Lifelong Learning in Europe: Moving towards EFA Goals and CONFINTEA V Agenda

Update on EFA

John Daniel

Assistant Director-General for Education UNESCO European Regional Conference 6-9 November 2002 Sofia, Bulgaria

The 2002 Global Monitoring Report

Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments

(an independent report on the evolution of education indicators, planning, resource requirements, and donor performance on commitments)

Constitution (1945) of the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation

“For these reasons, the States Parties to this Constitution,

believing in full and equal opportunities for education for all,

in the unrestricted pursuit of objective truth, and in the free exchange of ideas and knowledge, are agreed and determined…”

1990 – Jomtien 2000 – Dakar

(The Dakar Framework for Action)

2001 –

High Level Group (Paris)

2002 –

High Level Group (Abuja)

The 2002 Global Monitoring Report

Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments

(an independent report on the evolution of education indicators, planning, resource requirements, and donor performance on commitments)

GET EQUAL

GET EQUAL

G = Girls and Gender

“to eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and achieve gender equality by 2015 with a special focus on ensuring full and equal access for girls to basic education of good quality.”

GET EQUAL

E = Elementary/Primary

“to ensure that by 2015 all children, especially girls, children in difficult circumstances, and from ethnic minorities have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality.”

GET EQUAL

T = Training

“to ensure that the learning needs of all young people are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes.”

GET EQUAL

E = Early Childhood

“to expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.”

GET EQUAL

QU = Quality

“to improve all aspects of the quality of education to achieve recognised and measurable learning outcomes for all – especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.”

GET EQUAL

AL = Adult Literacy

“to achieve a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, as well as equitable access to basic and continuing education for adults.”

Since the Jomtien World Conference in 1990 there has been some ambiguity as to whether EFA underpins a global Education for All movement or whether it is primarily a vehicle for focusing on developing countries, where the challenge of enabling the poorest and most severely disadvantaged people to benefit from a basic education is the priority. The balance has moved more towards the latter than the former position, and has been accentuated by the very strong international focus on Universal Primary Education. …

Nevertheless, many of the challenges of EFA extend well beyond developing countries. The educational needs of those living in relative poverty in industrialised societies, questions of quality and relevance, of gender equality, of literacies responsive to the revolution in communication technology, and the challenge for education provided by the risks of drugs dependency are just some of the major issues deserving a wider, global treatment. If EFA is treated as an issue specific to particular countries and regions of the world, it runs the danger of becoming partial, and perhaps more marginal, rather than a central educational priority worldwide. The EFA Global Monitoring Report will begin to redress this balance from 2003.

EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2002

This report has shown that progress towards the six Dakar goals is insufficient: the world is not on track to achieve education for all by 2015. This judgement is based on a number of strands of evidence. …Three of the goals – universal primary education, gender equality and literacy – can presently be monitored quantitatively. Only 83 countries (accounting for just over one-third of the world’s population) have already achieved the three goals or have a high chance of doing so by 2015 on the basis of recent trends. In 43 countries (with 37% of the world’s population), at least one goal is likely to be missed, while a further28 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.

EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2002

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. Universal primary education 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 Global Monitoring Report, 2002

Changes between 1990-2000

DYNAMIC

CLOSE

FAR

Changes between 1990-2000

DYNAMIC

Changes between 1990-2000

DYNAMIC

Insufficient progress

Close but Going Backward

Serious risk

Far and Going Backward

Insufficient progress

Far but Going Forward

Changes between 1990-2000

DYNAMIC

Adult Literacy Achieved – Europe (>95%) Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Spain and Ukraine.

(no data for most OECD countries)

LITERACY

(partial list of countries) Insufficient progress Bahrain, Brazil, China, Ecuador, Ghana,

Malta,

Mexico, Namibia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Turkey , Tanzania, Viet Nam, Zambia

(39 countries)

High chance

Albania,

Bolivia,

Bosnia Herzegovina ,

Congo, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Libya, Malaysia, Palestine,

Portugal,

Zimbabwe

(18 countries)

Serious risk Algeria, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Dem.Rep.Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, India, Iraq, Malawi, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda

(40 countries)

Insufficient progress Slow performer Fast performer

Changes between 1990-2000

PRIMARY EDUCATION

(partial list of countries) Insufficient progress Bahrain, Botswana, China, Cyprus, Georgia, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Mauritius, Paraguay, St Kitts and Nevis, Syria, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Venezuela.

