002. The plan calls for a regional synthesis to be endorsed politically by African ministers of education in December 2002.

A participatory EFA Regional Action Plan has been drafted and reviewed with the help of numerous EFA sponsors. Regional networking and consultations have been conducted with NGOs, bilateral and multi-lateral partners, and some regional memos of understanding have been drawn up with various United Nations agencies related to the mobilization of resources. The UNESCO regional office in Dakar, Senegal (BREDA) has participated in many national, regional and international meetings and has established a regional experts roster. Technical support has also been forthcoming for the preparation of national plans of action.

Arab States
Improvement of the quality of education is a priority in most Arab States, and most of the twenty countries in the region initiated education reforms during the 1990s. At least half of them have identified EFA as a focal point for such reforms and established some sort of EFA Forum.

In a number of cases, existing reform plans (some of which predated Dakar) are being updated so as to embrace EFA targets in general and the goals and strategies of the Dakar Framework in particular. Many Arab states have identified enhanced education of girls and the promotion of early childhood care and education as two important priority areas for their socio-economic development.

Countries in the region articulate the need for financial support, including debt relief or debt reduction, if they are to carry out their commitment to EFA. Most also report the need for methodological and technical improvement of their information systems, especially in data collection and analysis, as well as assistance in monitoring and evaluation. Such support is already being provided in some countries by United Nations agencies and international NGOs.

Asia and the Pacific
The most vigorous regional activities in support of EFA have been in South-East/East Asia, where a sub-regional forum has been formed with many bi-lateral and multi-lateral partners. Annual meetings have been held of national EFA co-ordinators in collaboration with a United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, ESCAP Technical Working Group on EFA. Most countries in the sub-region have refined existing basic education plans, with some ensuring strong linkages with sector-wide plans. Comprehensive planning mechanisms and procedures are in place in most countries, though often without national forums or widespread involvement of civil society.

South Asia
The creation of the sub-regional forum was mandated at a ministerial meeting in April 2001. Draft NAPs were presented by all countries at the ministerial meeting in April, but found inadequate NGO involvement or lack of active participation of major EFA partners. Most of the countries have formed a Technical Support Group for EFA and the formation of a Regional Forum of EFA for the South Asian countries is expected. Pakistan was selected to host the next ministerial meeting of South Asia in 2003. Sub-regional activities are being developed in curriculum development and learning achievement, monitoring of EFA progress and non-formal education.

National EFA roundtables have been held in most countries of Central Asia/Caucasus, and a revolving EFA Forum of five countries is scheduled to be established in October. Sub-regional and national meetings have been organized on monitoring of learning achievement, reaching the unreached, non-formal education, AIDS and other topics. Collaboration has been close with UNICEF and national and international NGOs. A textbook development project, within the framework of EFA follow-up, is being implemented in Tajikistan over a period of two years, starting in May 2000.

National action plans have been completed in thirteen countries in the Pacific. These have been facilitated by a strong sense of regional identity and co-operation, but there is inadequate involvement of the full range of EFA partners. Governments are now awaiting the support promised in the Dakar Framework for Action.

Latin America and the Caribbean
Most Latin American countries already have their own education plans, and the education reforms implemented during the 1990s continue to be in place. While in some countries the plans do not refer to or contemplate the Dakar Framework of Action, others request external support in adapting the plans to the Dakar Framework. In general, countries manifest different levels of interest in preparing the EFA plans. The Caribbean EFA Plan of Action 2000-2015 specifically addresses the concerns of this sub-region, where some countries do not feel the need for national EFA action plans.

Although the national governments continue to place great importance upon education, EFA (or Dakar follow-up) per se does not receive a high level of enthusiasm and tends to be considered as one of the several similar competitive international or regional programmes originating externally. Therefore, strategically speaking, Dakar follow-up activities should be promoted within more comprehensive, region-specific frameworks. The Dakar Framework includes six regional frameworks which are now being revisited and adapted to the needs in the different regions.