TOWARDS UNIVERSAL PRIMARY EDUCATION
1. Identification and Analysis of issues It is recognized in all nine countries that primary education must be at the very heart of any successful education for all strategy. Universal Primary Education (UPE) is the means for drying up the main source of adult illiteracy: the millions of unschooled or ill-schooled adolescents who each year enter adulthood lacking the basic knowledge and skills to lead productive and satisfying lives. Three essential considerations by which the success of primary education can be judged are discussed in the sections that follow: access, retention and achievement. As will become evident in the section devoted to a review of primary education in each country, these are complex issues that the nine countries are addressing with both determination and innovation. Of these considerations, access, while insufficient in itself, is the most fundamental. The first and most obvious question to be asked of any primary education system is: does it serve all children?
Access As Table 3 showing net enrolment ratios reveals, the nine countries vary considerably in their progress towards Universal Primary Education. China, Indonesia and Mexico have virtually achieved universal enrolment. In Brazil, Egypt and India, continuing efforts will be required, but, by the end of the century, all three countries could be within 5 to 10 percentage points of achieving UPE. Enrolling the final 5 to 10 per cent of children is, however, especially challenging as special programmes and approaches are likely to be required. In most countries, these hard-to-serve groups include street and working children, youngsters who live in urban slums and remote rural areas, belong to ethnic, linguistic or cultural minorities, or are affected by physical or mental impairments of various sorts and degrees. Thus, while these countries are close to the goal of UPE, the distance left to travel is likely to require innovation and creativity as well as persevering effort.
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Table 3
NET ENROLMENT RATIOS IN PRIMARY EDUCATION IN THE
NINE HIGH POPULATION COUNTRIES
ESTIMATES PROJECTIONS
COUNTRY 1980* 1990* 1993 2000
WITHOUT WITH WITHOUT WITH
EFA EFA EFA EFA
Bangladesh 58.7 61.7 61.9 66.5 62.9 81.7
Brazil 91.3 83.6 80.4 87.9 83.6 96.0
China 96.1 97.6 97.6 98.6 98.0 98.6
Egypt 70.2 82.5 83.1 89.2 88.6 92.9
India 58.5 68.2 71.7 87.8 74.3 92.0
Indonesia 86.0 92.6 95.9 97.0 96.5 98.4
Mexico 84.2 94.6 94.6 98.5 94.3 98.6
Nigeria 53.2 60.2 61.0 75.6 77.9 86.5
Pakistan 34.8 39.0 37.3 38.9 31.4 49.0
TOTAL 73.8 78.9 80.0 87.5 82.0 91.5
Source : UNESCO Statistical Yearbooks 1980-1992.
While the difficulty of the task should not be underestimated, there are, as already observed, promising prospects that, by the end of the century, six of the nine countries will have between 90 and 100 per cent of school-age children enrolled in school. The remaining countries, if they devote themselves to the task, should be able to reach 90 per cent enrolment during the first decade of the 21st century. Indeed, there is a real prospect that, by the end of the decade, over 90 per cent of all children in the nine countries will be able to find a place in a primary school, as compared to an estimated 79 per cent in 1990. It must be emphasized, however, that this outcome, while achievable, will not happen by itself. Progress is not fated: it has to be earned. Achieving UPE will require an enormous effort and the commitment of substantial resources. Indeed, as the 'without EFA' scenarios indicate, if efforts to achieve EFA are not sustained, there is a danger that progress could stagnate.
The consequence of stagnation, as Table 4 reveals, would be an increase in the number of out-of-school children. It is estimated that in 1993, as a result of EFA efforts, the number of out-of-school children in the nine countries has been reduced to 42 million - a decline of nearly 25 million from 1990. If EFA efforts are pursued and strengthened, the number of out-of-school children is projected to continue to decline, reaching 31.2 million in the year 2000. Should there be a let up in efforts, however, demographic pressures would push the number back up to a projected 65.8 million at the end of the century.
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It, therefore, becomes imperative to continue to increase enrolments rapidly if the objectives set by the World Conference on Education for All are to be reached or, in several countries, even approached. This, of course, is precisely what the nine high-population countries have resolved to do.
Table 4
Out-of-School Children of Primary School-Age in the
Nine High-Population Countries
(millions)
ESTIMATES
COUNTRY 1980 1990 1993 2000
WITHOUT WITH WITHOUT WITH
EFA EFA EFA EFA
Bangladesh 5.9 6.4 6.7 5.9 7.3 3.6
Brazil 2.1 4.4 5.5 3.4 4.9 1.2
China 2.9 2.2 2.4 1.4 2.4 1.6
Egypt 1.7 1.1 1.1 0.7 0.8 0.5
India 37.6 31.7 28.9 12.5 27.4 8.5
Indonesia 3.3 2.0 1.1 0.8 0.9 0.4
Mexico 1.9 0.7 0.7 0.2 0.8 0.2
Nigeria 8.1 7.4 7.8 4.9 4.9 3.0
Pakistan 8.8 10.8 12.1 11.8 16.4 12.2
TOTAL 72.3 66.7 66.3 41.6 65.8 31.2
The expansion in enrolment required in each of the countries to achieve UPE is estimated in Table 5. To reach this goal, it is necessary both to compensate for the incomplete coverage of the education system in 1993 - i.e. the approximately 42 million out-of- school children in the nine countries - and take account of the growth of the school-age population, by an estimated 34 million, during the remainder of the century. Thus, collectively, the nine countries would have to increase their enrolments by a total of approximately 76 million. This figure is large both in absolute and relative terms. Reaching it would require an over 20 per cent increase in enrolment of the primary school-age group between now and the end of the century.
