THE COMPONENTS OF EFA:
AN OVERVIEW
 

This section examines the three-key components of EFA strategies: primary education, literacy and other programmes for adolescents and adults, and early childhood care and education. The Situation in each of these programme areas is first analyzed for the nine countries as a whole; summaries of significant developments in each country are then presented.

While for analytical purposes it is convenient to deal with each component separately, it is essential to keep in mind that education takes place in society and culture, not in isolation. It is an interactive process: the education of parents influences the educability of their children, just as the general level of education and well-being in the society influences the ease with which its individual members can be educated. Over time, the relationship between the various components evolves, as does the priority accorded to each. Hence, the educational strategy of each country has to be tailored to its particular circumstances and stage of development.

In those countries where a large part of the school-age population is not being served, the emphasis will normally and rightly be on expanding access to primary education. This is the situation of at least four of the nine countries. As a country approaches an enrolment rate of 90 per cent, the main problem may no longer be that of expanding capacity, but of including children who are either hard to reach or, for various reasons, hard to serve. Five of the countries are already at or approaching this stage. Primary education in the nine countries is not, of course, monolithic. Certain regions in each country are still struggling to provide access. other regions are concerned with extending education to a minority of out-of-school children while, in the most developed regions of all countries, the emphasis is mainly on improving quality.

In countries where mass illiteracy is rife, programmes for adolescents and adults are intended mainly to teach literacy and numeracy to the unschooled. With the spread of primary education, however, the emphasis in several countries is gradually shifting to school drop-outs whose basic skills are fragile and in need of further development. Over time, demand for various forms of adult education - especially vocational and technical training can be expected to grow, as is already happening in China, Mexico, Indonesia and other countries. Yet, for many years to come, there will continue to be an important, if gradually diminishing, role for adult literacy programmes. As discussed below, the number of illiterates in 'all nine countries, especially illiterate women, remains high. Moreover, over one-third of all illiterate adults are below thirty-five years of age. Their needs cannot be ignored.

Early childhood education and care is intended to provide a foundation for future educational success. The early years of

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a child's life are a critical stage of development. While, traditionally, institutionalized pre-schools have mainly served urban elites, there is a growing tendency to develop innovative, often non- formal, programmes as a means for preparing disadvantaged children to enter and succeed in school. Programmes for parents are also being developed to serve the same end. Once a majority of children have gained access to primary education, pre-school programmes may be given greater emphasis, as is already happening in several countries, as a means for reaching difficult-to-serve children and preparing them for school. Research demonstrates that children in pre-schools are far more likely to enter primary school than children from similar backgrounds who have not benefited from pre-school programmes. This is especially true for girls.

The overall aim of EFA policies is, of course, to educate the society as a whole. As noted above, the media of mass communication - newspapers, radio, television, films and more recent combinations and derivations of these - provide the means for doing so directly. Even conventional programmes, however, while aimed at one or another sex or age-group, are intended to have a synergistic effect by progressively transforming the manner in which members of the society act and interact. Literacy, to cite an obvious example, flourishes in societies where reading is a skill shared by people of all ages and both sexes and consequently represents an economic and effective means of communicating information of general interest. Ultimately, we are educated not only in particular institutions, but in the society and culture as a whole.

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