Summary of E-discussion on Universal Primary Education …
Table of Contents
Acronyms
Executive Summary
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………5
Participant profiles and response volume…………………………………………………….…5
Summary of comments……………………………………………………………………………6
Analysis & Recommendations…………………………………………………………………..16
Conclusions………………………………………………………………………………………..18
Annexes
1. Participant contact information……………………………………………………………..19
2. Original responses from e-discussion……………………………………………………..21
3. Summary of Spanish e-discussion…………………………………………………………86
4. Original responses from Spanish e-discussion…………………………………………...89
5. Other outreach (listservs, etc)……………………………………………………………..117
6. Terms of reference………………………………………………………………………….118
ActionAid would like to thank all who actively participated and followed this e-dialogue. This discussion would not have been possible without the technical support of OneWorld South Asia, who hosted the web platform. Both the Commonwealth Education Fund and Global Campaign on Education’s outreach to its global constituency and member participation livened the dialogue considerably. Finally, the Education and Gender Equality Task Force should be recognized for its’ desire and effort to solicit civil society comments. This report presents a compilation of messages exchanged during the three-week discussion. Please direct any comments you might have to this report to the moderator, Akanksha A. Marphatia. akanksham@
Acronyms
CEF Commonwealth Education Fund
CGD Center for Global Development
CSO Civil Society Organisation
EFA Education for All
FLACSO Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences
FTI Fast Track Initiative
GCE Global Campaign on Education
GEM Gender Empowerment Measure
ICRW International Center for Research on Women
INGO International Non Governmental Organization
MDG Millennium Development Goal
NGO Non Governmental Organization
OWSA One World South Asia
PRIGEPP Regional Program for Training in Gender and Public Policy
TF Task Force on Education and Gender Equality
UK United Kingdom
UPE Universal Primary Education
USA United States of America
Executive Summary
The Millennium Project Task Force (TF) on Education and Gender Equality has written an interim report on achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of Universal Primary Education. The TF is gathering input from a variety of perspectives on the interim report, and will be preparing final reports by December 15, 2004. This e-discussion is one of the primary opportunities for civil society organizations around the world to influence these reports.
ActionAid International partnered with the Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF), the Global Campaign on Education (GCE) and One World South Asia (OWSA) to launch the e-discussion. As the lead partner, ActionAid International hired a moderator for the discussion and provided managerial support. The Commonwealth Education Fund participated by providing managerial support and by reaching out to its large constituency of staff worldwide. OWSA provided the discussion platform, training for the moderator and technical support for the website. Finally, this e-discussion group builds on the GCE’s consultation (and member list) on critical issues in basic education over the past year.
The universal primary education MDG and report e-discussion took place from July 12th to August 1st[1]. The dialogue attracted over 1,300 participants, although not all contributed to the e-forum. In total, 57 responses from 17 countries were received. Barring multiple messages sent by any one person, 51 people participated. Twenty-seven of these were male and 20 were female.
In addition, over 100 participants took part in the daylong Spanish (August 4th) discussion. Curiously enough the French (August 5th-6th) language discussions did not yield many responses. Both the gender equality and education reports were discussed and key documents were translated.
Discussion summary
Overall, participants applauded the TF’s call for making education transformative and there was excitement with the document calling for a change in how business is usually conducted. However, participants expressed hat the report fell short of guiding how to transform education and what needs to change. “This report should be the one that argues the essential and unique role of education both as a fundamental right and as the fundamental enabling right, which helps people, secure and enjoy other basic rights. This one intervention is critical to achievement of all the MDGs.” With past education targets having failed, this report should better guide how to achieve UPE by ernments sign on to commitments easily but there are no mechanisms to hold them accountable for delivering on these – no enforcement – these reports and the MDG Summit in 2005 should look at how to ensure enforcement and not just make new promises. The flip side is that in Latin America, most governments and decision-makers are simply not aware of the MDGs. So how can they be held accountable for achieving them?
Participants felt strongly that there should be both acknowledgement of the crucial role civil society can play in achieving UPE as well as specific recommendations on their role. Both history and contemporary experiences have shown strong social movements (including trade and teacher unions, NGOs, other CSOs) have motivated governments to ensure UPE. In Dakar it was agreed that governments would develop national EFA Plans in consultation with citizens/ civil society and that donors would then come in to provide consistent and coordinated support. A platform where parents, students and teachers can advocate changes with policy makers at local, district, national and even international level needs to exist.
Recommendation 1: support women’s right to education and not only as a means to an end for wider social change. The slogan ‘education a women and you educate a nation’ may have increased attention on women’s role and contribution to children’s education and well being, but it also has framed women’s value within the socio reproductive roles (and therefore reinforcing gender stereotypes).
Recommendation 2: support women’s education programs. The report needs to explicitly support flexible and participatory approaches to women’s education. As it stands now, the message is left “empty” – it justifies the important roles mothers’ play in children’s education and overall well-being but fails to follow through on a recommendation for supporting women’s literacy initiatives.
Recommendation 3: recognize the value in education and do not reduce it to a debate over a “number of years”. The TF is urged to recognize that a lot of work still needs to be done on primary education and that unless a drastic transformation takes place, UPE 2015 will be out of reach. Questions were asked over the congruity between this MDG target and the Dakar declaration, which provides a full agenda for education from early childhood to adult education.
Recommendation 4: propose changes to address the fundamental financing obstacles to achieving UPE. These include IMF conditionality limiting government expenditure on education, which may undermine the potential of new aid modalities such as the FTI. A criterion ensuring a transparent and accountable allocation of funds distributed via any funding channel was recommended. Civil society should be involved in monitoring and evaluating the use and impact of these funds. With an organized development compact, there are dangers over government being more accountable to donors than their own parliaments and citizens.
Recommendation 5: governments should be held accountable for providing education. The involvement of the private sector is inevitable and even successful in some countries. However, rarely do private schools open their doors to the poor. The government therefore has an even greater role to play in improving public school quality and holding private schools responsible for providing high quality education ant to more than just the elite.
Conclusion
The task force’s desire to collect civil society feedback on the report is encouraging. The goal of this consultation was to elicit perspectives from civil society organizations on the content of the report. The potential of CSO influence on this report would have been more likely if consultations had taken place earlier, when the report’s main tenets were being formulated and throughout the process of revisions. This is concerning not only because it questions the genuine space created for participation but also because participants challenged and disagreed with two of the report’s key strategic objectives.
Albeit these limitations, there is space for the TF to integrate the main recommendations of this consultation as they undertake final revisions in August 2004. The executive summary of this report could be presented somewhere in the main text of the report. Examples provided by participants could also substantiate, strengthen and diversify those currently presented in the report. Finally, this summary could be attached as an annex to the report. ActionAid welcomes the TF’s feedback - both directly to the agency and for the e-discussion group – on how this kind of dialogue can be more influential and valuable to the Millennium Development Project.
Finally, unavailability of the TF papers in different languages limits regional representation. The executive summary of the report is available in Spanish, but there is no document in French or Portuguese. This not only limit’s participation in the dialogue, but also limits the validity and to some extent, credibility of the report (and Millennium Project) in areas of the world that speak these languages. This French dialogue was based on ActionAid’s translation of the one-page MDG report summary. It is unfortunate however, that participants will not be able to read the details, and main thrust of the report. Although discussions were held in Spanish and French, a one-day dialogue barely skims the surface. To fully integrate regional perspectives into the report, the TF will need to reach out to groups and participants around the world in order to prove that the MDGs are a relevant and applicable policy movement.
I. Introduction[2]
The Millennium Project Task Force (TF) on Education and Gender Equality has written an interim report on achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of Universal Primary Education. The TF is gathering input from a variety of perspectives on the interim report, and will be preparing final reports by December 15, 2004. This e-discussion is one of the primary opportunities for civil society organizations around the world to influence these reports.
ActionAid International partnered with the Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF), the Global Campaign on Education (GCE) and One World South Asia (OWSA) to launch the e-discussion.[3] As the lead partner, ActionAid International hired a moderator for the discussion and provided managerial support. The Commonwealth Education Fund participated by providing managerial support and by reaching out to its large constituency of staff worldwide. OWSA provided the discussion platform, training for the moderator and technical support for the website. Finally, this e-discussion group builds on the GCE’s consultation (and member list) on critical issues in basic education over the past year.
The universal primary education MDG and report e-discussion took place from July 12th to August 1st. Discussion questions were sent to the group at the beginning of each week. A one-page summary of the report was provided for the discussion group and participants were also encouraged to read the executive summary and full report. The first week focused on the overall framing of the universal primary education (UPE) report. The second week focused on the six key messages of the report. The third and final week centred on the recommendations section. Weekly summaries prepared by the moderator were distributed to the group.
Day-long Spanish (August 4th) and French (August 5th-6th) language discussions were held on both the gender equality and education reports. Summaries of these dialogues, along with original responses can be found in the annexes.
The TF is encouraged to read the summary of the gender equality MDG consultation, where numerous messages on education were exchanged. This report integrates some of these messages.
II. Response volume and participant profiles
The dialogue attracted over 1,300 participants, although not all contributed to the e-forum. The majority of these participants were part of the previous on-line dialogue on the gender equality MDG report. One hundred and ninety-nine new people joined the group, while approximately 18 unsubscribed. [4]
The gender discussion ended with 1,272 subscribed members. On July 12th, the education discussion began with a total of 1,350 participants. On August 1st, at the end of the three-week discussion, a total of 1,312 members belonged to the group. Incorrect email addresses and those who unsubscribed explain the 55-member decrease.
In total, 57 responses from 17 countries were received. Barring multiple messages sent by any one person, 51 people participated (see Annex 1 for a list of contact information of these participants.) Twenty-seven of these were male and 20 were female.[5] They represented International Non Governmental Organization (INGO), local Civil Society Organizations (CSO), academics, and donor agencies. The regional breakdown is as follows:
▪ Europe (Switzerland, UK)
▪ Asia (India, Pakistan, South Pacific)
▪ Latin America and Caribbean (Barbados, Ecuador, Uruguay)
▪ Africa (Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia)
▪ North America (USA)
III. Summary of Comments
This summary compiles messages in a parallel format to the TF report in order to facilitate CGD’s integration of comments.[6] Select project examples provided by participants are highlighted in this summary. The TF is encouraged to review the full transcript of original responses (Annex 2) for more project examples. Analysis and recommendations stemming from these responses are offered in section IV of this summary.
This first week of the dialogue was intentionally left “unstructured” to monitor the areas participants felt were important to discuss. A few questions on the overall framing of the report were asked in order to jump start discussions. The MDG target 2 is to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
▪ The report states that education can be either about reproducing or transforming societies. Does the report succeed in illustrating how schools can be transformative? Please highlight any relevant examples you might have on programs that have made education transformative.
▪ Is the overall framing of education in this report consistent with the education recommendations in the gender report? Do you have suggestions on how to strengthen coherency between the two documents?
▪ It has been suggested that the goal of education all children by 2015 can be achieved with the right resources, political will and programs. In which ways does this report help governments, donor agencies and civil society to more effectively work toward this goal? How can it be strengthened?
▪ Please share your reactions on how to reinforce or challenge this report so it can be more useful to you.
Responses on the Task Force contribution & perspective
The reports’ call for making education transformative was applauded and there was excitement with the document calling for a change in how business is usually conducted. However, participants expressed that the report fell short of guiding how to transform education, and what needs to change.
How should education be transformed? Schools should be microcosms of the societies that we want to create - spaces that are democratic, respect children's rights, which oppose discrimination and prejudice. If schools are to do this then they should also promote un-learning (e.g. of prejudice / gendered roles etc) as well as learning. As institutions, schools should have a clear agenda for social change, challenging the deep discrimination and violence against girls in society. “We need to reformulate our thinking about schools so that they focus more on values and act as places for building positive human relationships – countering dominant trends and the breakdown of society…promoting gender equality and inter-cultural relations should be specific objectives of schools, embedded in the curriculum and in teacher training.”[7]
If education is to be transformed, then teachers have to be a centrepiece. Teachers are the focal point in creating democratic classrooms, where girls and boys can interact freely, where teachers and parents can openly discuss educational issues and where the greater community has a sense of ownership in its local school. The TF’s proposal to reduce salaries in some countries is “just not acceptable.” Low salaries, little training opportunity and few incentives have already led many teachers away from schools. In addition, hiring freezes and caps on wage increases impact teacher-pupil ratios, and the quality of teaching and learning.
Transforming education also requires attention to cross-sectoral initiatives, such as the effect of poverty, and poverty alleviating strategies on education. Achievement of the MDGs, and the transformation of education most likely depend on much more than educational specific strategy. After decades of reforms, several problems persist: access to schools in rural communities; education for the disabled; low quality of education; irrelevance of curriculum; lack of uniformity of community schools and the formal education system; training and retention of teachers.
Finally, gender equality is the cornerstone to transforming education. The struggle for gender equality may be different in Africa than in Latin America, where boys’ schooling is in more crisis than that of girls in some contexts in Latin America. However, even when girls stay on in education for longer than boys, this does not translate into more political representation, better distribution of resources or improvements in sexual and reproductive rights.
The report should at the least pose these questions, if not answer them:
▪ Why do so many people still live in dire poverty when children do (although not in the numbers desired) attend school?
▪ How can we continue to spend billions of dollars on education and yet the majority of people do not benefit?
▪ With HIV/AIDS thrown in the mix, it is even more important to transform education, but how?
The MDGs and the history of goal-setting in education
Participants questioned why more research was being done on the same subject (UPE) instead of using the funds to implement education programs and reform acts? What is really needed is action - dynamic, transformative and accountable strategies that respond to parents, communities, and children’s educational needs.
In respect to goal setting, a critical eye was cast on the viability of strategies proposed by the report, especially when adequate political does not exist. In short, “we still have a long way to go but when are we going to see the light at the end of the tunnel?”[8] The challenge is still in translating the commitments made by governments for EFA and MDGs into measurable action.
Governments sign on to commitments easily but there are no mechanisms to hold them accountable for delivering on these – no enforcement – these reports and the MDG Summit in 2005 should look at how to ensure enforcement and not just make new promises. Almost every government that has had power in India since independence has set target to achieve UPE. A number of policy initiatives have come forth, but none has been matched with adequate funding. The flip side is that in Latin America, most governments and decision-makers are simply not aware of the MDGs. So how can they be held accountable for achieving them?
Messages of the Task Force
The report suggests that the achievement of UPE 2015 will rest on the integration of six key messages into government-led initiatives. The following questions were sent to the e-group to launch discussions:
1. Mothers matter most. A mother’s education has a strong positive affect on children’s (especially girls’) enrolment and attainment. Priority should be given to ensuring gender parity at all levels of education, and to overcoming barriers that prevent good quality education for girls.
• Does the report adequately support mother’s educational achievement, so they can in turn ensure their children are schooled? How can women’s literacy/education initiatives be justified within a basic education framework?
2. A little education isn’t enough. The completion of a minimum five years of schooling is necessary for the mastery of basic competencies. And the completion of a cycle of “basic education” is even more in line with the long-term goal of prosperity and human welfare. Additional priority should be placed on post-primary education.
• Where should we set the minimum goal for years of schooling? Five years? A full basic education cycle? If so, then how do we correlate this expanded goal with the internationally agreed upon target of UPE by 2015, which is far from being achieved?
3. Parents and other citizens, have the right to know. The TF suggests that a minimum set of information about school resources and performance be made available to parents.
• What type of information can genuinely empower parents to hold schools accountable for providing a quality education?
• Is the use of information by parents even essential to a good education system, or is it possible to have good schools without it?
4. More money better spent. Achieving UPE and gender equality at the primary level will require much more money than currently spent, both from governments and from donors.
• Many studies show little relationship between spending levels and education outcomes. How can this be? Give us examples of what they are missing!
• In addition to political will, what other factors constraint the use of external funds for better education?
• What is the most effective way to use donor funding? Through projects? Sector Wide Approaches (SWAPS)? Fast Track Initiative (FTI)? Budget support?
5. Focus on the hard to reach. Prioritize interventions targeted at getting poor children and girls into school and keeping them there.
• Why have past reforms failed to school the hard to reach?
6. The economy matters. Attention to economic development can make the difference between education that yields the full range of desired benefits and education that does not; and it can strongly affect the household decisions about sending children to school.
• How can education-sector policies be developed with a common vision for
economic growth and development?
Comments on the six key messages
Each of the six messages yielded several responses, most either calling for a stronger report, or better linkage between messages and action. Education is a complex and difficult process to change. There are many reasons why UPE has not been achieved, and these six messages do not capture these reasons adequately.
Message 1-Mother’s matter most: Message 1was seen as a fairly weak claim in its present state. Women's rights are not accorded importance. Women are seen as a means to an end, as a tool for wider change. “We've all heard the UNICEF slogan 'educate a woman and you educate a nation.' It becomes part of psyche, that women are a vehicle for impacting their children, and not needing rights and world attention for themselves.” [9] Justifying the value of education as a decrease in fertility ironically reinforces gender roles. Shouldn’t the main reasons for educating girls be a right and goal for humanity in itself? [10]
While there was agreement that mothers are important for children’s education, the report fell short of supporting adult and in particular, women’s education programs. The report needs to explicitly support flexible and participatory approaches to women’s education. As it stands now, the message is left “empty” – it justifies the important roles mothers’ play in children’s education and overall well-being but fails to follow through on a recommendation for supporting women’s literacy initiatives. So what happens to the well being and education of children in households that have illiterate mothers? Is it just bad luck? The probability of women being illiterate is high. If the TF is establishing a causal link between mother’s literacy and children’s education, then it has a responsibility to ensure that mothers have access to adult education programs. In the same, women’s literacy / basic education should not be seen as a means to an end (education of girls / smaller families etc) but as an end in itself as it is a basic right of all.
“Although adult literacy programs have many merits, there is a dearth of evidence about whether literacy acquired later if life has a similar effect on future generations as does early education of girls.”[11] Participants felt this statement in the report is simple unacceptable. Participants were frustrated that the TF did not accept the practical and decades long experience of the adult education community as proof of the value of educating women later in life. True, economic metric measure may not exist, and it is more difficult to measure the outcomes of adult education programs, but the field experience says otherwise. Are only quantitative measures valid? Participants echoed that the TF’s review of trends in primary education and gender parity section is primarily based on quantitative trends. The quality and intrinsic value of education have yet to be appropriately recognized in the report.[12]
Message 2-A little education isn’t enough: is a dangerous claim that risks’ sending the wrong message to people – that primary schooling has been achieved. There is still a lot of work to be done to achieve UPE and improving the quality of education. It still needs to be transformed, as the report so rightly points out. In short, we are far from UPE, and it makes little sense to expand the goalpost when we haven’t achieved even this minimum target. There are still many problems at the micro level (i.e. traditions that support early marriage, keeping girls from school, poverty) needing to be tackled. Participants did agree with the TF comments that advocating investments in post-primary would create an unaffordable burned on resources, and may create increased inequity in fund allocation. There is little doubt that the privileged groups will benefit most from greater access to higher education.
Can primary education never be enough? If we make this claim, then what incentive is left for parents to send children to primary school when they most certainly cannot send them onto secondary education? The larger question is about supply as well – secondary schools simply do not exist, especially in rural areas, and are riddled with problems themselves. While there is agreement on the TF’s analysis that the current conditions of primary schools leaves much to be desired, there was debate (particularly in the gender equality discussion, which has a similar key message) on which level of education (primary or secondary) is most beneficial to girls and women. The TF was reminded “if many girls and boys are unable to make the transition from primary to secondary who are we going to empower?” Participants support recommendation two from the gender report, which discourages an expansion or shift in the target from primary to secondary education.
Participants did remind that education must be conceived as a right for all, at all stages of life. The MDGs reduce the “right” to a certain number of years of schooling – undermining the wider commitment contained in the Dakar framework for action. Without focusing on rights based approach we cannot frame legal action to advance education and we are helpless if governments fail to fulfil the goals they have set. Education is not about goals set by international institutions or governments but about RIGHTS and we must work to ensure these are legally enforceable rights. We need to use legal instruments – for example encouraging countries to verify Article 13 (Right to Education) of the San Salvador Protocol.
Moreover we should not accept the reduction of the goals to just one or two but rather insist on the 6 goals reaffirmed by over 180 governments in Dakar in 2000. This provides a full agenda for education from early childhood through to adult education and any reduction in this is any attempt to undermine the right to education of all people. Education is not just a right for primary school children. The MDG reports ought to reassert this full agenda rather than being complicit in its reduction.
Supporting non-formal learning opportunities for girls and boys[13]
The TF’s recognition of adolescents and their need for continuing education was welcomed. However, the report fell short on supporting non-formal education strategies. Alternative approaches to increase enrolment at the primary level and provide lifelong learning opportunities for children and adults who have dropped out is incredibly important, especially given the large number of people who do not complete primary school, never mind advancing to secondary. Rather than confine education within school walls, non-formal and informal education will become more and more necessary if we are to reach the marginalized and achieve education for all. Pakistan is just one case to point, where the dropout rate for children is nearly 45% - a large number of these children rely on non-formal education to gain a second chance to mainstream back into the educational system.[14]
Message 3-Parents have the right to know:
The participation of parents, children, teachers and CSOs was seen as an essential component for improving the quality of teaching and learning. In some communities in Ghana and India, parents have been more involved with monitoring or holding teachers and schools accountable for teacher absenteeism, lack of materials, etc.[15] The next step really must be the involvement of parents to improve the quality of education. But first an agreed upon definition of a high quality school, and what it takes to achieve this, is required. If proper space is created, and parents feel they have a right to be heard, and can impact policies and programs, there is no doubt that their involvement will lead to better educational performance. Clearly, more mobilisation needs to be undertaken at all levels (from governments to students) for this to become a reality.
Teachers and students also have right to know more about how education is provided, where resources are garnered, and the conditionality attached to them, and how they are allocated. However, simply knowing this information is not enough; space still needs to be created for parents and others to participate in educational policymaking, and take ownership over programs.
We need to move beyond the right to know to the right to have a say - and this means linking community level structures involving parents up to district level / local government structures to ensure accountability. There should be a national debate on the nature of education and what needs to change. Parent Teacher Associations, School Management Committees and Village Education Committees are active in many parts of the world. Civil society should be able to work through these organizations to affect national policymaking on education, and not be restricted to school-based concerns. The reports should also highlight the importance of organised participation of children and students in educational institutions – school councils etc – so that children can be heard and have a say in schools. Children can learn democratic practices by living them.
In Dakar it was agreed that governments would develop national EFA Plans in consultation with citizens/ civil society and that donors would then come in to provide consistent and coordinated support. National alliances / coalitions on basic education are proving crucial in the post-Dakar environment - demanding accountability from governments, demanding the right to know what government is doing to deliver on EFA and demanding an active and ongoing role in policy processes, implementation and monitoring as agreed in Dakar. In the same, NGOs need to combine efforts to deliver education with advocacy – there is a need to consolidate learning into clear positions to be taken by governments and for a united call for systemic educational reform.
Information disclosure
It is somewhat easy for some CSOs to collect timely and reliable information from district authorities when it comes to budget tracking, but very difficult to collect the same from the Ministry of Education and Culture or Ministry of Finance. This scenario makes the exercise very cumbersome when one wants to compare and contrast budget information from the ministry and district authorities. The donor agencies should include a clause on public accessibility and availability to budgetary information in the MOU with the government as a means to re-enforce transparency and accountability.
Disbursement of education funding is made through print media showing capitation and development grants per district each quarter. District authorities disburse the grants to respective school authorities, which are managed by school management committees. Paradoxically, the closer to the grassroots the less public the information on budget allocations becomes. Hence, the more difficult for them to monitor progress made in education-given that information is power.
Message 4-More money better spent: resources are still not adequate for meeting UPE in developing countries. When resources are available, there are concerns over allocation: corruption, politics, conditionality, and absence of investment in rural areas need to be rectified. With more money also comes the need for greater accountability, especially since there are many different entities delivering education such as governments, NGOs, communities, private sector.
Bureaucratic procedures, corruption and lack of government commitment were cited as reasons why past international educational targets (i.e. EFA 2000) have not been achieved. The allocation of donor funds, for example is problematic because only a small percentage is actually used for education-related items, such as schoolbooks, teachers stipends, etc. The bulk is spent on salaries and benefits of project officers, executive directors, government officials, etc. Another chunk inevitably goes towards planning and administrative matters.
There is also a need to uncover the realities of “free education” because in many cases where fees have been abolished, other indirect costs are being passed onto parents under the guise of participation or to build ownership in schools.
More efforts for making educational policy making transparent and encourage joint evaluation. The government, NGOs, civil society, teachers, students and especially poor communities need to be involved in deciding if a policy is good, and if it is successful. There needs to be full, and user-friendly disclosure of information by governments. If capacity were built from school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school reports and data that include parameters for quality of learning then perhaps macro level studies would not be necessary?
Fundamental obstacles, such as IMF conditionality limiting government expenditure on education may very well undermine the potential of new aid modalities such as the FTI. There was a call to refute the IMF’s claim that more aid, and hence a modest increase in inflation and public expenditure is damaging. In fact, most economists believe that moderate inflation (between 10-30%) does not prevent growth and that whilst such inflation is bad for wealthy foreign investors, it is not bad for poor people. This fear of inflation has already blocked funds from the HIV Global Fund to Zambia and Uganda.
Message 5-Focus on the hard to reach: e-learning, private sector involvement and community schools were presented as possible ways to expand and improve education. While there is merit to these strategies and examples of how they have been successful in some contexts, there was general agreement that these approaches do not reach those most in need, especially the poor and those living in rural areas. “We have to be more vigilant on the impact of these non-traditional actors in education, and question if they reach poor and marginalized, or succeed in widening the north south, rich-poor divide.”
The TF is encouraged to consider the pros and con’s of privatising education. It is unlikely that UPE will be achieved if privatisation takes hold because it cannot cater to un-reached and poor populace. In Uganda the introduction of UPE has led to the mushrooming of private schools, which in turn has widened the gap between rich and poor. There are of course, positive examples of private school contribution to EFA. Again, the question is perhaps whom we want to reach and if the solutions are internally sustainable. Next, actual transformation of education cannot take place via e-learning or private education, rather improvement of roads, agriculture and health need to occur at the same time. Private sector investment takes place in many other sectors, and not just education. Shouldn’t companies that extract natural resources for example be responsible for supporting the communities?
Public schools still out number private schools. The government therefore has an even larger role to play, not only in improving public school quality, but also holding private schools accountable for delivering education of high quality, and to more than just the elite. Until governments come up boldly to address the issue of quality in a more profound manner, in addition to instituting tight policies that regulate the operations of private schools, private schools will continue springing up to meet the education needs of the rich and those children who can afford the high fees while more of the poorer children will be condemned to a low quality education as purportedly is being provided by the public schools.
Discussion also focused around how community schools, although supported by INGOs, still have huge challenges in terms of long-term survival and sustainability. In Zambia, for example, some of these schools have been taken over by the government. While this is a positive step for sustaining these schools, it still falls short of the desired aim of integrating community management into these now government schools. The sense of ownership in schools is slowly being lost. The quality of education provided in community schools is also debateable.
Finally, the inadequacy of schools in rural areas was cited several times. The Azempremji Foundation in India shared a diagram, which outlines some of the reasons that children do not attend schools in rural areas (see next page). The disparate state of rural schools shows that even when more resources are provided, they do not necesarily reach the schools.
Message 6-The economy matters: but what should come first, economic development or education development? Poverty is a catch-22, there is recognition that education can help create better lives, but many cannot afford it because of fees, and indirect costs. When people do manage to send their children to school, jobs either do not exist, or continue to offer low wages and poor working conditions. The report should ensure a strong link between economic policies, the gendered impact of these strategies and link these with the content of education and vice versa. People should be educated to stand up for their rights for better working and living standards.
Participants in the Spanish language discussion expressed concerns over UPE being encouraged in order to release women to enter the workforce – and being led by an economic agenda and motive, rather than a rights agenda.
If this message is about taking a holistic approach to education, then there needs to be more direct attention played to the real backdrop within which these goals fit – a world in which economic and religious fundamentalism have terrifying power. These are central to maintaining the subordination of women and need to be addressed. The impact on HIV/AIDS, sexual violence , child labour and support for early childhood education should be integrated into the report. These are real concerns that many countries have to deal with, and some of which have defunct education systems. This report cannot only apply to stable countries, who have achieved relative macro economic stability, enough at least to benefit from IMF and World Bank loans. As the report rightly points out, education in conflict and post-conflict societies present a particular challenge. However, it was suggested that this section and perhaps the entire report to a certain extent be reframed to make specific recommendations more than reviews or descriptions of lessons learned. In the education in conflict situations, for example, what components should a good program have?
Comments on TF recommendations
Questions for this week’s debate included:
* The contributions of civil society organizations to meeting UPE do not appear within these recommendations. How should the report acknowledge the contribution of CSOs? What role do they have to play post-Dakar declarations and in holding the government accountable for meeting UPE?
* The Task Force endorses the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) funding mechanism. Are the conditionalities attached to the FTI compatible to achieving UPE? Will they actually help achieve a quality basic education around the world? Or is this yet another example of donor prowess? For more information, read pages 37-42 in the report
* The Task Force recommends expanding the primary education goal to include secondary education because it believes that schooling’s true benefits are only felt after 5 years of education. Do you agree?
* Why are there no recommendations about how to transform education as suggested in the preface of this report? If this is the main report on the education MDG, shouldn’t recommendations focus on how to reform the education sector?
* The Task Force suggests that money be transferred to poor households contingent on children’s attendance to school. Is this a feasible proposal for all contexts? Is there any way of connecting this mechanism with issues of quality, relevance, and community engagement in education?
* What form and role would an independent facility for funding, monitoring and evaluation take?
Call on CSO and coalitions to be more organized and intensify policy analysis and monitoring, advocacy, community sensitization and mobilisation to bring in a sense of action and ownership in the education reforms and policies.
Comments on recommendations
“Does the task force take education seriously?” Where are the recommendations pertaining to transforming education? Many expressed it was odd that the MDG report on education had no recommendations about how to improve education! For example, free education has not yet happened, especially since the indirect costs of education passed onto parents is growing. How will the Task Force address this? How about improving quality and creating a positive learning environment?
The following are a few examples of the minimum criteria for education to be improved. Classrooms should have adequate space per child - covered space of 9sq. ft. or 1 sq. metre per child. A teacher student ratio of 1:20 up to class 2 & 1:30 or 35 for class 3 upwards is ideal. The FTI has also recommended a ratio. There should be a minimum teaching learning time of 1100 hours per annum. There are certain attributes of quality classrooms (library, activity materials, adequate storage space, a combination of classroom organisation - small group, paired, individual work, and large group work, etc.); quality teacher (qualifications, abilities, aptitude, comprehension of subject etc. ) and ensuring that they are implemented. Finally we know that the school curriculum should be developmentally appropriate and based on good research, and should be relevant to the community.
Overall development compact:
The task force should recognize civil society action and the role of CSOs in creating a debate over the nature of education and what needs to change. Although there was agreement that the government is eventually responsible for delivering UPE, participants signalled that CSOs are essential contributors. They are not only watchdogs, but also partners in the struggle to achieve UPE.
Participants felt strongly that there should be both acknowledgement of the crucial role civil society can play in achieving UPE as well as specific recommendations on their role. Both history and contemporary experiences have shown strong social movements (including trade and teacher unions, NGOs, other CSOs,) have motivated governments to ensure UPE. At local level, civil society organizations are often in the closest contact with the most hard-to-reach children and can work with government to identify these children as well as advise on what measures are needed to retain them in school. There can also be sustainable community based systems for school management and monitoring that can be developed jointly by governments and communities. At national level, CSOs is important for advising on sectoral planning on education in the areas of access, quality and resources needed to achieve progress. At global level, international civil society alliances such as the Global Campaign for Education are important for bringing together grassroots organizations around the world interested in achieving UPE as well as advising on global monitoring of progress on UPE including resources committed by donors to this end and FTI.[16]
Recommendation 1: Donors to support the FTI mechanism and ensure $1billion starting fund Since the TF supports FTI as a funding mechanism, it is recommended that a criterion ensuring a transparent and accountable allocation of funds be established. These criteria should ensure that more funding is channelled directly to the beneficiaries, with as little overhead costs as possible. It would also genuinely review the current funding process, and create space for genuine civil society participation in educational planning and implementation. Teachers, for example are often absent at the design phase of a reform, but are then expected to brunt the load of successfully implementing the initiatives. School administrators, parents, community leaders, and even school children should also be involved. This would be doing business differently, as the TF report suggests.
Many cautioned that the FTI should not turn into another World Bank funding mechanism with conditionality. Examples from Liberia, Nigeria, and Kenya showed how the IMF has either directly or indirectly “contributed to the underdevelopment of education and other human development programs in developing countries.” In as much as the IMF has provided loans to poor countries to help reduce poverty and improve living conditions, they failed in enforcing policies and setting up qualified monitoring tools at the national level that will ensure transparency in the application of such funds. This opens the door to unnecessary bureaucracy and corruption of funds.
Recommendation 2: the fund should also cover basic (and not only primary) education
Although there is agreement with this recommendation in principle, since primary education has yet to be achieved, the TF should ensure that adequate resources are allocated to this level. As with the gender report, participants reminded the TF that the achievement of primary education remains a dream in most countries. While it’s good to be visionary and aim to get children into secondary schools, we first need to ensure they attend and complete primary. This is particular true in countries like Nigeria, where 80% of the education budget is allotted to tertiary education.
Recommendation 3: strong monitoring of progress in implementing changes and improving education system performance
Everyone aggress on the need for greater transparency dissemination of information. However, this information should be purposeful, and aimed towards providing information for schools and communities themselves, for their improvement, rather than for donors. After 10 years of DPEP in India and elaborate MIS systems - after the project is finished schools
don't have any information, neither is it available elsewhere. Teachers had to take off lot of precious time from already constrained teaching time to fill in elaborate forms every few days.
Hence 1) it should not be called monitoring but rather something like 'school self-assessment for learning' b) frameworks & systems for this should be carefully & systematically worked out.[17] Finally, there is a need to “monitor evaluation fatigue.” In many cases each donor agency has their own regulations and the type of information governments are asked to collect is more valuable for international bodies than in-country groups.[18]
Participants also reminded that there is still a need for better indicators for it is through quality monitoring whereby policies and practices can be assessed by both service providers and beneficiaries along with necessary recommendations for redressing the situation. For instance, in Tanzania the education policy states that all children of school age should have
access to quality education. But in practice 3.6m of these children are out of school for some equity reasons-distance, disabilities, structural and cultural barriers.[19]
Finally, as many more community organisations, PTA/SMCs are getting involved in education management, it is important that budget allocations and expenditure at all levels are made available to the public so budget tracking can be done effectively. It is definitely going to be another conditionality of a sort but it is equally important to have transparency.[20] In the Gambia, Parents have succeeded in getting the Department of State for Education to reflect the need for a flexible school calendar in the New Education Policy2004-2015. Presently parents are working towards holding a national debate on the Flexible school calendar.[21]
Recommendation 4: strong monitoring of donor funding and practice
Part of this analysis also needs to look at the new dangers of donor power. While donors have been criticized for their lack of coordination, new concerns arise with donors moving towards collaboration / sector wide approaches / working in consortiums. The danger is that governments become more accountable to the donors and set policies and priorities more in consultation with donors than with their own parliaments or citizens. The sort of power that donors now have needs to pass to national parliaments / citizens / civil society coalitions.
Recommendation 5: cash transfers to households contingent on children’s attendance
Transferring money to poor households contingent on children’s attendance in school may have worked in Brazil, but may not work in other places. It is also crucial to point out that cash transfers alone might not be sufficient. Maybe we need to improve schools before expecting parents to send and keep children there. With little data/record tracking systems at the community level, this initiative will be difficult to implement. In Nigeria, when a similar initiative providing school material (textbooks, uniforms) was devised it failed because the materials took a long time to reach the beneficiaries.
What has made the Brazilian Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (PETI) successful is the combination of cash transfer with other measures. The programme provides poor families with a monthly allowance per child enrolled in and attending school. Wherever possible, the allowance is paid to mothers or other female adults responsible for the children. After-school activities are also organized to keep children out of work in the hours they are not at school. Parents and older relatives of the beneficiaries also benefit from opportunities in skills development, alternative income generation and micro-credit, carried out in partnerships with other government programmes and agencies. Community-based committees monitor its implementation in order to general local ownership and ensure sustainability.
Recommendation 6: genuine evaluation to learn what works
Participants suggested that there is a need to also share information about strategies that have not been successful as well as those that have been well implemented. Lessons learned from both type of experiences are valuable.
The experience we have in Tanzania and perhaps most countries South of the Sahara is that Ministries of Education have established departments dealing with monitoring of education. These are Departments of the Inspectorate. Inspectors are trained in monitoring and evaluation of education. So what needs to be done is to strengthen the Inspectorate by
capacity development, improve facilities for monitoring such as transport, computers and the internet. Thus the information about plans and programmes can easily be available to Education Management Information Systems (EMIS).Data can be collected, processed, analyzed and disseminated to the users, be it national or international organizations.
So creating an independent faculty is a duplication of efforts. [22]
Analysis & recommendations
This analysis discusses the impact of this dialogue, diversity of subject matters, and recommends priority areas of action (report revision) for the TF based on what the majority of respondents supported.
Impact
As aforementioned, not all of the 1,300 members subscribed to the e-discussion actively participated. Past experience shows that these dialogues have both a direct (those who send messages) and indirect impact. Many expressed that when they are in agreement with responses already sent, they preferred not to send a duplicate message. They contributed when they held a different perspective (i.e. supporting private education or not). Finally, many people also shared that although they had not participated, they keenly followed the dialogue and the outcomes would have an impact on their future policy and programme formulation (indirect impact). The small number of people who actually unsubscribed during the three weeks shows that interest in the dialogue was high.