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Table 5
Implied Increase in Primary Enrolment Required to Enroll all Children in the Year 2000
(millions)
ESTIMATED ENROLMENT NET PROJECTED REQUIRED INCREASE PRIMARY OF PRIMARY ENROLMENT PRIMARY SCHOOL IN NET ENROLMENT SCHOOL-AGE SCHOOL-AGE RATIO AGE POPULATION BY THE YEAR 2000 COUNTRY POPULATION POPULATION IN 1993 IN TO ACHIEVE IN 1993 IN 1993 (%) 2000 100 % NER
BANGLADESH 17.6 11.7 66.5 19.7 8.0 BRAZIL 28.0 24.6 87.9 29.9 5.3 CHINA 98.9 97.5 98.6 117.1 19.6 EGYPT 6.5 5.8 89.2 7.0 1.2 INDIA 102.1 89.6 87.8 106.7 17.1 INDONESIA 26.8 26.0 97.0 25.4 0.6 MEXICO 13.0 12.8 98.5 14.0 1.2 NIGERIA 20.1 15.2 75.6 22.2 7.0 PAKISTAN 19.3 7.5 38.9 23.9 16.4
TOTAL 332.3 290.7 87.5 365.9 75.2
As will be observed in Table 5, the situation varies
significantly among countries. In Indonesia, where the school-age
population is projected to decline, universal enrolment can be
achieved even as total enrolment diminishes. For Mexico, which was
already enrolling an estimated 98.5 per cent of all children in 1993,
the task would appear quite manageable. By the end of the decade,
some 1.2 million additional school places would be required, an
increase of less than 10 per cent as compared with 1993. For
Pakistan, on the other hand, the task is insurmountable - and
recognized as such by its Government because of the under-development
of its education system and the high rate of growth of the school-age
population. In 1993, less than 40 per cent of the primary school-age
population was enrolled; moreover, this age-group was growing at an
annual rate of over 2 per cent. The combination of these two factors
means that enrolment of children of school age would have to triple by
the end of the century to achieve UPE in Pakistan.
Universal enrolment may not be quite as difficult to achieve as
the above statistics suggest because the capacity of the education
system is greater than indicated. Table 5 takes account only of those
students of primary-school age whereas a considerable number of older
and younger students are also enrolled in primary schools in most
countries. As Table 6 indicates, there is a sizeable disparity
between the net enrolment, the number of students of a official
school-age
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actually enrolled, and the gross enrolment, in which all students of
whatever age are counted. In Pakistan, for example, school enrolment
in 1990 consisted of approximately 6.9 million children of primary-
school age and some 2 million under and over-aged youngsters.
Table 6
OVER AND UNDER-AGED CHILDREN ENROLLED IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN 1990 AND 1993
ENROLMENT OVER AND ENROLMENT OVER AND 1990 UNDER-AGED 1993 UNDER-AGED CHILDREN NET CHILDREN GROSS NET IN 1990 GROSS (WITH EFA) IN 1993 COUNTRY (MILLION) (MILLION) (MILLION) (MILLION)
Bangladesh 11.9 10.3 1.6 13.5 11.7 1.8 Brazil 28.9 22.4 6.5 31.1 24.6 6.5 China 122.4 88.7 33.7 135.9 97.5 38.4 Egypt 6.3 5.2 1.1 6.3 5.8 0.5 India 99.1 68.0 31.1 105.4 89.6 15.8 Indonesia 31.4 24.9 6.5 29.6 26.0 3.6 Mexico 14.4 12.2 2.2 14.3 12.8 1.5 Nigeria 13.6 11.2 2.4 16.8 15.2 1.6 Pakistan 8.9 6.9 2.0 10.3 7.5 2.8
TOTAL 337.0 249.8 87.2 363.2 290.7 72.5
In the nine countries together, the number of under-aged and
over-aged children in 1993 was estimated at 72.5 million, over 20 per
cent of the total enrolment. Hence, if enrolment were limited to the
primary school age-group only, the number of new places required to
accommodate all school-age children would be considerably less than
indicated in Table 5. Indeed, as can be observed by comparing Tables 5
and 6, in 1993 all children of school age could have been accommodated
in six of the nine countries if enrolment were limited to children of
official school age only. The possibility of freeing all or even most
of the places now occupied by younger and older children should not,
however, be over-estimated. It will be extremely difficult - and may
even be undesirable in many cases - to exclude under-aged and, more
particularly, over-aged children from school. A closer correspondence
between age and grade normally develops as schools become better
established in societies. In regions where primary schools are still
pioneering institutions, there are many good reasons for students to
enter school later than prescribed in the official regulations: e.g.
the school may be farther from home than a young child can walk alone.
Nonetheless, it should be possible to improve significantly the
correspondence between age
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and grade enrolment over the course of the current decade by limiting
the entry of under-aged students and, more particularly, by sharply
reducing grade repetition, thereby decreasing the number of over-aged
children in the system. Indeed, this is already happening: between
1990 and 1993, the number of over and under-aged children was reduced
by nearly 15 million in the nine countries.
