UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs,
with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA)
|
| UN Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, with support from the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) |
|
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This document has been prepared by the Secretariat of the United Nations
Inter-Agency Task Force on the Implementation of the ICPD Programme of
Action. For further information please contact the United Nations
Population Fund, Task Force on ICPD Implementation, 220 East 42nd Street,
New York, NY 10017 USA, or send E-mail to: pierce@unfpa.org
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GUIDELINES ON BASIC EDUCATION
WITH SPECIAL ATTENTION TO GENDER DISPARITIES
FOR THE UN RESIDENT COORDINATOR SYSTEM
INTRODUCTION
1. In the last five years, following the World Conference on
Education for All at Jomtien, Thailand, 1990, four United Nations
sponsored world conferences have taken place, each underscoring
basic education as a corner stone for human development. These
conferences in addition to those held at sub-regional and regional
levels have resulted in a multitude of recommendations,
declarations and action plans to achieve education for all. The
time has come for the United Nations system and the specialized
agencies to strengthen inter-agency co-ordination in order to
improve the effectiveness of their contributions towards making
education for all a reality.
2. Basic education is considered to be the essential learning
required by all members of the community to ensure social and
economic progress. The ICPD Programme of Action recognizes basic
education as an urgent priority and draws attention to its links
with demography and social and economic development. It states
that "Everyone has a right to education, which shall be directed to
the full development of human resources, and dignity and potential,
with particular attention to women and the girl child."....
Recognizing that the effectiveness of the implementation of the
Programme of Action depends on an inter-disciplinary approach and
must fit into a national development context, paragraph 10 of the
General Assembly Resolution 49/128, Report on the International
Conference on Population and Development, "calls upon the organs of
the United Nations system and the specialized agencies to undertake
the actions required to give full and effective support to the
implementation of the Programme of Action." In response to the
resolution, the inter-agency Task Force on the Implementation of
the ICPD Programme of Action proposed that its basic education
goals be pursued within the United Nations co-ordination system led
by the Resident Co-ordinator, and within the context of the World
Conference on Education for All (Jomtien), the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development (Rio), ICPD (Cairo), the
World Summit on Social Development (Copenhagen) and the upcoming
Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing).
3. The Resident Co-ordinator is expected to establish a modality
for inter-agency co-operation which would serve as a catalyst for
national initiatives in basic education. Such a strategy would
recognize UNESCO as the lead agency and the complementary roles of
other agencies, foremost among them, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, WHO and
the World Bank. The guidelines are not intended to be prescriptive
and will not hinder individual agencies from pursuing their
respective mandates but rather will enhance the complementarity of
their programmmes and allow the UN system to contribute more
appropriately to the achievement of basic education. In essence,
it will facilitate more integrated planning of UN inputs to basic
education within a national development framework and will help
foster a dialogue between the UN system and governments in
achieving the targets for basic education for all.
4. Eliminating disparities between male and female is essential
to achieving basic education for all. There is consensus among
governments and agencies on the importance of educating girls and
women. However, there is still some reserve about committing
resources to make this objective a reality. The Resident Co-
ordinator should be committed to the elimination of disparities
between male and female in basic education. He/she is expected to
keep the education of girls and women high on the national agenda
through support to advocacy, national dialogue and programmes and
projects intended to improve girls' and women's access to good
quality basic education. In addition to disparities between male
and female, there are disparities associated with poverty,
geographical location and ethnicity. It should be recognized that
basic education must aim to eliminate inequalities in the society
and to promote peace and tolerance among all peoples.
5. The interplay between culture and education influences
achievements in basic education, particularly among cultural
minorities and disadvantaged groups. Strategies for basic
education should seek to capture those aspects of the culture which
can be utilized to enhance learning. Support should be given to
programmes which allow for the expression and understanding of
diverse cultures and the acceptance of cultural differences as they
relate to basic education for human development.
