THE EFA PROCESS IN COUNTRIES
The Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs, endorsed at the Jomtien Conference, suggests a process for countries and organizations to follow during the 1990s to move decisively toward Education for All (EFA) by the year 2000. This section attempts to show how countries are following this "EFA process".
After Jomtien: countries act Many countries responded to Jomtien by reassessing basic learning needs, framing strategies and mobilizing domestic partnerships and resources. Over seventy countries held national policy conferences or roundtables for this purpose. In some cases, detailed educational investment programmes were drawn up and areas for external assistance identified. Some examples follow:
More than 70 countries held national EFA policy roundtables since 1990
Costa Rica's national roundtable on EFA brought together the ministries of education, health, labour, planning and agriculture, as well as private and state universities, non-governmental organizations, educational associations, and aid agencies. it led to the preparation of a national action plan to provide literacy and basic skills training for women, literacy campaigns in educationally deprived areas, an integrated early childhood development programme, education provision for the disabled, and multicultural, bilingual education for indigenous people.
Mexico is undertaking a US$100 million non-formal education project aiming at boosting the efficiency and quality of pre-school education in ten of the poorest states of the country. By preparing children from poor families for their entrance to primary school and introducing parent education, Mexico hopes to help 1,200,000 children under the age of 4 to learn better.
The Dominican Republic has launched a plan devoted to `rescuing education': to get all children between 4 and 15 in school by the year 2000 and to drastically cut the dropout rate. School councils will be set up, parent-teacher associations revived, curricula will be overhauled, and teachers' salaries increased. The education ministry has also started a `breakfast-at-school programme' so every child will be given a morning snack, which should lure them off the streets and back into school.
In Africa nine Sahel countries have agreed to tackle their problems in unison. In close dialogue with UNESCO, UNDP, the World Bank and major bilateral donors, this group of countries
39
drew up an action programme to achieve EFA by the year 2000. Through co-operation and joint action in such fields as planning and management, production of learning materials, teacher training and applied research, they intend to overcome their resource constraints and realize important economies of scale.
Yet another model endeavour is that of a small island country - Mauritius - whose "education master plan" prepared in the wake of Jomtien, has brought together several donors to assist the country to implement it.
In Asia, where three-quarters of the world's illiterate adults live, political support for basic education has been especially strong. India, for example, is launching several large-scale and long-term projects in the country's most educationally deprived states. In Rajasthan, for example, the Lok Jumbish (People's Mobilization) has been set up to achieve EFA goals in 10 years. The US$7 million programme, of which 50 per cent will come from the Swedish international Development Agency (SIDA) and the rest from state and central governments, aims at transfering responsibility for educational management to the village community. Every means, from electronic media to folk theatre are being used, particularly to mobilize women.
Nepal is striving to universalize primary education by introducing girls' scholarships, improving teacher training programmes and distributing free books. it is also organizing basic education programmes for adults.
Pakistan has launched a new national education plan aimed at improving basic education in the country by involving NGOs and the private sector and by increasing participation rates for girls by 8.8 per cent per annum (compared to 2.5 per cent for boys). Substantial government financing is being provided to ensure the Plan's success.
Nepal Pakistan aim to increase girls' participation in schooling
Countries in the North are also taking action. Ireland, for example, is intensifying its efforts to promote literacy for Youths and adults by significantly boosting its budget for this purpose. Special attention will he given to those who have basic literacy skills but do not read and write Sufficiently to cope in society. Within schools, Ireland is renewing its efforts to identify and support those children with special learning needs. These measures include improving assessment and remedial services and expanding programmes to involve parents. In addition, Ireland, which prior to Jomtien funneled its educational aid exclusively to technical and higher education, has re-examined its policy and now supports several basic education projects in Africa.
In line with Jomtien recommendations, the United States set a number of education goals for the year 2000: that all children will start school ready to learn, that at least 90 per cent of high school students will graduate, and that all adult Americans will be literate. A National Education Goals Panel has been set up to monitor progress. Also, a non-governmental organization, the U.S. Coalition for Education for All, has been established to promote EFA awareness and action in the country.
