INTRODUCTION
 

The World Conference on Education for All - Meeting Basic Learning Needs (Jomtien, Thailand, 5-9 March 1990), a key event during International Literacy Year, was organized in response to the widespread concern over the deterioration of education systems during the 1980s and over the millions of children and adults who remain functionally illiterate and poorly prepared for life in the mainstream of their societies.

The World Declaration on Education for All adopted at the Conference reaffirms the international community's commitment to ensuring the right to education for all people. it also effectively broadened the scope of basic education to include early childhood development, primary education, nonformal learning (including literacy) for youth and adults, and learning conveyed through the media and social action.

Convened by the executive heads of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank, the Conference was hosted by the Royal Government of Thailand. Eighteen governments and organizations co- sponsored the initiative. Some 1,500 people representing 155 governments, 33 intergovernmental bodies and 125 non-governmental organizations, institutes and foundations came together at jomtien. They agreed on a Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs to serve as a guide for countries and organizations in their efforts to put the principles of the Declaration into effect.

Subsequently, the International Consultative Forum on Education for All was established to monitor progress toward Education for All and to promote consultation and cooperation at global level among the broad constituencies.

Primary schooling, the "cutting edge" of basic education, is the focus of this report

This report is issued by the Forum's Secretariat to provide policy-makers, development practitioners, educators and other interested professionals, as well as the media, with a graphical overview of the situation and current trends in basic education using the latest available data for selected indicators.

Primary schooling, the "cutting edge" of basic education, is the focus of this first issue. Other aspects of basic education and learning achievement will be highlighted in future issues.

Most of the report presents indicators by geographical region, rather than for individual countries. This enhances its readability but obscures variations between countries within the same region. The composition of the regional groupings used in the report is given in Annex 1.

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However, two sections contain data for certain specific Countries. The central section, entitled "Status of Basic Education in Developing Countries", presents data on five significant variables for 87 countries and ranks them according to their net enrolment ratio (NER) for primary schooling. The section also shows another ranking according to an experimental "Basic Education Index". The final section presents "EFA process data" for 121 countries. Readers who seek additional educational data for these or other countries are invited to consult UNESCO's Statistical Yearbooks 1980-1992 and the World Education Report 1991 (UNESCO, 1991).

Official data for certain indicators are not available for all Countries, so other Sources have been used to fill data gaps where possible. Unless indicated otherwise, projections are based on Current trends, so they do not take into account the possible impact of shifts in policy and programmes that may occur in various countries.

In preparing the report, the Forum Secretariat received excellent co-operation from UNESCO's Division of Statistics and Division of Basic Education, as well as the UNESCO-UNICEF Basic Education Monitoring Project. However, the report does not necessarily reflect the policies of UNESCO or UNICEF. Mr Q.U. Khan, consultant, deserves particular credit for his dedication and hard work in processing the statistical data and designing the graphics.

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