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| UNESCO's
Director-General proposes a 50 per cent
increase of basic education budget |
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UNESCO's commitment to education for all
was reconfirmed during the 160th Session
of the Organization's Executive Board,
which ended last week in Paris. The Director-General
of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, proposed
a 50 per cent increase in the regular
budget for basic education for the next
biennium 2002-2003. |
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The Executive Board devoted a special
session on 17 October 2000 to the follow-up
to the World Education Forum. The Board
members congratulated UNESCO's numerous
initiatives in the past six months as
co-ordinator of the global education for
all movement and said that the Organization
should focus on the strategic objectives
of bolstering education as a fundamental
right, the quality of education through
the diversification of contents and methods,
promoting experimentation, innovation
and the dissemination of best practices,
and sharing of information as well as
policy dialogue. |
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Several members expressed their satisfaction
with the increased focus on resource mobilization
for education. As mentioned in previous
issues of the Bulletin Board, Mr Matsuura
has in recent months engaged in consultations
with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD), the G-8 and the
Paris Club. |
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UNESCO's Plan of Action, which is currently
in the making, was also subject for comment.
Several Board members asked for clarifications
regarding the roles of the different partners
including UNESCO national commissions
and national and regional organizations
in the Dakar follow-up process and requested
a consultation process before the plan
is finalized. |
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On behalf of the Director-General, Jacques
Hallak, Assistant Director-General for
Education a.i., welcomed the action taken
by many countries in the follow-up to
the Dakar Forum and expressed his gratitude
for financial support to UNESCO from countries
such as France, Finland and Japan. Mr
Hallak emphasized the fact that the Dakar
follow-up involves all divisions of the
Education Sector and builds on the unique
capacitiimprovinges of UNESCO's six institutes
for education, its Institute for Statistics,
and its regional and field offices. Finally,
he stressed that the UNESCO Plan of Action,
which will be circulated before the end
of the year, is intended to be "a flexible
document evolving with and adapting to
unfolding events". |
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| Director-General
of UNESCO informs field offices on Dakar
follow-up action |
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What is the role of UNESCO's field offices
in the Dakar follow-up process? In a new
five-page information note, Koïchiro Matsuura
outlines what field offices are expected
to do to ensure "an energetic and synergistic
response" to the Dakar Framework for Action.
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"I expect UNESCO offices to review their
work programmes in the light of the Dakar
follow-up and to consult among each other
at subregional level in order to map out
responsibilities of each office," Mr Matsuura
writes. |
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Field offices are requested to submit
to the Assistant Director-General for
Education, proposals for urgent action
to be undertaken in a specific region
or in specific countries, no later than
15 November 2000. UNESCO headquarters
also expect to receive work plans no later
than 15 December 2000, in which follow-up
action should be specified on a country-by-country
basis. |
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The note further explains the nature of
national and regional activities expected
to be carried out as part of the Dakar
follow-up and gives information about
action at the international level. |
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Please find the information
note attached to this Bulletin Board.
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| Meeting
of bilateral donor agencies and UNESCO
on Dakar follow-up |
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In a meeting on 17 October 2000, UNESCO
Assistant Director-General for Education
a. i. Jacques Hallak met with representatives
of bilateral donor agencies of Canada,
Denmark, the United Kingdom, Finland and
Norway to exchange views on the follow-up
process to the Dakar Forum. |
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The donor representatives all stressed
their commitment to EFA and their readiness
to support UNESCO leadership. Some agencies
explained that their agencies are going
through a reflection process to implement
the Dakar Framework for Action, in particular
to ensure meeting the commitment in the
crucial phrase "no countries seriously
committed to education for all will be
thwarted in their achievement of this
goal by a lack of resources". |
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Mr Hallak said that the contribution of
the bilateral donors agencies was not
sufficiently visible at the World Education
Forum and that UNESCO intends to ensure
that the efforts made by these agencies,
such as the secondment of staff and support
to specific programmes, are more fully
highlighted. He also asked agencies to
be patient and tolerant, as "the Dakar
follow-up is happening at a time where
UNESCO is undergoing a major reform process.
"If we succeed in the Dakar follow-up
we will change the Organization," he said.
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| Regional
up-date on EFA activities |
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| The
Arab States |
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The first regional consultative Arab meeting
(ARABEFA) took place on 21 October at
UNESCO Beirut. Representatives of UNESCO,
UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, ESCWA (the Economic
and Social Commission for Western Asia)
the World Bank, Arab non-governmental
organizations, and two education specialists
discussed mechanisms of support to EFA
in the region. |
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They decided that at country level, a
lead agency will assist national EFA team
in the formulation of national plans of
action by the year 2002, and the mobilisation
of the required resources. Country guidelines
on the preparation of national EFA plans
of action were also discussed. |
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At the regional level, ARABEFA is entrusted
with the following responsibilities:
Identifying regional needs and mobilizing
resources within the region
Setting
up collaborative mechanisms that allows
countries to prepare and implement
their national plans of action
Co-ordinating advocacy with governments
and ensuring the synergy of all existing
regional networks linked to basic
education
Reinforcing the institutional capacities
of each state, especially for collecting
and using statistics.