This dialogue also followed a lively three-week discussion on the gender report. Participation fatigue and unavailability, rather than apathy probably explains why this discussion, particularly in the third week, yielded few responses. However, once more questions were launched to the group, the response rate picked up again. Interest was expressed to continue this dialogue as a means of sharing information and debating strategies.
It is interesting to note that in this discussion people preferred to debate the technicalities of the report’s messages and recommendations, rather than providing project specific examples as in the gender report. Examples were used to substantiate points, but the majority of participants commented directly on the text of theTFreport and the language/framing of the MDG.
The Spanish discussion yielded a great number of responses during the one day of dialogue. Participants were both happy to be included in the discussion and frustrated because in many countries in the region the MDGs are still unknown. How could governments be held accountable for policies they were unaware of? Participants did have a lot to contribute to the report itself (see Annex 4 for summary) indicating that even though their governments may not be sensitized, people most certainly are astute to the technical changes proposed in the report. Political will being low puts into question the impact to the MDGs.
Curiously enough the French dialogue never took off the ground. Despite several messages from participants asking for the discussion in French, and several confirmations to join (there were 90 members subscribed to the discussion) only two people participated. One explanation is that the dialogue is only two days long.[23] It takes people time to read, digest and respond to the MDG reports. People are also genuinely busy. Time difference was not an issue as Africa is only one hour ahead of London. As with the other dialogues, perhaps with more time to organize the dialogue, and frequent reminders leading up to the discussion, more people may have sent comments? Efforts to reach out to this group of professionals should therefore be strengthened, particularly as education performance and achievement in Africa still lags behind the rest of the world.
Diversity of subjects discussed
The discussion yielded responses on just about every question asked of the group. Unlike the gender equality debate, where only certain strategies were discussed, questions on each of the six messages were sent to the group. Message six yielded the least amount of comments. Participants expanded the definition of most of the other messages.
Recommendation 1: support women’s right to education and not only as a means to an end for wider social change. The slogan ‘education a women and you educate a nation’ may have increased attention on women’s role and contribution to children’s education and well being, but it also has framed women’s value within the socio reproductive roles (and therefore reinforcing gender stereotypes).
Recommendation 2: support women’s education programs. The report needs to explicitly support flexible and participatory approaches to women’s education. As it stands now, the message is left “empty” – it justifies the important roles mothers’ play in children’s education and overall well-being but fails to follow through on a recommendation for supporting women’s literacy initiatives.
Recommendation 3: recognize the value in education and do not reduce it to a debate over a “number of years”. The TF is urged to recognize that a lot of work still needs to be done on primary education and that unless a drastic transformation takes place, UPE 2015 will be out of reach. Questions were asked over the congruity between this MDG target and the Dakar declaration, which provides a full agenda for education from early childhood to adult education.
Recommendation 4: propose changes to address the fundamental financing obstacles to achieving UPE. These include IMF conditionality limiting government expenditure on education, which may undermine the potential of new aid modalities such as the FTI. A criterion ensuring a transparent and accountable allocation of funds distributed via any funding channel was recommended. Civil society should be involved in monitoring and evaluating the use and impact of these funds. With an organized development compact, there are dangers over government being more accountable to donors than their own parliaments and citizens.
Recommendation 5: governments should be held accountable for providing education. The involvement of the private sector is inevitable and even successful in some countries. However, rarely do private schools open their doors to the poor. The government therefore has an even greater role to play in improving public school quality and holding private schools responsible for providing high quality education ant to more than just the elite.
Conclusion
The task force’s desire to collect civil society feedback on the report is encouraging. The goal of this consultation was to elicit perspectives from civil society organizations on the content of the report. For their part, CSO’s engaged in a lively three-week debate over the report. What is not clear is the extent to which key recommendations and other responses will be integrated into the final report. Particularly since the draft of the report presented for discussion was pretty much the final draft. The potential of CSO influence on this report would have been more likely if consultations had taken place earlier, when the report’s main tenets were being formulated and throughout the process of revisions. This is concerning not only because it questions the genuine space created for participation but also because participants challenged and disagreed with two of the report’s key strategic objectives.
Albeit these limitations, there is space for the TF to integrate the main recommendations of this consultation as they undertake final revisions in August 2004. The executive summary of this report could be presented somewhere in the main text of the report. Examples provided by participants could also substantiate, strengthen and diversify those currently presented in the report. Finally, this summary could be attached as an annex to the report. ActionAid welcomes the TF’s feedback - both directly to the agency and for the e-discussion group – on how this kind of dialogue can be more influential and valuable to the Millennium Development Project.
Finally, unavailability of the TF papers in different languages limits regional representation. The executive summary of the report is available in Spanish, but there is no document in French or Portuguese. This not only limit’s participation in the dialogue, but also limits the validity and to some extent, credibility of the report (and Millennium Project) in areas of the world that speak these languages. This French dialogue was based on ActionAid’s translation of the one-page MDG report summary.[24] It is unfortunate however, that participants will not be able to read the details, and main thrust of the report. Although discussions were held in Spanish and French, a one-day dialogue barely skims the surface. To fully integrate regional perspectives into the report, the TF will need to reach out to groups and participants around the world in order to prove that the MDGs are a relevant and applicable policy movement around the globe.
Annex 1 : Participant Contact Information
First Last Sex Organzation Country email
July 12 week
David Inkey Burleson Male Consultant USA raccridge@
Elizabeth Kamchedzera Female University of Malawi Malawi ekamchedzera@chanco.unima.mw
Isaac Olofi Male Justice, Development and PeaceCommission Nigeria isaacolofi@
Kennedy Kphiri Male Oxfam Zambia kphiri@coppernet.zm
Phosile Tracy Sichinga Female Zambian Education Coalition/ANCEFA Zambia phosile@
Wethu Danster Male Border Technikon Resource Centre South Africa wdanster@bortech.ac.za
July 19 week
Alfred Bork Male University of Irvine, California USA bork@uci.edu
Bernard Kiura Male Lutheran World Federation (?) Kenya bernardkiura@
David Archer Male ActionAid International UK davida@
Doug Mathews Male Teaching Point USA doug@
Felix Edwards Male Felix Edwards UK felix@
James Stanfield Male University of Newcastle UK j.stanfield@newcastle.ac.uk
K.M. Osaki Male University of Dar es Salaam Tanzania osaki@edu.udsm.ac.tz
Lalita Ramdas Female Independent, activist India lramdas@
Limbani Nsapato Male Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Ed. Malawi cscqbe@.mw
Louise Wamboui Female University of Nairobi Kenya lopawer@
Musu Stewart Female International Federation of University Women Liberia kpanah1@
Muthoni Kamau Female Ma'tumaini (Hope) Women Trust Kenya muthoniwanyambura@yahoo.co.uk
Nandago Maria Goreth Female PAMOJA African Reflect Network Uganda pamoja@infocom.co.ug
Patrick Ngowi Male Save the Children Tanzania pngowi@
Peter Merckx Male Independent Belgium petermerckx@trclusprov.
Raquel Banchero Female Sect for Gender Science and Technology Uruguay banchero@.uy
Samson MacJessie-Mbewe Male University of Malawi Malawi smacjessie@chanco.unima.mw
Shaheen Rahman Female BUNYAD Pakistan shaheen_bunyad@
Simon Daffi Male Community Aid & Small Interprises ConsultancyTanzania dsimon14@
Tina Ruguru Female ? South Pacific mwari_mugendi@yahoo.co.uk
Victor Mathonsi Male National Assn of School Governing Council South Africa victor@.za
Vijaya Lakshmi Female Azimpremji Foundation India vijaya@
Ombech Adidha Male Kenya School Improvement Project Kenya kensip@
July 26 week
Anjali Noronha Female Eklavya India noronhaa@
Anne Jellema Female Global Campaign on Education South Africa anne@
Chike Anyanwu Male Commonwealth Education Fund UK canyanwu@actionaid.
Elaine Unterhalter Female Beyond Access Project UK Eunterhalter@ioe.ac.uk
Elizabeth Smith Female Open University Student France lisbeth.smith@wanadoo.fr
Elizabeth Kamchedrezu Female University of Malawi Malawi ekamchedzera@chanco.unima.mw
Funja O-Saki Male University of Dar es Salaam Tanzania osaki@edu.udsm.ac.tz
Isaac Olofi Male Justice, Development and Peace Coomission Nigeria isaacolofi@
Juliana Adu-Gyamfi Female ActionAid Ghana Julianaa@actionaid-
Kadijatou Baldeh Female ActionAid Gambia educofficer@actionaid-
Marguerite Cummins Williams Female Barbados Secondary Teachers Union Barbados mecwbar@
Michael Gibbons Male Banyan Tree Foundation USA mgibbons@
Nazish Brohi Female ActionAid Pakistan nazishbrohi@
Paul Bennell Male Knowledge and Skills UK paul@bennellswainson.
Rosa Maria Torres Female Instituto Fronesis Ecuador rmtorres@.ar
Shaila Mistry Female American Association for University Women USA shaian@
Stephen Maina Male Tanzanian Education Network (TenMet) Tanzania tenmet@africaonline.co.tz
Subhash T.V. Male FIRM, Human Rights report on Child Labour India subhashcareandshare@
Theodore Mwalongo Male ActionAid Tanzania theodorem@
Tumsifu Mmari Male ActionAid Tanzania
Urmila Sarkar Female ILO Switzerland sarkar@
Vinita S Female MAYA India vinita75@
Annex 2 : Original Responses from English e-discussion
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Starting discussion on UPE Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-12 09:55 Dear All:
Welcome to the second e-dialogue on the Millennium Development Goals
(MDG). This discussion will focus on the Universal Primary Education (UPE)
MDG and report. The 3-week forum begins today, on Monday July 12th and
ends on Friday, July 30th. We encourage all those who participated in the
gender equality discussion to continue contributing to this forum as many
of the issues overlap. To contribute, send an email to
Right2education@ If you wish to unsubscribe, send a blank mail
to leave-right2education@
Thank you for participating in the gender equality dialogue. Education was
one of the key strategies in this report because of the 2005 gender parity
in primary and secondary education target and also because of the
perceived value education holds for empowering women and attaining gender
equality. Many of the points debated also resonate in the education
report: although seeing the value in secondary education, participants did
not agree with the proposal to shift the target from primary to secondary
education. They appealed the TF to mobilize action on achieving the
internationally agreed upon 2005 goal. Participants also called for
broader reform in schools so they can be centres of learning for
transforming gender inequalities. Suggestions also included women’s
literacy, non-formal education and linking HIV/AIDS to the overall
strategies in the report.
This second e-dialogue on education presents an opportunity to challenge
and strengthen the MDG report and to mobilise a wider civil society debate
on the actions necessary to achieve universal primary education. As with
the gender equality report, this UPE document is likely to be very
influential on how the UN reviews progress on the MDGs and frames the way
forward.
The UPE report proposes widening the scope of the MDG to include
completion of a minimum five years of education and preferably the entire
basic education cycle. It is similar to the gender equality report in that
it outlines the importance of placing additional priority on post-primary
education. The report then goes on to suggest six key messages that should
be integrated into policies and programs for UPE to become a priority. It
ends with recommendations for donor and technical agencies and the UN
about how education priority setting and funding should be changed in the
future. Please see a short summary of the report at the bottom of this
page. Participants are encouraged to read the executive summary and full
report, which is found at:
or download it from
our discussion page:
We will structure this dialogue in a similar fashion to the gender
equality discussion that just closed. For this first week, we are looking
for your reactions to the overall framing of education in this report. The
second week will focus around the six key messages outlined in the report.
Discussions in the third and final week will centre on the recommendations
section.
THIS WEEK'S DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
For this first week, we are looking for your reactions to the overall
framing of the Universal Primary Education MDG in this report. The MDG
target 2 is to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls
alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. Here
are the questions:
® The report states that education can be either about reproducing or
transforming societies. Does the report succeed in illustrating how
schools can be transformative? Please highlight any relevant examples you
might have on programs that have made education transformative.
® Is the overall framing of education in this report consistent with the
education recommendations in the gender report? Do you have suggestions on
how to strengthen coherency between the two documents?
® It has been suggested that the goal of education all children by 2015
can be achieved with the right resources, political will and programs. In
which ways does this report help governments, donor agencies and civil
society to more effectively work toward this goal? How can it be
strengthened?
® Please share your reactions on how to reinforce or challenge this report
so it can be more useful to you.
WHAT DOES THE EDUCATION REPORT SAY?
The Task Force (TF, led by the Center for Global Development in
Washington, DC) has drafted an interim report on achieving the Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) of universal primary education (UPE). This goal is
known for its target of ensuring that children will be able to complete a
full course of primary schooling by 2015. The TF is one of 10 task forces
commissioned to provide independent recommendations to UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan about how to meet the MDGs.
The TF defines education as the vehicle through which societies reproduce
themselves. The educational process is comprised not only of schools,
teachers and textbooks, but also the full set of values, norms, and
practices about how a given society is structured. This social element of
education determines who is educated and what is being taught. It is
therefore not surprising that many reform efforts to increase and
democratize access, especially for girls, have been slow.
The report’s review of global trends in education suggests that the
achievement of this MDG will be possible only if future policies and
programs are dramatically different than past initiatives. Actions that
seek to expand the current education system are unlikely to lead to
universal education, particularly in societies characterized by profound
economic, gender and ethnic inequalities. Instead, success depends on
inputs that bring forth fundamental changes that lead to a more democratic
and egalitarian education system. The report outlines priority actions to
be taken by donor countries and technical agencies towards the achievement
of UPE.
Six key messages for achieving universal primary education
The report suggests that the achievement of UPE 2015 will rest on the
integration of six key messages into government-led initiatives. If
accepted by the international community, then these messages are likely to
influence how education polices and program are defined and implemented in
the future.
1. Mother’s matter most. A mother’s education has a strong positive affect
on children’s (especially girls’) enrolment and attainment. Priority
should be given to ensuring gender parity at all levels of education, and
to overcoming barriers that prevent good quality education for girls.
2. A little education isn’t enough. The completion of a minimum five years
of schooling is necessary for the mastery of basic competencies. The task
force suggests that completion of a cycle of “basic education” is more in
line with the long-term goal of prosperity and human welfare. In
particular, the TF outlines the importance of placing additional priority
on post-primary education.
3. Parents and other citizens, have the right to know. At the local level,
parents and school administrators need information about the effectiveness
of their local schools to exercise their role in maintaining
accountability. The TF suggests that a minimum set of information about
school resources and performance be made available to parents.
4. More money, better spent. Achieving UPE and gender equality at the
primary level will require much more money than currently spent, both from
governments and from donors. The price tag will grow if the TF’s
recommendation to include secondary education completion is accepted. But
studies have shown that more than money is required; in fact, there is no
strong correlation between how much countries spend on education and the
performance of education systems. Factors such as political will,
leadership, management, capacity, community involvement all need to be
strengthened to make effective use of the resources.
5. Focus on the hard to reach. Prioritize interventions targeted at
getting poor children and girls into school and keeping them there. Many
of these operate by making schooling affordable for parents and/or
compensating for opportunity costs for girls; some improve students’
ability to learn and attract children to school through school feeding and
school health programs.
6. The economy matters. Attention to economic development can make the
difference between education that yields the full range of desired
benefits and education that does not; and it can strongly affect the
household decisions about sending children to school. Economic policies
and education-sector policies should be developed with a common vision for
economic growth and development.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The report outlines specific strategies for the UN, donor agencies and
technical agencies about how education priority setting and funding should
be changed in the future.
1. Donor agencies should commit at least $1 billion to the Fast Track
Initiative, which funds credible education sector plans developed by
countries farthest from reaching the UPE goal.
2. Both governments and donors should expand funding priorities and monies
to include basic education, which incorporates secondary schooling. The TF
suggests that schooling’s true benefits are only felt after 5 years of
education.
3. Progress in implementing changes and improving education system
performance should be closely monitored, with information widely made
available. The Task Force recommends including as a criterion that the
recipient country has begun implementing a system providing and actively
publicizing to all citizens fully transparent information about the total
and per child level of public education spending by community and ideally
within each publicly managed school as well.
4. Donors should commit to a common framework of transparent annual
monitoring and reporting of each other’s practices. The FTI mechanism is
suggested.
5. In addition to FTI funding on an annual basis for the programs of
eligible countries, donors should take immediate steps to provide funding
to any country for cash or other transfers to poor households contingent
on children's attendance at school. School feeding programs and girls
scholarships are recommended.
6. There is an urgent need to better understand how well specific
interventions and reforms work to increase enrolment, retention and
learning. The TF suggests the creation of an independent facility for
funding and bringing visibility to the results of rigorous impact
evaluation.
The full executive summary and complete report can be downloaded at
or by going to the
discussion group’s home page
where you will be able to see all the contributions to this ongoing
discussion over the next two months.
__________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Reforming education
David Inkey
2004-07-14 07:11
Dear All,
Despite numerous international efforts, education has failed. I outline why it has and what needs to change in the hope of sparking some debate about how the MDG report can bring much needed change to how education is defined.
Education, as one of society's costliest and most pervasive institutions is failing miserably or should we say criminally to meet the health, social, economic and cultural needs of its deprived, disadvantaged, disabled, destitute and distanced clients. The word "education" is derived from the Latin verb educare, to lead through. I believe that leading children through enquiry processes can be (is) the most exciting challenge adults are ever given. The power of knowledge gives us the opportunity to protect and enhance our health and nutrition, to ameliorate our conditions of disease and handicap, to improve our employment and improvise new options, to secure our habitats and ultimately to stimulate our imaginations with our own cultural heritages and to venture into other realms of reality and imagination in
developing understanding among cultures. In the world of the uneducated and poorly educated life's options usually are constrained, dire and virtually non-existent.
Education has failed because education has not provided basic education universally. Basic education means providing education skills in health and nutrition, skills in literacy and numeracy, knowledge in culture and civics, and knowledge in economics and labor. Every culture since the dawn of human history has "enculturated" its members; that is, each and every culture has taken the human animal and provided him or her with the understandings, customs and practices, to live and die in that culture. In all of those situations there was no separation necessary between non-formal and formal education. It is with the development of civilizations, that we see the development of formal education and the consequent disadvantage of inadequate education.
Formal education in developing and developed nations fails to engage young clients to participate enthusiastically through the primary and education cycles. Dropout rates of pupils constitute a "criminal" loss of capital. If the failure rates we routinely accept in our educational institutions were failures of water pumps or of syringes or of ORS (oral rehydration salts), or of electrical systems or our transport, we would
order up stringent assessments and would castigate those responsible for inefficiency of the systems to perform. It seems we have become so completely inured to regular inefficiency in our human resource
development systems, especially in our formal educational systems, that we scarcely react--neither positively nor negatively. We take the gains of the most accomplished products of the systems and we ignore, discount or further neglect the failures, refugees, and rejects of the system.
For most of the children whom we do maintain through the primary systems, we fail further in the "basic" educational effort, because we provide predominantly rote, scholastic questions and answers. Is it
possible that we allow 80% of the children in many countries to live in poverty, without getting upset, or angry or irate at socio-economic systems that perpetuate and exacerbate ignorance, disease, suffering and early death. We become so involved with crisis relief that we cannot take the time and resources to develop even preliminary crisis prevention programmes. Basic education should allow us to see our
eco-crisis, our education crisis, our health-illness crisis, our poverty of economics and of spirit.
Education fails by being extremely parochial. Education in the formal sectors neither has nor has embraced the real needs of most of the parents and students who have been recruited into the systems. In the past forty years the growth of primary school enrolment worldwide has been truly phenomenal and most of the nations of the world pride themselves on high initial enrollments. Output rates put the enrollment rates to pandemic shame. I have in reality been speaking not to the subject of "where education fails," but rather to the idea of "where society fails."
Society does fail its weakest members. Education in all the best and worst of its professional mandate, is charged by society to protect the most cherished cultural values in each cultural system simultaneous to
preparing the clients, the children and youth, to live in a society or of societies different from today's system. All of this is done under the societal mandate without any (?) or adequate (?) instruction to the
professional as to which are the fully cherished values and which are the items subject change.
An estimated 800 to 900 million adults and probably one billion children are not currently enjoying their right to education. In effect something we have identified as inalienable rights are far from being the exercised rights of a large section of this earth's inhabitants. There are those who say that there will be no peace on earth until every child is adequately cared for. This plausible assertion would then imply that both society and education have failed. In the 1960s and 1970s the sweep of basic education carried with it the promise of providing what was implicitly "survival education."
What is or can be the current diagnosis and prognosis for education--formal?, non-formal?, information? community development?, social mobilization and?. Historically, education has not been an innovative discipline. This is neither good nor bad, per se, but it is bad if we are looking to education to provide our social systems with the blueprints, guidelines, maps and strategies for change. The current diagnosis is that education is in a state of crisis; because of current economic circumstances as well as many other social and cultural dilemmas, the prognosis is that education will have to change to meet the needs of vastly accelerated social and cultural change. What those changes might be, immediately and in the short-run, say for the next eight to twelve years is a question of intermediate planning and/or millennial politics. We have the opportunity to grasp mostly under trained educators and their few highly trained but relatively conservative leaders and to provide them with curricula and resource materials and training packages to ask sensory questions regarding the individual, the family, the community, the wider environment, state and nation, and world.
A GOBAL VILLAGE curriculum is not a curriculum to be generated by some international corps of educationalists. A GLOBAL VILLAGE curriculum should be an enquiry study of culture, geography, economics, agriculture and industry, music, art, science, mathematics, religion, philosophy,
history, astronomy, mythology, and education. The curriculum will become curricula and many, good, honest critics will observe that these curricula are tragically culture-bound just as are most of our current
curricula. They will be right, but there should be one difference upon which they are wrong: A GLOBAL VILLAGE curriculum or curricula needs to remain enquiry oriented and not be filled with scholastic terminations. Instead of reiterating that such and such a people do such and such, the curricula should search and search and search for the why's and wherefores of how peoples live and die and find meaning in their diverse human journeys in which all may try to learn to be their fullest selves. Learning to be fully human may be set down as the basic. Integrating goal of the proposed educational innovation and in the processes of developing the innovation we may learn more clearly where our educational systems have failed. It is to be hoped that by identifying where education fails, we will be able to utilize with greatest
imagination the remaining years of this millennium to provide most carefully for Children and Peace.
David Inkey
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Reforming education
WETHU DANSTER
2004-07-15 05:14
Dear David
In response to your e-mail re-reforming education, i share the same sentiments about the present education system. Educational reforms have been introduced in the past, but has failed to address the needs of its clients. I think this problem can be referred to the higher bodies in Education, so as to reshape the curriculum.
Thank u
Wethu Danster
Border Technikon Resource Centre
East London
South Africa
Tel: 043 7085282
Fax: 043 7085333
Email: wdanster@bortech.ac.za
____________________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative? Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-16 03:57 Dear All,
I need some enlightening examples from you:
The Task Force report on Universal Primary Education states that
"...achievement of the MDG for education will be possible only if the
future is dramatically different than the past..this implies the need to
conceptualize anew the challenge of universalizing education."
As David and Wethu pointed out, there have been many efforts to reform
education in the past few decades. But in many countries, the education
system continues to serve only a small percentage of children. To name a
few examples, in rural areas, schools are too far for all children to
access. School fees, cost of books, uniforms, etc make it that families
with limited resources can’t send children, especially girls, to school.
The curriculum continues to be riddled with gender biases and stereotypes
and there are an inadequate number of teachers, many who are not trained.
The list of problems with the education system goes on...
Isn't it overwhelming to think of all the problems schools and education
systems continue to face?
* What can we possibly change? What kind of projects have you worked on
that have successfully changed these problems?
* How can we answer the task force's call to reconceptuatlize
education?
* Really, what do we mean when we say that education has to be
transformative?
I welcome your response to these questions.
Your moderator,
- Akanksha
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative?
E. Kamchedzera
2004-07-16 11:56
Dear all,
I agree with Akanksha' s concern. Indeed there have been many educational reforms but have we really reached out to those children out there in the rural areas? Many studies have been done in many developing countries to improve the children's access to schools. If they enroll, how can they be retained in these schools? What about the plight of the children with special needs education in Africa? These are the most vulnerable children apart from the girl child. For a child with disability, it is a double jeopardy. Something ought to be done. Answers are there but why are they not being implemented? Why are more studies being done in the same areas instead of using that money to implement whatever has been formulated in the Education Reform Acts??? This is very sad indeed. We still have a long way to go but when are we going to see the light at the end of the tunnel?
Thank
Elizabeth
University of Malawi
Africa? phosile
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative?
Kphiri
2004-07-16 11:57
Dear All
These and many other problems is what has led to what we are now calling in Zambia - "Community School Movement"
These are not new initiatives. Uganda has been in the fore front on experimenting with this concept. These are community initiated projects that look at offering an opportunity to young people that have missed out of an education for the reasons you alluded to. In most cases they have been pioneered by churches, CBOs and NGOs. In other instances they have been started by formal teachers or simply retired civil servants. In Zambia, Oxfam and other organisations have been supporting community schools through supporting the provision of teaching and learning materials, training of teachers, most of whom are untrained, construction of classroom to increase access and supporting community initiatives at creating wealth. This last bit is important as even with this support, community schools still have huge challenges in terms of their long term survival. Thus, getting the communities to generate sufficient income at the household level is key to the long term success of community schools. Some of these have been taken over by government and therefore converted to government schools. This is very positive step but falls short of the desired aim on integrating community management into these now government schools. In addition many of the teachers who are still untrained find themselves out on the street without a job. The sense of ownership is lost that characterises the schools, is thus lost.
There is also the issue of the quality of education that is provided. The SPARK curriculum that is used in the community schools is an abridged syllabus of the main government primary school syllabus. The idea was to fast tract the children that were too old to start grade one (approximately aged 9-16) over a period of four years which would lead to entry into secondary school for some and skills training for others. However, the reality now is that children as young as five find themselves in community schools because that's the only option available for their parents. Such children are therefore likely to be disadvantaged as a result of the focus of the education provided. The issues about what happens after 4 years in community schools are still big challenges that need addressing in view of the large number of young children that are now enrolling in community schools.
There are efforts now supported by UNICEF to review this curriculum. We are yet to see what then outcome of this will be. However, it is recognised that community schools with all the advantages they have ( flexible school times for example) still pose a number of challenges in terms of offering quality
accessible education to young people.
Kennedy Phiri
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Reforming education
phosile sichinga
2004-07-16 11:58
Dear David
i agree with tr sentiments it is ideed a crying shame that in africa people have been to universities at graet costs to our cour countries and yet we have very little to show for it in terms of transforming the continent. why is it that we are still in dire poverty when we have sent many sons and daughters to school? why is education falling to make a tranceformation for Africa? i always wonder that we can spend billions of money and yet still the impact of that education is not being seen in improved lives for the majority. What is the answer to this dilema especialy with the added burden of HIV/AIDS in Africa? phosile
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative?
isaac olofi
2004-07-17 08:46
Dear All,
I want to totally agree with the issues raised by Akansha. I am one of those who take the challenge(s) of working in the rural areas of Nigeria - Ogun Waterside, Ogun State. I have been in that same school for 15 years, working and trying to see what could be done to alleviate the suffering of the "marginalised" poor. In the whole of the Local Government, electricity was only "commissioned" in 2002, pipe borne water is out of it. Some of the children trekked 3 hours to get to school. they cannot afford to rent a house nearby in the town where the school is situated because the children have to help their parents with chores at home, in the river to catch fish and in the farm - Farming and Fishing being the predominant occupation in this area.
While most urban schools are filled with qualified teachers, schools in this area could hardly boast of 22 teachers in the secondary level, while in the primary, School Certificate (attempts) teachers are employed to cushion the effect of inadequate teachers.
However, these teachers today are bing encouraged to enroled for the Teachers' Grade II Certificate long distance courses organised by the NATIONAL TEACHERS INSTITUTE (NTI). Some of these teachers today are also aiming at getting a higher certificate. The question here is Will they still be willing to serve the schools on getting further qualification? Some of them will get married and move to urban centers. No school in the area can boast of a computer lab. Children sitting in delapidated classrooms, with floors that look like a poultry house - free ranging system. The student wears school uniform that is torn and worn-out. When it rained, it is prayer session so that the buildings don't cave in, lessons are suspended because of the noise from the rain droppings.
The Issue of EDUCATION FOR ALL by 2005 for now is just not visible in Nigeria going by the current trends of events. All the talk on the MDG is still a mirage, how can parents afford the cost of schooling a child, when the average Nigerian parent feed on less than $1.00 a day? Government policies which are targetted at alleviating poverty makes the people more impoverished and helpless. Education for now is still for the priviledged few in the society - never mind the rhetorics on news media.
However, the current effort on Long Distance Education could bridge the gap, but at what cost? Can the prospective students afford the tuition fees and regisstration requirements? Education is free and Qualitative, but for whom?
Isaac Olofi
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Achieving Univeral Primary Education
musu stewart
2004-07-19 04:10
Dear All,
The Millennium Project Task Force did an good job compiling a background paper on achieving universal primary education by 2015. The paper details the huge cost of "enrolling" rather than completing this task by 2015. In my opinion, the fundamental problems hindering successful achievement of any millennium goal in most developing countries, particularly in Africa can be attributed to 1)poverty, 2)red tape & dishonesty & 3)the lack of commitment by governments and policy-makers. I will attempt to briefly address each factor individually.
1. Poverty - poor people do not have the resources to build schools, pay teachers or set up technical structures to address educational needs. The primary concern of poor people is survival therefore education comes secondary or at times non-existent. How do we find a solution to this? We must address the physiological needs of poor people - food, shelter, clothing, health and prepare them psychologically to accept and understand the importance of acquiring education. Also, donors must build capacities of organizations (comprising teachers) undertaking community school projects so as to prepare them for sustainability when donor funding phases out, i.e. farming project, etc.
2. Red Tape & Dishonesty - the donor community has done a tremendous job in providing funding for educational projects in nearly all developing countries. Mostly, funding is provided for community school projects in towns and villages. Most of this funding has being lost in bureaucracy and dishonesty in government agencies and other organizations responsible for education. The donor community too, has its fair share of blame. Funding donated to governments or organizations to carry out education projects arrive already half spent on benefits and salaries of "project officers, executive directors, etc.," with probably only 20% spared to be actually committed to materials and teachers' stipends. How do we address this?
The international community (donors) must now re-think the funding process and ensure that funding set aside for school projects do not become tied up in bureaucracies or squandered in planning, organizing or administration. They must ensure that the beneficiaries (poor children) and those directly responsible for their education (teachers) will benefit from the funding. Teachers must form a part of the planning process of education projects rather than only being blind implementors. The donors must ensure that the channel from donor to beneficiaries is greatly shortened for maximum satisfaction.
3. Lack of commitment by governments and policy-makers - governments and organizations of most developing countries become rhetorical when requesting funding for projects from donors. But when it comes to planning and implementing the process fades away. For education projects in developing countries to become successful all players will have to exhibit full commitment to the process. To achieve this requires putting together a team of professional persons (teachers, school administrators, community leaders, etc) to produce a workable formula that will address the problem of primary education to ensure continued commitment.
The discussions continue......
Regards
Musu
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RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative?
cscqbe
2004-07-19 04:10
Dear All,
I have been very much attrached to join the discussions. May be the question
is, while it is possible to make education transformative, is there
political will and mindset to transform? I have been impressed by the many
signatures our leaders in Africa and the rest of the developing world make
in forums (for eg. Jomtien 1990, Dakar 2000 etc.). However translating the
signatures into measurable action is a challenge. For example in Malawi,
four years after Dakar 2000 Meeting, government is still struggling to
finalise a credible EFA action plan and yet one of the Goals is to deal with
gender disparities in schools by next year (2005). How can cooperating
partners like Civil society and funding agencies implement EFA plans if
there is no national plan? I do not know the experience in other countries
on the EFA Plans. However there are many other examples of non commital, but
the bottom line is "Can governments fulfill their international commitments
for educational reform now, and walk the talk rather than talk the walk.!"
For how long shall we sing that we need to educate our girls, the physically
challenged children and the illiterated adults.?
I call upon civil society coalitions to be more organised and intensfy
policy analysis and monitoring , advocacy, community sensitisation and
mobilisation to bring in a sense of action and ownership in the education
reforms and policies.
Limbani Nsapato
Coalition Coordinator
Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education (CSCQBE)
Lilongwe
Malawi.
----------------------------------------------------------------
Malawi SDNP Webmail:
Access your Malawi SDNP e-mail from anywhere
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RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-19 06:10 Dear All:
Welcome to week 2 of the education MDG discussion. Below please find a
summary of last week’s discussion and questions to jump start this week’s
dialogue on the Task Force’s 6 messages for meeting UPE by 2015.
SYNTHESIS,WEEK 1: when will we see the light at the end of the tunnel?
With previous universal education efforts having fallen short, this MDG
report should better guide how UPE can be achieved by 2015. The reports’
call for making education transformative is applauded, but does the right
mindset existed to facilitate a transformation? Why is more research being
done on the same subject (UPE) instead of using the funds to implement
Education Reform Acts? What is really needed is action - dynamic,
transformative and accountable strategies that respond to parents,
communities, and children’s educational needs.
But things need to change. When strategies have been implemented, why have
they failed to improve the lives of the poor, and not been transformative?
After decades of reforms, several problems persist: lack of access to
schools for rural communities and for the disabled; low quality of
education; lack of uniformity between community schools and the formal
education system; inadequate training and retention of teachers. The
cumulative effect of these problems is a loss of parental and community
ownership in schools.
A critical eye was cast on the viability of strategies proposed by the
report, especially when adequate political does not exist. Malawi, for
example, has signed the Jomtien and Dakar declarations but has yet to
finalize a credible EFA action plan. How can civil society and funding
agencies work towards achieving gender disparities in school by 2005, or
UPE by 2015 in the absence of national education plans?
QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK
The report suggests that the achievement of UPE 2015 will rest on the
integration of 6key messages into government-led initiatives. If accepted
by the international community, then these messages are likely to
influence how education polices and program are defined and implemented in
the future.
1. Mothers matter most. A mother’s education has a strong positive affect
on children’s (especially girls’) enrolment and attainment. Priority
should be given to ensuring gender parity at all levels of education, and
to overcoming barriers that prevent good quality education for girls.
* Does the report adequately support mother’s educational achievement, so
they can in turn ensure their children are schooled? How can women’s
literacy/education initiatives be justified within a basic education
framework?
2. A little education isn’t enough. The completion of a minimum five years
of schooling is necessary for the mastery of basic competencies. And the
completion of a cycle of “basic education” is even more in line with the
long-term goal of prosperity and human welfare. Additional priority should
be placed on post-primary education.
* Where should we set the minimum goal for years of schooling? Five
years? A full basic education cycle? If so, then how do we correlate
this expanded goal with the internationally agreed upon target of UPE
by 2015, which is far from being achieved?
3. Parents and other citizens, have the right to know. The TF suggests
that a minimum set of information about school resources and performance
be made available to parents.
* What type of information can genuinely empower parents to hold schools
accountable for providing a quality education?
* Is the use of information by parents even essential to a good education
system, or is it possible to have good schools without it?
4. More money better spent. Achieving UPE and gender equality at the
primary level will require much more money than currently spent, both from
governments and from donors.
* Many studies show little relationship between spending levels and
education outcomes. How can this be? Give us examples of what they are
missing!
* In addition to political will, what other factors constraint the use of
external funds for better education?
* What is the most effective way to use donor funding? Through projects?
Sector Wide Approaches (SWAPS)? Fast Track Initiative (FTI)? Budget
support?
5. Focus on the hard to reach. Prioritize interventions targeted at
getting poor children and girls into school and keeping them there.
* Why have past reforms failed to school the hard to reach?
6. The economy matters. Attention to economic development can make the
difference between education that yields the full range of desired
benefits and education that does not; and it can strongly affect the
household decisions about sending children to school.
* How can education-sector policies be developed with a common vision for
economic growth and development?
As a reminder, the executive summary and full Universal Primary Education
MDG report can be downloaded at
or by going to the
discussion group’s home page
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Raquel Banchero
2004-07-19 10:10 Dear all. I am joining the discussion this week. My specialization is "to
reach the unreached" by e-learning. I know that there are priorities and
that basic education for everyone is a subject that is in the basis of the
development of the countries We think that the issue, the organizations I
am workink for is attending, could make a difference for the people that
live in isolated places since virtual education could be a very important
alternative.
As you said
Many studies show little relationship between spending levels and
> education outcomes. How can this be? Give us examples of what they are
> missing!
Well to this quetion I say that we must implement educational shortcuts, .
Academics, Government and Firms must dedicated all their resources and
strenghts to find shortcuts to make educational programs sustainables and
efficient for developing countries.
Education is a knowldege system. Global, regional, local.... I mean that
developing countries must analyse seriously and systematically the existing
knowledge systems And those in which they are involved. Through the
analysis of these knowldege systems that are integrated by producers, firms,
government, NGOs , the formal and informal educational systems, also
individuals, we can find the educational shortcuts that could lead us to
reach the joint goals that our countries are confronting now to narrow the
North-South divide: enhance economics, integrate internal productive chains
to the global value chain, develop gender equity, attend life-long learning
so mothers do not uncare their children education, etc
So se must adopt a Fast Track strategics and require from all the actors in
knowldege systems a responsible contribution (leaving behind all the
antagonisms and fights about the ownership of education). Knowldege is
everywhere and in everybody. we must find the way to enhance and strengthen
each single knowledge structure and work with a down-up and up-down analysis
methodology and communities demand driven basis to reach the MDG.
Raquel Banchero
Segecyt (Secretariat for Gender Science and Technology)
Universitario Autonomo del Sur
Consultant
Montevideo Uruguay
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RIGHT2EDUCATION: Private schools for the poor J Stanfield
2004-07-19 10:14
Dear All
I am currently looking at the growth of private schools for the poor in
China, India, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. I would therefore be interested
to know what others think about the role of the private sector in
helping to achieve EFA, or if most people bel;ieve that EFA can only be
achieved by large expansions of government provision.
