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| Nine
high-population countries pledge to intensity efforts to ensure
Education for All |
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 Recife,
3 February 2000 (UNESCO) - Education ministers and officials
from nine high-population developing countries (E-9) - Bangladesh,
Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and
Pakistan - reaffirmed their pledge to "sustain, intensify and
accelerate their efforts and policies" in pursuing education
for all, during a conference in the Brazilian city of Recife. |
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| The
E-9 meeting, attended by seven education ministers and two high-level
officials, was the fourth of six conferences to assess the progress
and shortfalls in the worldwide struggle to achieve education
for all. Each meeting will make recommendations to the World
Education Forum, which will take place in Dakar, Senegal, on
April 26-28. |
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| In
a Declaration issued on Wednesday at the conclusion of the three-day
ministerial review meeting, delegates expressed satisfaction
at the "significant breakthroughs in all nine countries" since
the summit in New Delhi, India, in 1993. |
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| The
Declaration recognises the achievements in education recorded
in the last ten years, while stressing the need to draft a new
visionary agenda for the new millennium that recognises basic
education as a human right. Quality education is acknowledged
as the biggest challenge and the greatest hope. |
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| Participants
from the E-9 countries, which account for half the world’s population
and 70% of global illiteracy, stressed that the needs of the
21st century called for the use of the newest methods and the
most modern technology to achieve truly global modernisation
and excellence in education. |
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| Participants
from the E-9 countries, which account for half the world’s population
and 70% of global illiteracy, stressed that the needs of the
21st century called for the use of the newest methods and the
most modern technology to achieve truly global modernisation
and excellence in education. |
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| The
Declaration takes stock of the achievements and challenges of
the last decade and spells out its goals: prioritising EFA;
increasing the number of students in basic, middle and higher
education; mainstreaming children with special needs; implementing
modalities to link education and the world of work; increased
technical cooperation among countries to ensure access and equity;
stressing values such as justice, democracy, human rights, tolerance
and respect for diversity; and paying special attention to adolescents
and gender equity, among others. |
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| In
pointing the way ahead, the E-9 countries recognised the seriousness
of the problems that continue to impede their progress towards
education for all and stressed the need to address them in an
innovative and creative manner. |
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| The
Brazilian education minister, Paulo Renato Souza, said that
in a globalised inter-dependent world, "educational responsibility
is not only national but should be shared by the whole education
community." |
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The Brazilian education minister, Paulo Renato Souza, said that
in a globalised inter-dependent world, "educational responsibility
is not only national but should be shared by the whole education
community." |
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| This
view was reiterated by Egypt’s education minister, Dr. Hussein
Kamel Bahaa El Din. Speaking on behalf of 20 other Arab education
ministers, he said: "Knowledge is the capital of the new century,"
and societies could not limit themselves to elementary skills
in an intensive, knowledge-based world. |
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| Ministers
were candid about the gains and shortcomings of the EFA processes
in their countries. Bangladesh’s education minister, Abu Sharaf
Hifzul Kader Sadique, reported significant advances in literacy,
but confessed to difficulties in quality. "In our rush for numbers
(after Jomtien), quality missed out." This assessment was echoed
by China, which has otherwise made remarkable advances. "The
overall quality of school teachers leaves much to be desired,"
said Lu Fuyuan, deputy education minister. The large part of
China’s population that lives in remote, mountainous areas was
still difficult to reach, and while enrollment was high, there
was a shortage of teachers and buildings. |
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Indonesia's economic and political crisis has affected education.
A drop in purchasing power has resulted in a fall in enrollment
and a rise in pupils dropping out of school. Education Minister
Yahya A. Muhaimin said the country was now engaged in a massive
social ‘safety net’ programme to check the impact of the crisis.
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The EFA Forum is sponsored by the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and
the World Bank, as well as several bilateral donor agencies.
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