EDUCATION FOR ALL BY 2015 Challenges to Achieve

EDUCATION FOR ALL BY 2015 Challenges to Achieve Quality Education for All (EFA): The Role of Higher Education International Meeting: University and EFA UNESCO - Paris, France 3 November 2004

EFA: History and Background • UNESCO Constitution - 1945 … Universal Declaration of Human Rights - 1948 • Jomtien Conference on EFA - 1990 Expanded Vision of EFA / Framework for Action • Amman, EFA Mid-Decade Assessment, 1996 • Dakar World Education Forum - 2000 Refinement of the six EFA goals Mechanisms and strategies EFA within wider development frameworks

EFA & Millennium Development Goals EFA Dakar Goals 1. Expanding and improving comprehensive ECCE, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. 2. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality. 3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes. 4. Achieving a 50% improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults. 5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality. 6. Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills. Millennium Development Goals Goal 2. Achieve UPE Target 3. Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls, alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women Target 4. Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education no later than 2015.

Global Trends on EFA The world is not on track to achieve EFA by 2015 … on the basis of recent trends § Only 83 countries (just over 1/3 of the world’s population) have already achieved the three goals (UPE, gender, literacy) or have a high chance of doing so by 2015; § In 43 countries (with 37% of the world’s population), at least one goal is likely to be missed; § A further 28 countries (with 28% of the world’s population) are not on track to achieve any of them. Two thirds of those in the latter category are in sub-Saharan Africa, but they also include India and Pakistan.

Global Trends on EFA (cont’d) … Of the three goals, literacy most frequently risks not being met: at present rate of progress… § 79 countries will not be able to halve their rate of adult illiteracy by 2015. § UPE is unlikely to be reached in 57 countries, 41 of which have recently even been moving in the wrong direction. § The position is slightly better as regards the gender goals, with 86 countries having already achieved gender parity in primary enrolments, and a further 35 countries being close to doing so.

EFA: challenges 1 – Out-of-school Children • More than 100 million school-age children are out of school, • Some 96% of these children live in developing countries, • … concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and South & West Asia. .

EFA Challenges 2 – Adult illiteracy • More than 800 million adults are still illiterates, • Two-third of adult illiterates are women, • Some 70% of illiterates live in the E-9 countries.

EFA Challenges 3 – Gender disparity • Gender disparities in primary school to disadvantage of girls, • Around 57% of out-of-school children are girls, • High proportions are found in South and West Asia and Arab States.

EFA Challenges 3 – Repetition, dropout and learning achievement at primary level § The incidence of repetition is highest in sub. Saharan Africa with an average 20% of repeaters § School survival rates to last grade are lower in sub -Saharan Africa (about 58%) than elsewhere § Low survival rates are also an obstacle to the full achievement of UPC in South & West Asia Latin America & Caribbean § Several available studies have revealed poor pupil performance, especially in developing countries

EFA Challenges 4 – Teacher Shortage § Additional 15 -35 million teacher are needed to achieve EFA by 2015 § Many of teachers currently in service are untrained and/or face poor working conditions and low status § Teachers are among the groups most affected by HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa § National pupil teacher ratios hide large intracountry disparities for many African countries where class size ranges from 50 to 150

EFA Challenges 5 – Funding Gap § Current financing gap: US$7 billion per year in external aid to basic education is required to reach UPE of a reasonable quality by 2015 § When considering Monterrey Consensus and IFF, total aid to basic education could double, reaching about US$3 -3. 5 billion by 2006 § The financing gap can be estimated at about US $4 billion per year by 2006

What are UNESCO’s Roles in EFA? 1. Coordinating and mobilizing EFA partners and maintaining their collaborative momentum 2. Contribute directly to achieving the six goals 3. Monitoring progress towards EFA objectives For the biennium 2004/05, 80% budget of Education Sector is devoted to EFA. 70% budget of Education Sector is decentralised.

Contribution to the EFA Global Monitoring Report • Facilitating the production of an independent and authoritative EFA Monitoring Report • Raising Extra-Budgetary funds for Monitoring Report • Disseminating messages from the Report

UNESCO’s Implementation Role: Contributing directly to achieving the six goals UNESCO refocused its education programme to place Dakar priorities at the heart of its work. 1. Expertise from UNESCO Education Sector 2. Specialized Institutes : UIS, IIPE, IBE, UIE, ICBA 3. UNESCO Field Offices: 4 regional education offices, 27 cluster and 24 national offices. 4. Permanent Delegations (190) 5. National Commissions (190) 6. Networks of UNESCO: Associated Schools, Chairs, Clubs/Associations Special attention to Sub-Saharan Africa, LDCs, E-9

