Good news: UNESCO’s Executive Board unanimously sign up to protect “Learning without Fear”

By Catherine Jere, Research Officer for the EFA Global Monitoring Report and author of the recent paper ‘School-related gender-based violence is preventing the achievement of quality education for all‘.

In March, for International Women’s Day, UNGEI, UNESCO and the EFA Global Monitoring Report produced a new paper showing that gender-based violence in and around schools prevents millions of children worldwide from fulfilling their academic potential and calling for urgent action to combat school-related gender-based violence (SRGBV). The paper called for a consensus on how SRGBV should be understood and addressed, and supported a call made in October by H.E. Ms Annick Girardin, Minister of State for Development and Francophony, for a UNESCO decision on school-related gender-based violence.

As a result, we are delighted to announce that, at the end of last week, fifty-eight countries signed up to the decision, “Learning without Fear”, condemning gender-based violence in all its forms and manifestations. Countries committed themselves to design and implement national policies and action plans; and to promote the creation of safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all boys and girls. The decision also invites the Director-General to submit a roadmap to better combat school-related gender-based violence to the Executive Board this time next year.

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Among the countries who signed up to the decision were Uganda, who said that this was long overdue, that would help children speak out about the violence they have experienced; Austria encouraged UNESCO to seize this moment to shed more light on the issue; India commended the insight and thoughtfulness of the text, and suggested it could be used as a template for UNESCO’s action on discrimination against other marginalised groups.

Morocco presented policies it had implemented on SRGBV as food for thought for others signing up to do the same. Two nationwide studies were carried out on the issue in 2005 and 2007. Two additional enquiries were carried out on drug abuse in schools in 2009 and 2012. These studies helped expose the prevalence of violence in schools, and led to preventative actions, including creating regional and provincial centres where incidences of SRGBV can be reported, improving coordination between Ministries of Justice and Health and National Security and building partnerships of cooperation between different departments and civil society at regional and local levels. At the school level, Morocco’s preventative strategy also involved improving lighting and security around school buildings, engaging parenting associations to be aware of the issue, preparing procedural guidance documents for heads of schools in case of SRGBV incidences, and organising training sessions on the rights of the child.

Vote for Education!

Today marks the launch of GCE’s Global Action Week, calling on us all to ‘Vote for Education’. The campaign calls on people worldwide to help set the future direction of education for the next generation. Fifteen years to the day from the Dakar conference that set forth an expanded EFA vision and a set of six concrete goals, it calls on activists to find out what has worked since 2000 and what didn’t.

Just two weeks ago we launched the new EFA Report ‘Education for All 2000-2015: achievements and challenges‘, which showed that that there has not been overall success in achieving Education for All, but acknowledges dramatic progress by some countries along the way. This blog celebrates the successful efforts of some countries since Dakar, and extracts lessons we can learn from their achievements. Their stories are a huge source of optimism as we establish a new vision for the next 15 years.

(Goal 1) Early childhood care and education: Ghana

Lesson: At least one year of compulsory pre-primary education should be provided as part of an extended basic education cycle.

“Major interventions to improve early childhood care and education have included the abolition of school fees; support for needy pupils; production and supply of teaching and learning materials, staff capacity-building; provision of school uniforms and meals; mainstreaming kindergarten, and stronger collaboration among ministries and between schools and communities.” Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, Hon. Minister for Education of the Republic of Ghana, Ghana

At the time of Dakar, just under half of children were attending pre-school in Ghana, while now there is universal enrolment. Ghana stood out from its neighbours in already having ECCE policies in 2000. Since then it has abolished school fees at this level, made pre-primary education compulsory for two years starting at age 3, dedicated resources to school materials and training teachers, all while providing extra support for the most disadvantaged children. Currently, The New Education Strategic Plan (2010-2020) provides a series of public-awareness campaigns to boost the image of early childhood education in the eyes of the public. The steady growth in enrolment rates speaks for itself.