James B. Stanfield
E.G. West Centre
School of Education
University of Newcastle
0191 222 3503 - 07966 865 860
j.stanfield@ncl.ac.uk
ncl.ac.uk/egwest
_____________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative? Dr. Samson MacJessie-Mbewe
2004-07-20 05:10 Dear All,
The discussion on achieving EFA for developing countries is very crucial at
this time when we are really struggling to see what we can do. Many people
are bringing very important issues here and I hope there is one person who
is documenting these issues.
In one of the messages, it was said that research has shown that money does
not make a difference in educational performance. If we just say this, I
think we are not coming to terms with reality. What research has said is
that once adequate resources (money) is put into education, more of it does
not make any difference. One of the problems we are facing in developing
countries is lack of adequate money (resources) to make the difference. If
adequate money is put in, I want to agree with those who emphatically say
that it does not reach the intended poor. Schools in rural areas are really
pathetic. There are no resources what so ever. We need policies that will
help rural masses get the adequate educational resources for their children
to fully participate in education. In some countries like Malawi what EFA
has done is just to improve children's access to school but not to quality
education. We need to improve on quality and access of the poor to that
quality education.
I feel also we have for a long time missed an opportunity in sidelining the
concerned grassroot stakeholders in educatinal policy process. Teachers,
parents and students in rural areas do not know what is happeing in
education and as such they lack ownership of the policies formulated. We
need to involve these stakeholders so that they can support education with
full knowledge of what is happening in the system. There should be a
net-work of relationships between and among teachers, parents, students, the
community, and educational planners, policy analysts and makers. These
relationships will help to identify deep rooted problems in the community
and schools that affect schools and how these can be solved. The grassroot
stakeholders do have some of the answers that we struggle with but they do
not have a channel to voice out those answers. We need to integrate the
rational, interactive and contingecy models of policy process in developing
countries for us to achieve the EFA objectives.
In many developing countries educators attend one workshop to another about
EFA but rarely do they have time to sit down and implement what they
discussed in the workshops. We need to change this. If we are to attend a
workshop, it should be an aim of each workshop that by the end of it, there
should be an action plan formulated to implement whatever transpired. There
must be also afficers assigned to be responsible for the implementation of
the plans and be given deadlines to report. Let us not just waste our time
attending worlshops whose delibarations are not implemented. It's better to
take that money wasted and buy materials for schools.
The issue of poverty as stated by other poeple should also be seriously
looked into. I one day interwied few street girls why they are not going to
school. They mentioned issues of food, clothes and shelter. They said they
live in the streets begging so that they should support themsleves and their
parents who are poor and blind. However, I asked them if they wanted school,
they indicated that they really wanted school and they admire their friends
when they go to school. The children were aged 4 to 9 just imagine. Similar
issues of poverty are critical in rural areas. Poeple have nothing, how can
they support their children to go to school. Even compulsory education in
this scenario cannot work. So governments in developing countries have a
huge task to alleviate the economic status of rural masses before we
comfortably sing a UPE song. This leads us to the debate, what should come
first, economic development or education development?
Samson
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Achieving Univeral Primary Education Dr. Vijayalakshmi
2004-07-20 06:53 I agree with the opinion of Mr. musu stewart=92s opinion that at macro
level, the fundamental problems hindering successful achievement of any
millennium goal in most developing countries, may be attributed to
1)poverty, 2)red tape & dishonesty & 3)the lack of commitment by
governments and policy-makers. At the same time we need to look at the
micro level issues, the root-cause of the problem as to why the children
are not enrolled/ not attending the school.
We have developed a diagram (called ISHIKAWA) which gives some of the reasons why children do not attend schools in rural India. Please go to the discussion group's resources page at to download the diagram.
Your comments are welcomed.
Vijayalakshm
C [pic]
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Kenya School Improvement Project
2004-07-20 10:06 The unreached, already have no phones, emails, etc. e-learning cannot be
effective here.
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RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue musu stewart
2004-07-20 10:40
Agreed. The key to universal primary education in developing countries is not e-learning. I believe that we are far from the fact here. Most developing countries do not have the infrastructure to support wired or wireless technology and moreover the cost of adapting such a program will not be in the interest of the poor. To accomplish what the developed nations have in terms of education and technology we must start from the very beginning - basic learning strategies, personal interaction in classrooms, field studies and laboratories.
Musu
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Private schools for the poor Victor
2004-07-20 11:05
Dear All
It is argued by governments that private sector education provisioning
is playing an important role in expanding education provisioning in
countries. While one agrees with the stand of governments, it is equally
important to note that failing governments would always interventions
that hide the broader picture as a scapegoat. Private sector education
is purely business based on profit making and often accessible to those
who can afford. It is discriminatory and exclusive to the few who can
afford and represent socio-economic background and class. In South
Africa for example, the government has gone to an extent of subsidizing
this sector, a move that has collided with criticism from progressive
forces of the civil society including educator unions, student
organizations, parents' associations and NGOs. If EFA goals are to be
realized, governments must ensure that there is massive fuel inject in
public education and bulk of it must be allocated to rural and poor
communities and be supportive to initiatives in local communities.
Victor Mathonsi
National Association of School Governing Bodies (SA)
_____________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Private schools for the poor PAMOJA Africa Reflect Network
2004-07-21 04:45
MessageDear All,
I have been following the e-discussion - the universal primary Education
dialogue, with keen interest. What has greatly provoked my thoughts is the
whole question of 'private schools for the poor' as presented by James
Stanfield.
True, the private sector has a role in helping to achieve EFA, but let us
stop a minute and ask what kind of role and how about the motive behind
that? Remember that for the private sector the overriding factor is the
amount of profits one can generate from any one investment made!
I would like to borrow from my country experience where by to date,
following the introduction of UPE, private schools are mushrooming day by
day! If you ask whose children are in those schools, they are children of
the well- to- do, the working class,civil servants and few other peasants.
The working class and some of the peasants have had to sell off some of
their assets such as land, to be able to sustain their children in the
private schools for they do hold a belief that it is only in the private
schools now that one can gain access to quality education! Whether these
private schools in essence do offer that quality education yearned for, is
also subject to debate!
You can clearly see that this is a big problem, a time bomb, in that apart
from further widening the gap between the rich and the poor , the private
schools are also helping in draining further the resources of the poor
people who have to sell all they have in order to provide their children
with what they think is quality education!
To substantiate the point, it is evident in the difference in quality of
education provided that the 'UPE Schools' as they are referred to and the
private schools, is only helping to create / emphasise classes among the
citizens. For instance children who graduate from the 'good' schools are
more likely ( and always do) to make it to better schools at high level and
eventually to the university or other institutions of high learning.
Obviously they will be the ones to get faster access to 'good' jobs once
they are out of school! You can then guess what happens to the rest who are
not able to make it to those levels.
Until governments come up boldly to address the issue of quality in a more
profound manner, in addition to instituting tight policies that regulate the
operations of private schools, they will continue springing up to meet the
education needs of the rich and those children who can affiord the high fees
while more of the poorer children will be condemned to a low quality
education as purportedly is being provided by the Public schools! Is this
fair?
I am interested to learn more from James Stanfield about the nature of
Private schools he is referring to for the poor in China, India, Kenya,
Nigeria and Ghana. Could they be different my the ones decribed above,
possibly we could borrow a leaf from there.
Nandago Maria Goreth
PAMOJA Africa Reflect Network
Secretriat
P.O.BOX 10150, Kampala,
Uganda.
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Private schools for the poor Loise Wambui
2004-07-21 04:46 Dear all,
A Kenyan view.
I disagree with Victor that private schools are
not subsidising the government effort on EFA.
The practise on the ground is that these schools not
only supplements public sector but in the nearest
future they may substitute them in some areas of the
country.
Kenya, with the new government, declared free and
compusory primary education. The enrollement was over
100% in January 2003. Today exodus from public to
private is evident. Parents are expressing
disatisfaction with the Teacher -pupil ratio, lack of
materials , teachers attitude towards the policy and
lack of commitment to duty.
Most of the private schools in the rural and urban
poor- areas charge very small figures .This does not
mean that we don't have very expensive private
schools.
These schools play a role in Kenya. They require
government support in regislation and supervision.
LOISE GICHUHI
University of Nairobi.
( i am developing a model school in a rural place
where the per capita income is very low but the
results are positive. You can charge small fee where
the profit is on the minimum and give quality
education.The challege for me from the parents is to
give them more classes for 2005.
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue patrick
2004-07-21 04:57 Dear All,
The e-learning concept stays an admired dream to most of developing
countries! The costs of putting such a system (manpower,
infrastructure,...) will be enormous amidst serious resource
constraints. We have witnessed such other initiatives like
distance-learning (through post), rural libraries (stationary and
mobile) failing because the concepts were not 'internally' sustainable.
They were 'donor' formulas for reducing illiteracy in the developing
world. If such formulas have ever worked in the developed world, it was
due to infrastructure support and internal resource base to sustain it.
Transforming education in rural areas can not succeed through
e-learning, rather needs to be accompanied by the transformation of
other sectors like roads, agriculture and health. The rural poor
population fail to effectively participate even in the 'conventional'
literacy programmes because most of their time is spent either on
traveling on foot in search of food and medical services or hand-hoeing
for a living. So even if e-learning is introduced to foster education
for rural people, it will still be received and reach a tiny section of
this population.
Adequate resourcing and good governance across the board will help
deliver education down to the rural sections of our societies.
Patrick
_________________________
Patrick S. Ngowi
Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF)
Tanzania Programme Coordinator
P.O. Box 10414
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Tel. +255 22 2701725
+255 744 297 352
+255 744 444 282
Fax. +255 22 2701726
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Messages on the pros and cons of private education Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-22 06:47 Dear All,
I hope you have been able to follow the very lively debate on the pro’s
and con’s of private education this week. This debate is incredibly
relevant in today's educational context. Perhpas the larger issue is the
role of the private sector in education. Simon Daffi with Community Aid
and Small Enterprises Consultancy (CASEC) in Arusha, Tanzania frames this
broader issue below.
Finally, below I have regrouped several of the messages received on
private education this week to facilitate lecture. There are those that
support private education and others that question if these schools
actually reach the poor. I appeal to everyone to move on to the other 5
key messages of the task force but encourage you to continue the private
education debate amongst one another!
ROLE OF PRIVATE SECTOR IN EDUCATION
Dear all -
I have couple of things that i found challenging and needs to be given
attention in the MDG report on Universal Primary Education. Firsly, I have
learnt that many private sectors like mining companies, hunting companies
and many others in deloping countries through the process of globalization
have already reached the resources found in areas where there are
unreached communities in terms of achieving EFA. It is interesting to note
that these companies/firms have done very little/limited contribution i
helping these communities to achieve EFA goals. Some of these firms are
locally based while others are Internationals.
The MDG report on the Universal Primary Education must be able to
recognize and strategically considert the roles of private sector, so that
it is also responsible in supporting the communities in areas where they
are extracting local resources. If i give an example of my country
Tanzania you find that some communities live in geographically
disadvantaged areas in terms of infrastructures, but in those areas you
find private sectors extracting local resource and doing almost nothing in
supporting local communities to achieve EFA Goals.
I think for sustainable development the roles of private sectors must be
well integrated in the process of achieving EFA, particulaly in developing
countries. What do others say about this?
- Simon Daffi, CASEC Tanzania
SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE EDUCATION
I believe that private schools do help the EFA, particularly in instances
where governments fail in providing incentives for public schools to
function up to standard.
In Liberia private schools have not received government subsidy in nearly
two decades but these schools continue to operate to ensure that the
educational system does not collapse. Moreover, not all private schools
charge exorbitant fees. In the rural areas most private schools charge
fees that are affordable by the parents. My observation in Liberia is that
even the poorest of parents who desire education for their children will
prefer to send their children to (affordable) private schools because of
teaching quality. Had it not being for private schools in Liberia as it is
most developing countries, the illiteracy level would be far above what it
is now.
- Musu Stewart, Independent Member, International Federation of University
Women, Monrovia, Liberia
Dear All,
I think private schools are contributing to reach the EFA goals in a
country.It all depend how you involve them in governments policy work.When
I worked in the SPRINT project in Lusaka Province, our team was clustering
schools to reach city schools as well as remote schools.We organised
workshops on all kind of teaching methods.In Lusaka Urban there was a
cluster of seven schools ; 3 government,2 community and 2 private
schools.We had regular meetings in the resource centre discussing the
evolution of the project.Ideas of all these schools weree transfered to
the in-service working group at the Teacher Education Department.
- Peter Merckx, Education advisor, VVOB
Another Kenyan view,
First of all, let me confess that education is not my speciality and
therefore my views are not based on professional academic expertise.
However, I am a product of private education in Kenya and my children have
gone through private school systems.
I do agree with Loise Wambui that one can charge a small fee, deliver
quality education and serve a felt need in the country, Kenya and
elsewhere.
I have witnessed the state of government schools in rural and urban areas.
In the same areas, I have taken keen interest in private schools,
especially those managed by different missionaries. They do make small
profits and can therefore equip the school and pay the teachers
reasonably. In addition to whatever they are able to make from school
fees and other contributions, many of them require direct contribution in
money or kind from the parents and guardians. In most cases, they just
make an appeal for an identified need and parents come forward to provide
whatever is lacking, without duress or coercion.
There is yet another type of private school especially those set in
marginalised communities. Although the quality will not be rated among
the top ten per cent of achievers, the performance is good enough to
enable the children proceed if a sponsor is found or if the government can
facilitate entry into a government schools. There are several schools of
this nature in the slums and remote parts of the country such as northern
Kenya.
I do admit that most private school are charging a fortune. The benefit
that the country reaps from these expensive schools is that the chldren of
parents who can afford them leave needed spaces in the government
schools. Every year, one sees several children admitted to national
schools but parents who can afford choose to send their children to
private schools. This enables a second selection and hence an opportunity
for a deserving child to get a good start in life.
- Tina Ruguru, South Pacific.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS DO NOT REACH THE POOR
Louise,
It is good you are planning to make an investment, and in the rural area.
But if you disagree with those of us who are saying that private schools
are not helping us achieve universal education, you should not charge at
all. Why? We pay taxes to the government of Kenya so that among other
services it can offer education to all. If we have to pay private schools
then the government should reduce taxations.
Private schools in the rural areas like yours charge less yes, but in
relation to what? If it is in relation to urban private schools yes, but
if it is in relation to the economic capacity to meet their basic needs,
it is not cheap, however little you charge.
There are very few investors in these areas, and therefore employment is
scarce. Indeed I wonder how much you will pay your workers in the school,
I know of a person in Kinangop who pays her teachers between 2000 - 4000
Kshs, and I wonder how best you can do in maintaining your own children in
this kind of school where you work and get this kind of pay! Not to
mention that cost of living is rising by the day. So, who said that
charging 2000 in the rural area is cheap and affordable by all? I don't
know where you are putting up your school, but I challenge you to put it
up in Kwale, BAringo, Makueni and MAchakos area, or even interior parts of
Central Province LIke Ol Kalou in Nyandarua and some parts of Murang'a,
where unlike Kwale and the other places people are dying of hunger but no
one is reporting.
When we talk of universal primary education, are we not talking of these
children who do not even have food? Are we not talking of the any boys who
do not attend school in pastoralist communities as they are sent days and
weeks on end to take animals in such of pasture and water? What about the
Boys and Girls I see in the T.V everyday in Kamba land who walk miles in
such of water for domestic use. Not to mention the load of domestic work I
remember doing and am sure girls of the same age are still doing in most
parts of Kenya as their parents, mostly single mothers, venture out
further in the fields in such of food and other utilities to sustain their
lives? How do you expect even 1000 kshs to be cheap fees for such children
and parents.
I wish you luck with your investment, but away from emotions, we must
advocate for governments to take seriously the question of educating the
society and children, both boys and girls. Instead of stealing form public
coffers like they are doing in Kenya, those in power must be pressured to
invest our money, hard earned through taxes in education. NGOs that are in
this field must alos consider being more people oriented than facility
oriented. What I mean is that I see good school facilities put up by NGOs
in the midst of very remote communities, remote in the sense that they
cannot afford such facilities in their other areas of life, and that they
also do not think much about education. In the end after the NGO has left
the facilities are run down or are dilapidated, since the community was
not mobilized or consulted in the venture. Building the people's
capacities and understanding is better than putting up fancy facilities.
And education is not only in school, it is also at home and in the
community, so a wholesome approach that identifies what the community
needs more to enhance education is better.
Going private is what the government or those in power have done to Kenya
and Africa, to the benefit of the already developed Nations. England alone
is boosting foreign earning to the tune of more than 4billion Kenya
shillings, from Kenyans seeking for education there every year, while on
the other hand Kenya is begging from World Bank for 3b to run the Free
Primary education scheme. Yes more chances for more children to school but
certainly at a higher cost and certainly not an answer to attain the
millennium goal.
- Muthoni Kamau
Dear all,
Here in Tanzania we have abolished the term "private schools" and use "non
public or non government schools" instead. This is because no school is
allowed to operate a private curriculum even though it may be charging
fees.
Coming to the issue of whether such schools can be for the poor, I find a
big contradiction when we create a non-public or fee-paying system and
call it 'for the poor'. Few providers of fee paying education here target
the poor, exception being the Jesuit fathers and a few other charity
organizations which allow high passing children to study at a subsidised
rate while the rich parents pay the full fees. Some organizations such as
the Aga Khan Foundation, asks parents to contribute development funds to
the schools, outside the normal fees, depending on how able they are. This
does not attract the poor; instead it promotes elitism and even racism,
because only the business community and bureaucrats can pay such high
contributions.
If one is researching this area, one needs to find out the motives of
organizations and individuals owning fee-paying schools in developing
countries. The harambee system in Kenya cannot be described as 'for the
poor' because those who have nothing to pay may not be encouraged to enrol
their children in the school. Unless there is a process of identifying the
less financially able and factoring in a support mechanism, it is
unrealistic to talk of a private system that caters for the poor.
- K. M. O-saki, Faculty of Education, University of Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania
Dear All,
Yes, Victor is right is seeing private schools as discriminatory and
exclusive to the few who can afford and representing socio-economic
background and class. One more point: they steal from the rural poor! In
the rural sections of poor countries, in particular, some so called
‘community private schools’ have been left to provide education of very
poor quality to the learners because the state regulatory systems do not
reach the rural areas.
In Tanzania, for example, there are some rural secondary schools where
almost all students leave O-level without a single pass in their final
examinations, while their neighboring government secondary schools have
almost all of the students passing their examinations. Though examinations
only cannot be taken as a good measure of performance, at least the
immediate output of the state schools is far better than their private
counterparts. To me, if not properly regulated, private schools will
continue ‘committing grave crimes’ on the poor by siphoning their meager
incomes by giving them ‘blank’ education. Rural education (being basic or
secondary) should remain a domain of the government, while the elitist
private schools remain with the urban affluent.
- Patrick Ngowi, Tanzania
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Insights on the 6 core messages of the UPE report David Archer
2004-07-22 07:18 Dear All:
My apologies for arriving late on this second e-discussion - I have been
in India, Bangladesh and now Thailand. I would like to share my comments
on each of the 6 core messages of the UPE report.
Message 1: "Mothers matter most" ... This explicitly calls for us to make
the case for adult literacy – and we must respond. There is little doubt
that investing in women's literacy has a crucial and direct impact on the
education of girls - not only on increasing access but on sustaining
attendance and improving achievement. We all know that the home
environment is a crucial determinant of education outcomes and any child
who comes from a non-literate home is at a massive disadvantage. This
issue directly interfaces with the other MDG on women's empowerment ...
there can be no sustained empowerment without access to the basic /
dominant forms of communication within society. There is a need for
massive new investment in adult learning, particularly for women - but not
focused on traditional top-down literacy programmes that seek to address
literacy in isolation of wider communication and power issues.
There has been a substantial accumulation of practical learning in recent
years around participatory approaches to learning that link the
development of literacy, language and other communication skills to
women's empowerment and action. Just because economists can’t handle it
easily we should not marginalise it. There is a real problem in getting
data on adult literacy in the same way as data on schooling because of the
inherently more flexible / less systematised provision - and the massive
under-resourcing of the sector (both of practice and research). We need to
respect learning from practice and not just depend on academic research by
economists to tell us what works!
Message 2: "more education including secondary" … This is a dangerous
proposal and I feel that it risks sending the wrong message out to people
(that primary schooling is more or less resolved or that primary schooling
in itself can never be enough). We need much more on the quality and
nature of primary education. Achieving universal secondary education by
2015 is just unrealistic; this might be a recommendation for 2015-2025 but
shouldn’t we start with the base ... unless there really are massive
increases in investment from the global community (see below)?? If there
are concerns about the value of primary education in itself (and there
should be) then let us get a debate on that and change what primary
education seeks to achieve / offer etc.
This does involve getting into the discussion on the transformatory
potential of education. The report raises this as an issue and then
systematically fails to follow it through and I am glad to see that this
e-discussion is starting to fill the gaps. We do not want schools that
just reproduce society - when that society is all too often full of
inequality, injustice, discrimination and prejudice. We should be working
to make schools into microcosms of the societies that we want to create -
places which are democratic in themselves, respect children's rights,
which oppose discrimination and prejudice. This is often seen as somehow a
radical agenda and yet surely it underpins the expectations of most
parents who send their children to school in the hope that their
children's lives will be better than their own. If we want to transform
society there can be no better place to start than schools ... and if
schools are to do this we need to see them as places that promote
un-learning (e.g. of prejudice / gendered roles etc) as well as learning!
I hope that long after this e-discussion we can sustain a longer global
dialogue about strategies to change learning environments and promote
active public debate about the role of schools in changing societies.
Message 3: "right to know".... This message needs much more on the role of
CSOs / citizen action at local and national level - to open up public
debate / involve the media and question the nature of education. A key
step is closing the gap between schools and parents and we need to pull
together ways of doing this through statutory and non-statutory
organisations (PTAs, School Management Committees, Village Education
Committees etc). We need to move beyond the right to know to the right to
have a say - and this means linking community level structures involving
parents up to district level / local government structures to ensure
accountability. Once we have mobilised from local to district level, the
connections to national level alliances can be made fairly easily.
One of the most exciting developments in education in the past five years
has been the emergence of unprecedented national alliances / coalitions on
basic education in s many countries (eg linking NGOs to teacher unions,
debt campaigners, child labour activists, faith based organisations,
parents associations, women's movement and other social movements). There
was no equivalent after Jomtien - and these alliances are proving crucial
in the post-Dakar environment - demanding accountability from governments,
demanding the right to know what government is doing to deliver on EFA and
demanding an active and ongoing role in policy processes, implementation
and monitoring as agreed in Dakar. There is a long way to go but these
coalitions (especially when linked regionally such as by ANCEFA in Africa
and globally by GCE) have immense potential and should be acknowledged in
the paper. Budget analysis and budget tracking from national down to local
and back up to national level is central to the work of many of these
alliances. Parents have a right to know how much is coming to the school
in the name of their children, whether this is adequate and how it relates
to per-capita spending in other districts / locations. There are often
huge distortions in spending per capita within a country. These need to
be brought out - and the national alliances / coalitions on basic
education are key to this.
Message 4: "More money, better spent". I would like to see a stronger
link here to the costs of education that have been passed on to parents
(which is only covered in message 5) ... as abolishing these needs to be
calculated into the resource gap (see below). I also feel we always talk
about political will and not enough about the collective will of whole
societies (a vision to 2015 MDGs cannot be delivered by a political party
that is under short term pressures / is in power for 3/5 years). We need
to build domestic pressure in each country across Africa, Asia and Latin
America so that whoever is in power has to prioritise education.
Part of achieving this involves questioning / challenging the role of NGOs
– stopping them from being unwitting agents of privatisation by delivering
services that should be delivered by the State. Part of this analysis also
needs to look at the new dangers of donor power as they move to
collaboration / sector wide approaches / working in consortiums. We
criticised donors in the past for their lack of coordination but now they
are working in consortiums and providing funds right into the heart of the
education system, major new threats have emerged.
The donors are rarely critically aware of their own power. The danger is
that governments become more accountable to the donors and set policies
and priorities more in consultation with donors than with their own
parliaments or citizens. The sort of power that donors now have needs to
pass to national parliaments / citizens / civil society coalitions.
Mobilising more resources for education from the international community
should not be at the cost of reducing the accountability of governments to
their own citizens. In Dakar it was agreed that governments would develop
national EFA Plans in consultation with citizens/ civil society and that
donors would then come in to provide consistent and coordinated support.
In practice donors are still having far too much say over the direction of
reforms and they are not sufficiently aware of how this can undermine
people's rights and the relation of citizens with their governments.
Message 5: "hardest to reach”.... There is an immense amount of experience
on this within the NGO community but again we have been spending so much
effort directly delivering services (and competing with each other to
claim the most innovative approaches) that we have failed to consolidate
our learning into clear positions that can be taken to government and act
as a basis for systemic reform. The Commonwealth Education Fund is
committed to pulling together learning in this area within 17 low income
countries in Africa and South Asia - but there is a long way to go - and
similar initiatives are urgently needed in other regions (e.g. South East
Asia, Latin America, francophone Africa).
Message 6: "Holistic approaches".... Yes of course we need to be holistic
but we must not understate the role of education in breaking the cycle of
poverty. This report should be the one that argues the essential and
unique role of education both as a fundamental right and as the
fundamental enabling right, which helps people, secure and enjoy other
basic rights. This one intervention is critical to achievement of all the
MDGs.
There is a lot more that I have not said but I really hope that some of
the above is a useful contribution to these important debates. We MUST
sustain this sort of discussion beyond the timeframe of the specific task
of feeding into the MDG Task Force reports - to build positions and
collective action, perhaps most urgently in 2005.
David Archer
_____________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Transforming Education musu stewart
2004-07-22 07:24
Dear All,
This is a very exciting forum where persons interested in making education a reality for all. Developing countries are suffering a brain drain of qualified educators due to teachers either leaving the profession or travelling abroad to seek greener pastures. Why is this so? Teachers are among the lowest paid in terms of salaries and in developing countries this incentive is not easily forthcoming. If educators are not equipped to aid the transformation process this goal will be unachievable. Educators have to be trained periodically to keep up with the changes in global teaching skills and strategies, preferably "on-site" , in their countries rather than expensive overseas training which sometimes results into trainees absconding to seek better life abroad. Governments and stakeholders will have to be committed to making education a primary national goal and ensuring that educators are rewarded the requisite benefits to enable them make this goal achievable.
Many countries speak of "free education". But can education be truly free when teachers and school administrators can not receive their remunerations? In my country, Liberia, teachers sometimes go unpaid for a year. Little wonder how they send their own children to school. As a result, teachers pass the burden on to the pupils who then see this as an easy outlet to obtaining passing grades. Transforming education and achieving universal primary education by 2015 requires the concerted effort of everyone, as achieving this goal is tied to achieving other Millennium Goals. Success in achieving one of these goals could be a formula for success in achieving others. Let us get up and do something!DEEDS NOT WORDS!
Musu
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Muthoni Kamau
2004-07-22 09:07 Dear all,
One could not agree more with Patrick. E-learning is about modern communication methods and facilities like telephone and computers. In countries where the majority have never enjoyed using electricity in their homes, you cannot expect them to have seen computers,leave alone having the skills to use them. they could be taught through televised programs, but the same problems apply. E-learning for KEnya and I believe other developing countries is not the answer for now. Indeed it compunds the problem, because it may mean governments importing more equipment from the west as we manufacture not even spare parts, and this may lead to taking of more loans from the bretton woods institutions, due to unfavorable trade balance, as the west buys our tea and coffee at throw away prices.
We need better education policies that shape the education to meet the needs of the society, as opposed to the current ones where universities and colleges are opened so as to be named after the current president or for political expediency.
I agree with Patrick that good and just governance is a major key, with which the lot of revenue collected by our governments through taxes and loans from outside will be channeled to education, to ensure that the capacity for society members to produce more and sustain themselves is increased and improved. This is the essence of education, that human beings, both male and female are able to relate to one another and with
nature in a way that enhances their living.
Unfortunately this is not the way the political leaders look at it and hence the lack of serious need to address the education system. Take the case of Kenya for instance, Free Primary Education yes, and an increase in enrolment, but how free is it if the teachers who are paid with with our taxes are not paid enough and are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of
children? Is it not more costly in the long run given that the quality is very low? are we after enrolment of children in schools or after educating our people?
How free is it yet we are apying more taxes, and instead of paying the teachers better so as to cope with increased work load, or employing more teachers, Parliamentarians are paying themselves 20 times more the salary of a secondary senior teacher? Who is Fooling who? Infact in many Kenyan Languages, the direct translation of free Education is 'useless education', that is why the business people who have invested in education are happy that we are disillutioned with the public schools despite the
free-ness and are still paying them the heft fees that they demand!
We need to get serious civil Society Advocacy on this question of free education and meeting the Millenium goal by 2015. I am ready for action that can force our policy makers to see sense. That way we can actually
dream of having E-learning beginning 2015.
- Muthoni Kamau
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Insights on the 6 core messages of the UPE report Loise Wambui
2004-07-22 11:45
Dear All,
David's contribution is well thought.
My experience is that most deloping countries commit
so much to education.However,they relie so much on
donors who gives 'dress' measures on how the money is
to used.
What these countries need is funds and left to cut
their own 'dress' sizes especially choosing
between formal and nonformal.
Your other suggestion is intergrating parents
comittees in the running of schools.This is a noble
thing but a limit of educational back ground of the
members should be set so that they can contribute
effectivery .
Loise (University of Nairobi).
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: The impact of IMF conditionalities on education expenditure David Archer
2004-07-22 11:47 Dear All,
My previous email shared my reflections on the specific messages. I’d like
to share one further overall argument which relates most to message 4 but
impacts on all and relates back to the previous e-discussion on the MDG
target on achieving gender equality in primary and secondary education by
2005. It is this target that can give us urgency for action on education.
All the other MDGs have targets for 2015 and all of them can be forgotten
about easily if there is no substantial action in the next year on this
first target. It is becoming increasingly clear from my discussions with
people across 40 countries in the ActionAid International staff conference
presently taking place in Thailand (from where I am writing) that the
biggest single obstacle is the IMF.
IMF conditionalities around the macro-economic framework force governments
to limit public expenditure on education (e.g. limiting increased teacher
numbers / salaries / other investments in education). Their obsessive fear
of inflation means they are even preventing some countries from receiving
new aid (e.g. Zambia and Uganda - where this is clearest in relation to
money from the HIV Global Fund but will clearly affect any significant new
aid to education ... and could directly undermine the Fast Track
Initiative). Yet the IMF policies on inflation are extremist /
fundamentalist even amongst the bizarre world of economists. Most
economists think moderate inflation (between 10%-30%) does not prevent
growth and that whilst such inflation is bad for wealthy foreign
investors, it is not bad for poor people.
Now, let us say that perhaps the most serious action the global community
could take in 2005 would be to eliminate all user fees in primary and
secondary education (as fees are the single biggest factor excluding girls
- and that girls are progressively excluded as they go up the education
system because costs rise). This could be achieved through some
governments increasing public expenditure (parents only have to pay
because government is under-funding at present) or by other governments
receiving new aid. The IMF would actively block BOTH these steps.
In the light of the above I think we should demand that IMF PROVES that
modest increases in inflation / modest increases in public spending on
education (and indeed other urgent priorities like HIV) OR significant new
aid, would do MORE damage to poor communities than the present deprivation
of their rights to education (and health / HIV awareness etc). The truth
is that they cannot prove this.... and we need to expose this ... exposing
them as fundamentalists who are directly undermining the achievement of
the MDGs.
- David Archer, ActionAid International
_____________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: The impact of IMF conditionalities on education expenditure Kphiri
2004-07-23 04:40 David
Well Spoken David! I cant agree with you more on this. Interestingly, if IMF
had not approved a PRGF for Zambia, other donors were not going to support
Zambia in any significant way. Now that we have the PRGF, donors are willing
to let aid flow to Zambia. This is a cartel we must work hard at all levels
to expose, not only for what it is, but how it holds human life at ransom in
the name of managing macro-economic indicators such as inflation.
Equally important, is reforming the way our governments do business.
Increasing public expenditure on social services may fail us if the
institutional constraints that exist at the moment are left unchanged. This
is not just about how the government rewards civil servants, its also about
the framework of conditions under which they are employed.In many of our
countries civil servants survive on allowances( whose negotiation has always
been acrimonious and led to many work stoppages). We need to rethink the way
things are done in order to create an environment were dedicated and
committed personnel including many of our teachers, are allowed to operate
in an efficient manner.
Kennedy Phiri
Copperbelt Livelihood Improvement Programme
Oxfam GB
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Insights on the 6 core messages of the UPE report Shaheen Rahman
2004-07-23 04:45
David, this about sums it all but our worry is that most Govt.s are not at all keen on AE and just paying lip service to it. Unless mothers are made literate, understand the concept of the 'word' she will not push her children towards schooling or learning. With countries which have a horribly large feudal mind-set, already the cards are stacked against the rural communites.Should we coax UNFPA to also include 'leraning for the illiterate mother'!
If there is more coodination amongest the UN agencies ,even then better results can be achieved.
Shaheen
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Using the internet and computers as learning facilities Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-23 07:15 Dear All:
We’ve had a number of messages on the merits of e-learning, a few of which
are presented below. It’s true that e-learning is relevant in some
environments more than others, and it can both expand education’s reach as
well as create a larger divide between the rich and the poor. - Akanksha
Tina Ruguru, South Pacific. Mwari_mugendi@yahoo.co.uk
If there is a chance to start the e-learnig facility, even in one corner -
just like hospitals and police stations do, it should be taken up because
computers do not need as much infrastructure as moving quality teachers.
Just for example, a building can be wired and a generator is installed.
It is possible now to generate power with windmills. With e-learning, a
few people can reach a great number over long distances - just as we are
doing now -you in Tanzania and me in South Pacific. I know we need to
overcome the language barrier in most parts of the world but I believe
that there are qualified people who could provide starter kits for
different countries. Lets give it a chance.
"Doug Matthews
I note with interest that you have the same concerns as I do about the
difficulty of increasing literacy rates and the additional difficulties of
delivering instruction through e-learning to developing countries. I would
like to share information about our project, “Teaching Point.”
Our mission is to help teachers get their students to the "Teaching Point"
where learning begins. We are building a knowledge base for primary and
secondary teaching in every subject. This will provide the subject and
grade specific "missing link" in teacher preparation materials. The basic
format for each course set provides all the material a principal or
department chair expects their teachers to write that doesn't normally
come with a textbook or accompanying teacher manual. These elements
include standard alignments, complete syllabus, pacing guide, daily lesson
plans, assessments, student activities book and class notes for
blackboard, overhead projection or PowerPoint.
Also, teacher-authors are available by email to serve as mentors to your
teachers. So, when you need to assign someone to teach something they
wouldn't under normal circumstances volunteer for, and you wouldn't
assigned them to, these materials solve numerous attendant problems. They
also serve as a good management tool, because you can "check for
understanding" during the school year with a copy of the pacing guide to
be sure that all the important content will be covered by the end of the
school year.
These may be the "low tech" solution for teachers in both developed and
developing countries where traditional classrooms operate without a lot of
"high tech" equipment available. They are a practical, economical solution
where much more funding would be necessary, even if such funding were
available, for higher tech remedies.
Alfred Bork, University of California, Irvine (bork@uci.edu)
We are currently working on a proposal to use distance learning where the
computer is the tutor. This approach enables each student to learn at a
unique pace, and at his/her full capacity. The computer program is
interactive and tutors students by posing several questions on the
material read. These question and response sessions identify students’
learning problems and determine which learning material is most
appropriate for the student based on past performance and student input.
This is all combined with peer learning with small groups, and teachers
and other adults (where available) provide further support. We propose
testing this program in 5 languages (Chinese, English, Spanish, an Indian
language and an Africa language). Please contact me if you want more
information, ics.uci.edu/~bork
_____________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Last few comments on this week's discussion Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-23 11:25 Dear All:
To close this week’s discussion on the 6 key messages of the UPE report, I share with you two comments that participants have made on the role (and responsibility) of governments in delivering high quality education for all citizens, no matter how hard they are to reach. This is an important discussion because donor agencies, NGOs and the private sector are increasingly involved in delivering education.
These comments provide a great link to next week’s discussion on the report’s 6 recommendations, many of which pertain to changing how governments and donor agencies work on education.
Stay tuned on Monday for next week's discussion questions on the UPE report's recommendations.
- Akanksha
Felix Edwards, felix@
I agree with David that one, if not the biggest, factor that prevents girls from participating in education is school fees, but we need to be careful about how we mitigate against this. I am researching the system here in Liberia and while the government schools are technically fee-free one of the most cited reasons for girls not attending or dropping out is fees. From my initial research this seems to be because government schools are of such a poor standard and overcrowded that parents, when possible, send their children to private schools where fees are charged but the education quality is higher. Also private schools have been quicker to mobilise in the rebuilding effort as they are able ot access funds more quickly. Upwards of 50% of children are attending private schools, to such an extent that the WFP extended their feeding programme to include them. Therefore the work here needs to focus on improving the quality of education in government schools, training teachers, !
providing more materials etc rather than lobbying government to remove fees.
Kiura Ben, Mombasa Kenya, Bernard Kiura
There are about 17000 public schools in Kenya. Private schools are located in major urban areas and highly productive rural areas. A few private schools, mainly by the religious bodies are operational in the remote areas of Kenya.
Those who have not visited a remotely located public school in the recent past are likely not able to feel the change that FPE is bringing. While I acknowledge that so much remains to be done in terms of providing the essential teaching and learning resources, a few resources/materials are flowing into the schools. This was not there before 2003. You just have to be in a public school in Kenya to feel this.
Therefore, inspite of the problems public schools are facing, the government is big and in every corner of the country that there will never come a time when private schools will be more than the public schools, not unless we all became educational entrepreneurs and/or missionaries.