An Holistic Approach to EFA: Secondary and higher education are vitally implicated in the EFA process and vice versa R E S E A R C H Tertiary Ed. Secondary Ed. Primary Ed. Teacher training

Contribution of Higher Education to EFA • Teacher Training • Teachers are key to promoting and sustaining the quality of education • Research on EFA • Curriculum reform and textbook • Evaluation and Assessment • Leadership on EFA

INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION Emerging Architecture EFA Partners: UNESCO, UN System, WB, Bilateral, ONG… FTI Donors Group MDG G 8 High Level Group Workin g Group CCNGO FLAGSHIPS EFA Forums: Regional/National Monitoring Report International Strategy

Sustaining an effective partnership Sharing roles and responsibilities within UN System • UNESCO: coordination – Maintaining collaborative momentum Contribute directly to achieving the six EFA goals • UNICEF: leads and coordinates UNGEI • UNDP : lead and coordinate effort to achieve MDGs • World Bank: support policy reform and funds mobilization through FTI • WFP : provides food as incentive to enrolment and retention • UNFPA : supports EFA through education for reproductive health and women empowerment • ILO : contributes to EFA through improvement of teacher status and the elimination of child labour • Other UN agencies: support EFA through the flagship initiatives

The EFA Flagship Initiatives Multi-partners collaborative mechanism in support of EFA goals 1. The Initiative on the Impact of HIV/AIDS on Education 2. Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) 3. The Right to Education for Persons with Disabilities: Towards Inclusion 4. Education for Rural People (ERP) 5. Education in Situations of Emergency and Crisis 6. Focusing Resources on Effective School Health (FRESH) 7. Teachers and the Quality of Education 8. The 10 -year United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) 9. Literacy in the Framework of the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD)

Closing the Funding Gap: FTI – What is it ? l A partnership of countries and donors, in the spirit of the Monterrey global compact l With strong emphasis on role of EFA in poverty alleviation l Aims at helping low-income countries achieve the MDG of UPC by 2015 l Through quick and incremental resources to countries committed to policy reform l Elimination of school fees in primary education l With possibility of support for recurrent costs, especially for payment of teachers salaries in Africa

FTI : A performance-based initiative Indicative Framework Policy Benchmarks for UPC by 2015 Service Delivery Avg. annual teacher salary : 3. 5 x per capita GDP Pupil-teacher ratio : 40: 1 Non-salary spending : 33% of recurrent education spending Average repetition rate : 10% or lower Annual hours of instruction : 850 -1000 hours System Expansion Construction cost per classroom (furnished & equipped, incl. sanitation facilities) : $ 10, 000 or less System Financing Government revenues : % of GDP 14 per cent – 18 per cent (depending on p/c GDP) Education spending : 20% (as share of Government revenues) Primary education spending : 50% (as share of total education recurrent spending)

Results achieved so far Ø At least $210 million of additional donor commitments are attributable to FTI ØAs of April 2004, the EFA-FTI Catalytic Fund had attracted US$ 236 million from four donors (The Netherlands, Norway, Italy and Belgium) for 2004 -07 Ø UK committed approximately US$ 21 million for the Catalytic Fund Ø Six FTI countries were granted a total of $35 m from the Catalytic Fund for 2004 (Gambia, Guyana, Mauritania, Nicaragua, Niger, Yemen)

UNESCO’s Roles and Implications in FTI – 1/2 • Moulding FTI Framework - eligibility criteria: PRSP + EFA plan • Advocating expansion of FTI: countries with big number of outof-school (E-9), countries at risk of not achieving EFA goals • Stressing the broad vision of EFA: 6 Dakar goals • Advocating consultation with civil society in FTI process • Working with recipient countries at national level

UNESCO’s Roles and Implications in FTI – 2/2 • UNESCO ensures linkages between WG, HLG and FTI Partners Group • UNESCO is co-convener of the Partners Group meeting on FTI • UNESCO is a permanent member of FTI Steering Committee • UNESCO is represented in the 4 FTI Working Groups • EFA Global Monitoring Report reviews FTI progress

Partnership with Civil Society, including Private Sector § Strengthened collaboration with civil society mainly through CC/NGOs on EFA (600 NGOs) and EFA Week • • • Learning from perspectives of civil society Promoting collaboration between Gvts and civil society Facilitating networks and alliances of NGOs § Promoting involvement of private sector in EFA: • 5 th WGEFA – Discussion on growing trend in private sector contributions in education • 4 th HLG (Nov. 2004) –side Event: 1 st Round Table on Development-Driven Public-Private Partnerships in Basic Education: Practitioners solution

Presented by: Abhimanyu SINGH Director International Coordination and Monitoring Division Education sector UNESCO 7, Place Fontenoy 75700 Paris, France