Providing Teachers:
There are many factors that constrain
the growth of school places. of these, perhaps the most serious long-
term constraint in several countries is the availability of qualified
teachers. Table 7 estimates that the primary-school teaching force
will have to expand by approximately 1,250,000 teachers between 1990
and 2000, if UPE is to be achieved in all the nine countries. This
projection is based on the assumption that the pupil-teacher ratio in
the year 2000 will vary from a low of 22 in China, where access is
already nearly universal and the accent during the present decade will
be on improving quality, to 50 in Bangladesh, where ensuring access
will continue to be the major challenge.
Table 7
ESTIMATED TEACHERS" REQUIREMENTS TO ACHIEVE UPE BY THE YEAR 2000
PROJECTED ESTIMATED ESTIMATED TOTAL ADDITIONAL ENROLMENT PUPIL- TEACHER TEACHERS TEACHERS COUNTRY IN THE YEAR TEACHER REQUIREMENTS IN REQUIRED 2000 RATIO TO ATTAIN 1990 TO ATTAIN IN U.P.E. U.P.E. 2000 (000'S) (000'S) (000'S) (000'S)
Bangladesh 19,700 50 394.0 189.5 204.5 Brazil 29,900 23 1,300.0 1,260.5 39.5 China 117,100 22 5,322.7 5,581.8 -259.1 Egypt 7,000 23 304.3 279.3 25.0 India 106,700 43 2,481.4 1,636.9 844.5 Indonesia 25,400 23 1,104.3 1,286.3 -182.0 Mexico 14,000 31 451.6 471.6 -20.0 Nigeria 22,200 40 555.0 353.6 201.4 Pakistan 23,900 38 628.9 218.3 410.6
TOTAL 365,900 12,542.4 11,277.8 1264.6
As will be observed, the demand for teachers differs greatly from
country to country. In Mexico, China and Indonesia, where enrolment
ratios are already high and population growth has slowed, teacher
requirements, it is estimated, will be lower in 2000 than they were in
1990. on the other hand, in Bangladesh,
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if UPE is to be achieved, the number of teachers would have to more
than double by the end of the decade and, in Pakistan, it would have
to nearly triple. It is, evidently, virtually impossible to increase
the teaching force to such an extent within a single decade. For this
reason, as noted below, Bangladesh and Pakistan are among the
countries that are actively exploring and testing the creation of
alternative school systems in which clergy, educated community members
and others serve as teachers.
As concerns teachers, quality is even more important than
quantity. Quality is determined mainly by the education training and
motivation of teachers, as well as by the professional support and
assistance provided to them. As the accounts of national action
reveal, improving teacher quality and motivation is a concern in all
countries, one that is leading to a wide range of actions designed
both to better prepare teachers for their role and to raise the status
and rewards of the teaching profession.
Gender and other Disparities
Gender disparity:
is the largest single obstacle to
achieving UPE. To look at UPE as a kind of 'numbers game', as has
been done above with data on enrolment and teacher requirements, is to
see only part of the truth. It assumes that all the problems are on
the supply side of the equation: that once places are provided,
students will flock to them. Experience disconfirms this assumption.
On the contrary, it shows that primary schools have not only to
provide places, they have to reach out to welcome and assist students
who, for various reasons' find it difficult to attend school. Figure
4 shows female enrolment as a percentage of total enrolment in primary
schools in the nine countries in 1980 and 1990. Considering the
countries collectively, female enrolment as a percentage of total
enrolment increased from 42 per cent in 1980 to 44 per cent in 1990.
The differences among countries, however, are sizeable. In two
countries, female enrolment constituted 49 per cent of enrolment in
1990. In another, girls made up only 34 per cent of the total.
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The causes of gender disparity are multiple and require
thoughtful analysis. While religious and cultural factors are usually
cited as reasons for non-participation, there is often a strong
economic motive as well. Girls, because of the service they render in
caring for siblings and working in the house, are often considered to
be more needed and valuable at home than are boys. Parents are also
more reluctant to permit their daughters to walk long distances to
school or to study under teachers of the opposite sex, than they are
their sons. Gender disparity, to a greater or lesser degree, was
formerly a problem in all of the nine countries. Overcoming obstacles
to the enrolment of girls calls for a careful analysis of their causes
and the conditions under which they arise. Only on the basis of such
knowledge can effective approaches to remedying gender disparities be
devised. As indicated below this is an issue which is receiving
thoughtful attention in several countries.
Other disparities:
In all societies, many other forms of
disparity arise. Certain of these are situational: for example, the
difficulty of reaching and serving far-flung rural or nomadic
populations or the challenges of conducting schools in urban slums or
shanty towns. Other are social or cultural in origin. Rates of
participation are generally lower among children of
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linguistic, cultural or ethnic minorities than among the rest of the
population. Economic factors also play an important part in
accounting for disparities. Children from poor families are more
likely to work and less likely to attend school than those from
better-off families. Despite child labour laws, they may be required
to work in order to survive, often enduring cruel exploitation as well as
forfeiting their right to education. Indeed, while child labour laws
are in the books in most countries, they are often ignored in
practice.Moreover, the educational provision made in poor areas is
often very inferior to that offered in more prosperous communities.
Hence, even those children of the poor who are eager to get an
education find it difficult to do so. Children with physical or
mental impairments also face special problems and, as a consequence,
have a considerably lower rate of school participation.
While one can generalize about the causes of such disparities,
the remedies proposed have to be specific to a particular situation.