(20 countries)

High chance Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Iraq, Jordan, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda,

(21 countries)

Serious risk Burundi, Comoros, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Iran, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, Zambia.

(21 countries)

Insufficient progress Benin, Bhutan, Burkina, Chad, C ôte d’Ivoire, Dem.Rep.Congo, Ethiopia, Gambia, Haiti, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Mozambique,Nicaragua

(16 countries)

Away from goal Towards goal

Changes between 1990-2000

GENDER PARITY - PRIMARY

(partial list of countries) Insufficient progress Belize, Chile, Cuba, Estonia, Indonesia, Jamaica, Madagascar, Mongolia, Paraguay, South Africa, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey

(18 countries)

High chance Algeria, Bangladesh, Cape Verde, Congo, Egypt, Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Lesotho, Oman, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Saudi Arabia, Uganda

(18 countries)

Serious risk Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Grenada, Iraq, Mozambique

(8 countries)

Insufficient progress Benin, Bhutan, Burkina, Chad, C ôte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, India, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, Senegal, Sudan, Togo.

(23 countries)

Away from goal Towards goal

Changes between 1990-2000

Dakar Composite: Primary, Literacy, Gender Parity Group

E9

High Chance

Brazil

Insufficient

Bangladesh Egypt

Mexico

China Indonesia

At Risk

India Nigeria Pakistan

Dakar Composite: Primary, Literacy, Gender Parity Group Central/ Eastern Europe

High Chance

Albania Belarus Bosnia Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Estonia Hungary Latvia Lithuania Poland Romania Russian Federation FYR Macedonia

Insufficient

Turkey Yugoslavia

At Risk

Dakar Composite: Primary, Literacy, Gender Parity Group North America/ Western Europe

High Chance

Belgium Canada Cyprus Denmark France Greece Ireland Israel Italy Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom United States

Insufficient At Risk

Dakar Composite: Primary, Literacy, Gender Parity Group Latin America/ Caribbean

High Chance

Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Bahamas Barbados Belize Bolivia Brazil Cayman Islands Chile Columbia Costa Rica Cuba Dominican Republic Ecuador Guyana Honduras Mexico Netherlands Antilles Peru Trinidad and Tobago Uruguay

Insufficient

Dominica Grenada Guatemala Haiti Jamaica Nicaragua Paraguay St Kitts & Nevis Venezuela St Vincent and the Grenadines

At Risk

Dakar Composite: Primary, Literacy, Gender Parity Group Arab States/ North Africa

High Chance

Jordan Libyan Arab J’riya Palestinian A.T.

Tunisia

Insufficient

Algeria Bahrain Egypt Kuwait Mauritania Oman Qatar Saudi Arabia Syrian Arab Rep.

U.A.Emirates

At Risk

Djibouti Iraq Lebanon Morocco Sudan

Dakar Composite: Primary, Literacy, Gender Parity Group Sub Saharan Africa

High Chance

Congo Gabon Kenya Rwanda Seychelles Zimbabwe

Insufficient

Botswana Cape Verde Côte d’Ivoire Gambia Ghana Lesotho Malawi Mauritius Namibia South Africa Swaziland Togo Uganda UR of Tanzania

At Risk

Benin Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Central African Rep.

Chad Comoros Dem.Rep.Congo

Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Guinea Guinea-Bissau Madagascar Mali Mozambique Niger Nigeria Senegal Zambia

Dakar Composite: Primary, Literacy, Gender Parity Group North America/ Western Europe

High Chance

Belgium Canada Cyprus Denmark France Greece Ireland Israel Italy Netherlands Norway Portugal Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom United States

Insufficient At Risk

Gaps in Basic Skills

(USA)

Three Challenges: - Language (5%) - Educational credential (17%) - New literacy (20%)

United Nations Decade for Literacy 2003-2012

Education - is a right - enhances freedoms - helps development

The intrinsic human value of education – its ability to add meaning and value to everyone’s lives without discrimination – is at the core of its status as a human right. But education is also an indispensable means to unlock and protect other human rights. It provides some of the scaffolding necessary for the achievement of the rights to good health, liberty, security, economic well-being and participation in social and political activity. Where the right to education is guaranteed, people’s access to and enjoyment of other rights is enhanced and the imbalances in life chances are lessened.

EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2002