The Strategies for Co-ordinating Basic Education
6. Already the Statement on the Role and Functioning of the
Resident Coordinator System provides a framework in which the co-
ordination of substantive areas, such as basic education can be
accommodated. The Resident Co-ordinator needs to harmonize three
inter-related aspects of planning and programming. They concern: a)
governments and national Education For All (EFA) mechanisms, b) the
activities/programmes of the various agencies, and c) the inter-
national and global priorities for basic education.
a) Relationship to government and national EFA mechanisms
7. The primary responsibility for co-ordinating basic education
as well as the inputs from bilateral and multilateral organizations
rests with the government. But, a co-ordinated, inter-agency group
can encourage governments to increase resources to education and to
give priority to programmes directed towards improving educational
opportunities for girls. Special support would be given to
programmes designed to reduce drop-out rates among girls as well as
increase their access to good quality education.
8. The Resident Co-ordinator is expected to plan joint
working/training sessions with national officials and UN agencies
on selected themes/issues related to basic education. This will
allow for the exchange of ideas, the consolidation of objectives,
the rationalization of activities and the identification of
investment priorities. This is particularly critical in the case
of major education reforms, policy discussions or major joint-
agency initiatives in basic education, which may provide a good
opportunity for integration of reproductive health considerations.
The United Nations System can play an important role in raising
education above narrow sectarian interests and in keeping with a
changing socio-economic and cultural environment.
9. The development of practical cost-effective policy and plans
for the achievement of quality education for all must be seen as a
priority activity in which the United Nations System can assist
countries. Whilst the drawing up of such a blue print for
achievement of good quality education for all may be seen as a
largely technocratic process, the wide acceptance of the blue print
as a national programme by a wide spectrum of professional,
business and other interests is absolutely essential.
b) Relationship to the agencies - the Resident Co-ordinator as a
team leader
10. The leadership of the Resident Co-ordinator will be essential
in identifying the inter-related areas for support by the UN
agencies. Given the various disciplines of the United Nations, an
inter-agency approach can create an enabling environment by
promoting inter-agency supported studies, programmes and evaluation
exercises. It will allow for the timely sharing of experiences,
discussions of problems and solutions and the review of progress
made. The Resident Co-ordinator should also facilitate inter-change
of staff expertise between and among programmes and activities.
c) Relationship to basic education - achieving national and
global priorities
11. Keeping in mind that the "primary objective of the operational
activities for development within the United Nations system is to
promote the self-reliance of recipient countries through
multilateral cooperation", co-ordination for promoting basic
education should seek to release "national energies", to sustain
good quality basic education which is accessible to all citizens
and which uses local organizations wherever possible. This goes
beyond identifying national resources. It requires the creative
and imaginative use of such resources to increase the demand and
supply of basic education as well as to promote learning
achievement which will help learners to understand better and cope
with a changing socio-economic environment. It is essential to
personal and national development that the expected outcomes of
basic education be defined within the national context.
12. An underlying objective for basic education improvements is to
bring about change and innovation in the education system.
Traditionally changes in education tend to be evolutionary and
somewhat slow. Under the leadership of the Resident Co-ordinator,
the inter-agency group can be a catalyst for change. Changes for
improvements can be put into three categories, those which will: a)
need few inputs and are not costly. Normally such changes can be
effected through policy and policy dialogue, (for example,
increasing the proportion of female teachers recruited to the
teaching profession requires a policy decision); b) need small
scale funding; c) require large scale financing and for which much
programming and planning must be done. Having identified the
categories of change, the inter-agency group can assist the
government to address them in a timely manner and at a pace which
allows development to be sustained by national resources.
13. Education for all is the business of all. Partnerships should
be encouraged and simultaneously basic education monitoring
mechanisms should be established or strengthened to ensure that
standards are maintained. The contribution of the private sector
and NGOs should be assisted and encouraged. The active
participation of Communities in the provision of their education is
of paramount importance and every effort should be made to
encourage and recognize their role. At the same time efforts need
to be made to bring the quality of education in poor communities on
a par with that of more affluent ones.