As will be seen below, an entire range of approaches is being tested
in the nine countries. Indeed, certain of these are already being
implemented on a large scale. Moreover, it is recognized in all
countries that achieving UPE calls not only for the expansion of
educational systems - as essential as this is -, but also for
political, social and cultural action aimed both at overcoming
obstacles to participation and at making primary schools more
attractive and appealing to those parts of the population that are
being asked, often for the first time, to send their daughters and
sons to attend them.
Drop-Out and Repetition
Drop-out: 'Enrolment by itself', the Plan of Action of India's
National Policy on Education (NEP) notes, 'is of little importance if
children do not continue beyond one year, many of them not seeing the
school for more than a few days'. Drop-out is a major problem in most
of the nine countries, one that seriously diminishes the impact of the
large investments being made in primary education. As a rule of
thumb, successful completion of four grades of primary schooling is
usually considered a minimum for ensuring an enduring level of
literacy. This is significant because in many developing countries,
and at least four of the nine high-population countries, primary-
school enrolment is concentrated in the first three years of the
primary cycle. Because of repetition, drop-out, re-entry and other
factors, millions of students will be enrolled for more than four
years without ever progressing as far as the fourth grade.
Figure 5 shows the estimated survival rates for the second and
fourth grades for the nine countries. As will be noted, the situation
varies considerably from country to country. In Bangladesh, for
example, only two out of three students who enter grade one succeed in
entering grade two in the following year. Only roughly one student in
two makes it into the fourth grade on schedule. For Brazil, the
'survival rates' are even lower.
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Fewer than half the students in an entering cohort will continue
together to enter the fourth grade four years later. By contrast, in
Egypt, where a policy of automatic promotion prevails, unless there
are special reasons for holding a child back, 99 per cent of the
entering cohort continue on together to the fourth grade or beyond.
Repetition:
Children may, of course, repeat grades and
nonetheless continue their studies to completion. The evidence
suggests, however, that repetition is of ten a precursor to dropout.
Even where this is not the case, repetition is a serious concern to
school systems that have limited capacity and cannot accommodate all
school-age children. Repetition increases the number of years
required to complete the primary cycle and hence limits the intake of
new students that can be accommodated. The coefficient of efficiency
provides a means for estimating and comparing the internal efficiency
of systems. This coefficient is the ratio between the theoretical
number of pupil-years
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required to complete a cycle of education, assuming there is no
repetition or drop-out, and the actual number of years spent by the
cohort in completing that cycle. A coefficient of 1.00 would indicate
an identity between the theoretical and the observed values and,
hence, perfect efficiency.
Figure 6 shows that the coefficients for the nine countries range
from .91 for Egypt to .38 for Brazil. The implication of this figure
is that six of the countries could, in theory, accommodate at least 20
per cent more students in their schools were they able to reduce
repetition and drop-out.
In interpreting the above figure, it is important to realize that
the duration of the primary school cycle ranges from five years in
several countries to eight years in Brazil. Hence, the figures are
not precisely comparable. Nonetheless, differences in efficiency
remain significant even in situations where the duration of primary
education and the age ranges served are identical. In effect, Figure
6 and Table 6 examine essentially the same reality from different
perspectives. Table 6 shows the number of over-aged and under-aged
children enrolled in primary school, whereas Figure 6 reflects the
main cause of the large number of over-aged children: class
repetition. The point and
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purpose of both is to demonstrate that even modest improvements in
internal efficiency - for which there is clearly room - would enable
existing educational institutions to accommodate millions of
additional children.
Quality of Learning and Achievement
The goal set at the World Conference on Education for All was to
meet the basic learning needs of all. Access to school was seen as a
means, not a goal. In practice, however, access to and retention in
primary school represent the main means for offering youth an
opportunity for systematic instruction in basic learning and living
skills. Yet, schooling, while essential, does not guarantee that
basic knowledge and essential learning skills will be mastered. There
are two key questions that need to be asked. The first is normative:
what should be learned? The second is empirical: what is actually
being learned?
What should be learned?
The World Declaration on Education
for All defines basic learning as comprising 'both essential learning
tools (such as literacy, oral expression, numeracy, and problem-
solving) and the basic learning content (such as knowledge, skills,
values and attitudes) required by human beings to be able to survive,
to develop their full capacities, to live and work in dignity, to
participate fully in development, to improve the quality of their
lives, to make informed decisions, and to continue learning. The
scope of basic learning needs and how they should be met varies with
individual countries and cultures, and, inevitably, changes with the
passage of time'.
What is being learned?
It is here perhaps that our
information is least complete and the need for additional knowledge
greatest. While the situation obviously varies greatly from country
to country and is highly complex, there is abundant reason for
concern. It seems evident that primary education in most, if not all,
countries fails to meet the goals of basic education stipulated in
Jomtien. Several failings are frequently cited. Perhaps the most
common of these is that the primary curriculum is overloaded, diffuse
and insufficiently focused on mastery of basic knowledge and learning
skills. Related to this is the charge that the curriculum is too much
oriented to preparing students for the next step on the educational
ladder and too little directed at enabling them to live productive
lives within their communities. Indeed, many critics go further than
this: charging that primary education not only fails to prepare
students to live more successfully in their communities, usually in
rural areas, but alienates them from rural life. A word of caution
may be advisable here: education should be relevant not only to the
world from which children come, but also to the world they are
preparing to enter, a world in which science and technology will have
a growing impact on daily life everywhere. Hence, while education
should 'speak' to the local situation, it must also transcend it.
Good education should use the local to illustrate the universal, and
the universal to illuminate the local.