40
A global overview of country action The table beginning on the next page summarizes significant steps in the EFA process taken by 121 countries since the Jomtien Conference*.
Column 1 lists by region the countries for which the Secretariat has received some information on post-Jomtien EFA action. Of these, 112 are countries in the developing regions.
Column 2 refers to post-Jomtien national level policy meetings (conferences, roundtables) specifically on EFA.
Column 3 concerns post-Jomtien information campaigns, usually involving the mass media, to sensitize the public to the importance of basic education.
Column 4 shows countries that report having adopted EFA goals. often these goals are stated in a national EFA strategy or plan of action (see column 5).
Column 5 shows countries that have adopted, or are preparing, a national strategy and/or a plan of action that covers the development of basic education services. Many countries are preparing a "national programme of action" to follow up the World Summit for Children (September 1990) that includes a specific section on basic education.
Column 6 refers to the existence of some national level mechanism (commission, task force, inter-ministerial committee) that is specifically responsible for promoting or coordinating policies, programmes and services that concern basic education.
Column 7 shows countries that report an increase (absolute or proportional) since 1990 in the national budget allocation for basic education, usually meaning recurrent expenditure on primary schooling. Unfortunately, information on this aspect is still difficult to obtain.
Column 8 indicates countries that report having held post-Jomtien meeting with external funding agencies regarding support for the development of basic education services.
The reader should take note that many countries undertook some of the steps indicated in the table before 1990, so those actions are not recorded here as Jomtien follow-up. Also, the information reported does not reflect the many sub-national and non-governmental initiatives since Jomtien. Whereas several industrialized countries state that the EFA process does not apply to their internal situation, several report that they responded to the Jomtien Conference by increasing their cooperation with other countries in respect to basic education.
* The Secretariat regrets any inaccuracies that may appear in the table and welcomes being informed of corrections and additions to be incorporated into future issues of this report.
41
The EFA process in countries
Country National EFA EFA EFA National Budget Meeting
policy information goals strategy EFA increase with
meeting campaign plans mechanism donors
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Asia and the Pacific Afghanistan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Cambodia
China
D. P. Republic of Korea
Fiji
India
Indonesia
Iran, Islamic Republic of
Lao People's Dem. Rep.
Malaysia
Maldives
Mongolia
Myanmar
Nepal
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea!
Philippines
Republic of Korea
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Tonga
Vanuatu
Viet Nam
Africa Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Rep.
Chad
Comores
Congo
Cote d'Ivoire
Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
42
Country National EFA EFA EFA National Budget Meeting
policy information goals strategy EFA increase with
meeting campaign plans mechanism donors
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Malawi
Mali
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome & Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Swaziland
Togo
Uganda
United Rep. of Tanzania
Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Arab States Bahrain
Djibouti
Egypt
Iraq
Jordan
Kuwait
Lebanon
Mauritania
Morocco
Oman
Somalia
Sudan
Syrian Arab Republic
Tunisia
43
Country National EFA EFA EFA National Budget Meeting
policy information goals strategy EFA increase with
meeting campaign plans mechanism donors
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8)
OECD/Europe Albania
Australia
Austria
Belarus
Croatia
Cyprus
Denmark
Germany
Hungary
Luxembourg
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Poland
Russian Federation
South Africa
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Latin America/Caribbean Argentina
Barbados
Belize
Bolivia
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
Guatemala
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Uruguay
Venezuela
44
Conclusions Sixty-seven countries (55 per cent) have organized at least one post- Jomtien national level EFA policy meeting, usually involving several government ministries, as well as nongovernmental partners interested in basic education.
Over half of the countries (sixty-seven) organized some form of public information campaign, often as part of International Literacy Year (1990) activities. Fifteen of the eighteen OECD/Europe countries are included in this group.