14. Expanding access to basic education to unserved and under-
served groups in ways that are more responsive to local needs (e.g.
the establishment of small multigrade schools in remote areas and
the provision of good quality non-formal education for youths)
should be addressed. Alternative delivery systems for the
education of the school age-group should articulate with the
education mainstream. Everyone should have access to good quality
basic education regardless of their social, cultural, geographic
and economic situations.
15. Improving basic education quality has continued to challenge
governments and agencies. Basic education is expected to help
young people to develop decision-making skills needed for them to
function effectively as adults. The implications are that their
education must meet their basic learning needs and the teaching and
learning process should be participatory so that attitude formation
and learning can take place in a meaningful context. The Multi-
channel approach (expanding educational opportunities through a
range of delivery options - distance learning schemes, traditional
media, radio, television, audio tapes, etc.) may be utilized to
enrich educational programmes and reach remote and deprived groups.
Multi-channel approaches are most effective when there is a
supportive environment - one in which the individual is ready to
learn and the channel or channels can be maintained.
16. Basic education strategies must be informed by good quality
data, an important area for institutional strengthening in the
improvement of basic education data management. It is one of the
most complex and challenging problems to be addressed in the
education sector. Efforts should be made to strengthen the
national capacity to improve data sources (starting at the
classroom level) and management information systems. All data
should be disaggregated according to sex (male and female) to allow
for the monitoring of progress on the education of girls and women.
Other examples of key areas for strengthening are research and
evaluation, supervision and management, and the training of all
levels of educational personnel. In all these efforts, attention
should be paid to adequate representation of women personnel as
well as the elimination of traditional gender biases.
17. Information sharing, the transfer and adaptation of successful
experiences within the country would help to promote programmes for
the unserved and under-served groups. It is important that
information be disseminated through various channels including
traditional means and packaged in various forms to allow both
literate and illiterate persons to understand the key messages.
18. Adult literacy, skills training and continuing education
should be given priority. The Resident Co-ordinator can exercise
leadership in supporting the convergence of services, that is, the
"bringing together" of health, education, social welfare and
agricultural services in a comprehensive whole at the community
level. Early childhood care and education should be addressed at
the community level with emphasis on the education of parents or
caregivers to enhance the overall development of young children.
19. Rigorous monitoring, evaluation and reforms needed to create
the required dynamism to achieve education for all targets should
be encouraged. A manageable number of key indicators should be
identified for assessment. Some areas of concern may be evaluated
through sample research. Special attention needs to be given to
progress in reaching excluded groups (among them girls and women),
educational achievement and non-academic areas such as values and
attitudes. It is important to recognize those strategies which
have reached their threshold of usefulness and which must be
changed, sometimes radically, to foster further improvements.
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SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
World Declaration on Education for All and
Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs
Adopted by the World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA),
Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990.
The main authoritative reference as in the goals and concepts
adopted by the World Conference.
World Conference on Education for All monographs;
I) Education for All: Purpose and Context
II) Education for All: An Expanded Vision
III) Education for All: The Requirements
Final Report: Meeting Basic Learning Needs
Inter-Agency Commission (UNDP, UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank)
World Conference on Education for All, Jomtien, Thailand, 1990.
The Delhi Declaration on Education for All in the Nine High
Population Countries Adopted at the Education for All Summit,
New Delhi, India, 12-16 December 1993.
UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO.
The documents (panel proceedings and final report) present the
declaration and framework for action to achieve primary education
and literacy for all, in the worldþs high-population countries;
Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria
and Pakistan.
Final Report: Prospects for Providing Universal Access to Primary
Education International Consultative Forum on Education for All,
Paris, 4-6 December 1991.
Final Report: Quality Education for All
International Consultative Forum on Education for All, New Delhi,
8-10 September 1993. The International Consultative Forum is a
global mechanism established by the World Conference to promote and
monitor progress towards Education for All goals.