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The degree to which such charges made by critics are valid
certainly varies from country to country and, within countries, from
situation to situation. They are nonetheless a cause for reflection
and action and, indeed, as the country summaries reveal, are receiving
much thought and occasioning a good deal of action in nearly all
countries. Primary education provides a unique and precious
opportunity for children to devote themselves to learning. Its
duration is short. The time must, thus, be focused upon mastering
essential skills and subject-matters that can provide a basis for
life-long learning: through other kinds and levels of education, where
such opportunities are available, or through self-learning, where they
are not. But primary education is not only about gaining knowledge
and skills, it is also about forming values and attitudes.
How much is being learned?
Closely related to the issue of
the quality and relevance of the learning mastered in the primary
school, is that of the quantity of learning acquired or level of
achievement. Among the key indicators of achievement - or more
exactly, of lack of it - are the high levels of drop-out and
repetition noted above. The most obvious causes of low achievement
are the shortage of essential inputs into the learning process and the
difficult conditions under which schooling often takes place. As will
be discussed below, the nine countries, conscious of the urgent need
to improve learning achievement, are taking a wide range of measures
aimed at upgrading the quality of teaching, the provision of learning
materials and the condition of school buildings and facilities. These
are obvious steps and ones that experience has proven to be effective
in improving educational outcome. But there is also a need, as nearly
all countries recognize, for more effective monitoring of achievement
as part of a system of continuing improvement and development of the
education system. Several of the nine countries have already given
careful attention to this, by setting and monitoring minimum levels of
learning or through other approaches. Better knowledge of the causes
of high or low achievement should result in the formulation of more
effective educational policies for improving learning in schools.
Language and initial instruction:
All of the nine
countries are, to a limited or high degree, multilingual. In certain
of them, there are ten or more major languages and hundreds of
dialects, most of the latter having neither a standardized nor a
written form. Educational policy has to take account of this complex
reality. There is an abundance of research demonstrating that initial
learning is most rapidly and effectively acquired in the mother
tongue. Wherever feasible, therefore, it is recommended that the
medium of initial instruction be the mother tongue or home language of
the learner. Where circumstances make this impossible - which is
often the case in areas where numerous local dialects co-exist -, it
is important to provide a period of orientation in which the medium of
instruction is learned as an oral language before or at the same time
as it is taught as a written language. Failure to take account of the
inherent difficulties encountered in learning in a language unfamiliar
to the learner is often one of the main factors explaining non-
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enrolment, early drop-out and low achievement among linguistic
minorities. Fortunately, there is evidence of increasing efforts in
many of the nine countries to address the educational and cultural
implications of language and language choice.
Implications:
Several conclusions can be drawn from the
above analysis. The first of these is that the primary education
system in most countries is at a critical turning point. There is the
possibility and promise of rapid progress in the coming years that
would enable several countries to offer nearly universal access and
would put others within reach of that goal. But there is also a
danger: given demographic pressure, stagnation in enrolment growth
would result in declines in enrolment ratios and increases in the
number of out-of-school youth. In most countries, there is an evident
need to improve the internal efficiency of the education system in
order to expand enrolment or to reduce class size. Even with such
improvements, however, in a number of countries it will prove
impossible to increase capacity fast enough to absorb all children.
In these cases, the development of non-formal primary education, the
establishment of mosque and hone schools and a wide variety of other
approaches are being explored as interim measures until such time as
school places can be made available in the needed numbers. It is also
evident that enrolling the final five to ten per cent of difficult-to-
reach or serve children will require the development of innovative
approaches. Lastly, there are the perennial concerns for improving
quality, relevance and achievement. In most countries, there is a
growing conviction that, if education is to serve its intended
purposes, improvement of quality will have to be addressed with the
same sense of urgency as increasing capacity. Education, after all,
must in the final analysis be judged by the learning it produces.
2. Action in Primary Education
This section provides a summary of major developments in primary
education in each of the nine countries, based upon the country
reports prepared for the Summit. Such summaries are, of necessity,
highly selective. The emphasis in these accounts is on the innovative
rather than the routine. It is this which is judged to be of greatest
potential interest to readers in other countries. Yet, while
innovation and creativity are necessary to surmount problems,
achieving UPE calls, above all else, for persevering effort. Success
in this undertaking is not won: it is earned.
Bangladesh:
confronts nearly all of the educational
problems plaguing developing nations. Although primary education was
made compulsory throughout the country in 1993, over 20 per cent of
school-age children have never attended school and, of those who do
enroll, 60 per cent drop out before completing the five-year primary
cycle. Non-participation is
31
especially high among girls, although progress is being made in this
area. Presently, girls constitute approximately 45 per cent of
enrolment as compared to 40 per cent in 1985.
Educational policy is aimed at achieving three goals: (i)
increasing capacity in order to make access available to more
children; (ii) overcoming gender disparity; and (iii) improving the
quality and relevance of the learning content and the degree to which
students master it. In order to increase capacity, the government has
undertaken an ambitious programme to construct 100,000 classrooms by
the year 2000. The government is also encouraging the opening of
9,000 additional registered nongovernmental schools, many of them run
by religious institutions, raising the total number of such schools to
over 20,000 by the end of the century.
While sizeable, the above measures will not be sufficient to
accommodate all children in school. Greater reliance will, therefore,
be placed upon the development of non-formal primary education. BRAC,
the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee, is recognized worldwide as
a pioneer in this area. BRAC, in close co-operation with the
communities being served, operates 12,000 schools for two age-groups:
8-10-year olds, who have never attended a government school, and
11-16-year olds, who have either never attended or dropped out of
school. It is the policy of BRAC that girls make up at least 70 per
cent of enrolment. Classes are limited to a maximum of 30 students;
teachers are recruited from the community and trained by BRAC. The
curriculum is highly structured and focused on mastery of basic
learning and living skills. Student-achievement is closely monitored.