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Insights on 6 core messages Lalita Ramdas
2004-07-26 05:31 Dear All,
Although I have been receiving all the animated messages from the
beginning of the first round on Gender, I have been unable to respond
because of pressing commitments as also a lot of travel. However, I too
would like to add some observations - primarily based on several of the
comments already circulated.
First of all, and by way of a brief background - I live in a small
village, and a rural community on the west coast of India - after our
formal `retirement' from our respective working lives so to speak. My
earlier work experience, over a period of nearly three decades,had been
primarily in urban areas, straddling at various times, primary education,
adultliteracy and non-formal education in diverse communities, especially
with minority groups, women, and indigenous groups. For some time I also
had the privilege of being part of an International group working in
Adult Education and I continue to be closely involved with regional
initiatives in Adult learning.
Nothing in my earlier experience had quite prepared me for the reality of
rural existence , and I spent a good part of the first few years as a
member of a local Village Education Committee - trying to understand the
realities and the dynamics of these institutions and why they are in the
state we see today in large parts of the developing world. It is from this
perspective that I would like to offer some comments on this important debate.
1.Mothers Matter Most ....or as we have been told ad infinitum - that a community of educated,empowered, women can make the difference that matters. David has summed up the core issues well - and there can be no quarrel with this in principle. The devil lies as always in the interpretation and practice on the ground. Even in this relatively progressive state where I live - where there is by and large a greater degree of freedom enjoyed by women - in rural areas the retention and practice of literacy after marriage, and the value of education per se, is not yet universally recognised as something to be accorded priority, especially for the girl child. EMPOWERMENT is a word which is part of every official policy document of Govt, NGOs and donor agencies - however the definitions and interpretations differ hugely!!
The struggle to build a `bottom-up' demand for schooling/educationi in the less developed states - which form the bulk of regions which have extremely low rates of literacy and the highest out of school/drop-outs can well be imagined. This, combined with an apathetic if not callous administration, as also the predominantly patriarchal mind sets of men in society and in positions of governance, creates a system which delivers a form of schooling which is poor in quality and even poorer in motivation.
Resource allocation is just one part of the problem. Deep rooted attitudes and a scarcely concealed lack of seriousness in considering the needs and problems of the poor and marginalized are the more difficult part of the> problem.
2. More of education - [beyond Primary]- and the Nature of Education. Once again I find myself in agreement with David's warning about the danger inherent in any assumption that the problems of Primary education have more or less been resolved by policy frameworks - be they governmental or other - being put in place.
To locate this squarely in ground realities again: almost every government
that has come to power in India since Independence has set itself targets
within which to achieve UPE. And we have seen a number of policy initiatives none of which have actually matched with funds the targets they have set for the country.
Along with a number of groups in different parts of the country , I have
been part of an effort to intervene in the District administration run
primary school system to identify the gaps which continue to result in 30
to 40 % of kids coming out of primary school barely knowing how to read and
write. The reasons are manifold - and complex - starting from disinterested
and de-motivated teachers and administration - to lack of competencies and
training - to overloading and lack of appreciation of teachers - to
parental uninvolvement.
Education - or schooling - is still viewed by the majority as a means to employment - no matter how lowly. So certification is of the essence - and
the very concept of quality is premised on what helps to get that piece of
paper in hand. The idea of education as and for TRANSFORMATION - at
whatever level - is still somewhat problematic in isolation of
concentrated efforts to initiate and sustain discussion around the questions of what people want from education.
3. RIGHT TO KNOW - and the RIGHT TO HAVE A SAY - a very essential question - and one that continues to be problematic given the top-down relationship between teachers and parents - as indeed between administration at all levels, and the `people'.
One of the tougher struggles in developing societies like ours, with its many layers of hierarchy and discrimination, is indeed to move towards a
more democratic relationship. The democratization of the classroom is an
intrinsic aspect of moving to a greater expression and practice of
democracy outside of the right to vote once in five years! But having said this - it is exciting to see that there is increasing awareness and confidence about rights and responsibilities - largely as a result of NGO and peoples organizations who have worked hard and building confidence and capacity among communities who have traditionally preferred silence as a way of survival.
However, it is still a long way to realizing the goal of effective parent participation in PTAs - which is the only way forward . The distance
between teacher and taught is as sacrosanct as the distance between the parent and the teacher - who is still regarded as a powerful entity whose authority dare not be questioned.
I have more that I would like to add - but am aware that this might
already be too late - so shall stop here and hope that we will continue to connect on these issues.
Lalita Ramdas
Alibag
Maharashtra
India
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Summary, week 2 discussion Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-26 08:20 SUMMARY, WEEK 2: comments on 6 key messages of the UPE report
MESSAGE 1-Mother’s matter most: the report needs to explicitly support
flexible and participatory approaches to women’s education. As it stands
now, the message is left “empty” – it justifies the important roles
mothers’ play in children’s education and overall well-being but fails to
follow through on a recommendation for supporting women’s literacy
initiatives.
MESSAGE 2-A little education isn’t enough: a dangerous claim that risks
sending the wrong message to people – that primary schooling has been
achieved. There is still a lot of work to be done on meeting UPE and
improving the quality of education. It still needs to be transformed, as
the report so rightly points out.
Can primary education never be enough? If we make this claim, then what
incentive is left for parents to send children to primary school when they
most certainly cannot send them onto secondary education? The larger
question is about supply and quality – secondary schools simply do not exist, especially in rural areas, and are riddled with problems themselves. There are also problems at the micro level (i.e. traditions that support early marriage, keeping girls from school, poverty) need to be tackled. In
short, we are far from UPE, and it makes little sense to expand the
goalpost when we haven’t achieved even this minimum target.
MESSAGE 3-Parents have the right to know: teachers and students also have
right to know more about how education is provided, where resources are
garnered, the conditionality attached to them, and how they are allocated.
Simply knowing this information is not enough- a platform where parents,
students and teachers can advocate changes with policy makers at local,
district, national and even international level needs to exist. In Dakar
it was agreed that governments would develop national EFA Plans in
consultation with citizens/ civil society and that donors would then come
in to provide consistent and coordinated support. In practice donors are
still having far too much say over the direction of reforms and they are
not sufficiently aware of how this can undermine people's rights and the
relation of citizens with their governments.
The report should recognize civil society action and the role of CSOs in
creating a debate over the nature of education and what needs to change.
National alliances / coalitions on basic education are proving crucial in
the post-Dakar environment - demanding accountability from governments,
demanding the right to know what government is doing to deliver on EFA and
demanding an active and ongoing role in policy processes, implementation
and monitoring as agreed in Dakar. In the same, NGOs need to combine
efforts to deliver education with advocacy – there is a need to
consolidate learning into clear positions to be taken by governments and
for a united call for systemic educational reform.
MESSAGE 4-More money better spent: this is a double-edged sword. Resources
are still not adequate for meeting UPE in developing countries. There was
a call for action to ensure that conferences and international
declarations such as the MDG result in action plans that are implemented,
monitored and evaluated. When resources are available, many practitioners
voiced concerns about their allocation: corruption, politics,
conditionality, and absence of investment in rural areas need to be
rectified. With more money also comes the need for greater accountability,
especially since there are many different entities delivering education
such as governments, NGOs, communities, and the private sector. Finally, there is also a need to uncover the realities of “free education” because even in the rare cases where fees have been abolished, other indirect costs are being passed onto parents under the guise of participation or to build ownership in schools. This is not only unsustainable, but also frees governments of their obligation to provide education to all citizens.
Part of this analysis also needs to look at the new dangers of donor
power. While donors have been criticized for their lack of coordination,
new concerns arise with donors moving towards collaboration / sector wide
approaches / working in consortiums. The danger is that governments become
more accountable to the donors and set policies and priorities more in
consultation with donors than with their own parliaments or citizens. The
sort of power that donors now have needs to pass to national parliaments /
citizens / civil society coalitions.
Fundamental obstacles, such as IMF conditionality limiting government
expenditure on education may very well undermine the potential of new aid
modalities such as the FTI. There was a call to refute the IMF’s claim
that more aid, and hence a modest increase in inflation and public
expenditure is damaging. In fact, most economists believe that moderate
inflation (between 10-30%) does not prevent growth and that whilst such
inflation is bad for wealthy foreign investors, it is not bad for poor
people. This fear of inflation has already blocked funds from the HIV
Global Fund to Zambia and Uganda.
MESSAGE 5-Focus on the hard to reach: e-learning and private sector
involvement were presented as possible ways to expand and improve
education. While there is merit to these strategies and examples of how
they have been successful in some contexts, there was general agreement
that these approaches do not reach those most in need, especially the poor
and those living in rural areas. We have to be more vigilant on the impact
of these non-traditional actors in education, and question if they reach
poor and marginalized, or succeed in widening the north south, rich-poor
divide. For example, “how can a non-public or fee-paying system be for the poor?”
The UPE report needs to acknowledge the participation of these new and
non-traditional actors in education and highlight the pros and cons of
these initiatives – particularly underline that they do not serve the hard
to reach. Public schools still out number private schools. The government
therefore has an even larger role to play, not only in improving public
school quality, but also holding private schools accountable for
delivering education of high quality, and to more than just the elite. The
disparate state of rural schools shows that even when more resources are
provided, they do not necessarily reach the schools.
MESSAGE 6-The economy matters: but what should come first, economic
development or education development? Poverty is a catch-22, there is
recognition that education can help create better lives, but many cannot
afford it because of fees, and indirect costs. When people do manage to
send their children to school, jobs either do not exist, or continue to
offer low wages and poor working conditions. The report should ensure a
strong link between economic policies, the gendered impact of these
strategies and link these with the content of education and vice versa.
People should be educated to stand up for their rights and advocate for better educational, working and living standards.
Finally, this report in particular needs to highlight the role of
education in breaking the cycle of poverty. “This report should be the one
that argues the essential and unique role of education both as a
fundamental right and as the fundamental enabling right, which helps
people, secure and enjoy other basic rights. This one intervention is
critical to achievement of all the MDGs.”
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Discussion questions for week 3 Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-26 09:57 Welcome to the third and final week of this e-discussion on the UPE MDGs.
This week’s dialogue will focus on the report’s specific strategies for
the UN, donor agencies, and technical agencies about how education
priority setting and funding should be changed.
QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEKS’ DISCUSSION
* The contributions of civil society organizations to meeting UPE do not
appear within these recommendations. How should the report acknowledge the
contribution of CSOs? What role do they have to play post-Dakar
declarations and in holding the government accountable for meeting UPE?
* The Task Force endorses the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) funding
mechanism. Are the conditionalities attached to the FTI compatible to
achieving UPE? Will they actually help achieve a quality basic education
around the world? Or is this yet another example of donor prowess? For
more information, read pages 37-42 in the report
* The Task Force recommends expanding the primary education goal to
include secondary education because it believes that schooling’s true
benefits are only felt after 5 years of education. Do you agree?
* Why are there no recommendations about how to transform education as
suggested in the preface of this report? If this is the main report on the
education MDG, shouldn’t recommendations focus on how to reform the
education sector? What suggestions do you have?
* The Task Force suggests that money be transferred to poor households
contingent on children’s attendance to school. Is this a feasible proposal
for all contexts? Is there any way of connecting this mechanism with
issues of quality, relevance, and community engagement in education?
* What form and role would an independent facility for funding,
monitoring and evaluation take?
TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Donor agencies should commit at least $1 billion to the Fast Track
Initiative, which funds credible education sector plans developed by
countries farthest from reaching the UPE goal.
2. Both governments and donors should expand funding priorities and monies
to include basic education, which incorporates secondary schooling. The TF
suggests that schooling’s true benefits are only felt after 5 years of
education.
3. Progress in implementing changes and improving education system
performance should be closely monitored, with information widely made
available. The Task Force recommends including as a criterion that the
recipient country has begun implementing a system providing and actively
publicizing to all citizens fully transparent information about the total
and per child level of public education spending by community and ideally
within each publicly managed school as well.
4. Donors should commit to a common framework of transparent annual
monitoring and reporting of each other’s practices. The FTI mechanism is
suggested.
5. In addition to FTI funding on an annual basis for the programs of
eligible countries, donors should take immediate steps to provide funding
to any country for cash or other transfers to poor households contingent
on children's attendance at school. School feeding programs and girls
scholarships are recommended.
6. There is an urgent need to better understand how well specific
interventions and reforms work to increase enrolment, retention and
learning. The TF suggests the creation of an independent facility for
funding and bringing visibility to the results of rigorous impact
evaluation.
The full executive summary and complete report can be downloaded at
or by going to the
discussion group’s home page
where you will be able to see all the contributions to this ongoing
discussion over the next two months.
RIGHT2EDUCATION: thoughts on task force recommendations Musu Stewart
2004-07-26 10:55 Dear All,
1) I agree with David and further believe that the IMF has indirectly
contributed to the underdevelopment of education and other human
development programs in developing countries. I use the word "indirectly"
because, in as much as they had provided loans to poor countries to help
reduce poverty and improve living conditions, they failed in enforcing
policies and setting up qualified monitoring tools at the national level
that will ensure transparency in the application of such funds.
I had earlier mentioned that educational programs failed to meet the
desired objective in poor countries due to unnecessary bureaucracy and
dishonesty in governments. When governments receive loans from the IMF and
misapply them the burden is passed on to the poor and intended
beneficiaries. These poor people are made to believe by their governments
that the international community is not doing anything about their plight.
The IMF should not cut aid (particularly aid that affects education and
health) to poor countries due to the non-performance by their leaders.
They (IMF) should instead draw up guidelines that would indicate clear
channels, remove bottlenecks, and ensure that loans are used to benefit
the intended target. Macro-economic conditionalities are blanket and hurt
sectors that need aid the most. THE IMF MUST RE-THINK ITS STRATEGIES OR
THEY WILL HURT THOSE WHOM THEY SEEK TO HELP!
2) Community and household involvement - we must reach out to poor
communities through vigorous and continuous sensitization and awareness
initiatives to inform them about the importance of education to their
social and economic well-being. These community leaders must be made to
understand and accept that education improves their livelihoods and that
boys and girls alike should have equal opportunity to education.
3) Minimum goal for years of schooling - I disagree with the Task Force
that "education is, first and foremost an end in itself". The education
process is never-ending. Education is dynamic and must continue to be
pursued if we are to continue to achieve other MDG's. Five years of
schooling becomes obsolete in ten years. No one should be limited to a
specific amount of education. Education is a catalyst to realizing human
capacity. At what point do we determine that human capacity has been
realized? I say never. If education were an end in itself and we all
agreed that a limited amount of time spent in schooling, say 12 years, is
sufficient then our cause is futile, there would be no need for research
and knowledge aimed at improving life. The UPE goal should be to ensure a
process that would be a means, and not an end in itself, for more children
to continue to attend and remain in school, achieve primary education and
be motivated to seek further education. If we limit the poor to limited
education how would they cope with changes around them?
Musu Stewart
International Federation of University Women - IFUW
Monrovia, Liberia
__________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: A recommendation to strengthen monitoring and evaluation Elaine Unterhalter
2004-07-26 14:13 Dear All:
I would like to share a paper on the Gender empowerment measure (GEM) in
education developed by the Beyond Access. These indicators could
contribute to strengthening monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in
education. I have outlined the main indicators below and the full paper
can de downlaoded at:
Although there are many criticisms of using measures and indicators to
guide public policy I think better measures might contribute to better
policy. We all know that existing measures of enrolment, attendance and
even achievement in tests are inadequate to capture an idea of education
for all. I have been working with others on a more in depth measure of
quality drawing on the capability approach, but have in the course of this
work developed the idea of a gender empowerment measure (GEM) in
education. This uses sources governments and census departments have to
hand and does not require any new collection of data. My suggestion for
the GEM in education is as follows:
A weighted index that encompasses:
Women percentage share of seats in parliament
Women % of total in decision making positions regarding education, that is
in provincial legislatures, as senior officials and managers in education
and training departments in the public and private sector.(including
HEIs). This can go down to the levels of School Governing Bodies or
Village education committees
Women % of total head teachers in primary and secondary school
Ratio of estimated women’s to men’s earned income as teachers and other
workers in the education sector
Ratio of estimated women’s to men’s earned income in other sectors
Proportion of education budget spent on areas of specific concern to a
majority of women (eg ECCED, strategies to counter sexual violence in
schools etc)
I am currently in discussion with educatiohn officials in South African on
putting this to some use and would be very interested to hear from others
interested in using the approach.
Elaine Unterhalter
Beyond Access Project
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Kadijatou Baldeh
2004-07-27 07:50 Dear all
I wish to add weight to Muthoni,Patrick and David Archer's views. How free is free education? What do we understand as free education? Education for what?
In The Gambia we talk about free education for girls but in actual fact
it is free tuition for both boys and girls in Grades 1-6 and free
tuition for girls in Grades 7-9. However, parents buy school uniforms
,exercise books, pens, pencils, spend on feeding, etc. When all add all
these costs are put together, it is more than the tuition fees.
Therefore parents are seeking an alternative education in "Madrasas"
(meaning School in arabic-Islamic/arabic institutions)which are seen to
be less expensive and more flexible. In fact almost 10% of the school
going population are enrolled in these schools.
The other thing is quality is lacking. We should now focus on how to
provide quality education in a conducive learning environment. Visit
schools in the provinces and you will wonder how effective learning
could take place in such unfriendly and harsh conditions. I am convinced
that in Africa Elearning is yet to be a reality. For now it is a
dream/luxury available only to the elite few who can afford other
sources of electricty other than than the public electricity supply.
How relevant is the curriculum? Most parents think that what children
learn is not relevant for their needs and as such refuse to enrol
children in schools. We need to focus on our problems and right some of
the wrongs before thinking of elearning. This does not in any way mean
that I do not support or value elearning I just believe that there is
time for every thing. As the saying goes in wollof, " slowly slowly
catch the monkey in the forest".
Finally, in the Gambia the qualty education problem we are facing stems from the implementation of IMFs regulations in the early 1980s. To cut down on cost,double shifts were introduced in schools and untrained teachers hired(less pay) to fill the classrooms. How cost effective have this implementation of IMF policy been to the Gambians. Very fatal, as we now produce school leavers who can barely read, write or speak good english. The streets are filled with idle school leavers who are more of a liability to the nation than an asset. I cannot agree more with Mr Archer. It is high time that developing countries take the bull by the horn and negotiate properly with the bank as this is no gift. Remember the person paying the piper calls the tune. Our governments must learn to stand firm and say NO!
Thanks
Kadijatou
____________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Discussion questions for week 3 Paul Bennell
2004-07-27 09:02 I am pleased to see that the pivotal role of teachers in the attainment of EFA has been discussed by a number of contributors. The
immiseration of teachers in many countries is a critical constraint. I have recently completed a commissioned paper on teacher
motivation and incentives in low-income developing countries, which reviews some of the key issues. Since it is not possible to
circulate it via this e-discussion, please let me know if you would like me to send it to you.
Regards
Paul Bennell
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Comments on education report recommendations Chike Anyanwu
2004-07-28 05:35 Dear All,
Sorry for the silence from my end in the past weeks on the e-discussion,
it has been mainly due to other work demands. Please let me share my
thoughts again on issues raised for the Week 3 discussion on UPE.
Contributions of CSOs to meeting UPE: I do not believe that the much
talked about MDG Task Force report and recommendations do not have any
thing on what CSO can contribute towards the actualisation of the MDG's
UPE. I am a great beliver that it is still the responsibility of
governments to deliver UPE - that is staying in the driving seat of the
UPE delievery van, however that same van needs the hands and support of
others, especially CSO for UPE to be properly delivered. One of the
problems why UPE is still a mirage in many developing countries is that
government have been the all and all, while in so many other developing
country context the fact remains that about 80% of pre-primary and primary
education is delivered by CSOs. So if the MDG Task Force report and
recommendation does not capture the value that CSOs have the potential of
adding to the delivery of UPE, one then begins to question the authors
understanding of basic education. It is common knowledge that most of the
innovative schemes that addresses the education issues of out of school
children, difficult to reach children of school going age has been that of
CSOs. The Dakar Framework for Action on EFA not only recognised the
critical role that CSOs play but even recommended that CSO be involved in
the entire process of education policy making process all through to
implementation and monitoring/evaluation. The MDG Task Force report
should not take us backwards to pre 1990, but should be adding value to
the gains of post 2000.
Task Force endorse the Fast Track Initiative (FTI): I do not claim to be
a economist so most of my conclusion here will be that of a lay person.
It is interesting to note that the Task Force is endorsing the FTI, which
to my understanding is a World Bank initiative. My concern here is
whether this initiative and funding support from the WB will be different
from previous ones that come with conditionalities. It is also common
knowledge today that some of these conditionalities hurt education and
other social sector issue more than they are helpful. It is the
conditionalities that have made it impossible to hire more teachers
required for the delivery of EFA and especially Universal Basic Education
(UBE) in many African countries. Also it is important to note that most
developing country government's short change education and other social
sectors in the budgetary allocation processes, all in the name of paying
off previous loans and debts. So as the report endorses the FTI, I am not
sure that they are speaking the mind of many from the developing world.
Task Force recommends expanding the primary education goal to include
secondary education: There is nothing wrong in expanding the education
goal to include secondary education, there is nothing wrong in being
visionary by looking beyond UPE to UBE. However, the challenge here is
that many countries are still struggling with the delivery of primay
education - UPE for all children, hence shifting the goal post might not
be a step in the right direction for now. How do we expect someone who is
struggling with finishing a 100 meters race to grapple with an increase of
that race to 1500 meters. Countries that have achieved UPE should be
encouraged to move on to secondary of UBE, but those still struggling with
UPE should be supported and encouraged to pass the first hurdle first.
These are just my initial thoughts on this weeks' questions, hopefully it
will help generate some more discussion on this subject matter.
Chike Anyanwu
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Summary, week 2 discussion Shaila Mistry
2004-07-28 05:40 Dear All:
I am keen to continue discussing these topics beyond this e-dialogue. One such venue is the upcoming International Federation of University Women (IFUW) conference. The theme this year is "humanizing globalization: empowering women." I feel the seminars and papers that will be presented are very relevant to this ediscussion. Please take a look at the website
If anyone from right 2 education is attending the conference, it would be great to meet and continue discussing how exactly education, within the context of globalization can empower women and youth.
Look out for me, as I will be involved in several activities:
Running for election for the Status of Women commission
Presenting a seminar on Winning Strategies of Leadership
Colaborating workshop on Family, work and Life balance
Shaila Mistry
California
Come to the 28th IFUW Conference!
Perth, Western Australia
4-10 August 2004
Join IFUW members for an exciting week of interdisciplinary seminars and workshops; important debates on changes in IFUW, its future, its policies and resolutions for action; networking; tours; social activities, international friendship and much more. Use the links on the left to explore and find out what the Conference has to offer
_________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: more comments on recommendations Chike Anyanwu
2004-07-28 06:37 Dear All:
A few more comments on the report's recommendations:
No recommendations about how to transform education sector as suggested in
the preface of this report: Does the Task Force really take education
seriously? it is no doubt that education has been identified as one of
the major planks for both economic and social development. Most
developing countries have been investing heavily in the education sector
since they gained independence, however they are still in the woods in
relation to achieving their education goals. What this brings to mind is
that maybe what needs to be done is to reform the education sector to make
them relevant to the contemporary needs of the citzenry. An example in
support of this is a recent statement credited to the World Bank Nigeria
office, which stated that over 80% of the national education budgetary
allocations goes to the tertiary level alone. What this clearly says is
that there is a need to reform that sector as well as review it budgetary
allocation formula. It is also a fact that most developing countries education policies and systems are still living in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Relaible data for planing in the education sector is a mirage in most
developing countries, this is not say that there is no will for but it
more about the lack or inadequate systems to generate them. The MDG Task
Force report cannot be complete without a recommendation on how to reform the education sector to deliver the kind of education that is needed for this global village. Reforms that aim at opening up the education sector for all stakeholders participation, especially that which encourages more
local communities involvement in the management of schools as well as
policy making is a step in the right direction.
Next, the Task Force suggests that money be transferred to poor households
contingent on children’s attendance to school: This initiative might have
worked in some countries but I am afriad it might work in all cases.
There is no doubt that innovative ways of encouraging parents to release
their children to get the necessary education they need to function in our
ever changing world, but what works well in country Amight not
necessarily work in others. It might not necessary be money tranfered to
poor households but some other benefits which could encourage por
household to send their children to school as against focrcing them into
the labour market. The other thing to bear in mind with this kind of
recommendation is that most of the countries where poor household cannot
send their children to school, also do not have good welfare systems, so
how to implement this kind of initiative will be very difficult due to
inadequate or lack of data/records.
Looking forward to hearing your responses,
Chike Anyanwu
RIGHT2EDUCATION: participants for French and Spanish MDG ediscussions Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-28 14:08 Dear All:
We will be holding one-day French and Spanish dialogues on the two MDGs.
The French edialogue will take place on Tuesday August 3rd and the Spanish
dialogue on Wednesday August 4th.
Please let me know if you are fluent in either of these languages and
would like to participate.
And PLEASE send me names of colleagues who would like to enlist and take
part!
Best wishes,
Akanksha
RIGHT2EDUCATION: transforming education vinita s
2004-07-29 05:24 this is in response to some of the points brought to light by chike
anyanwu esp that any effort to transform should focus on how relevant is
education to the citizenry. i work with an organisation called MAYA in
india that was visited by the task force in Jul 2003 (also mentioned in
the interim report). our approach to reform in elementary education works
closely towards facilitating community ownership of education which we see
as THE most determining way to ensure quality education; it also draws
from a systemic understanding of issues of the education system that is
seen as crucial. here, the issue of making education relevent to the
citizenry is the very premise on which processes are facilitated and we
have seen significant impact in the different districts across teh state
where we work.
- Vinita
MAYA, India
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-29 07:22 Dear All:
This dialogue ends tomorrow. Do you have any last comments to share on this week's discussion (see questions below) ?
Two more that people have yet to comment on:
1. The Task Force feels that programs and policies that are implemented need to be monitored more closely. More information needs to be available on how well or poorly the education system is performing. Everyone agrees, right?
They want to create an independent facility for funding and disseminating the results of evaluations on these programs.
--- What would this yet another type of international bureaucracy or can this truly improve education? Would this help you in your work? What would this kind of independent facility look like?
2. The Task Force recommends that donor agencies should include a new criteria for funding: that governments provide transparent information on the total and per child level of public education spending by community and by each publicly managed school to all citizens. Is this another conditionality to aid?
--- Can you actually see governments in your countries making this kind of information available? What else needs to happen in order for people to use this information to advocate for better education?
Looking forward to your responses
Many thanks- Akanksha
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Loise Wambui
2004-07-29 08:14
Dear All,
This dialogue has been very informative.
My main area concerns the government commitment.
In many developing countries, the government is the
major supplier of education and also the major
consumer of that education. In many years public
supply has not matched the demand.this indicates lack
of focus on education planning.The curriculum changes
without equal changes to the training of teaches. The
curriculum also do not reflect the labour market
needs . this makes the education fail in transforming
the lives of the graduates in these countries.
The per pupil expenditure can work in a well organized and managed systems. Alot of transparent on the sides of the managers.
It is important to note that some pupils needs more
than the government would offer. in Kenya for example
some children would go to school because the food is
given available. hence equitable way of giving the
funds would be more efficient than per capita value.
loise
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! musu stewart
2004-07-29 10:12
Dear All,
I wish that this dialogue could go on for much longer until at least we can begin to see some of the recommendations being implemented. However it seems like we could go on forever because there is still much to be done.
1. Programs and policies governing education needs to be "properly" monitored. I do not believe this is not another bureaucracy but a missing component of the program. Donors have not been particularly keen on monitoring how funding is used to implement education programs. Such a facility is necessary (as long as it is cost effective) to avoid redundancy in programs and overlapping of goals by implementing partners.
2. Transparency is the key to success of any program. Transparency will help secure and protect funding from misapplication. Obtaining information on management of publicly funded schools could prove challenging. However, it is a necessary criteria because such information will help donors in estimating the education burden of governments and give the citizens a clearer picture of how external and public funding for education is managed. This is a necessary criteria.
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Kadijatou Baldeh
2004-07-29 10:13 Dear All
I would like to respond to the last two questions:
Can you actually see governments in your countries making this kind of information available? Yes.My opinion is that governments do provide information on the budget allocated and the actaual expenditure to Education by level and department. However I believe this is not enough. It is the role of the beneficiaries to verify and compile their findings on the reliability of the figures provided. What else needs to happen in order for people to use this information to advocate for better education?
Parent Teacher Associations and other civil society organisation need to
be trained on budget tracking and informed of their rights to demand for
better educetion at the community level. Once parents know their rights
and are well equiped with information they can come up with informed
decisions. Parents will be able to compare the figures with the
realities on the ground and use the informtion generated to request for
better conditions. This is one way in the strggle to achieve good
quality education.
In the Gambia, Parents have succeeded in getting the Department of
State for Education to reflect the need for a flexible school calendar
in the New educetion Policy2004-2015. Presently parents are working
towards holding a national debate on the Flexible school calendar.
Thank you
Kadijatou
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Raquel Banchero
2004-07-29 10:16 Dear all
I have some comments about:
Can you actually see governments in your countries making this kind of
information available? What else needs to happen in order for people to use
this information to advocate for better education?
Strong actions from civil society networks. Civil society organizations had
been in recent years the only help at hand for poor people against the
actions and empowerment of global economic organizations imposing
neo-liberalism and other global strategies that have devastated our
countries and excluded more and more people from the benefits of literacy
and education.
Government failed in their task of reducing the effects ot these global
actions against disfavoured communities since many times the corruption and
self-interest of the politicians leave aside the needs of the people who
elected them for conducting their destinies.
So my proposal is (as some of my colleagues had expressed) that The Task
Force must check programs and policies closely with social networks before
implementation to tailor them to people real needs and develop tools to
allow these program to be monitored more closely by cicil society.
This programs must be develop considering methodologies that allow the
adoption of the solutions and experiences that each community consider more
efficient to achieve their own aims. For example : the Aymara people is an
indigenous nation that live in many LA countries: Chile, Paraguay, Peru.
They are using TICs as the main tool to recover their identity. and language
They live in lonely places, far away from each other, and they found that
using technology could bring them together and are very sucessful in it.
Non-geographical communities and their interests transcend boundaries. That
is the main reason why many times governments, that localize geografically
their policies, fail in understanding communities needs.
The proposal of better education is an education born from the people and
their needs and hopes and not from a bureaucratic
point of view. First of all, we must teach teachers new methodologies about
how to make student and communities the centre of the education they
impart and not to follow to the line those imposed educational programs that
are, many times obsolete. We could say that we need "real- time education
upgrading" in a long life learning point of view.
This cultural change is very hard to achieve and will take a long, long
time, but we must begin as soon as possible looking for the best for future
generations.
Thanks for the opportunity of participating in such a rich debate about
social capital and education.
Raquel Banchero
Consultant
Universitario Autonomo del Sur
Secretariado de Genero Ciencia y Tecnologia
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Juliana Adu-Gyamfi
2004-07-29 11:31 Dear Akansha and all,
Sorry for being out of the loop due to much travel. But I have followed
some of the good comments from colleagues.Well done all of you for keeping
the discussions going.
My last comments- I believe transparency with information is ideal for most
countries. It has been difficult to engage as CSo for lack of information.
Many ministries and government officials are reluctant to release data
especially if it relates to funding.
As many more community organisations, PTA/SMCs are getting involved in
education management, it is important that budget allocations and
expenditure at all levels are made available to the public so budget
tracking can be done effectively. It is definitely going to be another
conditionality of a sort but it is equally important to have transparency.
Julie
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Dialogue extended until Monday, August 2nd Akanksha Marphatia
2004-07-30 10:47 Dear All:
Unfortunatly we have been experiencing technical problems all day. It's
been fixed now so you will begin recieving messages soon.
In light of the delay, we will be extending this dialogue until end of day
on Monday August 2nd. Please continue to participate!
If you have sent a message between yesterday evening and today, please do
resend it...
Best wishes,
Akanksha
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Fw: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! noronhaa
2004-07-30 11:15 Dear Akanksha & others,
I have been reading the discussions regularly but unfortunately have not =
been able to participate earlier. The topic of UPE & UEE is very close =
to my heart as I have been involved in elementary education in Madhya =
Pradesh, a central State of India for over 20 years now. A few words of =
introduction before I my comments & suggestions. My work has involved =
working in the government schools of remote tribal areas as well as in =
urban areas. I work in the area of curriculum development which includes =
work with teachers, students, community as well as the educational =
beauraucrats. What I say is on the basis of this long experience. I work =
in a CSO called Eklavya.
1. Very little is usually said on ensuring quality in policy documents =
or in reports such as the Task Force Report we are discussing. In the =
last 10 years it has become amply clear that there are some crucial =
minimum conditions for ensuring quality in education - some of these are =
purely logistical - others are more qualitative. These are:
a) adequate space per child - covered space of 9sq. ft. or 1 sq. metre =
per child.
b) a teacher student ratio of 1:20 upto class 2 & 1:30 or 35 for class3 =
upwards.
c) A minimum teaching learning time of 1100 hours per annum
d) parameters defining attributes of quality classrooms (eg library & =
activity materials & adequate strorage space for them, a combination of =
classroom organisation - small group, paired, individual work, & large =
group work etc.) quality teacher (qualifications, abilities, aptitutde, =
understanding of subject etc. )& ensuring that they are implemented.=20
e) A curriculum which is developmentally appropriate & based on good =
research.
In this context, I take strong exception to the phrase
'In half the low-income countries, teachers' salaries may need to be =
raised while in others the difficult prospect of lowering salaries may =
be required.' (from the section Task Force messages - More money better =
spent) If we believe in the right to quality education for all children =
in the world, teacher quality must be ensured & this cannot be done on =
low salaries - in fact there must be an insistence on developing cadres =
of professional teachers right from the elementary level. In many =
countries like India - teachers are being made into low paid contract =
teachers even at college level. If not edited out it must be opposed =
publicly. I don't think there is a single developing country where a =
primary school teacher would get more than an engineer, doctor or =
professor - then what is the basis of even considering lowering of =
salaries of the school teacher.
These can be ensured only if all developing countries & their states =
have Education Acts that outline these and commit to them - eg. It shall =
be the State's responsibility to ensure that every child has a minimum =
learning space of , .......a teacher with .......attricutes & salary =
commensurate to ......etc.
The Task force should recommend that every country develop such an act =
within a given time frame.
2. While I agree that every child should get a minimum of 10 years of =
education - this can be done in a phased manner - what happens in =
developing countries is that targets like 100% are never achieved fully =
over program time periods but never the less there is a quantum jump for =
example the DPEP (District Primary Education Program) in India which was =
implemented between 1996 and 2002, aimed at universalisation of Primary =
Education but there are atleast 20-40% of Primary school going age =
children out of school in different States & districts - only some =
states may have just 10-15% children out of school. But the number & =
percentage of children going to class 6 has also increased - if more =
middle schools are not provided immediately - these children would not =
be able to complete an education which is their right granted by their =
Constitution. Hence this phase in India must address both universalising =
Primary education and increasing middle and high school education. The =
former cannot be abandoned nor can the latter be made to wait until UPE =
has been realised.
3. While education of girls is important, it should be seen as a human =
right in itself for women like it is seen for boys & men. However, most =
policy documents & reports give arguments reinforcing gender divides in =
roles - such statements as 'where few women had secondary education =
family size averaged more than five of whom 2 dies in infancy. But in =
countries where half the girls were educated at the secondary level, the =
fertility rate fell to just over three children and child deaths were =
rare.' (pg. 5 of the report) reinforce the attitude that fertility & =
child survival are the responsibility of women. These kinds of =
statements should not only be edited out but replaced by recommendations =
for including in the curriculum, aspects that inculcate a responsibility =
for family health in boys & men.
4. As regards monitoring & evaluation - implementing recommendation 3 =
would suffice - recommendation 4 & 6 is not needed. If capacity is built =
from school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school reports =
that include parameters of quality learning at every level of schooling =
- separate macro studies - which would per force have to be sample =
studies would not be needed. These macro evaluations lend themselves to =
a lot of negative pressures & uses compromising on quality of the =
studies & their methodologies. Good quality institutions are built from =
within & not by pressures from outside. The approach should be more =
bottom up than top down - the learnings for policy can be developed on =
the basis of these records for those interested.=20
5. The role CSOs should also be better articulated articulated in the =
report - not as watch-dogs or evaluators but more as partners.=20
This has become a very long mail - but as most of the issues are of deep =
interest to me I could'nt leave them. Hope I am in time for some of =
these to be put into the summary. Also I've probably missed what =
actually will be the outcome of this discussion - will these be sent to =
the task force to include in finalisation of the report.=20
with warm regards,
Anjali Noronha
Dear Akanksha & others,
I have been reading the discussions regularly but unfortunately have not =
been able to participate earlier. The topic of UPE & UEE is very close =
to my heart as I have been involved in elementary education in Madhya =
Pradesh, a central State of India for over 20 years now. A few words of =
introduction before I my comments & suggestions. My work has involved =
working in the government schools of remote tribal areas as well as in =
urban areas. I work in the area of curriculum development which includes =
work with teachers, students, community as well as the educational =
beauraucrats. What I say is on the basis of this long experience. I work =
in a CSO called Eklavya.
1. Very little is usually said on ensuring quality in policy documents =
or in reports such as the Task Force Report we are discussing. In the =
last 10 years it has become amply clear that there are some crucial =
minimum conditions for ensuring quality in education - some of these are =
purely logistical - others are more qualitative. These are:
a) adequate space per child - covered space of 9sq. ft. or 1 sq. metre =
per child.
b) a teacher student ratio of 1:20 upto class 2 & 1:30 or 35 for class3 =
upwards.
c) A minimum teaching learning time of 1100 hours per annum
d) parameters defining attributes of quality classrooms (eg library & =
activity materials & adequate strorage space for them, a combination of =
classroom organisation - small group, paired, individual work, & large =
group work etc.) quality teacher (qualifications, abilities, aptitutde, =
understanding of subject etc. )& ensuring that they are implemented.=20
e) A curriculum which is developmentally appropriate & based on good =
research.