The Istanbul Declaration and Action Framework
Adopted at the First International Congress on Population,
Education and Development (ICPED), Istanbul, Turkey, 14-17 April
1993. UNFPA, UNESCO. The declaration focuses on the role of
population education in human development with a view to strengthen
the integration of population education into both formal and non-
formal education systems.
Status & Trends: focus on primary schooling
UNESCO for the International Consultative Forum on Education for
All, 1993
Status & Trends: focus on basic education and development
UNESCO for the International Consultative Forum on Education for
All, 1994
Beyond Jomtien, Implementing Primary Education for All
A. Little, W. Hoppers, R. Gardner,
MacMillan Press, London, 1994
A book that offers lessons from six projects designed to promote
education for all, which all anticipated much of the Jomtien vision
and many of its aims (Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Zambia, Guatemala,
Andra Pradesh and Rajasthan in India).
Educating All the Children
C. Colelough with K. Lewin
Oxford University Press, 1992
A study of why a growing number of children remain out of school in
developing countries, how this trend can be reversed and what
resources and policy changes would be required, nationally and
internationally, if schooling for all children were to be achieved
by the year 2000.
Improving Primary Education in Developing Countries
M.E. Lockheed, A. Verspoor and associates
World Bank and Oxford University Press, 1991
A comprehensive review of both the scholarly literature and donorsþ
experience, discussing strategies for improving different aspects
of primary education. The book contains a large number of figures
and tables and provides data on 129 countries.
What are we waiting for?
M.B. Anderson
UNICEF, N.Y., 1992
A review of the world situation of basic education, including a
presentation of some innovative educational programmes, which urges
the world to affirm the goals of education for all.
Educating Girls and Women, A Moral imperative
Education Section, Programme Division,
UNICEF, N.Y., 1992
A summary of the magnitude and causes of gender disparities in
education, highlighting some possible strategies. The booklet
suggests that affirmative action is needed to promote girlsþ
education and sustainable development.
Basic Education and National Development, Lessons from China and
India M. Ahmed with Cheng Kai Ming, A.K. Jalaluddin and K.
Ramachandran UNICEF, N.Y., 1991
A presentation of policy and strategy lessons for the development
of basic education, based on two reviews of progress in basic
education in China and India, prepared by two teams of researchers
from the respective countries.
Investing in the Future: Setting Educational Priorities in the
Developing World J. Hallak
UNESCO (International Institute for International Planning) and
Pergamon Press, 1990 A book primarily addressed to national policy
makers, describing how educational policies can be formulated, the
priorities for educational development established, and appropriate
strategies designed, based on a through understanding of the
specific local conditions.
=================================================================
AGENCY PROFILES
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO)
UNESCO is the UN Specialized Agency for Education, Science and
Culture. Education for All (EFA) is the undisputed priority area
within its vast educational programme.
However, UNESCO also works on many aspects and levels of
education, which have a bearing on EFA, e.g. the training of
teachers, educational planning, educational statistics and
indicators, or curriculum development including such specific
aspects as population education, environmental education, education
for peace and international understanding, or education against
AIDS and drug abuse.
UNESCO initiated and co-sponsored (with UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA,
the World Bank and other agencies) the World Conference on
Education for All (Jomtien 1990) and the Education Summit of Nine
High-Population Countries (Delhi, 1993).
In the EFA, UNESCO pursues a strategy where primary education,
non-formal education programmes and adult literacy are seen as
linked and mutually reinforcing. Programmes which aim at expanding
access for girls and women, but also for disadvantaged groups and
learners with special needs, are complemented by programmes which
seek to improve quality and relevance of basic education, and
enhance learning achievement.
Under its Regular Programme, voted by the General Conference
every two years, UNESCO co-operates with Member States in such
activities as: organization of training programmes tailored to a
countryþs requirements; providing technical advice on specific
educational questions; carrying out action and policy oriented
studies on educational issues; undertaking educational sector work;
facilitating policy dialogue and experience exchange between
countries in the same region or sub-region.