The approach is obviously effective as most students both complete
their studies with BRAC and succeed in transferring to governmental
schools. Another non-formal programme, the Underprivileged Children
Education Programme (UCEP), serves 'street urchins' and 'child
labourers' between the ages of ten and twelve years. Classes meet for
only two to three hours per day in order that children may continue
the work in which they are engaged: work which is often vital to their
survival and that of their families. After three years of such part-
time studies, students will have mastered literacy and numeracy and
will begin preparation for vocational training aimed at giving them
marketable skills. Reportedly, class attendance has been high, over
85 per cent, and drop-out low, less than 5 per cent per year. Both
BRAC and UCEP are examples of how education can be tailored to fit the
lives and serve the needs of students.
Bangladesh is pursuing several approaches aimed at overcoming
gender disparity. In order to encourage girls to continue their
studies, they are offered eight years of free education as compared to
five years for boys. One of the aims of this policy is to increase
the supply of future female teachers. By regulation, 60 per cent of
newly recruited government teachers must be women. The development of
satellite schools, small institutions of only two classes located in
rural hamlets, is another measure to promote the enrolment of girls by
siting schools close to their homes. As indicated above, these
32
measures are having a positive impact as evidenced by the fact that
the enrolment of girls is now increasing faster than that of boys.
To improve the quality of learning, the primary-school curriculum
has been overhauled and new textbooks, teachers' guides and
instructional materials developed. The new curriculum is aimed at
improving mastery of basic learning and life skills while, at the same
time, rendering education more relevant to rural life. Greater
emphasis is placed on health, sanitation, hygiene and the development
of practical skills; stories and illustrations have been selected to
reflect the rural life situations in which most students live. A new
approach has also been developed to monitoring achievement, using a
cluster sampling methodology and simplified examination procedures.
This system is designed to quickly spot problems in order that
remedial actions may be taken without delay.
All of the above measures are intended to enable Bangladesh to
meet the targets it has set itself: increasing gross enrolment from 78
per cent at present to 82 per cent in 1995 and 95 per cent in 2000
while, at the same time, improving the rate of completion from 40 per
cent at present to 52 per cent in 1995 and 70 per cent in 2000. Even
if these targets are achieved in full, Bangladesh will still be far
from offering all its children a complete basic education. It will,
however, have reached the point by the end of the century where this
goal will be achievable in the course of the coming decade.
Brazil :
'No longer is it a question of merely offering a
greater number of vacancies to potential students and, in this way,
achieving the goal of universalization of education. It is now a
matter of defining a strategy of making education more effective, of
improving quality and equalizing the development opportunities of
every citizen'. This statement defines both Brazil's situation and
its strategy. Education is compulsory between ages seven and fourteen
and approximately 90 per cent of students have access to school. The
most obvious problems afflicting primary education in Brazil are drop-
out and repetition, especially in the early years of the primary
cycle. Only 40 per cent of children complete the fourth grade and
only 20 per cent do so without having repeated one or more classes.
As a result, while Brazil has nearly 30 million students in primary
education, fewer than one million successfully complete their primary
studies each year.
Moreover, critics charge that the schools are not providing
children with an education that is relevant to the country's `stage
of social and political development, nor are they preparing youth for
participation in a modern economy, nor even for the full exercise of
their rights as citizens in a democratic state'. Brazilian education
is clearly facing new challenges and is being judged by new standards.
33
To respond to these challenges, Brazil has introduced a ten-year
plan of education for all. One of the major initiatives in this plan
is the PRONAICA programme, aimed at providing integral care to
children and adolescents. The premise of this programme is that
addressing the needs of children is an essential first step in solving
the problems of schooling. The programme seeks to provide
comprehensive care, including health and nutrition, by mobilizing the
resources of the state, the society and the family. While this
programme, presently at a pilot stage, will have a powerful impact on
the planning and provision of primary education, its underlying
assumption is that school problems are symptoms of deeper social
issues that need to be addressed. It, therefore, is concerned with
the infants as well as the school-age children and with social
integration through culture and sports as well as with schooling.
Another major initiative is the Northeast Education Project
covering Brazil's largest, poorest and second most populous region.
This project, which is being carried out with the assistance of the
World Bank, is intended to benefit six million primary-school students
through the training of 625,000 teachers, the distribution of over
1,000 million textbooks and the building or rehabilitation of 119,000
classrooms. The specific aims of the project are to increase
enrolment, reduce drop-out and repetition and improve learning
achievement. This last goal is also the objective of the National
System of Basic Evaluation, which will carry out nation-wide research
and testing to find more effective ways of evaluating achievement on a
regular basis. In brief, Brazil is engaged in a fundamental
reassessment of its primary education system with a view to making it,
at once, more effective and more equitable. It is this common concern
which links together the country's numerous programmes and projects of
educational reform.
By the end of the century, Brazil intends to extend access to the
approximately ten per cent of the population still unserved and to
significantly reducing drop-out and repetition. The broader aim,
however, is to bring educational development into harmony with
economic and political development in order that students may be
properly prepared to work in a modern economy and live in a democratic
society.