In this context, I take strong exception to the phrase
'In half the low-income countries, teachers' salaries may need to be =
raised while in others the difficult prospect of lowering salaries may =
be required.' (from the section Task Force messages - More money better =
spent) If we believe in the right to quality education for all children =
in the world, teacher quality must be ensured & this cannot be done on =
low salaries - in fact there must be an insistence on developing cadres =
of professional teachers right from the elementary level. In many =
countries like India - teachers are being made into low paid contract =
teachers even at college level. If not edited out it must be opposed =
publicly. I don't think there is a single developing country where a =
primary school teacher would get more than an engineer, doctor or =
professor - then what is the basis of even considering lowering of =
salaries of the school teacher.
These can be ensured only if all developing countries & their states =
have Education Acts that outline these and commit to them - eg. It shall =
be the State's responsibility to ensure that every child has a minimum =
learning space of , .......a teacher with .......attricutes & salary =
commensurate to ......etc.
The Task force should recommend that every country develop such an act =
within a given time frame.
2. While I agree that every child should get a minimum of 10 years of =
education - this can be done in a phased manner - what happens in =
developing countries is that targets like 100% are never achieved fully =
over program time periods but never the less there is a quantum jump for =
example the DPEP (District Primary Education Program) in India which was =
implemented between 1996 and 2002, aimed at universalisation of Primary =
Education but there are atleast 20-40% of Primary school going age =
children out of school in different States & districts - only some =
states may have just 10-15% children out of school. But the number & =
percentage of children going to class 6 has also increased - if more =
middle schools are not provided immediately - these children would not =
be able to complete an education which is their right granted by their =
Constitution. Hence this phase in India must address both universalising =
Primary education and increasing middle and high school education. The =
former cannot be abandoned nor can the latter be made to wait until UPE =
has been realised.
3. While education of girls is important, it should be seen as a human =
right in itself for women like it is seen for boys & men. However, most =
policy documents & reports give arguments reinforcing gender divides in =
roles - such statements as 'where few women had secondary education =
family size averaged more than five of whom 2 dies in infancy. But in =
countries where half the girls were educated at the secondary level, the =
fertility rate fell to just over three children and child deaths were =
rare.' (pg. 5 of the report) reinforce the attitude that fertility & =
child survival are the responsibility of women. These kinds of =
statements should not only be edited out but replaced by recommendations =
for including in the curriculum, aspects that inculcate a responsibility =
for family health in boys & men.
4. As regards monitoring & evaluation - implementing recommendation 3 =
would suffice - recommendation 4 & 6 is not needed. If capacity is built =
from school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school reports =
that include parameters of quality learning at every level of schooling =
- separate macro studies - which would per force have to be sample =
studies would not be needed. These macro evaluations lend themselves to =
a lot of negative pressures & uses compromising on quality of the =
studies & their methodologies. Good quality institutions are built from =
within & not by pressures from outside. The approach should be more =
bottom up than top down - the learnings for policy can be developed on =
the basis of these records for those interested.=20
5. The role CSOs should also be better articulated articulated in the =
report - not as watch-dogs or evaluators but more as partners.=20
This has become a very long mail - but as most of the issues are of deep =
interest to me I could'nt leave them. Hope I am in time for some of =
these to be put into the summary. Also I've probably missed what =
actually will be the outcome of this discussion - will these be sent to =
the task force to include in finalisation of the report.=20
with warm regards,
Anjali Noronha
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Tenmet
2004-07-30 11:15 Dear Akasha and All,
As the debate has come to an end, I would like to chip in a few points in
relation to the questions you have asked.
1. The experience we have in Tanzania and I think in most countries South of
the Sahara is that Ministries of Education have established departments
dealing with monitoring of education. These are Departments of the
Inspectorate. Inspectors are trained in monitoring and evaluation of
education. So what needs to be done is to strengthen the Inspectorate by
capacity development, improve facilities for monitoring such as transport,
computers and the internet. Thus the information about plans and programmes
can easily be available to Education Management Information Systems
(EMIS).Data can be collected, processed, analyzed and disseminated to the
users, be it national or international organizations.
So creating an independent faculty is a duplication of efforts.
2. If the Governments collaborate with NGOs, CSOs and CBOs in the exercise
of collecting data on the basic needs of a child in a public school and
there are open discussions about the issue, it is obvious that the education
stakeholders such as the donor community, the private sector, the CSOs and
NGOs will be willing to participate in improving education. This is the
whole idea of transparency. As a result, the government will be willing to
release information on education spending openly. In Tanzania, the Primary
Education Development Programme (PEDP) is in an open document to the
public.
It is my hope that this debate will bring to light some important points to
be taken up by all the parties concerned. Let us all be serious and
committed to make UPE and finally UBE to all developing countries.
Stephen Maina.
(For personal contact please use email: stephenmaina2004@)
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! isaac olofi
2004-07-30 11:17
--0-1310734706-1091186347=:4293
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Dear All,
As we round up this discussion, one expect that the Task Force will look at the realities facing the developing countries towards achieve the MDGs in the UBE. The few comments I have as a round-up are:
Civil societies in Nigeria can only assist the government in the area of information disseminations and monitoring of government and donor activities in the implementations of the MDGs. However, it should be noted that for effective participation of the CSOs, they must be involved at the planning stages through consultations by the various government. But, it should be noted that in most developing countries using Nigeria as case study, CSOs are only involved at the implementation stages, hence some resistance to government good policies and intentions.
Furthermore, using per household method may not work 100% in Nigeria, for obvious reason – poverty level of the people. Hence, it will be better, if this is transform in terms of provision of materials like, textbooks, uniform, feeding and other writing materials, direct to the actual beneficiaries. It should also be noted that efforts made by previous administration in Nigeria to implement some of the above suggestions were thwarted by those whose duties in providing these items. Some of these items get to the beneficiaries VERY late, hence not use by the direct beneficiaries. Donor Agencies can use their Embassies in the host countries through NGOs in getting these materials to the actual beneficiaries in the various communities.
On the Fast Track Initiatives, it may not succeed in Nigeria, as the government is busy trying to satisfy those they are indebted to. The conditional ties attached will take us back to the colonial period, hence may not be accepted. It should be noted that those who took the World Bank and IMF loans are worst-off for it because of conditionality. The Nigeria economy is where it is today because of conditionalities that were not too clearly stated at the beginning before attempting the loan the government got.
The aim of Education by itself is transformation; hence, much emphasis is not placed on it.
It will be worthwhile, if the MDGs is extended to the secondary Schools. This is because ending the programme at the Primary education will make the graduates not fitting properly into the society, because they will not be able to secure a job, except menial jobs such as cleaners and security, I hope that is not the aim of the UN. Securing a “good” job means attaining some level of secondary education, which will enable him to develop himself later for tertiary education. Through this, he will be able to secure a sustainable livelihood.
An independent funding should be that which is directly given to the host communities through the various Embassies. Monitoring and Evaluation should be contracted to credible NGOs which could be identified by the various Embassies.
Thanks. I have enjoyed all the contributions, while looking forward toward a more collaborative effort.
Isaac O’votu Olofi,
Human Rights program, Justice, Development and Peace Coomission, Box 1923, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria
______________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Kphiri
2004-07-30 11:17
Dear All
Missed out on most of the discussion but this last bit is VERY important. Important from two reasons:
1. Government can use a well designed monitoring tool to impress upon donors to commit more resources to poor countries like Zambia if Zambia is able to demonstrate through such a tracking system the gaps in funding given the current levels of donor and government ernments need to work with other stakeholders to make the information as user friendly as possible. Organisations such as Jubilee Zambia could benefit from this resource for their campaigns for debt cancellation for example. So it is not a conditionality but part of the package of funding to governments.
2. Civil society can use the same too to hold their governments accountable through citizens forums that would discuss how well or badly government were performing on certain promises, including education. It is the lack of this information that has led to mediocrity in our government planning and implementation. "Government knows it all" is the general trend and this can be changed if stakeholders were part of the monitoring process meaning that they can feedback to government on the success or failure of such programmes as BESSIP ( Basic Education Sub-Sector Investment Programme). It is not always that government has it wrong. But the structures that are in place mean that government sabotages itself -staff on the ground!
It is therefore to me in the interest of everyone concerned (government, donors, civil society) to see that these programmes succeed and a good yardstick is how we monitor and use the feedback from such a tool.
Kennedy Phiri
Oxfam Zambia
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Marguerite Cummins Williams
2004-07-30 12:02
Dear All
I have been very intrested in the discussions but too much on the move to participate.
However I think it is important tht governments and ministries should be prodded to keep up to date information of statistics and progress in education commitments. It is also important that teachers organisations should moitor these and should provide another means of keeping techers informed and on task. I ho´pe we will alfind the Education International website a source of much information. The ecent conference was very illuminaating and inspiring.
In times like these when for many reasons teachers feel under pressure it is important for there to be opportunities to share even small solutions and provide support.
Furthermore as teachers and educators we need to recognise the importance of co-opting communities into a shared commitment to goals. We cannot push the agendas on if we do not hve the cooperation and in particular in many of our countries if we do not have the understanding of male teachers, parents etc to assist us in recognising that goals to empower women are goals to empowwer men as well and ultimately to empówer our societies to successfully negotiate the shoals of globalisation.
I must go !
best wishes
Marguerite
RIGHT2EDUCATION: transforming education Lisbeth
2004-07-30 12:02 Following Vinita's points, may I insist that education should be owned by
the community concerned, each one of its members should be in a position to
participate and a child's future is in the hands of all. The perinatal
period may be an excellent opportunity for the more advanced in the
community to bring some training to young mothers. They will, in turn, share
their new awareness with their immediate environment, this is where their
children growŠ
Elisabeth Smith - 62 years - Open University student in social psychology.
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Discussion questions for week 3 blank
2004-07-30 12:03 One of the crucial process in determining the "Quality of education" is what
takes place in the classroom, the interaction between the teacher and the
pupils. You may have beautiful building equipped with teaching and learning
materials, but if the instructor(teacher) is demotivated the output shall be
poor and definately the quality of education deteriorating.
Regards
Mwalongo.
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! osaki
2004-08-01 05:20
Dear all,
I comment on the issue of 'proper' monitoring and 'information provision'.
Yes, this is a good idea, and without information and evaluation report, we cannot asess successes or fauliures of programmes.
However, I substitute monitoring to joint evaluation, in which both sides get information about successful and unsuccessful schools in both funded and donor countries. Lessons on the type of information to be shared should also come from the esperience of developed countries.
I do not think it is fair for donor countries to continue using aid as a means of collecting all sorts of information from all corners of developing countries in the pretexts of 'monitoring aided countries education system' to the extent that people get fatigued with information collecion teams doing this and that evaluation or assesment.
Second, information on successful (and unsuccessful) experiences must also be shared from experienced and developed countries. These might help developing countries' education systems. For example, we need to know the lessons learned from reduced or subsidised fees systems in European and American systems before we try them in developing countries. Have these being practiced, and have they helped the poor in those systems? We need to learn lessons about licensed untrained teachers as a means of 'reducing cocts', etc. An old Swahili saying goes: ' A spear, when thrown at a pig is ok, but to a human being it hurts' We must not throw spears to developing countries as if we were throwing at pigs.
Funja O-saki
University of Dar es Salaam
_____________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Pratap Kumar Pradhan
2004-08-01 05:21
>From: "Kphiri"
>Reply-To: "Education Rights and Realities"
>To: "Education Rights and Realities"
>Subject: [right2education] Re: get in your comments before the dialogue
>ends tomorrow!
>Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 18:05:04 +0200
>
>Dear All
>
>Missed out on most of the discussion but this last bit is VERY important.
>Important from two reasons:
>1. Government can use a well designed monitoring tool to impress upon
>donors to commit more resources to poor countries like Zambia if Zambia is
>able to demonstrate through such a tracking system the gaps in funding
>given the current levels of donor and government ernments
>need to work with other stakeholders to make the information as user
>friendly as possible. Organisations such as Jubilee Zambia could benefit
>from this resource for their campaigns for debt cancellation for example.
>So it is not a conditionality but part of the package of funding to
>governments.
>
>2. Civil society can use the same too to hold their governments accountable
>through citizens forums that would discuss how well or badly government
>were performing on certain promises, including education. It is the lack of
>this information that has led to mediocrity in our government planning and
>implementation. "Government knows it all" is the general trend and this can
>be changed if stakeholders were part of the monitoring process meaning that
>they can feedback to government on the success or failure of such
>programmes as BESSIP ( Basic Education Sub-Sector Investment Programme). It
>is not always that government has it wrong. But the structures that are in
>place mean that government sabotages itself -staff on the ground!
>
>It is therefore to me in the interest of everyone concerned (government,
>donors, civil society) to see that these programmes succeed and a good
>yardstick is how we monitor and use the feedback from such a tool.
>
>Kennedy Phiri
>Oxfam Zambia
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! blank
2004-08-01 05:27 Dear Akansha and others,
I am sorry for not being able to participate in the previous discussions.
However, I have attached some responses for the two questions in the context
of Tanzania.
Many thanks,
Tumsifu, from Tanzania
1. The Task Force feels that programs and policies that are implemented need to be monitored more closely. More information needs to be available on how well or properly the education system is performing. Everyone agrees, right?
• In deed, education programmes and policies under implementation need to be closely and consistently monitored against set indicators. It is through quality monitoring whereby policies and practices can be assessed by both service providers and beneficiaries along with necessary recommendations for redressing the situation. For instance, in Tanzania the education policy states that all children of school age should have access to quality education. But in practice 3.6m of these children are out of school for some equity reasons-distance, disabilities, structural and cultural barriers.
• The following can re-inforce monitoring performance of education system: Intensification of capacity of CSOs in programme cycle, budget and policy analyses and advocacy. Education coalitions could be very instrumental in policy agenda. This is happening in Tanzania in which Tanzania Education Education Network has slots in Techincal Working Groups and Basic Education Development Committee, which is autonomous decision making body in the Ministry of Education and Culture.
2. The Task Force recommends that donor agencies should include new criteria for funding-that governments provide transparent information on the total and per child level of public education spending by community and by each publicly managed school to all citizens. Is this conditionality to aid? Can you actually see governments in your countries making this kind of information available? What else needs to happen in order for people to use this information to advocate for better education?
• Disbursement of education funding is made through print media showing capitation and development grants per district each quarter. Finally, district authorities disburse the grants to respective school authorities, which are managed by school management committees. Paradoxically, the closer to the grassroots the less public the information on budget allocations becomes. Hence, the more difficult for them to monitor progress made in education-given that information is power.
• It is somewhat easy for some CSOs to collect timely and reliable information from district authorities when it comes to budget tracking, but very difficult to collect the same from the Ministry of Education and Culture or Ministry of Finance. This scenario makes the exercise very cumbersome when one wants to compare and contrast budget information from the ministry and district authorities. Let the donor agencies include a clause on public accessibility and availability to budgetary information in the MOU with the government as a means to re-enforce transparency and accountability.
RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! noronhaa
2004-08-02 05:29 Dear Akanksha & others,
I have been reading the discussions regularly but unfortunately have not
been able to participate earlier. The topic of UPE & UEE is very close to my heart as I have been involved in elementary education in Madhya Pradesh, a central State of India for over 20 years now. A few words of introduction before I my comments & suggestions. My work has involved working in the government schools of remote tribal areas as well as in urban areas. I work in the area of curriculum development which includes work with teachers, students, community as well as the educational beauraucrats. What I say is on the basis of this long experience. I work in a CSO called Eklavya.
1. Very little is usually said on ensuring quality in policy documents or in reports such as the Task Force Report we are discussing. In the last 10
years it has become amply clear that there are some crucial minimum
conditions for ensuring quality in education - some of these are purely
logistical - others are more qualitative. These are:
a) adequate space per child - covered space of 9sq. ft. or 1 sq. metre per
child.
b) a teacher student ratio of 1:20 upto class 2 & 1:30 or 35 for class3
upwards.
c) A minimum teaching learning time of 1100 hours per annum
d) parameters defining attributes of quality classrooms (eg library &
activity materials & adequate strorage space for them, a combination of
classroom organisation - small group, paired, individual work, & large group work etc.) quality teacher (qualifications, abilities, aptitutde,
understanding of subject etc. )& ensuring that they are implemented.
e) A curriculum which is developmentally appropriate & based on good
research.
In this context, I take strong exception to the phrase 'In half the low-income countries, teachers' salaries may need to be raised while in others the difficult prospect of lowering salaries may be required.' (from the section Task Force messages - More money better spent). If we believe in the right to quality education for all children in the world, teacher quality must be ensured & this cannot be done on low salaries - in fact there must be an insistence on developing cadres of professional teachers right from the elementary level. In many countries like India - teachers are being made into low paid contract teachers even at college level. If not edited out it must be opposed publicly. I don't think there is a single developing country where a primary school teacher would get more than an engineer, doctor or professor - then what is the basis of even considering lowering of salaries of the school teacher.
These can be ensured only if all developing countries & their states have
Education Acts that outline these and commit to them - eg. It shall be the
State's responsibility to ensure that every child has a minimum learning
space of , .......a teacher with .......attricutes & salary commensurate to
......etc.
The Task force should recommend that every country develop such an act
within a given time frame.
2. While I agree that every child should get a minimum of 10 years of
education - this can be done in a phased manner - what happens in developing countries is that targets like 100% are never achieved fully over program time periods but never the less there is a quantum jump for example the DPEP(District Primary Education Program) in India which was implemented between 1996 and 2002, aimed at universalisation of Primary Education but there are atleast 20-40% of Primary school going age children out of school in different States & districts - only some states may have just 10-15% children out of school. But the number & percentage of children going to class 6 has also increased - if more middle schools are not provided immediately - these children would not be able to complete an education which is their right granted by their Constitution.
Hence this phase in India must address both universalising Primary education and increasing middle and high school education. The former cannot be abandoned nor can the latter be made to wait until UPE has been realised.
3. While education of girls is important, it should be seen as a human right in itself for women like it is seen for boys & men. However, most policy documents & reports give arguments reinforcing gender divides in roles -such statements as 'where few women had secondary education family size averaged more than five of whom 2 dies in infancy. But in countries where half the girls were educated at the secondary level, the fertility rate fell to just over three children and child deaths were rare.' (pg. 5 of the report) reinforce the attitude that fertility & child survival are the responsibility of women. These kinds of statements should not only be edited out but replaced by recommendations for including in the curriculum, aspects that inculcate a responsibility for family health in boys & men.
4. As regards monitoring & evaluation - implementing recommendation 3 would
suffice - recommendation 4 & 6 is not needed. If capacity is built from
school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school reports that
include parameters of quality learning at every level of schooling -
separate macro studies - which would per force have to be sample studies
would not be needed. These macro evaluations lend themselves to a lot of
negative pressures & uses compromising on quality of the studies & their
methodologies. Good quality institutions are built from within & not by
pressures from outside. The approach should be more bottom up than top
down - the learnings for policy can be developed on the basis of these
records for those interested.
5. The role CSOs should also be better articulated articulated in the
report - not as watch-dogs or evaluators but more as partners.
This has become a very long mail - but as most of the issues are of deep
interest to me I could'nt leave them. Hope I am in time for some of these to be put into the summary. Also I've probably missed what actually will be the outcome of this discussion - will these be sent to the task force to include in finalisation of the report.
With warm regards,
Anjali Noronha
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Resending comments from Tumsifu, in Tanzania Tumsifu Mmari
2004-08-02 05:31 Dear Akansha and others,
I am sorry for not being able to participate in the previous discussions.
However, I have attached some responses for the two questions in the
context of Tanzania.
Many thanks,
Tumsifu, from Tanzania
1. The Task Force feels that programs and policies that are implemented
need to be monitored more closely. More information needs to be available
on how well or properly the education system is performing. Everyone
agrees, right?
• In deed, education programmes and policies under implementation need to
be closely and consistently monitored against set indicators. It is
through quality monitoring whereby policies and practices can be assessed
by both service providers and beneficiaries along with necessary
recommendations for redressing the situation. For instance, in Tanzania
the education policy states that all children of school age should have
access to quality education. But in practice 3.6m of these children are
out of school for some equity reasons-distance, disabilities, structural
and cultural barriers.
• The following can re-inforce monitoring performance of education system:
Intensification of capacity of CSOs in programme cycle, budget and policy
analyses and advocacy. Education coalitions could be very instrumental in
policy agenda. This is happening in Tanzania in which Tanzania Education
Education Network has slots in Techincal Working Groups and Basic
Education Development Committee, which is autonomous decision making body
in the Ministry of Education and Culture.
2. The Task Force recommends that donor agencies should include new
criteria for funding-that governments provide transparent information on
the total and per child level of public education spending by community
and by each publicly managed school to all citizens. Is this
conditionality to aid? Can you actually see governments in your countries
making this kind of information available? What else needs to happen in
order for people to use this information to advocate for better education?
• Disbursement of education funding is made through print media showing
capitation and development grants per district each quarter. Finally,
district authorities disburse the grants to respective school authorities,
which are managed by school management committees. Paradoxically, the
closer to the grassroots the less public the information on budget
allocations becomes. Hence, the more difficult for them to monitor
progress made in education-given that information is power.
• It is somewhat easy for some CSOs to collect timely and reliable
information from district authorities when it comes to budget tracking,
but very difficult to collect the same from the Ministry of Education and
Culture or Ministry of Finance. This scenario makes the exercise very
cumbersome when one wants to compare and contrast budget information from
the ministry and district authorities. Let the donor agencies include a
clause on public accessibility and availability to budgetary information
in the MOU with the government as a means to re-enforce transparency and
accountability.
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Importance of early childhood care Anjali Noronha
2004-08-02 05:34 Dear All,
I also want to add that the recommendations should include appropriate
early childhood care & education provisioning by the State. It is now
quite well proved that appropriate stimulation in the early years -
which is usually not available in developing countries at home - is
crucial to later cognitive development.
Recommendations should also put limits to privatisation of elementary
education in developing countries. It is indeed ironical that in
developing
countries like India the Public Elementary Education System is getting
defunct through increasing privatisation - (urban areas have 80% private &
20% government schools) and dissolution of a well paid professional
teacher
cadre. Funders should put these two conditionalities - public elementary
education & well paid professional teachers cadre before funding any
country programs.
Lot of people seem to be in favour of monitoring & evaluation. While
everyone needs transparency & information for improvement - the way this
should be structured is so that the message goes through that the
information is for the schools and communities themselves, for their
improvement, not for some big boss up there. After 10 years of DPEP in
India and elaborate MIS systems - after the project is finished schools
don't have any information with themselves - neither is it available
elsewhere - & teachers had to take off lot of precious time from already
constrained teaching time to fill in elaborate forms every few days. No
good quality system really comes about from external monitoring &
evaluation - Funder driven evaluations & monitoring can be disastrous.
Hence 1) it should not be called monitoring but rather something like
'school self-assessment for learning' b) frameworks & systems for this
should be carefully & systematically worked out.
Warm regards,
Anjali Noronha
__________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Discussion questions for week 3 E. Kamchedzera
2004-08-02 07:59 Dear colleagues,
I agree with Mwalongo,
our teachers need to be motivated if they have to deliver the kind of services that we need. They are human beings too and their conditions of service need to be improved.
Elizabeth Kamchedzera
University of Malawi
RIGHT2EDUCATION: RELEASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORT ON CHILDREN AFFECTED AND INFECTED WITH HIV/AIDS IN INDIA subhash Care and Share International
2004-08-02 08:06 Dear friends
In India hundreds of thousands of children are living with HIV/AIDS, according to official statistics. Children of parents with HIV/AIDS suffer in turn: many are forced to withdraw from school to care for sick parents, are forced to work to replace their parents income, or are orphaned. Although the government has not conducted studies to assess the number of children affected by AIDS, some experts calculate that more than 1 million children under age 15 have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS.
Human Rights Watch, A New York based International Human Rights organization conducted a study on children affected and infected with HIV/AIDS in December 2003 in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi and Kerala. They are releasing their findings in Chennai, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram simultaneously
Human Rights Watch entrusted FIRM to host the Kerala event which will be held at Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust Hall, Pulimoodu, Thiruvananthapuram on 2nd August at 3 pm. Dr.T.N.Jayachandran, Mr. Paul Zacharia,Mr.Gauridasan Nair(The Hindu) and Dr.C.R Soman will attend. You are cordially invited to attend the program.
Sincerely Yours,
SUBHASH.T.V,Program Director,FIRM
0AT.C.14/1514,Beatrice Mansion
Near Valsala Nursing Home,
Thiruvananthapuram-695 014, Kerala,India
Tel: ++91-471-2324060,2331667,;swfk@,tvsubhash@hotmail.co
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Another recommendation: capacity building for NGOs Michael Gibbons
2004-08-02 09:22 Dear All:
Because education is still such a government-dominated arena, innovation
and fresh thinking is limited in the field. NGO leadership in this field
is lagging behind program needs. At the Banyan Tree Foundation we have
found that the NGOs working in education are led by either NGO program
leaders for whom education is a new technical area, or education leaders
trying to innovate but with limited NGO or program management experience,
and few bold new ideas about education.
Therefore we have concluded that increased effectiveness and
innovativeness of NGO work in education requires more systematic support
for leadership development. We would like to open this hypothesis up for
discussion, in order to better understand what to do and how to do it in
response to this need.
Michael Gibbons,
Banyan Tree Foundation
_________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Thank you for participating! Akanksha Marphatia
2004-08-02 11:47 Dear All:
These last six weeks have been greatly enriched by your contributions to
the online discussion on the gender and education MDGs and reports. Today
is the "last" day of this discussion. A few information bits:
I will circulate an executive summary of the education discussion to the
group this Friday.
The Task Force is also eager to respond to your comments, and will do so
on August 23rd. Please stay connected.
You will recieve an email from the Global Campaign on Education (Anne
Jelema) outlining the next steps to this very valuable edialogue.
I will be in touch on Friday!
Akanksha
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Right2Education: What happens next? Anne Jellema
2004-08-02 11:49 Dear all
On behalf of the Global Campaign for Education, I would like to thank you
all for your contributions to this very productive and stimulating forum
on the MDG Taskforce Reports, and outline how the GCE plans to take things
forward in coming months.
Particular thanks to the MDG Taskforce team for creating this space for
civil society comment on the reports, and for providing the funds to hire
a moderator; to ActionAid, for recruiting the moderator and managing the
process; to OneWorld South Asia, for providing the technical platform; to
Akanksha, who has done a truly excellent job of keeping us all focused and
thinking hard; and most of all, to all of you for sharing your experience
and critical insight.
The GCE agrees with many of you that it would be a shame if this process
came to a halt after today. Here is how we will be following up:
What GCE will do
1) Making your voices more widely heard: The Taskforce members have
been receiving Akanksha’s summaries of the discussion, and the main points
have been noted. When the Taskforce presented their education report to
the EFA Working Group meeting convened by UNESCO in Paris recently, I was
able to share some of your main concerns and issues from the floor, and
afterwards I was also able to spend a couple of hours discussing these
issues informally with the authors. They asked GCE to send a full set of
written comments, which provides another opportunity to incorporate some
of the most salient points from the e-consultation. Finally, on the 23rd
August the Taskforce will send a written reply to all members of this
list, explaining which comments have been taken on board and which have
not and why.
2) Consolidating key positions and recommendations: Some of the points
made by participants in the e-forum reaffirm longstanding GCE principles,
such as our commitment to free public education; our conviction that the
right to education must embrace quality for all and not simply access for
all; and our demand for education authorities at all levels to be more
responsive, accountable and transparent to citizens and to civil society.
However, other points that you made challenge us to expand our core
advocacy agenda, taking on new issues, clarifying positions or setting new
priorities. GCE’s advocacy positions and priorities are democratically
decided by its members and elected Board. In December of this year the GCE
World Assembly will bring together all registered and paid-up members of
the GCE to debate policy resolutions and set campaign direction and
priorities for the 2 years to come. The outputs from this forum will be a
key input to developing GCE positions and policy change objectives on the
education MDGs, and as a part of this process, we may hold a second,
smaller e-consultation on the education MDGs among GCE member
organisations.
3) Continuing the Right2Education forum: GCE is committed to holding
more e-discussions on crucial issues of education policy, and will
endeavour to raise the funds to run a third session of Right2Education
before the end of 2004 on an issue or issues to be determined by the
Board. (If you have suggestions, please send them to me.)
What you can do
4) Getting organised: If you do not already belong to an active
national coalition on education, which brings together a wide range of
civil society groups and which links into regional networks as well as to
the GCE, we urge you to join one now – or, if one doesn’t already exist,
help to form one. Although it can be hard work to hammer out common
positions on matters as complex as those we have been debating, the effort
will be rewarded by having a far more coherent, effective and legitimate
civil society input to policy at the national level. If you don’t know
whether a GCE member coalition exists in your country please search the
database on our website follow links to
About.
· If you are already involved in a national coalition or network,
why not organise your own citizens’ debate on the 2015 and 2005 education
goals at a national or state level – with the aim of agreeing on concrete
and specific recommendations to your government and to donor agencies. The
debates could take place by e-mail, if connectivity levels permit; or in
face-to-face workshops or village meetings. You might want to invite other
organisations such as UNDP, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of
Finance or groups campaigning on related MDG issues such as health, water,
debt etc. to give their perspectives. Local donors should be willing to
support events such as this that will help to increase public and civil
society engagement in the EFA and MDG goals.
5) Taking action: The GCE’s annual Global Action Week mobilises
millions worldwide on a different education issue every year. Next year,
the Action Week (scheduled for the last week of April 2005) will focus on
the education MDGs, and what governments and international agencies need
to do now to make them real. I hope that all of you will pitch in and join
with other interested local groups to plan actions that will put pressure
on governments (of both rich and poor countries) to translate their MDG
pledges into reality.
· This could be an ideal opportunity to spotlight some of the
compelling issues raised in this e-consultation and bring them to the
attention of a wider public, whether through the launch of research
reports or scorecard initiatives, through radio phone-ins and TV debates,
through rallies and marches, or whatever seems most appropriate. In
addition, there will be one or two common global activities during Action
Week, which almost anyone can participate in from wherever they happen to
be based. More information on the common global activities and suggestions
on how to prepare an effective national strategy will be distributed
within a couple of weeks.
6) Staying informed: Please sign up to the monthly GCE e-bulletin if
you want to stay informed of policy debates, Action Week plans and other
advocacy opportunities in months to come. Fill in the box on the home page
of our website , or send a blank message with
subject line ‘subscribe’ to e-news@. You can also
read the news on our website (follow links to Action for info about the
Action Week, News for all other happenings and events and About for
membership information. I personally urge and request all of you not just
to read, but to contribute to the newsletter and website by sending in
news of your activities.
Thanks again to all of your for your enthusiastic and constructive
engagement over the past month.
Best wishes
Anne
Anne Jellema
GCE Advocacy Coordinator
Cape Town, South Africa
RIGHT2EDUCATION: a few last messages Akanksha Marphatia
2004-08-03 05:24 Dear All:
We had two very insightful messages that floated in yesterday so I'd like
to circulate them to the group even though our dialogue has finished for
now. Here's one from Urmila Sarkar of the ILO. (sarkar@)
Dear all,
I have followed with great interest the discussion around both gender
equality and UPE MDGs. It is indeed a wonderful opportunity to share
ideas and reflections with each other from around the world!
Regarding responses to some of the questions for this week's discussion:
1. Civil society participation
I feel strongly that there should be both acknowledgement of the crucial
role civil society can play in achieving UPE as well as specific
recommendations on their role. Both history and contemporary experiences
have shown strong social movements (including trade and teacher unions,
NGOs, other CSOs,) have motivated governments to ensure UPE. At local
level, civil society organizations are often in the closest contact with
the most hard-to-reach children and can work with government to identify
these children as well as advise on what measures are needed to retain
them in school. There can also be sustainable community based systems for
school management and monitoring that can be developed jointly by
governments and communities. At national level, civil society
participation is important for advising on sectoral planning on education
in the areas of access, quality and resources needed to achieve progress.
At global level, international civil society alliances such as the Global
Campaign for Education are important for bringing together grassroots
organizations around the world interested in achieving UPE as well as
advising on global monitoring of progress on UPE including resources
committed by donors to this end and FTI.
2. Expanding primary education goal to secondary education
I strongly support the Task Force recommendations of expanding the primary
education goal to include secondary education (incl. 9 years basic
education which is referred to there). In addition to the reasons
outlined in the report on the value of having more than 5 years education,
I would like to add another perspective which is highlighted in the
section dealing with hard-to-reach children. Considering that the
majority of these children out of primary education are working, efforts
to achieve UPE must go hand in hand with efforts to eliminate child
labour. But, it is in fact in this critical period of transition from
primary to lower secondary education that children drop-out and are often
forced to work in hazardous conditions in the Worst Forms of Child Labour
which affects 180 million children wordwide of the 246 million child
labourers. In order to achieve sustained progress in education and child
labour, it has been argued that free and compulsory education of good
quality up to the minimum age for entering into employment as defined by
ILO Convention 138 (15 yrs and 14 for developing countries) is essential.
For increased opportunities in wage and self-employment including "Decent
Work", it becomes all the more crucial to ensure more than 5 years
education.
3. Reforming the education sector
It is true that there needs to be more recommendations in this area. It
is important to address barriers to education in the area of
accessibility, affordability, quality and relevance. There is of course
much more to write on this subject but I need to move on to other points.
4. Cash transfers
There are examples where money has been transferred to poor households
contingent on children's attendance to school linked to promoting quality
and relevance of education as well as community engagement. What has made
the Brazilian Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (PETI)
successful is the combination of cash transfer with other measures. The
programme provides poor families with a monthly allowance per child
enrolled in and attending school. Wherever possible, the allowance is
paid to mothers or other female adults responsible for the children.
After-school activities are also organized to keep children out of work in
the hours they are not at school. Parents and older relatives of the
beneficiaries also benefit from opportunities in skills development,
alternative income generation and micro-credit, carried out in
partnerships with other government programmes and agencies. All 27
Brazilian states took part and almost half the 5,561 municipalities were
involved in the programme. Community-based committees monitor its
implementation in order to general local ownership and ensure
sustainability. While this initiative has had success in Brazil, it might
not work in another contexts such as low income regions which have
insufficient internal and external resources for this. It is also crucial
to point out that cash transfers alone might not be sufficient.
Finally, there were two points I wanted to raise that are not specifically
in relation to the questions for this week's discussion. First, since
there is a focus on "hard-to-reach" including child labour in the Task
Force messages, there could be related recommendations on the importance
of greater coordination between education initiatives, social protection
programmes to combat child labour, and poverty reduction measures. It is
important to address the root causes of the poor quality and access to
education and child labour within a broader poverty reduction strategy in
line with the MDGs.
Also, since I was not able to participate in the dialogue around gender
equality I would like to highlight the following point if I may:
Special measures must be undertaken to address the barriers to girls'
education, in particular girls' work such as household chores, domestic
servitude, agricultural work and home-based work. Not surprisingly, the
majority of child domestic servants are girls and child domestic labour
remains a serious impediment to achieving gender parity in primary and
secondary education in 2005 and gender equality in education by 2015. The
last EFA Monitoring Report has highlighted child labour as a "major brake
on schooling" and a major obstacle to achieving EFA and the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
Many thanks again for providing me the opportunity to share my thoughts
with you.
Urmila Sarkar
Coordinator, Education & Training Unit
International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour International
Labour Organization Geneva
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Message from Rosa Maria Torres Akanksha Marphatia
2004-08-03 05:28
Dear All: Rosa Maria Torres shares some insights from Latin America. Very interesting. See attached document for more information on life long learning.
Rosa Maria can be contacted at: rmtorres@.ar
A few brief comments related to this report:
- The word "right" seems to be evaded, it is all about "opportunites". It is essential to go beyond the rhetoric of opportunities and recover a culture of rights. Education as a right. Moreover, LEARNING THROUGHOUT LIFE as a right. For girls and boys, for women and for men.
- What abaout modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and gender? Again here, let us go beyond access (to the computer, to the Internet, etc.); choice, content, language, etc, are all quality-related issues and learning-related issues that are also contaminated by gender biases.
- Why only women in legislature positions? What about leaderhisp and management positions is all spheres of government - supranational, national, local?
- The quota argument needs to be complemented with the quality of women's positions and relationships when they are in leadership positions. Two sides of this, with concrete examples:
a) I was Minister of Education and Cultures in my country (Ecuador) last year and had to face the most rampant machismo by cabinet members, including the President himself. Being "up" there is not enough. We, women, need to fight for respect not as women-ladies but as individuals, professionals with our own merits, often against mediocre men.
b) there is a woman Minister in Ecuador who is in charge of the Ministry of External Trade, of the Miss Universe contest that took place recently in this country, and of the (much-hated and antipopular) negotiation of the "Free" Trade Agreement with the United States. We, Ecuadorians, men and women, are not exactly proud of her. A frivolous woman in power is simply unbereable. Same with the First Lady. We have top class "first ladies" - isn't there a better way to refer to the wives of Presidents? - in our region (for example, Cristina Kirchner in Argentina) and also the usual type.
- Gender equality in primary and secondary education is quite a complex goal, a major cultural war against institutions and inertias at all levels.
Who can reasonably think that this goal has any chance to be accomplished by 2015?. Sexism is just as strong as racism.
- What about the discussion on the "primary education goal", in fact reduced to FOUR years of schooling in the Millennium Goals? Are you going to organize a new forum to debate that? It is critical to discuss it, and not to continue to confuse Education for All -EFA (6 goals related to "quality basic education for all", children, youth and adults, by 2015) with the Millennium Goals on education. The latter are much more limited in scope.