UNESCO also undertakes þextrabudgetary programmesþ in EFA,
typically country-specific operational field projects, but also
geared to inter-country co-operation. These tend to be funded by
bilateral donors on a funds-in-trust basis. UNESCO also co-
operates with UNDP, the World Bank and regional development banks
through TSS-1 and TSS-2 arrangements, as well as for the execution
of TA components of educational loan programmes.
In practice, UN Resident Coordinators may call upon UNESCOþs
services either by contacting Headquarters directly, or linking up
with the growing number of UNESCO field offices. UNESCO maintains
at present 52 field offices with either a country-specific, sub-
regional or regional mandate. This field network is being
continuously expanded and strengthened.
Three UNESCO-affiliated International Education Institutes are
also available to work with countries and UN Resident Coordinators:
the International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP) in
Paris, specialized in training and studies on educational planning:
the UNESCO Institute for Education (UIE) in Hamburg, specialized in
training and studies on literacy and adult education; the
International Bureau of Education (IBE) in Geneva, a worldwide
centre of educational documentation and research.
Addresses
UNESCO Headquarters 7, Place de Fontenoy
Basic Education Division 75352 Paris 07 SP
Fax: 33 1 40 65 94 05
UNESCO Office for Education 12, avenue Roume, B.P. 3311
in Africa - BREDA Dakar, Senegal
Fax: 221 23 83 93
UNESCO Regional Office for Casilla 3187
Education in Latin America Santiago, Chile
and the Caribbean - OREALC Fax: 56 2 209 18 75
UNESCO Regional Office for P.O. Box 2270
Education in the Arab States Wadi Saqra, Amman, Jordan
- UNEDBAS Fax: 962 6 68 21 83
UNESCO's Principal Regional Prankanong, Post Office
Office in Asia & the Pacific P.O. Box 967
- PROAP Bangkok, Thailand
Fax: 66 2 391 08 66
IIEP 7-9 rue EugŠne Delacroix
75116 Paris, France
Fax: 33 1 40 72 83 66
IBE 15, route des Morillons
1218 Grand Saconnex,
Switzerland
Fax: 41 22 798 14 86
UIE Feldbrunnenstrasse 58
20148 Hamburg, Germany
Fax: 49 40 41 07 723
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)
UNFPA uses a three-pronged approach to create awareness about
population issues (IEC activities):
Public Information/Advocacy
Population Education
Population Communication
Population Education takes place in both formal and non-formal
education and has expanded rapidly since the 60's and its first
tentative introduction into the school systems and curricula. One
of the main contributions of Population Education has been its
emphasis on the teaching of gender issues and the importance of
educating girls, which was also highlighted during the EFA Summit
of the Nine High Population Countries in New Delhi. UNESCO, with
UNFPA funding, is the primary source of international expertise on
Population Education for the formal sector.
In April 1993, the Istanbul Declaration, adopted at the
International Congress on Population, Education and Development,
stated that "Population Education should be part of every schoolþs
curriculum along with reading, writing and arithmetic."
The 1994 International Conference on Population and
Development (ICPD) adopted a Programme of Action whose principles,
goals and recommendations will influence the Fundþs policies and
operational work for the coming years. One of its three goals is
expanding the availability of education especially for girls and it
calls on countries to consolidate the progress made in the 90's
towards providing universal access to primary education as agreed
upon in Jomtien. According to the holistic approach of the
Programme of Action, which makes cooperation within the UN system
and outside it crucial to success, UNFPA will undertake strong
advocacy in support of girlsþ and womenþs education and will
continue to be an active partner in the EFA initiative together
with UNESCO, UNDP, UNICEF and others.
Specifically, UNFPA supports:
advocacy for the education of girls and the achievement of
female education goals as specified in the ICPD Programme of
Action, with particular attention to primary and secondary
education of girls. Such advocacy spells out those
interventions known to promote female enrolment and retention
of girls in school, e.g., quality education, female teachers,
flexible schedules, incentive programmes for girls' education,
female extension workers, etc.; activities to improve the
quality and relevance of school curricula through the
introduction of population education including gender equity,
responsible reproductive behaviour and decision-making skills.