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ARABEFA will identify a high-level regional
Ambassadors Team for mobilization and
fund raising for EFA to start in April
2001. |
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Follow-up activities at the regional level
will be developed according to four major
themes, each of which will be led by one
agency: early childhood development (UNICEF),
primary education (UNESCO), literacy and
non-formal education (UNESCO) and girls'
and women's education (UNICEF). |
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Please find the
provisional minutes of the meeting attached
to this Bulletin Board. |
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| Contact:
Victor Billeh, Director, UNESCO Beirut
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v.billeh@unesco.org |
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| Countries
in action for education for all (in this
issue: Pakistan, Nigeria and Mexico) |
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| Pakistan
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In Pakistan, the Dakar follow-up process
is well underway. The Ministry of Education
has set up a national EFA team comprising
representatives from the Ministry, provinces,
non-governmental organizations and civil
society which will prepare the national
EFA plan of action. To this end, the team
will first conduct a series of baseline
studies, then consult with provinces and
finally organize a national workshop.
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Based on the results of these activities,
UNESCO will, at the invitation of the
government of Pakistan, undertake a mission
early next year to review the consultation
process, and the papers and studies produced.
The mission will also collaborate with
the government and experts to further
improve the Ministry's plan of action.
Major areas of action are data assessment
and evaluation, decentralization, and
literacy and non-formal education. |
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| Nigeria
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A new Universal Basic Education (UBE)
programme in Nigeria is now operational
and being implemented with the technical
and financial assistance of UNESCO and
other partners. UNESCO’s contribution
and assistance will initially go over
a period of three years |
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During a UNESCO mission to Nigeria earlier
this month, the Terms of Reference for
the new programme were signed by the
Minister of State for Education, Lawal
Batagarawa. The programme comprises
five components:
Improving community education and
literacy, which aims at providing
adults and out-of-school youth with
learning opportunities outside the
formal school system.
Reinforcing the capacity of local
school management, which includes
re-enforcing the National Institute
of Educational Planning and Administration.
Revising the role and function of
the school inspectorate system to
better assure the quality of the provision
of basic education.
A Teacher Education Enrichment Programme
through the development of networks
among teacher training colleges using
new information and communication
technologies.
Improving learning opportunities in
the early primary grades with a special
emphasis on girls.
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In addition to the UBE programme, UNESCO
is participating in an education sector
analysis and providing technical and financial
assistance to develop technical and vocational
education. |
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| Mexico
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Mexico is one of the countries where the
World Education Forum has triggered a
reflection process on how to accelerate
the Education for All movement. A workshop
organized in August gathered national
programme officers and education specialists
to discuss how to adapt existing strategies
to meet the goals of the Dakar Framework
for Action. The follow-up action is involving
all Secretaries of Education in Mexico’s
thirty one states. |
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Sofía Leticia Morales Garza, Secretary–General
of the National Commission of Mexico
to UNESCO, highlights the following
programmes, which constitute important
building bloks in the Mexican plan of
action:
The Education Programme for Youth
and Adults offers relevant courses
adapted to the learner's age, gender
and rural and urban environment. Textbooks
and audiovisual materials are used
as learning tools. This programme
is now being used in other countries
in the region, for instance in Guatemala’s
literacy campaign.
The Distance Education National Programme
builds on the Telesecundaria-model
which has, for the past thirty years,
brought secondary education to more
than a million Mexican youths and
to some 30,000 youths in Central America,
Santo Domingo, Colombia, Bolivia and
southern parts of the United States.
In Mexico, a pilot project will now
adapt this model to include education
at basic and tertiary level to improve
educational quality and access.
The promotion of values in basic education.
Today, some 5 million youths receives
civic and ethic education at secondary
level in schools throughout Mexico.
In addition, some 250,000 youths in
military service receive training
on themes such as democracy, violence
inside the family, respect and equality
between men and women, and HIV/AIDS.
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Mrs Morales comments that the challenges
represented in the Dakar Framework for
Action demand “an intense collaboration
in the region to reach the proposed goals
in 2005 and 2010”. She adds that the region
aims at reaching universal primary education
and at least 70 per cent of young people
in secondary school within this time frame.
She added that it will be crucial to continue
the strong regional collaboration that
already exists within the framework of
the Summit of the Americas (co-ordinated
by Mexico with Chile, Argentina, the United
States, Canada and Brazil and in collaboration
with the Organization of American States
(OAS), the World Bank and the Inter-American
Development Bank. |
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| Dakar
follow-up on the agenda |
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At the meeting of the United Nations Administrative
Committee on Coordination (27-28 October
2000 in New York), UNESCO Director-General
presented the Dakar follow-up activities
in the presence of the United Nations
Secretary-General and other United Nations
heads. He highlighted the importance of
collaboration between agencies to meet
the challenges in education and reiterated
his commitment that UNESCO will continue
to work according to the principle of
"leadership through partnership". |
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An Inter-agency Consultation on Education
in Situations of Emergency and Crisis,
organized by UNESCO, UNHCR and UNICEF,
will be held in Geneva, Switzerland from
8 to 10 November 2000. The purpose of
the consultation is to agree on practical
strategies and mechanisms to achieve more
effective inter-agency collaboration at
global, regional and country level. |
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Within the framework of the United Nations
Special Initiative for Africa, the Heads
of State of Burkina Faso, Chad, Guinea,
Mali, Niger and Senegal will meet on 27
November 2000 in Bamako, Mali, to explore
how to accelerate the education for all
agenda in these countries. UNESCO's Director-General
will give the keynote address at the conference.
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| Information
Contact: Anne Muller (a.muller@unesco.org) |
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