And are simply unacceptable, very much so in the case of Latin America and the Caribbean where four years of school is clearly a step back, not forward.
- Finally, on this very issue, let me share here a short piece of mine entitled "Lifelong Learning in the North and basic education in the South?".
The answer, to me, is NO. No more double standards if we are to really start to bridge the North-South gap and think again in terms of "development" and not merely of "alleviating poverty" or "eliminating extreme poverty".
Below is a list of other related publications of mine that may be of interest for this report and discussion.
Kind regards,
Rosa María Torres
Instituto Fronesis
Otra educación es posible (si otra economía es posible) Another education is possible (if another economy is possible)
1. One Decade of Education for All: The challenge ahead, IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000
2. What happened at the World Education Forum (2001)?
3. From Dakar to Cochabamba (April 2000-April 2001): EFA Follow Up in Latin America and the Caribbean
4. Lifelong Learning: A New Momentum and a Nw Opportunity for Adult Basic Learning and Education (ABLE) in the South (2003)
5. Knowledge-development aid: Do we need it? Do we want it? (2001)
6. Cooperación internacional en educación en América Latina:
¿Parte de la solución o parte del problema? (2001) (Spanish only) LLL_North___EFA_South.doc
_____________________________________________________________________________
RIGHT2EDUCATION: mothers do matter most but does this really accord women rights? Nazish Brohi
2004-08-03 05:38 I understand the spirit of the catch phrase 'mothers matter most', but
also think we need to be careful while wielding this. More often then not,
women's rights are not accorded importance per se, but as a means to an
end, as a tool for wider change.
UNICEF for example, has made all women into mothers and their importance
centers around that role - the statement is quite sweeping, maybe not very
fair, but I'm trying to illustrate. Their health matters as it impacts
their children, maternal mortality makes kids orphans, lack of attention
to their health makes their kids suffer, their illiteracy deprives
children from proper nutritional intake, sanitation etc.
This sounds like its on similarlines, we've all heard to death 'educate a
woman and you educate a nation' etc. While using slogans that capture
people's minds are effective, they also make inroads to them. It becomes
part of psyche, that women are a vehicle for impacting their children, and
not needing rights and world attention for themselves.
Its just a note of caution.
Regards,
Nazish
ActionAid Pakistan
RIGHT2EDUCATION: discusion electronico sobre educacion y genero - 4 agosto Akanksha Marphatia
2004-08-03 08:13 Hola a todos,
Durante las ultimas 6 semanas hemos facilitado un discusion electronico a nivel global sobre los goles en relacion a educacion y genero establecido en la Assemblea Millenial de los Naciones Unidos. Hay dos informes oficiales que estamos criticando - con la participacion de mas de 1,500 personas a nivel global. Lastimamente todo de este discusion ha sido en ingles porque no hemos tenido los recursos para hacerlo en espanol. Finalmente hemos conseguido recursos para traducir resumenes de los documentos claves y queremos montar un discusion electronico - para un dia solamante - el dia de miercole 4 de Agosto.
La direccion de la pagina web de este grupo es:
Del 4 de Agosto, para anotarse envíe un correo electrónico en blanco a: join-ODMgeneroeducacion@
Solicitamos que contribuya a esta discusión a medida que se desarrolla enviando su mensaje a: ODMgeneroeducacion@
Para salir de la lista, mande un mensaje en blanco a:
leave-ODMgeneroeducacion@
Se puede descargar los Resúmenes Ejecutivos Completos de los informes sobre género y educacion en español de o
Si tiene problemas para anotarse o quitar su nombre de la lista, por favor contacte a Akanksha A. Marphatia en akanksham@ o Kedar Dash en kedar.dash@
Esperamos montar un discusion muy activo sobre estos dos informes - los cuales podrian tener un impacto importante sobre los politicas a nivel mundial
Saludos
David Archer (ActionAid)
RIGHT2EDUCATION: Summary of week 3 discussion on Task Force recommendations Akanksha Marphatia
2004-08-04 11:43 Dear All:
Below please find a summary of week 3’s comments. A summary of the
complete 3-week discussion will be sent to you by Monday.
The Spanish discussion has started today! If you still want to
participate, send an email to join: join-ODMgeneroeducacion@
Para participar en la discusión española, que ser ocurrir ahora, envíe un
correo electrónico en blanco a
join-ODMgeneroeducacion@
Cheers/saludos! - Akanksha
SUMMARY OF WEEK 3 DISCUSSION ON THE EDUCATION MDG
Discussion during this third and final week focused on the report’s
recommendations. Participants suggested several changes and clarifications
for the task force:
§ The task force should recognize civil society action and the role of
CSOs in creating a debate over the nature of education and what needs to
change. Although there was agreement that the government is eventually
responsible for delivering UPE, participants signalled that CSOs are
essential contributors. They are not only watchdogs, but also partners in
the struggle to achieve UPE.
§ As with the gender report, participants reminded the TF that the
achievement of primary education remains a dream in most countries. While
it’s good to be visionary and aim to get children into secondary schools,
we first need to ensure they attend and complete primary. This is
particular true in countries like Nigeria, where 80% of the education
budget is allotted to tertiary education.
§ More efforts for making educational policy making transparent and
encourage joint evaluation. The government, NGOs, civil society, teachers,
students and especially poor communities need to be involved in deciding
if a policy is good, and if it is successful. There needs to be full, and
user-friendly disclosure of information by governments. If capacity were
built from school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school
reports and data that include parameters for quality of learning then
perhaps macro level studies would not be necessary?
§ Many cautioned that the FTI not turn into another World Bank funding
mechanism with conditionalities.
§ Examples from Liberia, Nigeria, and Kenya showed how the IMF has either
directly or indirectly “contributed to the underdevelopment of education
and other human development programs in developing countries.” In as much
as the IMF has provided loans to poor countries to help reduce poverty and
improve living conditions, they failed in enforcing policies and setting
up qualified monitoring tools at the national level that will ensure
transparency in the application of such funds. This opens the door to
unnecessary bureaucracy and corruption of funds.
§ Teacher motivation, salary and training issues yielded a lot of
interest. As did the need for sensitizing teachers on participatory
methodologies
§ Transferring money to poor households contingent on children’s
attendance in school may have worked in Brazil, but may not work in other
places. Money isn’t and shouldn’t be the only incentive to sending
children to school. Maybe we need to improve schools before expecting
parents to send and keep children there. With little data/record tracking
systems at the community level, this initiative will be difficult to
implement. In Nigeria, when a similar initiative providing school material
(textbooks, uniforms) was devised it failed because the materials took a
long time to reach the beneficiaries.
§ “Does the task force take education seriously?” Where are the
recommendations pertaining to transforming education? Many expressed it
was odd that the MDG report on education had no recommendations about how
to improve education! For example, free education has not yet happened,
especially since the indirect costs of education passed onto parents is
growing. How will the Task Force address this? How about improving quality
and creating a positive learning environment?
Finally, Anne Jellema of the Global Campaign on Education (GCE) explained
how your invaluable comments have not only peaked the interest of the task
force as they are revising the report, but also of GCE as they develop
their next 2-year strategy. GCE is also eagerly searching for funding to
continue this on-line dialogue as a way to continue discussion and debate
on education.
§ YOU CAN: join an active national coalition on education and also be part
of the GCE network. Organize a citizen’s debate on the 2005 and 2015
education goals with the aim of agreeing on concrete recommendations to
your government and donor agencies.
§ Take part in the GCE’s annual Global Action Week. The April 2005 Action
Week will focus on the education MDGs and what governments can do to make
them real. You are well positioned to participate after contributing to
this e-dialogue!
§ Stay informed. Sign up for the GCE ebulletin. Send an email with a
subject line ‘subscribe’ to e-news@ or go onto the
website at
Annex 3 : Summary of Spanish Discussion - 4th August 2004
The summary is written by the moderator of the e-discussion, David Archer, Director of International Education Division, ActionAid.
There was a very active discussion involving over 100 people from civil society across Latin America. Active contributions were made by 25 people from countries as diverse as Peru, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Argentina. Below are some of the core issues raised. They are not strictly sequential but there is some
attempt at giving order to the far reaching discussion.
***
The education of boys is in more crisis than that of girls in some contexts in Latin America, so the struggle for gender equality is different. However, it was strongly notes that although girls stay on in education for longer than boys in some contexts, this does not translate into more political representation, better distribution of resources or improvements in sexual and reproductive rights. In other contexts, probably still the majority, especially in rural areas, girls still have less access and leave earlier. It is clear that equality in education as presently conceived is a necessary but not a sufficient condition in itself to achieve women’s empowerment.
*
However, many contributors focused on the importance of radically transforming education systems – so that schools become institutions with a clear agenda for social change, challenging the deep discrimination and violence against girls in society. We need to reformulate our thinking about schools so that they focus more on values and act as places for building positive human relationships – countering dominant trends and the breakdown of society. Promoting gender equality and inter-cultural relations should be specific objectives of schools, embedded in the curriculum and in teacher training.
*
It was felt that the reports should emphasise the importance of giving teachers a decent wage so that they are valued by society – as they are key to any agenda of reform. If society does not value teachers then teachers will not value their potential role in transforming society.
*
There were some concerns that pushing universalisation of education is done in order to release women to enter the workforce – i.e. it is led by an economic agenda and motive, more than a rights agenda.
*
It was observed that most governments/leaders are not aware of the MDGs - so how can they be held accountable for achieving them? We must demand that all Ministries assume their responsibilities in relation to these goals – whether education, health or finance ministries. We must also demand participation from across society in developing national strategies and plans for achieving the MDGs – so the goals are collectively owned. We need the type of collective effort achieved in Nicaragua with the National Literacy Crusade.
*
These goals are a key political opportunity for us all, concentrating efforts. What actions can we take as civil society nationally and globally to prepare for the G8 and UN Summit in 2005 to demand action following the failure of the 2005 goal? We can put education and gender at the top of the political agenda next year. To achieve these goals needs mass mobilisation and this is a key role for civil society – to take the debate beyond government, beyond closed circles. These goals require political action not technical solutions – and the reports fail to acknowledge this sufficiently – they talk of political will as something only belonging to governments – not of the collective will of whole societies which is the real political force. Technical solutions are not enough when the problems are systemic.
*
There needs to be more direct attention played to the real backdrop within which these goals fit – a world in which economic and religious fundamentalism have terrifying power. These are central to maintaining the subordination of women and need to be addressed.
*
We should not look at where we now as being four years since the education and gender goals were set but rather as fourteen years – since Jomtien – and many of these commitments have even deeper origins. Moreover we should not accept the reduction of the goals to just one or two but rather insist on the 6 goals reaffirmed by over 180 governments in Dakar in 2000. This provides a full agenda for education from early childhood through to adult education and any reduction in this is any attempt to undermine the right to education of all people. Education is not just a right for primary school children. The MDG reports ought to reassert this full agenda rather than being complicit in its reduction.
*
Education must be conceived as a right for all – at all stages of life – and the reports fall short and do not really frame it in this way. There is more of a focus on “opportunities” which is inadequate as a framework for action. The MDGs reduce the “right” to a certain number of years of schooling – undermining the wider commitment contained in the Dakar framework for action. Without focusing on a rights based approach we cannot frame legal action to advance education and we are helpless if governments fail to fulfil the goals they have set. Education is not about goals set by international institutions or governments but about RIGHTS and we must work to ensure these are legally enforceable rights. We need to use legal instruments – for example encouraging countries to verify Article 13 (Right to Education) of the San Salvador Protocol.
*
In this context of rights we must avoid NGOs or the private sector taking on responsibility for delivery of education because citizens cannot secure their right to education from NGOs or the private sector. We must not help the liberalisation / privatisation agenda by running parallel provision as NGOs. Education must be explicitly the responsibility of governments and the right of citizens. We need to build people’s awareness of education as a right – and not just a place in a school but a right to QUALITY education.
*
There is much to be celebrated in Latin America with strong examples of national campaigns and coalitions on education that have emerged in recent years. The recent World Education Forum was one opportunity to share these experiences and the different strategies used, particularly the tracking of national education budgets and dialogue on education with parliaments and elected officials. These experiences should be mapped and reinforced and recognised for the profoundly significant role they can play in achieving education and gender goals. These existing campaigns and coalitions can play an important role in raising the profile of all international commitments on education and gender, and in holding governments accountable for delivering on these. These national campaigns are reinforced by the Global Campaign for Education. Particular contributions that this work can make to the MDGs and the strategies that can be used in 2005 to hold the G8 and UN Summit accountable will be discussed at the next World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in January 2005 – and all contributors to this e-discussion were urged to participate.
*
It is not just a question of more money for education – especially if that money comes as international aid that facilitates, even incentivises corruption and reduces democratic accountability of governments to their citizens. We need instead full transparency in the budget that is invested and independent monitoring by civil society to ensure resources are used properly. Government education budgets do need to be expanded but this should not be through aid if it can be avoided – but through reducing or ending debt payments, securing fair trade terms and reprioritising.
*
The real struggle for education is not about the budget. We don’t need MORE education we need a DIFFERENT education. We need different social and economic policies.
*
We need a shift in paradigm – one that places education in the context of poverty and injustice as a key mechanism for change. But we should also understand that this paradigm shift will struggle to be achieved if there are not wider changes in society and in social and economic policies.
*
Governments sign on to commitments easily but there are no mechanisms to hold them accountable for delivering on these – no enforcement – these reports and the MDG Summit in 2005 should look at how to ensure enforcement and not just make new promises.
*
There is a lack of coordination between international institutions – many duplicating initiatives which absorb resources into different international institutions and diminish effectiveness. There is a scandalous waste of money produced by this proliferation of initiatives but the MDG reports fail to address this adequately
*
Too often these international targets encourage governments and international agencies to make big displays of action which translate to nothing on the groun – whereas organisations with capacity to deliver real change, especially women’s organisations are left under-funded and cannot access the government or international agency funding.
*
The reports should highlight the importance of organised participation of children and student in educational institutions – school councils etc – so that children can be heard and have a say in the school. Children will learn democratic practices by living them. The same is true of parents groups / PTAs who should have a more active say in supervision of the life of the school and not just be puppet structures for fundraising controlled by the headteacher.
*
The report places too much focus on participation of women in national parliaments and not enough on women’s representation and leadership at local level and at the global level. Getting women into positions of power is not enough if they are not treated with respect as equal human beings and do not use their positions effectively.
*
Women’s literacy / basic education should not be seen as a means to an end (education of girls / smaller families etc) but as an end in itself as it is a basic right of all.
*
There are many examples of substantial programmes which address gender equality in education in Latin America – often with a more comprehensive vision than that shown in the report – and yet these have not been well systematised or shared. (eg PRIOM Argentina)
*
Need to look at wider issue of sexual violence – must address this within education
*
We need to focus on quality education for all – not parallel systems for rich and poor – but a single unitary system of good quality in which all children participate, whether middle class or poor, so education can become a force for equalising society.
*
Secondary education is in real crisis and is where the focus should be for many Latin American countries
*
It was felt that the Task Force has not drawn on the full accumulation of learning and reflection on these goals and that as a result the reports were unsatisfactory and limited. It was suggested that following this electronic discussion and drawing on a stronger sense of the history of these commitments and struggles, we should develop our own full complementary document as civil society.
*
The vast majority of contributors were women and it was observed ironically that this seems to be yet another example of women’s socially constructed roles.
***
Annex 4 Original responses from Spanish discussion
MESSAGE 1
Hola David y Akanksha,
Primero felicitarlos por el excelente trabajo que hay realizado hasta ahora y por estar incluyendo este dia de dialogo en español.
Espero con ganas las primeras intervenciones y en especial si hay reacciones al documento preliminar que elaboramos desde PRIGEPP sobre el grado de conocimiento y opiniones sobre los ODM en America Latina.
Un grupo selecto de ex-alumnos de PRIGEPP en toda América Latina ya ha empezado a entrevistar a las autoridades responsables de las políticas para determinar si las personas están al tanto de los ODM, cuáles son sus puntos de vista y cuál es la mejor forma de empeñar a las personas en iniciativas de promoción activa. A mediados de agosto se discutirá un resumen de los resultados obtenidos en un diálogo en línea con estos ex-alumnos. En septiembre se realizará un diálogo más amplio que incluirá a muchos grupos más para discutir los resultados e identificar la forma de seguir avanzando en materia de promoción activa y otros esfuerzos programados. En este diálogo los ex-alumnos de PRIGEPP compartirán los resultados obtenidos y todos ustedes están invitados a esta discusión. ¡Estén atentos a las fechas!
Hay un resumen de la investigacion inicial de PRIGEPP el la pagina web de este debate: o a la pagina web de PRIGEPP:
Estare de nuevo en un rato.
Gloria Bonder
PRIGEPP
prigepp@.ar
MESSAGE 2
Hola
Querria hacer un breve contribucion sobre dos puntos:
* En muchas partes de America Latina el problema de genero ya esta invertido ... Los ninos salen de escuela antes de las ninas - sobretodo en areas urbanas. Este es un indicador de la crisis mas general de masculinidad. Si hamblamos de iqualidad de genero tenemos que tocar el tema de este crisis dentro de procesos educativas
* hay muchos retos en respeto a la transformacion de educacion ... Para muchas ninos y ninas la experiencia de la escuela es negativa. La escuela reproduce la sociedad con todos los injusticias y discrminacion de este sociedad. Tenemos que buscar modelos alternativos - pero no es un cuestion de construit micro-pryectos en uno o 10 o 100 comunidades.
Hay que hacerlo aq nivel sistemico. Cuales expereincias tenemos en America Latina de transformacion educativa a nivel macro. Conozco algo de la experiencia de la Escuela Nueva en Colombia y hay mucho que podemos rescatar de este ... Pero este experiencia es ya bien conocido.
Hay que tener otras experiencias muy ricas de trabajo de transformacion en una escala grade. Pero donde??
Esperando un dia de discurso rico
Jill
MESSAGE 3
ICAE/GEO
Alejandra Scampini
Montevideo, 4 de agosto de 2004
PREGUNTAS GENERALES para la discussion
1. Nos interesa contar con ejemplos específicos de sus países y regiones con relación a las siguientes preguntas. Díganos ¿los informes prestan debida atención a los obstáculos que sus países enfrentan respecto del logro de la igualdad entre los géneros y la educación primaria universal?
A nuestro modo de ver los informes sostienen aun un enfoque clásico para lograr la educación universal. Se asume que las actividades generales destinadas a aumentar la matriculación beneficiarían a todos los niños y niñas por igual. No hay un profundo analisis de los obstaculos especificos que enfrentan las niñas. Aunque no es la realidad especifica de Uruguay, en muchos paises de America Latina hay miles de niñas que no acuden a la escuela, y las niñas que se matriculan abandonan la escuela antes que los niños.
Nuestros trabajos en educacion y genero han demostrado que en la persistente y a veces oculta discriminación de género que existe en nuestras sociedades, las primeras sacrificadas son las niñas: ellas son las primeras en quedarse sin escolarizar y a quienes se saca de la escuela primero cuando llegan los tiempos difíciles
Sostenemos que hay que revindicar la educación como un derecho humano inalienable y para toda la vida. El utilizar el marco de derechos humanos en nuestro lobby es fundamental para que los gobernantes consideren la educación como un derecho, y den los recursos necesarios para que todos los niños y las niñas terminen una educación de calidad.
2. ¿Qué relevancia tienen los ODM de educación e igualdad entre los géneros para el trabajo de usted?
ICAE esta trabajando junto a la Oficina de Genero del ICAE ( GEO-ICAE) y REPEM el seguimiento de las Conferencias de los años 90 de ONU , especialmente la V CONFINTEA de 1997. Hemos tomado las Metas del Milenio como una oportunidad politica de demandar que se cumplan las metas en las fechas previstas.
Vemos la agenda de las Metas del Milenio como una nueva agenda de asistencia, las MDGs dan un marco de trabajo comun acordado por todos los gobiernos con metas medibles, indicadores de progreso, alrededor de los cuales se pueden reunir y concentrar los gobiernos, las agencias de ONU, los IFI´s y la sociedad civil.
Creemos que las MDGs proveen un punto estratégico para evaluar las barreras para alcanzar esos objetivos y son una herramienta de la cual agarrarnos para rendir cuentas a las agencias de cooperacion y a los gobiernos.
Respecto a la meta de igualdad de genero y empoderamiento de las mujeres varias voces han sugerido que solo podemos celebrar como un simbolo del impacto significante del advocacy feminista en estos años, a pesar de que sabemos del vacio retorico de las declaraciones de genero.
Hemos tambien trabajado en el sentido de identificar las limitaciones de estos MDGs: Entre otros: lo inadecuado de las metas y los indicadores; las restricciones de los indicadores que son cuantificables, cuando sabemos que la igualdad de genero y el empoderamiento no son faciles de cuantificar. Tambien vemos una abstraccion del contexto social, politico y economico en el cual deben ser implementados-
3. Las contribuciones de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil respecto del logro de los ODM no han sido incluidas en las recomendaciones de los informes. ¿Qué tipo de acciones podrían ser emprendidas a modo de preparación para la Cumbre de los G8 o de los Jefes de Estado de la ONU que demuestren que la comunidad internacional toma este objetivo en serio?
Hemos discutido algunas estrategias en algunas areas en las cuales el genero es crucial y se deben hacer esfuerzos para analizar esto a traves de discuiones sobre las barreras para alcazar as metas:
1) Apoyar la inclusion entre Objetivos y Metas de la Violencia en contra de Mujer y Los Derechos Reproductivos y Sexuales y tambien hacer lobby para que se incluya el contexto y el medio ambiente institucional
2) alcanzar las metas requiere movilizacoin de masas, no solo los gobiernos y lsa agencias de desarrollo tambien la sociedad civil. Las organizaciones de mujeres tenemos que mantener nuestra vigilancia en el monitoreo nacional e internacional evaluar el progreso hacia las meta 3 por ejemplo y las dimensiones de genero de las otras metas
3) Respecto a las estadisticas nacionales, en muchos paises hemos alertado la falta de datos desagregados por sexo en muchas presentaciones hechas por oficiales de gobierno que trabajan en estadistica por ejemplo en VIH/SIDA. Eesos datos no existen porque simplemente no hay un acuerdo en la importncia de esto. Los gobiernos firman acuerdos, convenciones y peticiones pero la toma de accion es algo totalmente diferente.
4) Tenemos que llamar la atencion sobre la importancia que tienen las Oficinas de la Mujer en el monitoreo y medicion de la implementacion de las Metas del Milenio. y establecer vinculos con los ministerios de salud, educacion, trabajo, finanzas y planificacion y el ministerio de asuntos internacionale
5) Otra sugerencia seria examinar como se vinculan los trabajos de las MDGs con el trabajo de los Presupuestos de Genero.
6) Dada la importancia que se le esta dando a las MDGs como el nuevo consenso de trabajo para el desarrollo y la asistencia, tendremos que hacer trabajos para establecer vinculos con otras Plataforasm de Accion y Agendas del Futuro con las cuales trabajamos en nuestro propio lobby y advocacy en terminos de metas e indicadores.
Finalmente , todas las metas del milenio son temas politicos y no podran ser alcanzados con meras herramientas tecnicas. No importa lo bueno que sean los indicadores, o las estadisticas si no tenemos VOLUNTAD POLITICA.
Se necesita hacer un cuidado analisis del poder y un conjunto de estrtegias para alcanzar las MDGs
PREGUNTAS SOBRE EL INFORME DE GENERO
El informe de género propone ampliar el objetivo actual de paridad entre los géneros en la educación para abarcar (a) el acceso universal a la salud sexual y reproductiva; (b) la igualdad en el acceso y control de los bienes económicos y el empleo; (c) un 30% de escaños para la mujer en órganos electos en el ámbito local y nacional; y (d) reducir a la mitad la violencia contra la mujer.
1. ¿Piensa usted que esta propuesta de ampliación de los objetivos desvía la atención del fracaso del ODM respecto de eliminar las desigualidades entre los géneros en la educación primaria y secundaria?
Desde una perspectiva de las mujeres, el contexto en el que las metas estan siendo discutidas contienen para muchas de nosotras dos fuerzas terribles: el fundamentalismo economico y el fundamentalismo religioso; subordinando y explotando el trabajo, el tiempo y la sexualidad de las mujeres para el beneficio del capitalismo.
Por otro lado todas las metas tienen una dimension social reproductiva y biologica, creemos que la igualdad de genero y el empoderamiento son esenciales para alcanzar todas las metas.
Los movimientos comprometidos con la educacion de mujeres tenemos que ver las MDGs como una oportunidad estrategica de incluirnos en una dialogo poliico alrededor de los objetivos que estan ocupando un lugar privilegiado en los procesos de planificacion social y economica en las regiones del mundo.
Si se incluyen mas metas y objetivos de mas interes para las mujeres entonces tenemos alli otros puntos estrategicos para analizar y evaluar las barreras al alcance de esas metas.
MESSAGE 4
Hola!!
Soy de la Comunidad Prigepp, y quiero compartir algunas opiniones. Son varios los disparadores, el documento sobre equidad en la educación primaria, el informe de prigepp, los ODM en Uruguay y las distintas preguntas que plantea David Archer...
Por un lado, en Uruguay se repite un poco la situación de otros países, donde las inequidades en educación primaria afectan más a la población masculina. En nuestro país en términos generales la pobación femenina cuenta con un nivel educativo superior al de los varones, lo que no se refleja en los otros ámbitos como podría pensarse, en la participación política representativa, la distribución y control de bienes económicos y empleo ni en la universalización de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos, por lo que creemos que incorporar estas temáticas a los ODM no desvía los puntos de interés sino que enriquece en términos de integralidad. Un ejemplo de ésto es cómo el aumento y mantenemiento de escolarización de los niños desde la primera infancia, incide en las condiciones de ingreso de la mujer a la vida laboral y pública.
Los índices de alfabetización en Uruguay se acercan mucho a la universalidad, si pensamos que en 1996 distintas fuentes estadísticas sitúan en 99,6 la matrícula neta en enseñanza primaria (población de 7 a 11 años), y entre 98 y 99% las tasas de alfabetismo de la población de 15 a 29 años hombres y mujeres respectivamente.
Los últimos años las inequidades aumentan en cuanto a las condicioines de educabilidad tanto de primaria como nivel secundario, debido a un aumento de la fragmentación social de nuestro país.
Al día de hoy más del 40% de los niños nacen en situación de pobreza, el aumento de familias monoparentales con jefatura femenina, vinculadas muchas a la tasa de desempleo que es superior en la población femenina. Esta situación incide directamente en condiciones que al precarizarse reproducen día a día el ausentismo, rezago y abandono del proceso educativo formal.
Estamos de acuerdo en que en muchos puntos de la región las escuelas ya no son un referente de la socialización y educación en valores, aumenta la violencia, se despersolizan las relaciones, pero siguen siendo parte de un sistema existente que puede ser enriquecido y reformulado.
En 1995 comenzó en Uruguay una reforma
educativa con grandes críticas por parte de grandes sectores de la población, que amplió la cobertura de educación inicial a partir de los 4 años de edad, lo que junto con una mayor articulación del organismo estatal responsable de las políticas de infancia con la sociedad civil, busca llegar más directamente a la población de primera infancia. De todas formas plantea décit importantes respecto a los horarios que cubren los servicios que no están pensados para favorecer la inserción de esas madres al mercado laboral, la escuelas de tiempo completo no cuentan con programas que enriquezcan la propuesta, tiempo ocioso, desvalorización de los roles docentes con sueldos increiblemente descendidos, locales muchas veces ruinosos y sin el equipamiento necesario, etc.
- Existen grandes déficit en el sistema, CEPAL plantea que tanto para Uruguay como para la región son necesarios 12 años de estudios para facilitar el acceso al bienestar. En nuestro país actualmente, aumentar y mantener la matrícula en niveles secundarios es un desafío importante (planteos de ODM en Uruguay).
- El documento de los ODM en Uruguay, por lo menos el capítulo de EPU, cuenta con datos desagregados por sexo que facilita su análisis, tiene en cuenta las trabas actuales para el logro de sus actuales objetivos, pero no explicita una visión de género sobre el mismo.
Por ahora ésto, tal vez un poco desordenado, pero es díficil articular los distintos temas que están en juego así como los estímulos planteados por los disparadores...
Un abrazo, Elena Goiriena
MESSAGE 5
Hola!
Quería realizar un pequeño aporte en cuento a la educación de calidad.
Todos sabemos que la CALIDAD en la educación está relacionada con los contenidos curriculares, sin embargo, si en ellos no incluímos una clara reforma que promueva la equidad entre los géneros, no creo que se pueda lograr un real empoderamiento de las mujeres (niñas aún).
Entonces estaríamos equivocándonos si sólo nos planteamos la educación primaria universal como estrategia para lograr la equidad entre los géneros.
Un saludo fraternal desde Buenos Aires.
Eva.
MESSAGE 6
n primer lugar felicitarles por esta valiosa inicativa que estoy segura tendrá sus frutos. Para universalizar la educación debemos ir más allá de la educación en el sentido estricto. La falta de educación, con todo lo que esto implica (acceso, oferta, infraestructura, recursos financieros, entre otros) es parte central de los problemas estructurales en los países pobres y extremadamente pobres. El informe preliminar presentado por el PRIGEPP, señala la falta de conocimientos por parte de funcionarios /as del Estado sobre los ODM y la MDM, la falta de participación en la formulación de los objetivos y meta de país. Al menos en mi país, este proceso se limitó a la participación de algunas instituciones, pero fundamentalemente fueron elaboradas por un equipo técnico; esto redunda en la calidad misma del trabajo, en la falta de conocimiento, apropiación y compromiso por parte del Estado y la Sociedad Civil con estos instrumentos. Por otra parte la traducción de los ODM y de las!
MDM en estrategias de reducción de la pobreza y Planes Nacionale de Desarrollo ha sido limitada, sobre todo en los asuntos de género y me atrevo a decir que en general existen deficiencias de fondo.
El asunto de la Educación y las iniciativas que surgan de este esfuerzo que estamos realizando debe quedar incluido en estos instrumentos, de lo contrario quedan fuera de las prioridades y por lo tanto de los recursos. Debemos ir a la raíz de los problemas si no lo hacemos, podríamos quedar en la suma de más metas que no podrán cumplirse porque el resto de cosas no funcionan. Por ejemplo no podemos proponernos metas (que por supuesto son válidas) si no se trabajan a la par de salud y trabajo. El sector educación debe estar articulado a con las instituciones que tienen incidencia directa en el cumplimiento de las metas para este sector. Debe ser asumida como una responsabilidad del Estado, desde un abordaje interinstitucional e intersectorial. Estoy pensando en que se realize una Cruzada Nacional de Educación, en el marco de una Cruzada Mundial, que movilize al Estado (en primer lugar), a la sociedad civil, a los Organismos Intenacionales (intergubernamentales, financieros,!
cooperación, etc.).
Esto implica tocar tres temas cruciales para los países: MODELO DE DESARROLLO, MODELO DE ESTADO, MODELO CULTURALES.
Hasta Pronto,
Violeta Otero
Nicaragua
MESSAGE 7
Saludos a todos/as.
- Yo había enviado antes a Akanksha, Kelly Tobin y Ruth Levine un comentario en inglés (ver abajo) y un breve documento mío relativo al tema, como adjunto. Envío aquí dicho comentario traducido al español, con algunos pequeños agregados, lamentablemente no tengo tiempo para otra cosa.
- He circulado la información sobre este foro, y los resúmenes ejecutivos del informe, en las diversas redes electrónicas que modero y en las que participo. Espero que muchos participen en este foro el día de hoy. Tenemos mucho que decir al respecto desde América Latina!
- Aqui va el mensaje traducido/ampliado:
Unos pocos y breves comentarios acerca de este informe:
* La palabra "derecho" parece evitarse, todo se reduce a "oportunidades". Es esencial que vayamos más allá de la retórica de las oportunidades y recuperemos una cultura de derechos. La educación es un derecho. Más aún, EL APRENDIZAJE A LO LARGO DE TODA LA VIDA ES UN DERECHO. Para los niños y las niñas, para mujeres y hombres.
* ¿Qué pasa con las modernas Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación - TICs- y las cuestiones de género? También aquí, es indispensable que superemos el ACCESO (a la computadora, a la Internet, etc.). La posibilidad de optar, los contenidos, los idiomas elegidos para la información y la comunicación, etc. son todos ellos factores vinculados a la calidad y al aprendizaje, y que están cruzados por sesgos de género.
* ¿Por qué se aspira y contabiliza solamente mujeres en posiciones legislativas? ¿Y las posiciones de liderazgo y gestión en todas las esferas y niveles de gobierno - supranacional, nacional, local?
* El argumento de las cuotas requiere ser complementado con la calidad de las posiciones ocupadas por mujeres, la calidad de las mujeres mismas que ocupan esas posiciones y de las relaciones que establecen y en que se ven inmersas una vez en ellas. Dos lados de este asunto, con ejemplos concretos:
a) el año pasado, siendo Ministra de Educación y Culturas en mi país, el Ecuador, me tocó palpar y enfrentar el rampante machismo imperante en el gabinete y el del propio Presidente de la República. Llegar o estar "allá arriba" no es suficiente. Nosotras, las mujeres, necesitamos luchar por ser respetadas no como "damas" sino como personas, profesionales con nuestros propios méritos, a menudo contra hombres medicocres.
b) en el Ecuador - hoy uno de los países con mayor porcentaje de pobres y mayor corrupción en América latina, y con una de las tasas más altas de presupuesto nacional dedicado al pago de la deuda externa - tenemos una ministra polifuncional: preside el Ministerio de Comercio Exterior, organizó el reciente concurso de Miss Universo realizado en este país y fue designada por el Presidente para liderar el equipo de negociación del Tratado de "Libre" Comercio (TLC) con Estados Unidos, desyoyendo el clamor popular. El ALCA y el TLC atentan contra la soberanía y el desarrollo de nuestros pueblos, y vienen levantando movilizaciones y repudio a nivel continental.
Las y los ecuatorianos no nos sentimos precisamente orgullosos de ella. Una mujer frívola en el poder es intolerable. Lo mismo puede decirse de las Primeras Damas (¿no hay mejor manera de referirse a las esposas de los Presidentes?). Las hay de primera clase en nuestra región (un ejemplo actual es Cristina Kirchner, en Argentina) y también de las otras.
* La igualdad de géneros en la educación primaria y secundaria es una meta sumamente compleja, implica una guerra cultural de alta intensidad con las instituciones y las inercias a todos los niveles. El sexismo es sólo tan fuerte como el racismo. ¿Quién puede pensar que esta meta tiene alguna posibilidad de lograrse para el año 2015? A menos que nuevamente se piense exclusivamente en acceso y matrícula, en indicadores cuantitativos, sin atención a la calidad.
* ¿Y la discusión sobre la "universalización de la educación primaria", en verdad reducida a CUATRO años de escolaridad en los Objetivos y Metas del Milenio? Es fundamental discutir esto, y no continuar confundiendo la Educación para Todos (EPT-EFA, seis metas referidas a una "educación básica de calidad para todos y todas", niñ@s, jóvenes y adultos, para el mismo año
2015) con las Metas del Milenio para la educación. Estas últimas son mucho más reducidas. E inaceptables, ciertamente en el caso de América Latina y el Caribe, donde la aspiración a cuatro años de escuela significa un gran paso atrás, no un paso adelante. Una mirada retrospectiva sobre las distintas iniciativas y planes internacionales para la educación suscritos en los últimos treinta años por agencias y gobiernos revela que, paradójicamente, antes que ampliarse, los objetivos y las metas vienen reduciéndose... ¡en pleno advenimiento de la tan mentada "sociedad del conocimiento"!, mientras sigue agrandándose la deuda externa, junto con la dependencia externa, la corrupción, la pobreza y la exclusión social en nuestros países.
* Además, las iniciativas y los planes vienen generando una verdadera maraña ininteligible, producto entre otros de la descoordinación entre las diversas agencias de "cooperación internacional", cada una planteando objetivos y metas por separado, en paralelo. En este mismo momento, en nuestra región tenemos al menos cuatro iniciativas para la educación actuando en paralelo y con metas diferentes, respectivamente con metas para el año 2010 (Cumbres de las Américas), el 2015 (Educación para Todos y Objetivos del Milenio) y el
2017 (Proyecto Regional de Educacion para América Latina y el Caribe-PRELAC, coordinado por la Oficina Regional de la UNESCO). Un desquicio, un sinsentido, un despilfarro de tiempo y de recursos.
* Finalmente, sobre estos mismos temas, permítanme compartir este breve artículo mío titulado "¿Aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida en el Norte, educación básica para todos en el Sur?" (si adoptamos como referencia las Metas del Milenio, deberíamos cambiar el título a "¿Aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida en el Norte, cuatro años de escuela para el Sur?") . La respuesta es NO. No más dobles estándares si estamos realmente dispuestos a empezar a cerrar la brecha Norte-Sur y pensar nuevamente en términos de "desarrollo" y no meramente de "alivio de la pobreza (extrema)".
Incluyo abajo un listado de otras publicaciones mías relacionadas que pueden ser de utilidad para este informe y su discusión.
Saludos cordiales,
Rosa María Torres
Instituto Fronesis
Otra educación es posible (si otra política, otra economía y otra "cooperación internacional" son posibles)
1a. Una década de Educación para Todos: La tarea pendiente, IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000
1b. One Decade of Education for All: The challenge ahead, IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000
2a. ¿Qué pasó en el Foro Mundial de Dakar? (2001)
2b. What happened at the World Education Forum (2001)?
3. From Dakar to Cochabamba (April 2000-April 2001): EFA Follow Up in Latin America and the Caribbean (available in English only)
4a. Aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida: Un nuevo momento y una nueva oportunidad para el aprendizaje y la educación básica de los adultos en el Sur (2003)
4b. Lifelong Learning: A New Momentum and a Nw Opportunity for Adult Basic Learning and Education (ABLE) in the South (2003)
5a. Knowledge-development aid: Do we need it? Do we want it? (2001)
5b. Ayuda internacional basada en el conocimiento: ¿la queremos?, ¿la necesitamos? (2001) (Abridged version)
6. Cooperación internacional en educación en América Latina: ¿Parte de la solución o parte del problema? (2001) (available in Spanish only)
MESSAGE 8
Hola soy Carmen Torres de Ayuda en Acción México, y me parece muy importante la realizacion de estos eventos.