Most countries (105, i.e. 87 per cent) have announced EFA goals, usually with the year 2000 as the target date. All 21 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean region and all of the 42 African countries have defined. their FEN goals. More significantly, 109 countries (90 per cent) have a strategy or plan of action to achieve EFA.
... a large number of countries are well into the "EFA process", more or less in line with the FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION TO MEET BASIC LEARNING NEEDS
Fewer countries appear so far to have taken the more concrete steps indicated in columns 6, 7 and 8. About half (56 countries) have assigned responsibility for EFA to a national level mechanism; in some cases, the committee established for International Literacy Year (1990) was given this additional mandate. Only one-third of the African countries (15) have established such a mechanism, whereas 17 out of 25 countries in the Asia and Pacific region have one. The seemingly low number in Latin America and the Caribbean region is misleading, since nearly all countries there have an official body responsible for the "Major Project in the Field of Education in Latin America and the Caribbean", which has focused efforts on basic education since the early 1980s.
Only thirteen countries (11 per cent) report a significant increase in the allocation for basic education in the national budget since Jomtien, but the data for this aspect are particularly incomplete. Some thirty-four countries (28 per cent) have organized meetings with donor agencies to seek external funding for basic education. These data do not include bilateral contacts with donors for this purpose.
All in all, it appears that a large number of countries are well into the "EFA process", more or less in line with the Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs agreed by the Jomtien Conference. However, the next steps in the process are more demanding in resources: reforms, programmes and projects to extend and improve basic education services. The true measure of the EFA process henceforth should become evident in the various indicators of educational attainment and effort presented earlier in this report.
45
Annex 1 - Composition of regions for the EFA report
Sub-Saharan Arab States Latin America East Asia/ South Asia ECD/
Africa and Caribbean Oceania Europe
Angola Algeria Antigua/Barbuda Cambodia Afghanistan Albania
Benin Bahrain Argentina China Bangladesh Australia
Botswana Djibouti Bahamas Fiji Bhutan Austria
Burkina Faso Egypt Barbados Indonesia India Belgium
Burundi Iraq Belize Kiribati Iran, Islamic Rep. Bulgaria
Cameroon Jordan Bolivia Korean Dem. People's Rep. Maldives Canada
Cape Verde Kuwait Brazil Korea, Republic of, Nepal Cyprus
Central African Rep. Lebanon Brit, Virgin Islands Lao People's Dem.Rep. Pakistan Czechoslovakia
Chad Libyan Arab Jamahirya Chile Malaysia Sri Lanka Denmark
Comoros Mauritania Colombia
Congo Mongolia Finland
Cote d'Ivoire Morocco Costa Rica Myanmar France
Equatorial Guinea Oman Cuba Papua New Guinea Germany
Ethiopia Qatar Dominica Philippines Greece
Gabon Saudi Arabia Dominican Republic Samoa Hungary
Gambia Somalia Ecuador Singapore Iceland
Ghana Sudan El Salvador Thailand Ireland
Guinea Syrian Arab Republic Grenada Tonga Israel
Guinea-Bissau Tunisia Guatemala Viet Nam Italy
Kenya United Arab Emirates Guyana Japan
Lesotho Yemen Haiti Luxembourg
Liberia Honduras Malta
Madagascar Jamaica Monaco
Malawi Mexico Netherlands
Mali Neth. Antilles New Zealand
Mauritius Nicaragua Norway
Mozambique Panama Poland
Namibia Paraguay Portugal
Niger Peru Romania
Nigeria St. Christopher and Nevis San Marino
Rwanda St. Lucia South Africa
Sao Tome & Principe St. Vincent/Grenadines Spain
Senegal Suriname Sweden
Seychelles Trinidad & Tobago Switzerland
Sierra Leone Uruguay Turkey
Swaziland Venezuela United Kingdom
Togo United States
Uganda USSR
United Rep. of Tanzania Yugoslavia
Zaire
Zambia
Zimbabwe
42 countries 20 countries 35 countries 18 countries 9 countries 38 countries