China:
In 1980, the State Council decreed that UPE should
be achieved within the whole of China during the course of the
decade. The Council recognized, however, that it would be
impossible in a state as vast and populous as China, with a growing
but still underdeveloped economy, to rely exclusively on governmental
action to achieve this ambitious goal. Communities, factories and
enterprises were, therefore, mobilized and responded vigorously to the
government's appeal. While the drive for UPE was a national movement,
the main responsibility for implementing it was local. The results
were impressive, the enrolment ratio - which was already high - was
increased by an additional seven per cent. The main effort, however,
was focused on improving the quality of education. Old buildings were
34
repaired or replaced and a vast programme of new construction
undertaken. Thus, even as school enrolment expanded, the amount of
space per student was more than doubled. More than 1,000 million sets
of chairs and desks were procured and enormous sums were spent on
improving instructional and learning materials.
Teacher training was recognized as critical in improving
educational quality and a major effort was made to train or retrain
millions of teachers. Special attention was given to upgrading the
qualifications of those semi-qualified teachers who were recruited
from within communities to overcome teacher shortages during the phase
of rapid educational expansion in the 1970s. These training efforts
continue. At present, over one million future teachers are in
training in over 3,000 institutions throughout China. Approximately
ten per cent of these future teachers are from minority nationalities.
In all, China has more than 4 1/2 million teachers, over 80 per cent
of whom are graduates of teacher-training schools or senior secondary
schools. An entire range of honours and incentives have been
introduced to improve the status and conditions of teachers.
The scope of primary education in China is immense. There are
729,200 primary schools. Of the 99 million children in the 7 to 11
year age-group, over 97 million are enrolled in school: an enrolment
ratio of 98 per cent for both sexes and 97 per cent for girls.
Moreover, through strenuous efforts by schools and communities, the
drop-out rate has been reduced to 2.2 per cent and the pass rate on
examinations raised to an average on all subjects of over 85 per cent.
Nearly 78 per cent of primary school students continue their studies
in junior middle schools.
In the remaining years of the century, China will seek to include
within its education system the two per cent of students as yet
unserved. For this purpose, special support will be extended to
underdeveloped regions of the country. Under the Law of the Guarantee
of the Handicapped, special education will also be vigorously
developed with the aim of including nearly all disabled children in
school by the year 2000.
Chinese education is placing ever greater stress on the
improvement of quality. The purpose of education is seen as enabling
children to develop fully their talents and potential. Curriculum
reforms and improved evaluation procedures are designed to encourage
active learning, not passive acquisition of knowledge. To make active
learning and child-centered approaches effective, a continuing
investment will be made in teacher training and in further reduction
of class size.
Early in the 21st century, education levels in China will be
approaching those in the world's most industrialized countries.
China's record of impressive progress appears to be due to three main
factors: a strong and sustained political Commitment to the
development of education, effective
35
organization at all levels from the national to the local, and a
pragmatic and innovative approach to problem-solving.
Egypt:
The quest to establish Universal Primary Education
in Egypt dates back to the Constitution of 1923. For 70 years, the
country has struggled to make the right to education a reality. In
recent years, these efforts have been given fresh and forceful
impetus. During the 1990s, which have been proclaimed the National
Decade of the Child, Egypt hopes to bring primary education within the
reach of all its children. The strategy for educational reform
defines education as a human right and a basic necessity for the world
of the future. Egypt Is primary education system is diverse,
including government, religious and private schools.
The Egyptian Government recognizes that the national education
system is beset by problems of both quantity and quality. As concerns
quantity, Egypt is critically short of school buildings - only 30
percent of primary schools operate on a full-day basis. Many schools
have double and, in certain cases, even triple shifts. Classes also
tend to be large, an average of 43 students per class. There is as
well a serious shortage of supplies and materials for teachers and
students. Concerning quality, the challenge is to transform an
educational system that has long emphasized rote memorization into one
in which active learning, creativity and application of knowledge are
the norm.
The basic objectives set for the primary education system are:
1. Preparing and developing citizens to adjust to the demands of
modern society and to comprehend the religious, national and
cultural dimensions of their identity.
2. Providing society with citizens who have mastered basic
academic skills, with special emphasis on reading, writing
and mathematics and the disciplines of the future (science,
mathematics and languages).
3. Providing citizens with essential knowledge on health,
nutrition, the environment and development-related issues.
4. Providing citizens with transferable skills, including
analytic skills, critical thinking, scientific skills and
problem-solving, abilities which can enable them to respond
to changing demands imposed by scientific and technological
progress.
Over recent years, the curriculum has been extensively reformed
to achieve these objectives. New content has been added and new
approaches to the presentation of subject-matters tested. At the same
time, authorities have recognized the need to slim down the curriculum
which, over time, had become bloated and unfocused. In 1991-92, the
Ministry of Education reduced the
36
content of the curriculum by 15 to 20 per cent to allow more time for
active learning and for the mastery of essential tasks. With the same
objective in mind, the school year has been increased from
approximately 25 to 34 weeks.
The reform of the curriculum has been accompanied by a major
effort at teacher training and re-training. Through collaboration
with specialized university faculties, both the number and
qualifications of future teachers have been improved. In addition,
in-service programmes have been stepped up for teachers already in
service. Finally, the inspectorate has been strengthened in order
that it may lend greater professional support to teachers. These
efforts are considered essential as educational reform depends, in the
final analysis, upon the quality-and motivation of the teachers who
will implement it.