International Labour Organisation (ILO)
Enhancement of the institutional strengths of constituents to
promote social justice and protect workersþ well-being and family
welfare through basic education activities of several kinds is a
major concern of the International Labour Organisation. In the
ILO, therefore, basic education is viewed as a process of
developing awareness, knowledge, potential, and skills to
contribute in the most efficient manner to the production of goods
and services, and to survive in the workplace. ILO programmes
accordingly aim to build national capacities for organizing,
bargaining and representing the interests of the social partners
and for disseminating information and raising awareness on key
issues which affect worker status and productivity. They include
efforts to promote tripartite participation in policy design and
programme implementation and to support trade union activities
designed to safeguard and ameliorate conditions of vulnerable
groups including women, youth, working children, rural and disabled
workers and workers in the informal sector.
Activities to promote basic education include technical
cooperation projects to develop capacity for designing, planning
and organizing educational programmes; provision of advisory
services in development of curricula; assistance in the preparation
and publication of training materials (manuals, study guides,
various forms of teaching aids, etc.), organization of seminars,
conferences, workshops; and meeting and provision of grants and
fellowships. With regard to basic education on population and
reproductive health issues in work settings, there have been
successful programmes with ILO's constituents - governments,
employers and workers organizations - in more than sixty countries
for over quarter of a century.
World Food Programme (WFP)
Human resources development has always been a priority area of
action for the World Food Programme, which since its creation has
allocated over 50% of its development food assistance to projects
having such objectives. As WFP believes that investment in basic
education is one of the most effective tools for human resource
development, the vast majority of this type of assistance has been
channelled through school feeding programmes. As of December 1994,
WFP was providing support to 44 primary school feeding projects,
with a total commitment of US$535 million. Besides these currently
operational projects, during 1994 new projects were approved which
will provide assistance to over one million additional
schoolchildren.
WFP's assistance to school feeding programmes is tailored to
address specific problems in the educational sector in individual
countries. Aid is most often aimed at encouraging parents to enrol
their children, especially girls, in primary school and to ensure
they complete the full cycle. Once children are enrolled in
school, feeding plays an essential role by relieving short-term
hunger, improving childrenþs ability to concentrate and to benefit
from their education. As school feeding alone cannot ensure gender
equality in education, WFP collaborates with Governments, NGOs and
other agencies in development of complementary activities to
promote basic education for girls. In light of growing evidence of
the importance of early stimulation in preparing children for
primary school, WFP is exploring possibilities for increasing
support to pre-primary education.
WFP support to basic education is targeted to the most
disadvantaged groups in the countries assisted. In some cases, WFP
assistance helps to provide children of extremely poor and
marginalized groups the only opportunity for primary education.
In pursuing the Programme approach and greater inter-agency
collaboration, WFP will continue to seek more innovative ways to
use food aid in support of basic education. It is hoped, for
example, to increase the coverage of literacy and numeracy training
for women in rural development projects, to ensure they are able to
put into practice the marketable skills which they learn through
such projects' training components.
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
UNICEF policies, strategies and actions in basic education are
in harmony with the education objectives of the ICPD. UNICEF
strongly and explicitly advocates affirmative action in favour of
girls' education. UNICEF country programmes strive to mainstream
girls in the formal system by making it more responsive to girls'
special needs and concerns. UNICEF also supports nonformal
education programmes of equivalent quality. Training of female
teachers and administrators; gender sensitization of textbooks,
curricula and teacher training materials; mobilizing parents and
communities to get involved in the education of girls; and
sensitization of the civil society about the benefits of girlsþ
education are important areas of UNICEF support in basic education.
While most of the activities will be at the national level, the
regional offices provide technical support in training, curriculum
development, collection of gender disaggregated data and monitoring
progress. At the global level, UNICEF has been active in the
development of policies and strategies and advocacy for them as
well as mobilizing resources for girls' education.