The regional stories of the GMR 2015. Part I

The GMR 2015 was released almost two weeks ago. Events are continuing to take place around the world, including in Pakistan, the Philippines, Germany, Netherlands, Namibia and Switzerland just this week. In total, well over 60 countries will be holding launches to discuss and debate the Report’s findings. Below are the summary stories for two regions: the Arab States and sub-Saharan Africa. Each regional overview highlights key achievements, and pinpoints major challenges still remaining before Education for All is achieved.

ARAB STATES: Conflict is holding back education

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Early childhood care and education programmes have expanded considerably, but participation levels are still low. Algeria is an exception, with a 2% participation rate in 1999 that is projected to exceed 100% in 2015.

Even though there has been significant progress toward universal primary education, such as in Morocco, only Tunisia is projected to achieve the EFA goal of ensuring that all children who have access to primary school also complete it.  The Report shows that the region is still home to 4.5 million out of school children and that just over a sixth of students leave school early in the region. Conflict, and its impact on education, has intensified in the region: the proportion of the region’s out of school children affected by armed conflict has risen from 63% to 87%.

Responding to the needs of youth and adults remains a challenge. Illiteracy still affects almost 52 million adults – just over a fifth of the adult population – and two-thirds of them are women.

Report cards for Education for All: 2000-2015

Which Education for All goal needs a rethink? Which calls for us to try harder? Read and share the Report cards for each of the global education goals set in Dakar taken from the GMR 2015: Education for all 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges.

Was education progress faster after Dakar?

The freshly released GMR, “Education for All 2000-2015: achievements and challenges” shows that only a third of countries reached all of the measurable Education for All goals. Only half reached the most watched goal of universal primary education.

While the goals themselves may have been missed, however, this assessment of national and international efforts reveals only part of the story. Before we draw definitive conclusions as to the success of Education for All, let’s consider new GMR analysis in the latest Report that examines the extent to which the curve of EFA change may have been bent upwards in the years since Dakar. In other words, has the pace of education progress quickened over the past 15 years?

Carrying out this exercise does not necessarily mean that all progress found can be credited to the Education for All movement. However, it does provide a stronger basis to evaluate the record of the movement before we move on to look at the SDGs. And the world will be closer to key targets than if previous trends had continued.

Highlights from the launch events of the GMR 2015

On the occasion of the launch of the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2015: Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges, many key dignitaries assembled on three different continents to discuss the Report’s findings and the implications for education in the future.

The Director General’s conclusion on the verdict given in the Report on the Education for All movement was complemented by remarks from many high profile speakers over the course of the day. Some of these remarks are listed here:

Irina Bokova. Credit: UNESCO/P. Chiang-Joo

Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova: There has been tremendous progress across the world since 2000 – but we are not there yet. Despite all efforts by governments, civil society and the international community, the world has not achieved Education for All.

So much has been achieved since 2000 – we need to do far more, to ensure quality education and lifelong learning for all. There is simply no more powerful or longer- lasting investment in human rights and dignity, in social inclusion and sustainable development. Experience since 2000 shows what can be done – we need to draw on this to do more.

United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon: We know that when we work together and invest in the future, the sky is the limit for young people. Let us harness the power of education to build a better future for all.

Education for All 2000-2015: The #EduVerdict is in!

The 12^th GMR report has just been launched: ‘Education for All 2000-2015: achievements and challenges.’ The Report shows how the world has done in achieving the six Education for All goals set out in Dakar in 2000.

Here is the #EduVerdict:

Just one-third of countries have achieved all the measurable EFA goals

Just one half of all countries have achieved the most watched goal of universal primary enrolment, and a further 10% were close to achieving it.

In 2012, 121 million children and adolescents were still out of school, down from 204 million in 1999.

The poorest children are 4 times more likely to be out of school, and 5 times more likely not to complete primary education than the richest.

Even so, the EFA movement has increased education progress since 1999

Since 1999, 80 million more children and adolescents are now enrolled in primary school.