Mi participación la hare sobre aspectos que me parecen fundamentales a parte de estar de acuerdo con la mayoria de la reflexiones que se hacen.
Quiza la participacion no sea tan ordenada pero las planteare.
1.- Me parece que a nivel de primaria y secundaria es fundamental incluir el tema de interculturalidad, es decir hacer una planteamiento específico sobre la importancia por un lado de los grupos indígenas y como empezar hacer la diferencia en la enseñanaza de acuerdo a las regiones y a las culturas de cada pais, pero a la ves empezar a general una cultura intercultural entre meztisos e indigenas, este es un tema que me parece de suma importancia.
2.- Me parece que a nivel primaria y secundaria debe pugnarse por la creación de espacios de participaci´´on y organizacion de los estudiantes, es decir que la voz de los niñ@s y de jovenes sea escuchada. Esto me parece que en verdad podría ir creando conciencias mas criticas en los alumnos, estos espacios tendrían que estar manejados no por profesores autoritarios, sino justamente ver un perfil adecuado que permita en desarrollo de los niños en otros ámbitos de la vida y no solo los de la educación formal.
3.- De igual manera una preocupacion es como debemos formentar la organización de los padres de familia no solo en las cooperaciones economicas para la escuela sino en temas como la calidad educatia de tal suerte que sean los reguladores de los sistemas educativos y que sean como un filtro de supervicion real en todos los sentidos dentro de las escuelas ya que sabemos que todabia existen muchos abusos desde los sexuales hasta los maltratos fisicos y psicologicos.
4.- Otro aspecto sobre todo a niveles de secundaria y bachillerato, me parece que si bien hay escuelas tecnicas si es importante dar mas herramientas para la vida, es decir muchos jovenes sobre todo de zonas marginadas no pueden seguir estudiando, creo que parte de la escencia que se debe modificar en la educacion es justamente como hacerles llegar mas herramientas para la vida, para su desarrollo para el ejercicio de sus derechos y tambien en la preparación tecnica media profesional, que les permita en un momento dado desarrollarse laboralmente .
Pues por ahora es mi intervencion. Gracias. Carmen Torres
MESSAGE 9
El comentario de Jill me parece importantisimo, durante muchos años se ha venido luchando por hacer cambios en la educación sin embargo habria que preguntarse si no hay que diseñar nuevas estrategias para abordar el tema, por ejemplo el dice vamos a un diseño MACRO que realmente tenga un impacto de cambio y transformación en la educación, ESTO ES REALMENTE INTERESANTE, COMO UNIR ESFUERZOS Y HACER UNA PROPUESTA DE FONDO Y VER LOS MECANISMOS DE NEGOCIACION. Me parce que elaborar una proppuesta educativa para America Latina sería una apuesta muy importante para un cambio estructural en la educación.
En México tambien hay que hacer una serie de transformaciones educativas al igual que en otros paises, en donde tambien es necesario avanzar en este aspecto de una propuesta MACRO INTERGRAL.
Por último es importante acercar metodologias de enseñanza-aprendizaje diferentes a los doscentes, el arte de enseñar es justamente COMO y PARA QUE ENSEÑAS, por lo que se necesita introducir en la formacion de nuevas generaciones de maestros estos contenidos, una forma diferente de ENSEÑAR.
Carmen Torres
MESSAGE 10
La educación toca muchas aristas, por eso mi insistencia de plantear estas propuestas en un marco más integral. El problema de la violencia intrafamiliar y sexual, la violencia contra la niñez y adolescentes, la erradicación del trabajo infantil , la explotación comercial y sexual, el "turismo infantil", la pornografía infantil, entre otro tipologías de violencia contra la mujer, niñez y adolescencia, y la misma violencia de género, son asuntos centrales para lograr lo que queremos en eduación.
Coincidiendo con Rosa María Torres, no más de lo mismo. Yo agregaría la educación como uno de los derechos humanos debes ser tratado como parte integrante e inherente a los seres humanos. Pienso que esta iniciativa toca muchas teclas y que si logramos estructurar una propuesta más amplia estaremos dando un aporte más global que no significa etéreo, por el contrario muy concreto.
Violeta Otero,
Saludos desde Nicaragua
MESSAGE 11
De acuerdo Rosa María con tus planteamientos. Me interesa tener acceso a los documentos que refieres.
Saludos desde Nicaragua
Violeta Otero
MESSAGE 12
No puedo dejar de expresar mi satisfaccion por las contribuciones de las
colegas integrantes de la comunidad PRIGEPP.
Comparto muchos de los puntos señalados pero me aparto un poco de el tono
habria que hacer .... como si nada se hubiera hecho o se estuviera haciendo.
Creo que en todos los paises hay experiencias muy valiosas de las que
tenemos que sacar lecciones y una de ellas , la primera es difundirlas y
suscitar la motivacion a inspirarse en ellas
Por ejemplo durante gran parte de la decada del 90 algunos paises
desarrollaron con mas o menos amplitud y profundidad planes, programas,
campañas, e incluso politicas nacionales para integrar la equidad de genero
en las politicas educativas.
Yo misma tuve la responsabilidad de planificar y poner en practica el PRIOM
(Programa Nacional de Igualdad de Oportunidades para la mujer en educacion )
una politica que abarco 20 provincias y tuvo mucha incidencia en varios
aspectos, curricula, investigacioin, formacion docente, etc. Tambien esta la
experiencia del PRIOME en Paraguay, programas que conozco en Chile,
Bolivia, Uruguay, Dominicana, y tantos otros paises.
Mi impresion es que en su mayoria fueron mucho mas " radicales" que las
metas que sugieren los ODM porque se ocuparon de la medula de la expereincia
educativa, y no del acceso como fin ultimo.
Reivindico esos enormes esfuerzos y creo que nos abrieron el camino para
pensar que equidad de acceso no esta reñido con la calidad y que la calidad
educativa no puede asegurarse sin alguna forma de integrar y valorar por
igual los saberes, necesidad, experiencias y contribuciones de mujeres y
varones.
Gloria
MESSAGE 13
Hola, mi nombre es Claudia Anzorena, y son de Mendoza Argentina.
Espero que este debate sea no solo fructifero para nosotr@s, que eso es
indudable, sino que tenga algún impacto concreto.
Se me hace muy dificil seguir todas las consignas. Me parece que un solo dia
para tantas es demasiado poco. Así que voy a hacer una exposión general de
cosas que me han ido surgiendo al ir leyendo los emails.
Yo tampoco veo favorable extender los objetivos cuando se fracasó en el
objetivo inicial de eliminar la discriminación en el nivel primario. Creo
que extenderlo o expandirlo contribuye a que se diluyan las acciones.
Si me parece importante abordar a tema del nivel secundario, porque la
adolescencia es una etapa fundamental de la vida, tanto como la niñez, pero
como un objetivo en sí mismo y no como ampliación de uno anterior.
Cuestiones que me parecen centrales es ver qué mecanismos de control se van
a usar para que los gobiernos cumplan con las responsabilidades asumidas.
Los gobiernos parecen muchas veces adherir a los Pactos y Convenios
Internaciones sin demasiado problema porque después no hay instancia que los
obligue a cumplir. Es triste tener que buscar instancias que "obliguen" pero
la verdad es que por propia voluntad esta demostrado que ningún país va a
transformar las relaciones sociales establecidas.
Otra cosa que veo es que prorrogar los tiempos de las metas le quita
seriedad a las acciones de los Organismos Internacionales. Los gobiernos
pueden especular, si total si no implementan acciones después les dan más
tiempo y así se convierte en algo eterno.
Es decir, que si no se cumplieron las metas para el 2005 es necesario tomar
medidas, y si son punitivas mejor. Acá en Argentina el gobierno establece
sin problema puniciones para los hogares que gasten más energía que el año
anterior, y les aseguro que ahí no va haber ningún tipo de prorroga ni
salvedad.
Yo hice algunas entrevistas a organizaciones y después que pasó el tiempo
de entrevistas a toda la gente que encuentro le he preguntado si conocían
las OMD o si habían participado de ellas. Casi nadie las conocía y nadie
había participado en la elaboración del PNUD. Entonces una ve siempre que
tal organismo hizo tal informe, redacto tales metas, llegás al terreno y te
encontrás que hay programas de concientización de empoderamiento, etc. Pero
cuando te podés a indagar todos vienen bajados del estado o de
organizaciones que se pusieron a trabajar el tema ad hoc, y las
organizaciones que realmente estamos trabajando con las mujeres no tenemos
financiamiento, cuando te presentás a subsidios nunca te los dan y siempre
se los dan a las mismas. Entonces al final te queda la sensación de que son
solo un "negocio" que beneficia a algun@s.
En síntesis, es necesario que los recursos lleguen a las organizaciones que
realmente trabajan y que no se queden en el Estado y en algunas pocas
organizaciones. Y que los llamados a subsidio no sean tan engorrosos.
Nosotras nos presentamos a PROFAM (subsidios del BID) y nunca nos
notificaron que había pasado con nuestra solicitud y porqué nos habían
rechazado y cuando escribíamos nos decían que estaba en revisión.
En relacion al punto sobre DDRR creo que es necesario, sobre todo cuando se
trata en la educación primario y secundaria, empezar a romper con el
prejuicio de que es una responsabilidad excluiva de las mujeres, los niños y
adolescentes deben aprender que ellos también son responsable, que deben
cuidarse y cuidar a sus compàñeras aunque sea una relación ocasional, porque
somos todos seres humanos.
Agunas reespuestas
2. ¿Cuál es la evidencia de un vínculo entre la alfabetización de la mujer y
el desempeño escolar de los niños?
El vinculo es que las mujeres alfabetizadas valoramos más la educación y eso
replica necesariamente en los niñ@s que nos circundan. Pero creo que es un
error que los programas de alfabetizacion y finalización de educacion de
mujeres se asiente en esto. Las mujeres deben educarse porque es un derecho,
que eso impacte en las siguientes generaciones es un efecto, pero no debe
ser la meta. Además también se debería inducir a los varones a que se hagan
responsable de la educacion de l@s hij@s para que no siempre todas las
responsabiliades caigan en las mujeres.
4. ¿Por qué las reformas del pasado no lograron escolarizar a los grupos
difíciles de alcanzar? Proporcione ejemplos específicos de su país sobre qué
ha logrado resultados positivos y qué no los ha logrado.
No han logrado porque no se mejoran las condiciones de vida. Los resultados
positivos en Argentina creo que tienen que ver con la universalización de la
eduacion a partir de principios de siglo XX, donde el Estado brindó
educacion gratuita y de calidad para tod@s-. Sin hacer diferenia entre una
educación para ric@s y otra para pobres como hacen ahora los planes y
progamas sociales que pretenden educar.
5. El Equipo de Trabajo sugiere transferir dinero a las familias pobres
sujeto a la asistencia de los niños a la escuela. Esta propuesta ¿es
factible en su país? ¿Habría manera de conectar este mecanismo con los
asuntos relacionados con la calidad, relevancia y empeño de la comunidad en
la educación?
Yo creo que debemos volver a la eduación de calidad para tod@s. Lo del
ingreso por chic@ para estudiar me parece que es una medida pronatalista que
atenta contra el derecho a decidir cuantos hij@s sin cohersión. Por qué
premiar a quién tiene más hij@s solamente. Qué pasa con aquell@s que no
tienen hij@s y son pobres, no tienen derecho tambien?
Este amil ya se hizo demasiado largo.
Propongo que se amplien la cantidad de dias de debate.
Muchas gracias por permitirnos participar.
MESSAGE 14
En relación a que los varones abandonan más que las mujeres. Yo no creo que
signifique que los problemas de géneros se trasladaron a los varones, sino
que con las malas condiciones de vida, estar 4 horas en una escuela son 4
horas que no se pueden hacer trabajitos o salir a pedir. Es decir, la
educacion se convierte en una perdida de tiempo productivo que en los
varones es inadmisible, no así en las mujeres.
Y si bien las mujeres hemos logrado hasta mayor nivel educativo que los
varones, eso no se ha traducido en igualdad en el acceso a los mismos cargos
ni a los mismos ingresos. Además si desagregamos en qué carreras siguen las
mujeres y los varones, siguen fuertemente asignada a las mujeres las
profesiones que se consideran femeninas y a los varones las masculina. No
creo que en ingeniería en petróleo haya la misma cantidad de estudiantes
mujeres que varones.
Creo que este es un punto a fortalecer, no sólo la igualdad de eduación sino
la igualdad de acceso a todos los niveles, las carreras y cargos.
Claudia
MESSAGE 15
Me gustaria conocer vuestra opinion sobre el enfasis de los ODM en la educacion primaria.
Personalmente entiendo que puede ser una prioridad insoslayable en algunos paises o comunidades pero al mismo tiempo me perturba que esa prioridad se convierta en exclusividad y por tanto deje de lado acciones fundamentales como son las dirigidas a jovenes,o sea el nivel secundario, el mas abandonado, y despojado de sentido en la mayoria de los paises y tambien los estudios universitarios cuya calidad ha decrecido tanto al menos en algunas realidades que parecen ser solo transitos para posgrados.
Como lo ven?
Gloria
MESSAGE 16
Estimados y estimadas colegas:
La discusión que comienza a tomar forma resulta interesantísima. La misma parece tener hasta ahora varias
dimensiones de distinto orden que me permito discriminar y agregar algún
comentario:
a) Universalización vs Calidad: En América Latina, la cuestión no estaría
pasando tanto por la universalización del ciclo primario, que aun con
diferencias y brechas regionales y al interior de los países, se viene
alcanzando (tanto nenas como varones, con tasas levemente superiores, en
algunos países, para ellas), sino por la calidad de la misma. Está en
cuestión la eficacia el sector para transferir y asegurar la apropiación de
los conocimientos que demandan los procesos de autonomía individual.
b) La escuela secundaria, por su parte, es una asignatura pendiente: es muy
bajo aun el porcentaje de las y los adolescente insertos. De los que
asisten (al menos en el cono sur) las chicas quedan más años en la escuela
que los varones. Ello no se refleja más tarde en mayor participación
política, acceso a puestos de poder en la empresa privada o pública y/o
salarios iguales a calificaciones semejantes.
c) Derecho y /u oportunidades: Rosa María Torres trae uno de los problamas
conceptuales (y operativos) más interesantes, a mi juicio, de la tardía
modernidad. El aprenizaje como derecho universal y permanente y de paso, con
enfoque de género. Derecho y oportunidades no parecen ser intercambiable.
d) Las ODM: Violeta Otero coloca en la agenda de este diálogo un tema
central, (motivo de la indagación que realizamos en el marco del PRIGEPP):
las ODM son practicamante desconocidas por parte de funcionarios /as y
legisladores /as. Personas que tendrán que dar cuenta en algún momento del
cumplimiento de las metas nacionales!!!!. Cómo puede cumplirse algo que no
se conoce?. A la vez nos interpela para demos cuenta de los modelos de
desarrollo, acumulación y el rol del Estado para llevar adelante los
deasafíos que se nos propone.
Felicito a Akanshka y a David por la oportunidad de compartir este diálogo.
Mónica Rosenfeld
MESSAGE 17
Solamente una nota muy breve: de lo que puedo entender, todos los
participantes en este debate electronico hasta este momento han sido
mujeres (aparte de mi). Es asi? Si es asi, porque?
David
MESSAGE 18
Estimadas compañeras y compañeros,
Me incorporo al debate, que desde ya quiero resaltar como un lugar de
intercambio muy interesante, retomando una cuestión que mencionó Mónica
Rosenfeld: calidad vs. universalismo. Sin duda, como bien dice ella, en gran
medida se está llegando a niveles (al menos teóricos) bastante aceptables en
cuanto a la asistencia de niños y niñas a la escuela primaria. Si bien ese
dato habría que desglosarlo de manera adecuada entre zonas urbanas y
rurales, lo cierto es que, si de asistencia se trata, podríamos decir que no
estamos en mal camino. Pero si nos paramos a examinar la calidad de la
educación que reciben esos niños y niñas, el análisis es menos optimista. Yo
vivo y trabajo en Ecuador desde hace tres años y he tenido un contacto muy
fuerte con el sistema de educación básica ya que mi compañero dirigía un
programa de cooperación belga para capacitar a profesores y profesoras. El
panorama muchas veces era desolador (y Rosa María Torres podría darnos datos
más concretos): profesores/as destinados en escuelas rurales sin los medios
básicos para trabajar, en escuelas unidocentes con niños y niñas de todas
las edades, con sueldos de miseria para los y las profesionales de la
educación. Desde mi punto de vista, es imprescindible mejorar las
condiciones de trabajo de los profesores y profesoras si queremos lograr,
por ejemplo, la inclusión del enfoque de género en la enseñanza. En estas
circunstancias, los niños y niñas pasan de un ciclo a otro sin asimilar
correctamente la mayor parte de los aprendizajes y enseñanzas necesarias
para su adecuado desarrollo. Y así hasta llegar a la Universidad y encontrar
personas en su último curso que conjuga el verbo haber si “h”, no llega a
tener una capacidad de lectura comprensiva total y cuenta con grandes
lagunas culturales.
Un saludo muy afectuoso para todas y todos ustedes,
Bárbara
MESSAGE 19
Hola! soy Yolima Arellano desde Trujillo Venezuela, les felicito por esta
iniciativa y les sugiero para el futuro ampliar el tiempo de participaciòn,
creo que 1 dìa es poco para tan importante tema.
A su pregunta de la participaciòn exclusiva de mujeres en el foro, nos
demuestra una vez màs lo dispuestas que estamos las mujeres en participar
en todo lo que constituya aprendizaje y participaciòn en una sociedad màs
equitativa, tal vez por nuestra "socializaciòn".
Sobre las ODM, considero que aùn cuando en Venezuela no han sido
suficientemente promocionadas entre la sociedad civil, de alguna manera el
Edo. ha asumido lo relativo a ampliar la cobertura de la educaciòn primaria
en igualdad de condiciones para varones y hembras, lo que se traduce en la
aplicaciòn de polìticas sociales que tienen que ver con programas de
alimentaciòn escolar (PAE) y subsidio a pasajes estudiantiles, por ejemplo,
sin embargo no son universales en el sentido de que cubren un sector de la
poblaciòn estudiantil.
Creo que los programas dirigidos en este sentido son bàsicos, como se
refiere en uno de los informes las mujeres educadas trasladan esa educaciòn
a la familia y a sus vidas personales y multiplican los efectos, aùn
cuando la desigualdad de gènero es estructural, creo necesario exigir y
orientar a los gobiernos en el diseño de polìticas pùblicas que
transversalicen el enfoque de gènero y se tomen en cuenta las necesidades
de las mujeres al momento de su atenciòn, la Educaciòn es una estrategia
importante para cambiar los estereotipos y desigualdades estructurales y
aùn cuando se comprometan formalmente a travès de los acuerdos
internacionales, estos constituyen una plataforma para exigir su
aplicaciòn, asunto en el que la sociedad civil cada dìa està incorporando a
su acciòn, gracias por permitirme participar y saludos a todos y todas
MESSAGE 20
Hola amigos. Escribimos desde la Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos
Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo para comentar la consulta con los E-mails
ya recibidos. Bueno, nos parece importante señalar que estamos de acuerdo con los
comentarios y preocupaciones de l@s compañer@s y contestamos a partir del
E-mail de Claudia, a quien nos sumamos especialmente en lo que se refiere a
la necesidad de trabajar más el tema de la exigibilidad y justiciabilidad de
los derechos. La Plataforma está involucrada en el Grupo de Trabajo que
discute el Protocolo Facultativo al PIDESC en la ONU. Referente a los ODM,
nos preocupa el hecho de que no se cumplan y "nopasanada". Muchas
organizaciones están siendo incentivadas en trabajar el tema. Incluso hay
gobiernos que están transferiendo para la sociedad civil (empresas+ONGs) con
una lógica super neoliberal la responsabilidad por el cumplimiento de los
objetivos. Bueno, no creemos que los objetivos tengan que ver con
solidaridad, pero con retos impuestos por los gobiernos para ellos mismos.
Por lo tanto, metas no cumplidas y plazos no cumplidos son metas no
cumplidas y plazos no cumplidos. Sigue la verguenza de los gobiernos, la
pérdida de legitimidad de los ODM y de Naciones Unidas en lo que se refiere
al DESARROLLO. La idea es de que podamos construir efectivamente el derecho
al desarrollo de forma amplia.
Particularmente respecto a educación y género, tenemos que luchar por el
DERECHO a la educación de calidad para tod@s, la conscientización respecto a
este derecho, instrumentos y instancias que garanticen este derecho. Una
acción importante, por lo tanto, sería el fortalecimiento de este derecho y
de la igualdad de género en la educación en las cortes nacionales,
regionales y internacionales. Es importante verificar el articulo 13
(Derecho a la Educación) del Protocolo de San Salvador en el sistema
interamericano y las posibilidades de que la Comisión y la Corte
interamericanas cumplan con los derechos allí mencionados. Educación es uno
de los pocos DESC que pueden tener casos presentados en la Comisión.
La educación de mujeres y hombres adult@s y de niñ@s debe ser considerado
como derecho y no como meta. Que hacer si los ODM no son cumplidos? Los
Estados con una lógica totalmente neoliberal transfieren sus
responsabilidades a otros sectores y no tratan seriamente las metas. Hay que
garantizar educación para tod@s y responsabilizar a los Estados (y entes de
Estados federados como las provincias) cuando no cumplan con este derecho.
Además de la transferencia de responsabilidades y de la ausencia de
instancias judiciales para demandar los derechos, hay por parte de los
Estados una nueva estrategia muy vinculada con los ODM que es lo que llaman
de "mínimos sociales". Si hablamos de derechos, no podemos hablar de
mínimos, pero de plenitud. Claro que hay problemas graves que imposibilitan
que los Estados cumplan con los derechos que deben garantizar- corrupción,
deuda externa injusta, superávits acordados con el FMI sin inversión de
gastos sociales presupuestados (un escándalo por ejemplo en Brasil), pero
justamente por eso es que hay que responsabilizar y no dirigir el abordaje
de los ODM para detalles que generan una discusión más intra-política
pública y menos de los obstáculos para seguir discutiendo y legitimando un
proceso que sigue sin claridad y postura consecuente. Supimos que el BID ya
quiere que los objetivos sean postergados para 2050!!! Los queremos como
DERECHOS hoy. Como comentaran las compañeras esta es la promesa de la
modernidad y que justifican nuestros Estados Nacionales como garantes de los
derechos humanos.
Gracias por la oportunidad de podermos participar en este debate. Esperamos
poder seguir construyendo juntos.
Daniel Mauricio Aragão
MESSAGE 21
Saludos:
Estoy muy impresionada del debate que se viene sosteniendo y de las tareas
que tenemos por delante.
Saludo con entusiasmo a las personas responsables de este foro.
En el Perù es verdad como señala Gloria y otras màs, se han dado
interesantes avances.
Pero tuvimos una època (la de Fujimori) que en su afan de mostrar avances,
encubrio cifras y datos que ahora producen problemas para la evaluación de
lo avanzado. Por ejemplo se hicieron campañas de alfabetización con
militares y eran a favor de la re-re-re elección, y muestran cifras d
edisminución del analfabetismo que igualmente muestra las cifras en negativo
para las mujeres. El otro problema es la calidad de lo aprendido.
Esto esta complicando los planes del mismo MINEDU y los anàlisis de quienes
se disponen a hacer seguimiento a las metas del milenio. Se espera que un
informe se presente pronto desde el PNUD con algunos avances que se añaden
al informe preliminar que Rosa Bravo hizo para CEPAL.
Tambièn hay algunos avances con el INEI ( Instituto Nacional de Estadistica
e Informàtica) con su voluntad de aplicar encuestas disgregadas por sexo,
para tener màs claro el panorama. Aquí los problemas son presupuestales y de
voluntad politica.
En educación primaria haya cifras positivas en lo urbano, pero en lo rural
las niñas asisten menos. La deserción y retraso escolar es un grave problema
que afecta en un 49 % a las niñas y 37 % a los niños, que hasta los 14 años
no habían completado su ciclo de 6 años de la primaria. En la siguiente edad
de 15 a 19 años quienes afrontan estos problemas son los hombres.
Se forma así una cadena de brechas que alimentan la cadena de la pobreza.
Las cifras aunque aburran deben mostrarse siempre disgregadas por sexo y
zona urbana y rural, pues en los totales pueden mostrar a veces que se
avanza mucho, ya que en la zonas urbanas es donde se ven más avances.
Las cuestiones de calidad y universalidad, deben estar en relacion
armoniosa, tienen que llevar a mejores diseños educativos. El proceso de
descentralización que se viene aplicando en el Perú aun no muestra
resultados pero es una esperanza a la que hay que incidir para obtener
mejores programas educativos y màs acordes a las realidades rurales que
pueden aportar por ejemplo a la retención de estudiantes en relación a sus
trabajos en el campo en los tiempos de cosechas, o también con niños/as con
discapacidad y en el acceso a la educación entre otros.
La otra gran cuestión es el presupuesto dedicado a la educación, que cada
vez es menor. La voluntad politica es imprescindible y los compromisos de
los gobiernos para cumplimiento de las MDM son una posibilidad interesante
de presión desde la sociedad civil.
Saludos
María Esther Mogollòn
Comunidad PRIGEPP
MESSAGE 22
Hola a todas/os, les escribo desde Montevideo, Uruguay. Quisiera hacer un
comentario respecto al énfasis de los ODM en la educación primaria. Como
ya se ha planteado en otras intervenciones en el caso de Uruguay la universalización
a nivel de la enseñanza primaria ha reconocido un logro casi total.Pero
creo que eso no resuelve lo que sucede posteriormente, me refiero a la deserción
dada en el tránsito de la enseñanza primaria a la secundaria, considerando
además que en Uruguay, así como otros países de la región, se necesitan
al menos 12 años de estudios para un mínimo acceso de bienestar. Creo que
debiera plantearse la universalización equitativa de la enseñanza secundaria
como un desafío también importante.
Sigo luego.
Isabel.
MESSAGE 23
Me parece importante retomar algunos de los puntos que planteé en mi mensaje de hoy, y dado que el tiempo apremia (el mio y el de este foro, que lamentablemente solo dura un dia, no hay posibilidad de extenderlo al menos a 2-3 dias?), haré uso de mensajes que he enviado antes a otros grupos, redes y foros, si no les molesta. Aqui va éste, con mirada latinoamericana, referido a la laaaaaaaaaaarga marcha tras los cada vez más reducidos objetivos y metas para la educación.
Organismos internacionales y gobierno se han dedicado durante décadas a formular planes y más planes, a iniciar unos sin completar los anteriores aplazando sistemáticamente las metas, a redactar documentos y organizar reuniones para firmarlos. ¿Quién cree en ellos? La población los desconoce, los técnicos y especialistas los elaboran o citan, los politicos los firman, los organismos internacionales han hecho de esto un oficio.
Si hemos de dialogar en un foro, dialoguemos en serio, con verdades. Hay demasiado miedo y complicidades en el ambiente, pero la situaciòn de nuestros países no los tolera más, y nuestro compromiso social y coherencia no deberia tolerarlos más tampoco. ¿Qué puede hacer que un nuevo plan o una nueva iniciativa, esta vez sí, se cumpla, cuando el record histórico de incumplimiento es casi del 100% (miren abajo una pequeña parte de este recorrido), y cuando los países han llegado a sus limites de endeudamiento y a su máximo (aunque nos falta aún ver más...) de empobrecimiento y de dependencia de los fondos y las ideas de la "cooperación internacional"?
Se equicovan quienes piensan que "mejorar la educacion" y lograr metas es solo asunto de dinero, de más presupuesto para la educación. Ya sabemos que más inversion no necesariamente se traduce en mejoria (a menudo los dineros internacionales incluso incentivan la corrupción y el despilfarro, hay ejemplos claros de esto en todos nuestros países). Todo depende en qué y cómo se invierta, y de dónde provengan esos recursos que se invierten. No es lo mismo donacion que préstamo, aunque este ultimo se ha naturalizado por la via de los bancos multilaterales siempre dispuestos a colocar (y cobrar con intereses) sus créditos, sin responsabilizarse de sus consejos y acciones. ¿Dónde está la rendiciòn de cuentas de los organismos internacionales? Si se equivocan, e incluso si reconocen sus errores (como lo viene haciendo en muchos ámbitos el Banco Mundial), son los países, y los más pobres en esos países, quienes pagan el precio de esos "errores". Buen punto para agregar al Objetivo 8 del Milenio, el gran pacto internacional por el desarrollo.
Saludos,
Rosa María Torres
Instituto Fronesis
Otra educación es posible (si otra política, otra economía y otra "cooperación internacional" son posibles)
----- Mensaje original -----
De: Instituto Fronesis
Para: ComunidadEducativa
Enviado: Lunes, 26 de Abril de 2004 03:36 p.m.
Asunto: Re: [ComunidadEducativa] Educacion para Todos, aspiracion de varias décadas
Efectivamente: esta iniciativa mundial que se conoce con el nombre de Educación para Todos (EPT) tiene ya - como se ha dicho- CATORCE AÑOS de vida (se inició en Tailandia en 1990) y se extenderá por lo menos hasta el 2015, que es el nuevo plazo fijado para las seis metas de EPT, o sea que la EPT durará al menos VEINTE Y CINCO AÑOS, un cuarto de siglo!!!.
Pero, con éste y con otros nombres, ya llevamos cerca de CINCUENTA AÑOS - MEDIO SIGLO- de sucesivos intentos de alcanzar la universalización de la escuela primaria / la educación fundamental / la educación básica, así como la universalización de la alfabetización.
Con anterioridad a 1990, en nuestra región (y en las otras regiones del mundo) venían dándose ya varias iniciativas en este sentido.
* En 1956 se realizaba en Lima la Conferencia Regional sobre Educación Obligatoria y Gratuita en América Latina (MINEDLAC I) y la II Conferencia Inter-Americana de Ministros de Educación convocada por la OEA.
* Entre 1956 y 1965 se desarrolló el primer gran proyecto regional de Extensión y Mejoramiento de la Educación Primaria.
* A éste le siguió el Proyecto Principal de Educación (1981-2000) que culminó - sin cumplir sus tres metas - en el año 2000 y cuya evaluación se presentó en la reunión de Ministros en Cochabamba, Bolivia, en marzo del 2001.
* A su vez, éste fue sustituido por el actual PRELAC (Proyecto Regional de Educación para América Latina y el Caribe), aprobado en La Habana en el 2002 y que se extenderá hasta el 2015.
Es decir, la historia es larga y por proyectos, planes, documentos y eventos no ha faltado. Lo que ha faltado es concretar los propósitos y las metas planteadas, que, curiosamente, en lugar de ir expandiéndose, van achicándose!!
Es importante tener presente y estudiar la historia de la educación, de otro modo todo es un continuo partir de cero y un continuo inventar la pólvora.
Para quienes tengan interés en indagar más, la propia UNESCO tiene un buen archivo histórico y parte de éste está ya en formato electronico o disponible en la web.
Ver por ejemplo (en inglés):
Year by Year - UNESCO's Action for Education
UNESCO Milestones
Saludos,
Rosa María Torres
Instituto Fronesis
De: Navarro Leal Marco Aurelio
Para: ComunidadEducativa@.ar
Enviado: Lunes, 26 de Abril de 2004 06:46 a.m.
Asunto: RE: [ComunidadEducativa] Educacion para Todos, aspiracion de varias décadas
No son solamente diez años. Las aspiraciones de Educación para Todos en los foros de UNESCO, se originaron en las conferencias celebradas de 1959 a 1963, sucesivamente en Karachi, en Adis Abeba y en Santiago de Chile. En estas asambleas se acordó nombrar a la década de los sesenta como "la primera década del desarrollo". Durante ésta, los países afiliados a UNESCO se planteaban como metas:
- Matricular a todos los niños en el nivel de educación primaria en un plazo de dos décadas
- Proporcionar educación secundaria a una proporción de jovenes de 10 a 20% durante el mismo período
- Extender las oportunidades de educación superior y profesional en todos los paises afiliados, y
- Terminar con el analfabetismo en el mismo término de dos décadas.
Distintos documentos del Insituto Internacional para la Planeación Educativa-UNESCO, dan cuenta de esto. La misión de este Instituto, establecido en Paris, hacia 1962, fué la de entrenar a los planificadores que apoyarían a los gobiernos en el cumplimiento de estas metas.
Marco Aurelio Navarro, México.
-----Mensaje original-----
De: PronunciamientoLatinoamericano [mailto:pronunciamientolatinoamericano@]
Enviado el: Sáb 24/04/2004 10:20 p.m.
Para: ComunidadEducativa
Asunto: Re: [ComunidadEducativa] Educacion para Todos, por Koichiro Maatsura, Director General de UNESCO
Lo dicho. Parece increíble, pero al propio Director General de la UNESCO hay que recordarle que la iniciativa mundial de Educación para Todos se inició mucho antes que él llegara a UNESCO, no en Dakar en el año 2000 sino en Jomtien, Tailandia, diez años antes (1990), durante la Conferencia Mundial de Educación para Todos, donde se acordó impulsar la "visión ampliada de educación básica".
Llevamos pues no CUATRO sino CATORCE años de Educación para Todos y sus seis metas, a saber:
1. Expandir y mejorar el cuidado infantil y la educación inicial integrales, especialmente para los sectores más vulnerables.
2. Asegurar que todos los niños y niñas accedan y completen una educación primaria gratuita, obligatoria y de calidad.
3. Asegurar la satisfacción de las necesidades de aprendizaje de jóvenes y adultos a través del acceso equitativo a programas apropiados de aprendizaje de habilidades para la vida y para la ciudadanía.
4. Mejorar en un 50% los niveles de alfabetización de adultos para el 2015, especialmente entre las mujeres, y lograr acceso equitativo a la educación básica y permanente para todas las personas adultas.
5. Eliminar las disparidades de género en educación primaria y secundaria para el 2005, y lograr la equidad de géneros para el 2015, en particular asegurando a las niñas acceso a una educación básica de calidad y rendimientos plenos e igualitarios.
6. Mejorar todos los aspectos de la calidad de la educación y asegurar la excelencia de todos, de modo que todos logren resultados de aprendizaje reconocidos y medibles, especialmente en torno a la alfabetización, el cálculo y las habilidades esenciales para la vida.
El compromiso firmado por los gobernantes y líderes mundiales se dio hace catorce años, y lo que debemos evaluar son los avances desde entonces, no desde el año 2000.
¿Cuál es la razón para borrar de un plumazo toda una década y crear la ilusión colectiva de que apenas llevamos cuatro años en esta carrera? ¿Cómo es posible que la propia UNESCO haga borrón y cuenta nueva, dejando atrás toda una década de esfuerzos de EPT, cuya evaluación fue precisamente el motivo del Foro Mundial de Educación en Dakar?
Coordinación, Pronunciamiento Latinoamericano por una Educación para Todos
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
La Nación, Buenos Aires,23 Abril 2004
Educación para todos
Por Koichiro Matsuura
Durante esta semana, jóvenes de más de 100 países se constituyen en grupos de influencia para instar a sus respectivos gobiernos y parlamentos a que realicen más esfuerzos con vistas a proporcionar educación básica a más de 100 millones de niños sin escolarizar.
. Se cumplen en estos días cuatro años del compromiso contraído por la comunidad internacional en el Foro Mundial sobre la Educación (Dakar, 2000), para lograr que la Educación para Todos (EPT) sea una realidad de aquí al año 2015.
. En esos cuatro años se han realizado progresos considerables, aunque desiguales. En efecto, en el mundo hay 670 millones de niños que están recibiendo la enseñanza primaria necesaria para proseguir sus estudios o, con el tiempo, encontrar un trabajo.
. Sin embargo, se necesita todavía hacer más en favor de los niños marginados del sistema escolar -cuyo número se calcula que asciende a 104 millones- para impedir que se malogre no sólo su porvenir personal, sino también el futuro de las sociedades en que viven.
. Los niños que van a participar en la campaña El Gran Lobby, organizada con motivo de la Semana Mundial de la Educación para Todos 2004, tratarán de poner de relieve el despilfarro de talentos y capacidades que supone ese gran número de niños excluidos de la escuela. En Malawi, por ejemplo, los huérfanos del sida y los niños de la calle están presentando a los jefes tribales y miembros del Parlamento "mapas de los excluidos". En Gran Bretaña, los niños reemplazarán simbólicamente a los 659 miembros de la Cámara de los Comunes y centenares de legisladores en estos días están visitando escuelas.
. Según el último Informe de Seguimiento de la Educación para Todos en el Mundo, publicado por la Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (Unesco), el número más importante de niños sin escolarizar se concentra en las regiones del Africa Subsahariana y Asia Meridional y Occidental. Muchos de los niños excluidos del sistema escolar son niñas (60%, aproximadamente) y viven en zonas rurales pobres. Otras categorías de excluidos son: los huérfanos del sida, los niños que trabajan, los miembros de grupos minoritarios, los discapacitados y los niños que se ven envueltos en conflictos. Los jóvenes que han rebasado la edad de ir a la escuela primaria y han perdido la oportunidad de escolarizarse también necesitan que se les capacite para alcanzar un nivel de educación apropiado.
. La experiencia demuestra que la supresión del pago de derechos de matrícula puede provocar un espectacular progreso de la escolarización. También puede surtir el mismo efecto la distribución de incentivos financieros a los padres necesitados, como se hace en Brasil, donde se entregan cada mes subvenciones a 10 millones de familias pobres. En algunos países como Níger, Guinea-Bissau y Bangladesh, la escolarización ha mejorado sensiblemente gracias a la adopción de una medida muy sencilla: ofrecer almuerzos en las escuelas.