34 million more children are in school now than would have been the case had trends from the 1990s persisted

Since 1999, double the number of countries have actively monitored education quality by conducting at least one national learning assessment.

The GMR – and how it has contributed to EFA

In 2000 at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal 164 countries pledged to achieve six education goals by 2015.  Participants committed to vastly improve education opportunities for children, youth and adults. Governments and international partners pledged that no country engaged in these efforts would be hindered by a lack of resources.

School children in Brazil. © Eraldo Peres/Photo Agencia

The Education for All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report, established in 2002 and prepared by an editorially independent team hosted by UNESCO, was mandated with monitoring progress towards the six EFA goals and tracking the performance of governments, civil society, bilateral donors and international agencies in the implementation of the agreed strategies.

The six Dakar goals are the result of a collective agreement and partnership. The report’s editorial board therefore includes representatives from diverse constituencies including experts, international agencies, UNESCO institutes, donors and civil society. The report has received funding from governments (Australia, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom), two foundations (Open Society Foundation and the Master Card Foundation) as well as UNICEF and UNESCO.

Behind the scenes: How the 2015 Global Monitoring Report was created

 This blog provides a glimpse of what has happened behind the scenes in the creation of the 518 page report ‘Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges’ due out on Thursday 9 April.

The theme of each of the EFA Global Monitoring Reports is suggested by the Report Director and approved by the Report’s Advisory Board, which meets once a year. A broad concept note  is then prepared, and reactions to it are invited through a public consultation process. Ten researchers of the GMR team then begin working up a zero draft drawing on team discussions and incorporating comments from external reviewers. Four drafts will be written and reviewed before the final version is sent for editing.

The Zero draft

The EFA Report team

The initial zero draft is presented to an expert group, specific to the theme of that Report, for their comments. For the GMR 2015, this included Christopher Colclough, Suzanne Grant-Lewis and Michael Ward.

The external consultation asks the public to comment on the Report’s concept note. This is an important process, as it enables the team to hear challenging comments from experts, practitioners and minority voices, and to learn about evidence pertaining to different countries and organisations, that could be considered for inclusion.

Concurrently, the researchers conduct their own background research, looking at recent journal articles and technical reports; international, regional and national survey data; information made available from Ministries of Education; and data compiled by the UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics and other UN agencies.

We must not set our sights too low for financing the SDGs

The recent draft of the outcome document for the Addis Ababa Financing for Development Conference said that, by 2025, public spending must reach US$300 per person or 10% of national income to provide an essential basket of public services, ranging from all that is necessary to eradicate poverty and hunger, to access affordable energy and achieve the health and education targets. When compared to the estimates the GMR team made this month for achieving the education targets, this figure is worryingly low, and underestimates the resources needed to reach our ambitions by 2030.

Pupils in an empty classroom at the Lodwar Mixed Primary school in Lodwar , Turkana, Kenya, 26 June 2013 where all Kenyan government teachers were on indefinite strike to demand better pay.
Credit: Picture/Karel Prinsloo/ ARETE

The UN Millennium Project in 2003 estimated that a minimum of US120-140 per person was needed to achieve the MDGs related to social sectors. This was in 2003 prices, and works out around the same amount as the newly configured US$300 per person for achieving sustainable development for all. But, surely a more ambitious agenda such as is outlined in the SDGs calls for more resources?

From education’s perspective, we want all children to have access to at least one year of pre-school and several years of secondary education, and that costs money. We need a greater emphasis on quality and learning than has been the case since 2000. We also need to address equity concerns, so that the marginalized gain access to education, and this requires additional resources. Our own estimates are that implementing equitable education interventions, for instance, increase per-student costs by 30%. In short the amount per person for education should be far more than was estimated as needed in 2003.

There currently exists no finance target in the sustainable development agenda, which is of concern if we are hoping to hold donors and governments to account post-2015. It is therefore commendable for the Committee to begin the conversation about what figure governments should commit to.