. Sin embargo, como esas medidas no son suficientes de por sí, es necesario replantearse el concepto mismo de escolarización cuando se dan determinadas circunstancias. En efecto, los niños no pueden recibir educación allí donde se carece de maestros en número suficiente, ya sea porque es demasiado costoso pagarlos o formarlos, o bien porque muchos de ellos están siendo víctimas de la epidemia del sida, como ocurre en algunas partes de Africa. Además, se plantean otros obstáculos: los docentes formados no suelen estar dispuestos a ejercer en zonas rurales, y los sistemas formales de educación excluyen a menudo de la escuela a amplios grupos de niños, por ejemplo los que trabajan o los que no hablan la lengua oficial del país.
. Los gobiernos, organismos internacionales, donantes y organizaciones no gubernamentales deben tener presente dos cosas: que son acertadas todas las posibilidades por las que se opte en materia de aprendizaje, con tal de que no hagan peligrar la calidad de la educación; y que los métodos poco convencionales son dignos de respeto y estima.
. Impartir ahora una educación a todos los jóvenes -sin excepción alguna- permitirá garantizar el día de mañana el desarrollo social y económico, al reducir el número de analfabetos adultos que, hoy en día, se calcula que asciende a unos 860 millones de personas. Además, la educación de las niñas, en particular, tendrá repercusiones positivas palpables en la salud y el crecimiento demográfico de los países.
El autor es director general de la Unesco.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Instituto Fronesis
"Los analfabetos del siglo XXI no serán quienes no sepan leer y escribir, sino quienes sean incapaces de aprender, desaprender y reaprender"
- Alvin Toffler
MESSAGE 24
Aqui abajo va otro mensaje, éste referido al "encogimiento" sistemático que viene experimentando la Educación para Todos (EPT), desde sus origenes, y que ahora se plasma, claramente y sin tapujos, en los 4 años de escolaridad llamados "educacion primaria universal" en los Objetivos y Metas del Milenio (OMM). Algunos argumentos se exponen en este mensaje, circulado no hace mucho en Comunidad E-ducativa, la red latinoamericana que modero, en la cual venimos discutiendo y dando segumiento a la EPT, el proyecto del Milenio y las demás iniciativas, desde una visión amplia de lo educativo, lo que incluye meterse con la política, con la economía, con la(s) cultura(s), con los medios de comunicación, con las TICs, con las lógicas del poder a nivel nacional y mundial, con el análisis de la "cooperación internacional" actuada y vivida en nuestros países, con los dramas de la pobreza, la corrupción y el endeudamiento externo, etc.
Por eso, es importante y habilitador el enfoque INTEGRAL que aportan los OMM, pues permiten superar la mirada sectorial estrecha que ha primado en el campo de la educaciòn y en muchos otros. Pero, dado ese marco de integralidad, debemos ahora discutir - seguir discutiendo- cómo se inter-relacionan esos varios ámbitos y esos varios actores nacionales e internacionales. Como educadora, segura de que lo que necesitamos no es sólo más sino OTRA educaciòn para nuestros niños, jóvenes y adultos, sé que la lucha no es únicamente por más presupuesto para la educaciòn sino por otra política económica y otra política social. Esto es, nada más ni nada menos, lo que esperamos poder discutir y avanzar dentro de este marco que aportan los OMM.
Otra vez saludos,
Rosa María Torres
Instituto Fronesis
Otra educación es posible (si otra política, otra economía y otra "cooperación internacional" son posibles)
----- Mensaje original -----
De: Rosa-Maria Torres
Para: ComunidadEducativa
Enviado: Miércoles, 28 de Abril de 2004 02:07 p.m.
Asunto: [ComunidadEducativa] Las metas de la Educacion para Todos son SEIS, no UNA.
Vuelve a repetirse la misma historia: Educación para Todos convertida en
Educaciòn para Niñ@s, Educación para Niñ@s entendida como Educación
Primaria, y ésta reducida a matrícula y a la completación de cuatro grados.
Sucedió durante la llamada "década de Jomtien" (ver R.M.Torres, "Educación
para Todos: La tarea pendiente", IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000; FUM-TEP,
Montevideo, 2000; Artmed Editora, Porto Alegre, 2000). Ahora vuelve a
repetirse en el seguimiento de la EPT luego del foro de Dakar y se refleja en la
Campaña Global por la Educación (ver texto abajo).
Las metas de la Educación para Todos son seis, no una. TODOS incluye a
niños, jóvenes y adultos. La EDUCACION BASICA no se refiere solamente
a niños ni a educaciòn escolar.
Un paìs no puede avanzar sólo con educación primaria ni sólo con educación
básica. Necesitamos una visiòn sistémica de la educaciòn, de sistema y de
política educativa, y una visiòn de polìtica educativa que vaya junto con
polìtica social y polìtica económica. Es el modelo económico-social el
que excluye, no únicamente el sistema escolar. El aprendizaje, por otra parte,
que es lo que importa, excede al sistema escolar y a la educación en cuanto tal.
Rosa María Torres
Instituto Fronesis
-------------------------------------------------------
Las metas de la Educación para Todos son SEIS, no UNA.
Education for All are SIX, not ONE.
-------------------------------------------------------
Campaña Mundial por la Educación
.shtml
Lobby Briefing - Abril de 2002
Todos los niños y niñas en la escuela:
cómo puede el mundo lograr Educación para Todos
.shtml
intro
Porqué necesitamos un plan de acción ahora
Elementos claves de un plan de acción para EPT
Países de acción inmediata
Cronograma
Recomendaciones
El 25 de abril de 2000, en el Foro Mundial de Educación celebrado en Dakar,
los gobiernos del Sur y la comunidad internacional prometieron tomar medidas
inmediatas para proveer educación gratuita y de calidad a todos los niños y
niñas. Su objetivo de alcanzar la culminación universal de la educación
primaria para 2015 fue apoyado por los dirigentes mundiales en la Cumbre del
Milenio de las Naciones Unidas. Sin embargo, dos años después, casi la mitad
de los signatarios del Marco de Acción de Dakar, es decir, 88 países, no
están en el buen camino para lograr este objetivo. Sin una acción urgente,
75 millones de niños seguirán fuera de la escuela en 2015.
Durante la tercera Semana Mundial de Acción de la CME, grupos de la sociedad
civil en más de 90 países están pidiendo a la comunidad internacional que
ponga en práctica un plan de rescate de la Educación para Todos. Este
documento de información esboza nuestra visión de una iniciativa mundial
ambiciosa y a la vez práctica para lograr la EPT: una iniciativa que vincula
los planes nacionales de educación universal gratuita al financiamiento de
los donantes, con un cronograma detallado de resultados y un resumen claro
de las funciones y responsabilidades de los gobiernos de los países ricos,
los gobiernos de los países pobres y las organizaciones internacionales.
Por qué necesitamos un plan de acción ahora
La culminación universal de la educación primaria se puede lograr para 2015;
en efecto, es el más plausible de los objetivos de desarrollo del milenio.
Los dos años que han pasado desde el Foro Mundial de Educación de Dakar han
visto crecer el consenso entre los gobiernos, la UNESCO y el Banco Mundial
sobre cómo alcanzar los objetivos de EPT.
Pero, lo que no se ha podido hacer, es traducir ese consenso en acción. Hay
que movilizar tres a cinco veces más de ayuda a la educación primaria y hay
que conseguir incrementos considerables en los gastos de los países en
desarrollo, junto con reformas de políticas de gran envergadura. A fin de
mantener y aumentar el compromiso de los gobiernos de los países en
desarrollo, es urgente operacionalizar la promesa de Dakar de que "ningún
país realmente comprometido con la educación para todos verá el logro de
este objetivo frustrado por falta de recursos".
Los anuncios recientes del aumento de la ayuda externa para el desarrollo de
parte de JUL, la UE, Canadá y otros países han creado un nuevo clima de
oportunidad. El Banco Mundial ha jugado un papel importante en resaltar la
necesidad de aumentar la asistencia para el desarrollo. Tanto la EPT como el
tema de África estarán en el temario de la Cumbre del G8 en junio. Es el
momento preciso para unir a todos los interesados alrededor de una
iniciativa práctica para cubrir el déficit de financiamiento de la EPT.
(sigue)
Si los participantes en la conferencia de Ámsterdam acuerdan un plan de
acción fuerte, que logre unir a la comunidad internacional detrás de una
visión y un programa de acción únicos, existe una posibilidad real de
acelerar el progreso hacia la educación básica gratuita universal para 2015.
Este documento de información ha sido preparado por la Campaña Mundial por
la Educación, una coalición de organizaciones no gubernamentales y
sindicatos de docentes activos en más de 150 países. Los miembros de la CME
incluyen a World Vision International, VSO, la Internacional de Servicios
Públicos, Oxfam Internacional, Inclusion International, Marcha Mundial
contra el Trabajo Infantil, FAPE, FAWE, Fe y Alegría, La Internacional de la
Educación, CEAAL, ASPBAE, ANCEFA, Alianza Ayuda en Acción y muchas
coaliciones nacionales de educación de la sociedad civil. Para obtener más
información, por favor visite nuestro sitio web:
Comité Directivo de la CME, 15 de abril de 2002
Contacto: anne@
~~~~~~~~~~~~
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POR UNA EDUCACION DE CALIDAD PARA TODOS Y TODAS
Dgroups es una iniciativa conjunta de Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, ICA, IICD, OneWorld, et UNAIDS. Le suscriben actualmente como odmgeneroeducacion : davida@
Para salir de la lista, mande un mensaje en blanco a leave-odmgeneroeducacion-174525U@
MESSAGE 25
Estimados participantes de este debate electrónico:
Quisiera contribuir a esta discusión compartiendo una información más amplia
sobre los ODM.
El pasado 26 de julio, en el marco del Foro Social de las Américas en Quito,
realizamos una reunión de redes regionales sobre los ODM. Estuvo con
nosotros Salil Shetty coordinador de la ONU para la campaña por el
cumplimiento de los ODM.
En general se constató la falta de vinculación de la mayoría de las redes
sobre este tema de los ODM. Si bien todas las redes estamos informadas de la
asamblea del 2000 y de las metas del milenio, pocas se han vinculado con la
campaña.
Se constata también la visión crítica que hay sobre las metas. Son un
planteamiento minimalista y que, en algunos casos, marca retrocesos respecto
al conjunto de planteamientos de las diversas conferencias internacionales
de los noventas y principios de esta década.
Dijimos que la mejor manera de contribuir a estas metas era continuar
trabajando en los temas específicos de cada red: mujeres, infancia, Sida,
educación... Y desde ahí contribuir al tema de las metas. En el caso
específico de educación ya hay mucho acumulado en las reflexiones sobre
Dakar, sobre CONFINTEA y sobre otras iniciativas como la década de
alfabetización de la misma ONU. En concreto hay que hacer una buena síntesis
de ese acumulado para aportar a las dos metas del milenio que refieren a la
educación básica y a la equidad de género. No es la primera vez que
discutimos este tema.
Es claro que lo planteado por el Equipo Técnico no retoma todo ese acumulado
y por ello sus planteamientos resultan insatisfactorios y limitados. Una
sugerencia concreta es que, a partir de lo debatido en esta consulta
electrónica y de lo reflexionado en diversas reuniones internacionales se
pueda elaborar un planteamiento complementario al documento del ET.
En esa reunión sobre los ODM identificamos cuatro ejes de discusión:
Primero un eje que podríamos llamar de debate paradigmático y que refiere a
la concepción de desarrollo, a la superación de la pobreza y a la
vinculación entre las políticas económicas y sociales. En el caso de la
educación aquí cabría el debate sobre el rol de esta en las políticas de
superación de la pobreza y a la vinculación entre política económica y
políticas educativas. Es clarísimo que no hay manera de mejorar la calidad
educativa si no cambian sustantivamente las lógicas de asignación de
recursos y el vínculo con los procesos de trabajo y empleo.
Segundo un eje de debate sobre las experiencias nacionales de incidencia
para el cumplimiento de los ODM. En la reunión se presentaron algunos
ejemplos de campañas nacionales, de análisis a partir de los presupuestos
nacionales, de diálogos con los congresos nacionales. Vimos que era
importante tener un mapa de estas experiencias.
El tercer eje tiene que ver con la estrategia de desarrollar propiamente una
campaña de difusión amplia sobre el significado de los ODM. Esta campaña se
insertaría en las diversas campañas que ya se realizan en torno a diversos
temas: ALCA, EDUCACION, VIVIENDA, DESC, PUEBLOS INDIGENAS, EQUIDAD... ETC.
Otra vez, en el caso de educación ya tenemos una campaña global y una
campaña regional en América Latina. Se trataría entonces de sumar a estas el
debate sobre los ODM más que realizar una nueva campaña.
El cuarto eje tuvo que ver con el tema de la incidencia como sociedad civil
en este campo de los ODM. En 2005 se realizará la reunión de la ONU para
hacer un primer balance de los 5 años de los ODM y ahí queremos incidir.
Para ello debemos avanzar en la coordinación de nuestros esfuerzos y
acordamos volvernos a reunir en enero en el marco del FSM con el objetivo de
precisar las tareas para esta incidencia.
Sugiero entonces que desarrollemos estos cuatro ejes en el campo educativo
que es el que nosotros -los promotores y participantes de este debate-
estamos trabajando.
Leyendo los diversos aportes, tanto los del debate en inglés como en
español, queda evidente que hay una profunda insatisfacción con los
planteamientos de los reportes sobre educación básica y equidad de género y
hay muchas sugerencias para enriquecer tanto el enfoque como las políticas
para lograr reales avances. Ya los compañeros de Action Aid que
sistematizarán los comentarios nos precisarán tanto las críticas como las
sugerencias y a partir de ahí podremos avanzar en nuestros planteamientos
para llegar a la reunión de balance en 2005 con aportes consistentes que,
sin duda, los tenemos.
Saludos y me sumo a las felicitaciones por esta iniciativa de debate
electrónico
Carlos Zarco Mera
Consejo de Educación de Adultos de América Latina
Toledo 46 Col. Juárez. México D.F. 06600
Tel: (5255) 55 33 17 55 / 55 33 03 49
Fax: (5255) 55 14 06 10
Página WEB:
MESSAGE 26
Hola nuevamente! He quedado preocupada por el tema de la calidad en la educación, pues quiero ser clara con lo que quise advertir anteriormente.
Mi comentario estaba dirigido exactamente al punto que rescata y resalta
Gloria: las experiencias latinoamericanas, más concretamente la argentina como el PRIOM, han dejado un saldo favorable en cuanto a la equidad de género en educación, y es en ese sentido en el que debemos avanzar, ya que no todos los países latinoamericanos han pasado por experiencias tan ricas como estas.
Los ODM son acotados en este punto y confunden accesibilidad con calidad, o accesibilidad con empoderamiento. Creo que, experiencias como el PRIOM, no sólo deben ser pensadas como experiencias pioneras, sino que, además deben profundizarse hasta poder incluir dentro de los programas educativos temas como la salud sexual y reproductiva (aunque hay algunos avances, es una "asignatura pendiente") la violencia de género, o la difusión de los derechos de las mujeres.
Creo que experiencias como las del PRIOM son un muy buen punto de partida desde el que debemos ampliar los ODM. Accesibilidad más calidad, creo que es una buena forma de hacerlo, retomar experiencias exitosas para profundizarlas puede serlo también.
Hasta pronto!
Eva
MESSAGE 27
Hola!
Pertenezco orgullosamente a la comunidad PRIGEPP y agradezco la oportunidad para participar en este foro.
Algunas consideraciones:
1. ¿Qué tan viable es para todos los países por igual alcanzar la meta de la educación secundaria para el 2015? Si en mi país ( México) por ejemplo el porcentaje de la población de 15 años y más con educación básica completa (primaria y secundaria) ha aumentado del 3.2 para los hombres y 2.2 para las mujeres en 1970 a 19.5% y 17.5% en el 2000.
2.Estoy de acuerdo en que se tomen medidas para sancionar a los países que no cumplan las MDM pero también sería necesario instrumentar estrategias de evaluación para conocer cómo se alcanzaron las metas en los países que sí cumplieron.
3. En mi país (México) el acento está puesto en los resultados y no en los procesos de ahí que los obstáculos sólo se miren de manera tangencial. Por ejemplo, no se habla de cómo se ha instrumentado la meta de educación primaria universal con los niños y niñas con discapacidad, con los niños y niñas de zonas rurales en extrema pobreza, cuando lo que dominan son los criterios eficientistas, cuando los contenidos, las estrategias didácticas, las normas de acreditación, la infraestructura física, etc. no se adecuan a esta población. De acuerdo a mi experiencia en la Dirección de Educación Especial el problema radica en que, las desigualdades de género que atraviesa a esta población se agudizan por el hecho de que desde son objetivad@s desde el deber y no desde el derecho.
4. Es importante recuperar las contribuciones de la sociedad civil porque aún cuando no hay conocimiento sobre los ODM se está trabajando sobre ellos. Quizá valdría la pena establecer redes nacionales articuladas en una mega red regional potenciando las tecnologías de la información y comunicación como instrumento de acción colectiva crítica y propositiva. La iniciativa de PRIGEPP es un buen comienzo que abre camino para instrumentar esta estrategia, por lo menos en mi país, entre las entrevistadas se generó la necesidad por un lado, de conocer más a fondo los ODM, de cómo articularlos con su práctica y de establecer una red de alianzas entre las ONG´s.
5. Considero que sí es necesario ampliar el objetivo de igualdad entre los géneros a los 4 objetivos que se señalan en el documento.
6. Respecto a las acciones afirmativas para aumentar el número de mujeres en los Parlamentos Nacionales pienso que se tendrían que proponer alternativas al sistema de cuotas. Quizá revisando los conceptos de población y votación en los que se sustenta el diseño electoral pues ambos están cargados de sesgos de género.
7. El sistema de cuotas podría emplearse para los temas de la agendas nacionales.
Saludos
Silvia Arriola
MESSAGE 28
Aunque David ya se despidió, aquí en Nicaragua son las 10.30 p.m. del día 04, o que estoy en tiempo. Los ODM de educación e igualdad entre los géneros son de mucha importancia para el trabajo que realizó, no sólo en el sentido estricto del ámbito laboral, sino que constituyen para mi como ciudadana de este país aspectos fundamentales para salir de la pobreza y repensar en el desarrollo. Estos ODM tocan la vida de cada persona y es muy valioso que existan y que además estemos buscando caminos, puertas y ventanas para perfeccionarlos y asegura su cumplimiento de la mejor manera deseable y posible. Creo que un trabajo clave(al menos para tener un marco sólido) es la precisión de los indicadores generales y sobre todo los indicadores a nivel de país. En el caso de Nicaragua, participé en los esfuerzos iniciales por "aterrizar" el indicador de género y debo confesar que resultó muy complejo, primero un equipo de trabajo preparó propuestas de marco conceptual e indicadores para lo!
gra una mejor interlocución con el equipo técnico de la Presidencia, sin embargo el nivel de conocimientos sobre los asuntos de género de quienes coordinaban el equipo técnico fue una limitante, luego surguieron pegones al momento de negociar los indicadores con las instituciones, por varias razones (falta de presupuesto, no era prioridad, no existían condiciones institucionales para cumplir, manifestaron dificultades para el monitoreo). La transversalización del enfoque de género finalmente quedó casi en su totalidad a nivel de líneamientos de políticas y no en los indicadores.
Una iniciativa interesante para darle mayor impulso e institucionalidad, es la creación (en el caso Centroamérica) del Consejo de Ministras de la Mujer de Centroamérica, esta iniciativa esta caminando, la idea es que este Consejo forme parte del Sistema de Integración Centroamericano, de tal manera que tenga una autoridad legítima y legitimada por este mecanismo Regional. Ya se han realizado tres sesiones de trabajo, existe la propuesta de constitución del Consejo y próximamente se realizará una cuarta sesión para la definición de una Agenda Regional.
En cuanto a la propuesta de ampliación de los objetivos, considero que no desvía la atención, ya que en la práctica lo que hace es precisar el objetivo 3, con lo cual estaríamos avanzando en decifrar (abrir la caja de pandora) lo que se pretende con este objetivo, aunque algunos podrían ser indicadores.
Agradezco la oportunidad de participar en este espacio, espero que podamos dar continuidad a estos esfuerzos. Un día resulta muy corto para exponer y debatir sobre estos temas. Felicidades y estamos en contacto. Buenas noches!!!
Violeta Otero
Comunidad PRIGEPP - Nicaragua
MESSAGE 29
Saludos. Carlos Zarco ha planteado muchas de las preocupaciones que comparten varios grupos de mujeres acerca de los ODM. Para nosotras en la Coalicion International de Mujeres por la Justicia Economica (WICEJ), la mayor consideracion es que los ODM plantean propuestas tecnicas a problemas sistemicos. No cuestiona el actual sistema neo-liberal, e intenta aliviar la pobreza, deterioro ambienta, etc. sin enfrentar un modelo que esta acentuando aquellas realidades. Tanto en la educacion, como en SIDA, malaria, salud maternal e infantil, no tiene mucho sentido fijar metas para mejorar estas realidades, y a la vez empujar los recortes presupuestales, el pago de la deuda, y la privatizacion de servicios publicos.
La Declaracion del Milenio afirma los Derechos Humanos como punto central.
Esto no se refleja en los ODM. Asi que la afirmacion de CEDAW (en la declaracion), que definitivamente transversa todas las metas, no esta en los ODM. El trabajo del Task Force #3 hace un buen esfuerzo en re-introducir temas claves de Beijing, Cairo y CEDAW que se "perdieron" en los ODM-- tanto como la violencia, derechos reproductivos, accesso al trabajo, trabajo no remunerado de la mujer, etc. Sin embaro, ellas tambien lo hacen sin enfrentar el contexto macro-economico. Ademas, mientras las conferencias de los 90 tiene el compromiso de paises tanto en el Norte como el Sur, los ODM se enfocan en los paises del sur. Siendo del Norte, se que hay mucho que hacer -- en temas de pobreza, medio ambiente, equidad de genero, etc. etc.
en el Norte tambien, y no solo se trata de su papel de ayuda para el sur.
En el Foro Social Mundial de Mumbai (2004) WICEJ presento un librito, "Seeking Accountability on Women's Human Rights, Women Debate the UN Millennium Goals." (en ingles se consige en: . con suerte, una traduccion al espanol para fin del ano). Interesante las diferencias entre regiones. Alli, ni la ONU, ni "el desarrollo," ni los ODM tenia mucho espacio. Fue quizas el unico tallercito acerca del tema. Se que en Porto Alegre han habido mas discusiones acerca de como usar la ONU estrategicamente para avanzar nuestras agendas. Es interesante que se da esta discusion en Quito, y capaz en Porto Alegre en 2005.
Sigo con el interrogante, si los ODM nos obligan a conformar a la agenda de otros, o si nos dan la posibilidad de plantear nuestra agenda mas claramente. El hecho que se conversa con grupos organizando en el FSM me da
aliento-- capaz es posible tener muy claro nuestras agendas, y usar los ODM para avanzarlas.
Para nosotras, unos puntos claves serian:
--no se puede lograr los ODM sin cancelacion de la deuda --no se puede lograr los ODM con la privatizacion de servicios publicos --no se puede lograr los ODM con una agenda de libre comercio que aplasta a los pequenos productores, gran numero de ellos mujeres --no se puede lograr los ODM sin equidad de genero, lo cual incluye cumplimiento de CEDAW y compromisos de Beijing y Cairo --no se puede lograr los ODM sin un compromiso a todos los DDHH, incluyendo derechos economicos, culturales y sociales
Si construimos un plataforma de pre-requisitos para lograr los ODM, y no solo enfocar on como mejorar cada punto, y cada indicador, quizas podemos convertirlos en una herramienta util y eficaz.
Carol Barton
Coordinadora
WICEJ
12 Dongan Place #206
New York, NY 10040, USA
info@
MESSAGE 30
Gracias David y Akanshka por esta oportunidad.
Me parece que el foro salio muy interesante.
Quiero recordarles que PRIGEPP estara realizando un foro de dialogo del 14 al 20 de agosto con la comunidad de graduados para discutir todos los documentos y en especial el nuestro. El segundo foro sera abierto al publico y se realizara durante septiembre.
Me gustaria que figurara esto en el documento final.
Felicitaciones y hasta muy pronto.
Gloria Bonder
Annex 5 : Other Outreach (listservs, etc.)
Dissemination list for e-consultation
Announcements posted
Action Aid International website
Association for Women in Development (AWID)
Siyanda gender newsletter
IDS Yellow Monday news bulletin
Organization networks: these organizations disseminated announcements about the e-discussion to it’s staff and partners worldwide
ActionAid International
Action week members from Basic Education Coalition
African Network Campaign on Education for All (ANCEFA)
Basic Education Coalition (BEC)
Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
Collective Consultation of NGOs, UNESCO (CCNGO)
Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF)
Danish Youth Association (focuses on bringing youth voices in the MDG processes)
Global Campaign on Education: South Africa, UK, USA
International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW)
Institute of Development Studies (IDS Bridge)
Interaction
One World South Asia members
Open Society Institute (OSI)
Voices of Youth, UNICEF
Women’s International Coalition for Economic Justice (WICEJ)
World Bank Gender and Development Civil Society Group
In addition, professional contacts of the coordinators: David Archer, Chike Anywanu and Akanksha A. Marphatia were solicited to join the discussion.
Outreach to coalitions: a message was sent to these coalitions, but no response was received.
Association for African Women on Research and Development (AAWORD)
Central and Eastern European Women’s Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASTRA)
Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA)
Center of Concern (COC)
Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN)
Development Gateway Foundation
Female Genital Cutting Education and Networking Project (FGM-L)
The Latin American and Caribbean Women’s Health Network (ISIS)
KARAT Coalition
Royal Tropical Institute, KIT Gender
WEDO
Annex 6 Terms of Reference
Consultancy Description:
Coordination of an E-Group Civil Society Consultation on:
Millennium Task Force Reports on Education and Gender Equality.
Background
The Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality have prepared interim reports on achieving the Millennium Development Goals of (a) Universal Primary Education; and (b) Gender Equality. These reports, which have been reviewed by the Task Force members, are now ready for external input from a broad range of interested parties and knowledgeable individuals. Consultations will be conducted to elicit the views and comments of civil society actors and groups through the use of an e-group. Consultancy services are required to coordinate the e-group discussion and to summarize the results as input into the preparation of the final reports of the Task Force.
Duration of the Task:
The consultation is expected to last a maximum of twelve (12) weeks from May 20th, 2004 through to August 6th 2004. If the start date is delayed the period of time will be shorter as the deadline of August 6th cannot be passed.
Timeline and Responsibilities of the E-Group Coordinator and Action Aid :
|Timeframe |Task |Concrete output |
|Preparatory phase |
|Wednesday May 26th : exchange comments |During the initial two weeks, the |AM[25] and Action Aid to exchange comments on |
| |coordinator will read and become familiar |report. |
|Friday, May 29th: phone discussion on comments and|with the messages and recommendations of | |
|decide how to frame discussion with task force |both reports. |AM and Action Aid to decide on how to frame |
| | |discussion with task force. |
|Week of June 1st : set appointment with task force|S/he will ask for clarification of Task |AM to collate comments and discuss with the |
|for as soon as possible. |Force staff at the Center for Global |task force |
| |Development and/or the International Center| |
| |for Research on Women, as needed. |AM to share discussion notes with Action Aid |
| | |(unless David and Chike are part of the |
| | |discussion via phone?) |
|To be covered in above discussion |During the initial two weeks, the |Action Aid to put forth core list of people on |
| |coordinator will work with the Task Force |education and help connect some gender groups; |
|June 1st: finalize participant list. |staff at the Center for Global Development |AM to research gender groups and help connect |
| |to agree upon (a) the networks through |other education groups |
|Latest by June 4th - Write introductory email to |which the reports will be disseminated; and| |
|invite participants to discussion. |(b) the type of information about |AM to collate Action Aid and Task Force |
| |institutional affiliation, location, and |suggestions into one document |
| |demographics that will be obtained from | |
| |respondents. |AM and Action Aid to draft introductory |
| | |paragraph on discussion inviting participants |
|May 20th – 31st |Research appropriate e-discussion |AM to speak with UNICEF |
| |technologies. |David to research on his end. |
|Exchange information by May 31st | | |
| | |Decide on technology and discussion format, |
|Phone conversation on June 2nd to make final | |number of participants and language issues |
|decisions on technology, discussion format | |(i.e. combination of key invited participants |
| | |and 4 planned “live dialogues.” ) |
|June 7th – 14th : technology in place, training |Setting up discussion software and testing |June 2nd – 7th: Action Aid to put in place |
|for Akanksha on moderating discussion | |discussion software and ensure technical |
| | |support is provided |
|June 7th – 14th |Finalize introductory text on reports and |AM and Action Aid to draft text together |
| |discussion | |
| | |Discussion questions developed conjointly. Have|
| |Finalize discussion questions |a rough outline of questions, but keep flexible|
| | |as they will change as discussion proceeds |
|E-discussion phase |
|June 15th to July 30th |During the following approximately 7 or 8 |Weekly discussions as per decided format. |
|E-discussion |weeks, the coordinator will work through | |
| |existing virtual networks to disseminate |Weekly summary notes on discussion (Action Aid |
|Gender equality discussion: June 15 – July 2nd |the reports and collate feedback. The |to provide input from Spanish and Portuguese |
| |vehicle for the dissemination of the |language discussions) |
|Education discussion: July 12th to 30th |messages/recommendations will be through | |
| |e-discussions on virtual networks, |Weekly meetings with Action Aid |
| |including coalitions and campaigns like the| |
| |Global Campaign on Education, national/ | |
| |sub-regional networks coalitions of civil | |
| |society, and others like international NGOs| |
| |or academic forums. | |
|Report writing phase |
|July 3rd to 11th : Gender report |During the final two weeks, the coordinator|Draft reports to Action Aid for comment |
|August 1st - 6th : Education report |will summarize the responses into a written| |
| |document, organizing the responses, |Final reports by July 12th and August 6th |
|Draft reports will be forwarded to ActionAid Intl |recommendations and suggestions for each | |
|for comment. |message along thematic lines. | |
Expected Deliverables from the Coordinator:
The coordinator will handle the reports separately, and sequentially. By August 1st 2004, the coordinator will provide the following deliverables related to the gender equity discussion. The same outputs will be produced for the universal primary education discussion by August 6th 2004:
■ The electronic version of a report summarizing responses, organized around the messages and recommendations of the reports, highlighting both general and specific feedback (with separate sections for gender quality and education);
■ The electronic version of an annex to the report: on the number, institutional affiliations, regional distribution and other demographics of respondents; and
■ All original responses on a CD.
Working Arrangements:
■ The coordinator will be UK based, though can be working from home if s/he has access to Internet and emailing facilities. S/he must be able to meet with the UK oversight team (David Archer and Chike Anyanwu) at ActionAid in North London, ideally once a week for progress reviews.
■ It is anticipated that this will involve work for 2 to 3 days a week. It is not full time. The payment is a fixed amount for the task rather than tied to hours worked.
Qualifications/Experience:
The coordinator should:
❑ be knowledgeable about international education policy and programmatic issues.
❑ have practical experience of moderating e-discussions.
❑ have superior written and oral communication skills.
❑ Have a track record of completing written work on time (to a tight deadline) and to a high quality standard.
Payment:
The coordinator or his/her home institution will receive 400 British Pounds (£400) per week, to undertake and complete this consultancy contract. The coordinator or his/her home institution will receive 40% of the total payment upon signature of the contract, and 60% upon submission of a satisfactory set of products, as outlined above. Because any significant delay will greatly reduce the value of the work, the coordinator or his/her home institution will forfeit 20% of the value of the contact for every two-week delay in submission of the final report.
All interested applicants should send a copy of their application and CVs to Jill Hart: E-mail: jhart@. Deadline for all application is on the 17th May 2004 and interviews will be conducted immediately, only short listed candidates will be contacted. The selected person needs to be ready to start IMMEDIATELY!
-----------------------
[1] The majority of these participants were part of the previous on-line dialogue on the gender equality MDG report. One hundred and ninety-nine new people joined the group, while approximately 18 unsubscribed. [2]
[3]This report is written by the moderator of the e-discussions, Akanskha A. Marphatia.
[4] Contacts for these organizations are as follows: David Archer (ActionAid International), Chike Anywanyu (Commonwealth Education Fund), Anne Jellema (GCE), and for OWSA, Geeta Sharma, Kedar Dash, and Atanu Gurai.
[5] It should be noted that these numbers might not represent everyone who joined and left the group because the discussion site was down for a few days during this three-week period.
[6] In the gender discussion 28 females and 19 males participated.
[7] Weekly summaries of the three-week discussion were distributed to the group and can be found in Annex 2, amongst the original responses.
[8] Spanish discussants.
[9] E. Kamchedzera, Malawi.
[10] N. Brohi, Pakistan.
[11] A. Noronoha, India.
[12] Task Force 3 Interim Report on Primary Education, pp. 16
[13] A. Noronha, India; D. Archer, UK; and S. Rahman, Pakistan.
[14] While the example is taken from the gender equality discussion, participants in this education dialogue raised the same point and encouraged the TF to support non formal education.
[15] S. Rahman, Pakistan.
[16] Moderator’s contribution, based on field research and published Catholic Relief Services case studies on community participation in Ghana and India.
[17] U. Sarkar, Geneva.
[18] A. Noronha, India.
[19] F. O-saki, Tanzania
[20] T. Tumisfu, Tanzania.
[21] J. Adu-Gyamfi, Ghana.
[22] K. Baldeh, Gambia
[23] S. Mania, Tanzania
[24] The dialogue was originally supposed to be for one day. When responses did not follow, it was decided to extend it to another day. This however did not make much of a difference; only one person (the same one as the first day) responded.
[25] A synthesis of key points will be forwarded to the TF the first week of August.
[26] AM refers to consultant, Akanksha A. Marphatia.
-----------------------
“With previous universal education efforts having fallen short, this MDG report should better guide how UPE can be achieved by 2015.”
Malawi has signed the Jomtien and Dakar declarations but has yet to finalize a credible EFA action plan. How can civil society and funding agencies work towards achieving gender disparities in school by 2005, or UPE by 2015 in the absence of national education plans? – L. Nsapato, Malawi.
The SPARK curriculum that is used in the community schools is an abridged syllabus of the main government primary school syllabus. The idea was to fast tract the children that were too old to start grade one (approximately aged 9-16) over a period of four years which would lead to entry into secondary school for some and skills training for others. However, the reality now is that children as young as five find themselves in community schools because that's the only option available for their parents. Such children are therefore likely to be disadvantaged as a result of the focus of the education provided. The issues about what happens after 4 years in community schools are still big challenges that need addressing in view of the large number of young children that are now enrolling in community schools. – K. Phiri, Zambia
A platform where parents, students and teachers can advocate changes with policy makers at local, district, national and even international level needs to exist.
To accomplish what the developed nations have in terms of education and technology we must start from the very beginning – basic learning strategies, personal interaction in classrooms, field studies in laboratories. – M. Stewart, Liberia
This report should be the one that argues the essential and unique role of education both as a fundamental right and as the fundamental enabling right, which helps people, secure and enjoy other basic rights. This one intervention is critical to achievement of all the MDGs. – D. Archer, UK.
In Nigeria, EFA by 2005 is simply not viable. “All the talk on the MDG is still a mirage, how can parents afford the cost of schooling a child, when the average Nigerian parent feed on less than $1.00 a day? Education for now is still for the privileged in society. Government policies, which are targeted at alleviating poverty, make the people more impoverished and helpless. “ - I. Oloofi, Nigeria
Responses on adult education from the gender equality MDG e- dialogue
The link between women’s educational achievement and girls’ enrolment and completion has been well documented. In rural Yemen, for example, increased community demand for women’s and adolescent’s education occurred after some adult women in the community learned to read and write. Social change and increase in girl’s enrolment and community engagement is more likely to occur when women are given a voice. The report should support adult literacy programs for women, and for girls that have dropped out of school. Examples from ActionAid’s Reflect program (reflect-) and Forum for African Women’s Educationalists (FAWE) adult literacy initiative illustrated the importance of a well designed, intensive and long term initiative as opposed to quick and project linked literacy courses. These programs support open adult learning processes. Changing attitudes and behaviours does not happen overnight or in short courses on health education or legal rights or HIV ... but can happen if women are immersed in a serious ongoing learning process.
Donors are still having far too much voice over the direction of reforms and they are not sufficiently aware of how this can undermine people's rights and the relation of citizens with their governments.
Reasons for non- attendance among children
“The Fast Track Initiatives may not succeed in Nigeria, as the government is busy trying to satisfy those they are indebted to. The conditional ties attached will take us back to the colonial period, hence may not be accepted. It should be noted that those who took the World Bank and IMF loans are worst-off for it because of conditionality. The Nigeria economy is where it is today because of conditionalities that were not too clearly stated at the beginning before attempting the loan the government got.” – I. Olofi, Nigeria.
In The Gambia we talk about free education for girls but in actual fact it is free tuition for both boys and girls in Grades 1-6 and free tuition for girls in Grades 7-9. However, parents buy school uniforms, exercise books, pens, pencils, spend on feeding, etc. When all add all these costs are put together, it is more than the tuition fees. – K. Baldeh, Gambia
School Factors
Child did not wish to continue
Economic and Social Factors
Educational Policies
Withdrawn by parents
Child is not bright enough
School is too expensive
Dis interest
No quality teaching
Absense of toilets/girls toilets
No transport
School is too far away
%age of female teachers
Not joyful
Low motivation
Repeated failures
Hostile school environment
Illness
Child needed for other activities
Child fell ill
Fee
Detention/ Promotion
Pedagogical
Transition
Poverty/ Gender
Child labour
Gender stereo-type gender discrimination
Security
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