While gender disparities have been largely overcome in the more
urban and developed parts of Egypt, they remain in rural areas,
particularly in Upper Egypt. To remedy this problem, small schools
are being sited in rural hamlets where the attendance of girls is low.
As schools are brought closer to the home, female enrolment is
increasing. An effort is also being made through curricular reforms
to make education more relevant and interesting to rural girls.
Perhaps the major development in the promotion of education in
Egypt is a fundamental change in perspective. Rather than being
conceived as a social service, as was previously the case, education
is now viewed as an essential investment in the nation's future,
indeed as a matter of national security. This has given fresh impetus
and new urgency to educational efforts. By the end of the century,
Egypt intends to both fundamentally reform its education system and
extend its coverage to all children.
India:
The National Policy on Education (NEP), adopted in
1986 and up-dated in 1992, constitutes a landmark in Indian
education. Based on an in-depth review of the country's experience,
situation and possibilities, and evolved through a consensual process
- an essential procedure in a highly pluralistic democracy - the NEP
provides a comprehensive framework for the development of education up
to the end of the century. While there have been earlier policy
statements, NEP is distinct in that it is accompanied by a Plan of
Action assigning specific responsibilities for organizing,
implementing and financing the actions it proposes. NEP gives
unqualified priority to basic education: primary schooling for
children and literacy programmes for adults. Particular attention is
given to the education of girls and disadvantaged groups.
In several respects, NEP marks a departure from previous policy.
No longer is the focus exclusively or even predominantly on enrolment.
Enrolment, retention and achievement together are seen to constitute a
trinity: enrolment having meaning only to the extent that retention
and achievement ensue. Under NEP, the
37
idealism of former policy statements is tempered with a realism
derived from experience and careful analysis of the situation. It is,
for example, conceded for the first time that schooling cannot reach
all children in the near future. Millions of girls and working
children will be excluded. Having acknowledged the problem, NEP
proposes to address it with a large and systematic programme of non-
formal education as an integral part of a strategy to provide basic
education to all. Non-formal education programmes are designed to
combine flexibility - enabling children to learn at their own pace -
with a level of quality comparable to that of primary school.
Recognizing gender disparities as a critical challenge to the
achievement of EFA, the policy calls for the integration of a gender
dimension into all aspects of educational planning and implementation.
The national education system, the policy holds, must play a positive
interventionist role in promoting the education of girls and the
empowerment of women. Curricula and textbooks are being re-designed
to ensure that they present a positive image of women; training and
orientation sessions for teachers, administrators and decision-makers
are addressing gender issues and seeking ways of overcoming
disparities. Finally, a wide range of efforts are being made to
identify and remove obstacles to the enrolment and retention of girls
in schools and non-formal programmes.
A fundamental premise of the new policy is that the pursuit of
UPE (or UEE, as it is termed in India) is contextual. In so vast and
varied a country, EFA cannot be dealt with in general, only in the
particular. As a consequence, planning is increasingly being shifted
from the state to the district and local levels. Related to this is
the realization that, while financial resources are important and
necessary, they are not sufficient to ensure success of educational
programmes. A host of supporting measures is required: i.e. the
mobilization of the community, the involvement of locally active NGOs,
appropriate language and cultural policies, and a careful and
respectful analysis of community values and attitudes toward
education.
Current policy, for example, recognizes the negative impact that
unattractive, dilapidated and ill-equipped schools have on community
attitudes toward schooling: the implicit message these send is that
education really does not matter. In response, a drive has been
launched to improve the appearance and state of repair of school
premises. Incentive schemes, such as school lunch programmes, have
also been encouraged and are being widely implemented. In sum, in the
pursuit of UPE the demand side of the equation is recognized to be
every bit as important as the supply side. Studies conducted in India
and elsewhere showing that access does not necessarily result in
enrolment are empirical proof of this.
That India has made enormous progress in education is
incontestable. The country is alive with projects, large and small,
testing and implementing new approaches. That it continues to face
enormous challenges in its quest to achieve EFA
38
is equally evident. There are an estimated 153 million Indian
children between the ages of 6 and 14 years. For the entire
elementary cycle (ages 6-14 years), the age-specific enrolment ratio
is estimated to be over 80 per cent. This represents an impressive
advance over the last decade. Yet, there are still over 28 million
out-of-school children in the 6-14 age-group, over 14 million of whom
are working children. Drop-out is also high: nearly half the children
who enter class I drop out before reaching class V and two-thirds
before class VIII. Improving quality is a matter of growing concern.
Minimum levels of learning (MLLs) have been established for key
subjects and extensive surveys of achievement conducted. Educators
have found the results disappointing. Only a 'minuscule' percentage
of students achieve 'mastery' at their particular grade level. This
sense of disappointment with test results is, of course, a sentiment
many countries, industrialized as well as developing, have
experienced. Yet, these are positive signs. Progress requires a
sense of problem and a sense of purpose. India is clearly
demonstrating that it possesses both.
Indonesia:
Education in Indonesia has been an integral
part of the process of nation-building. As is the case with many
former colonies, Indonesia's educational inheritance was meager. In
1940, for example, only 37 indigenous Indonesians graduated from the
university. This, in a nation with a population then estimated at 70
million. The literacy rate at the time was below ten per cent. The
importance of education was fully recognized by Indonesia's founding
fathers who, in 1945, stipulated in the Constitution that 'every
citizen shall have the right to obtain education, and the government
shall establish and implement one national system of education to be
regulated by law'. This commitment was reiterated in the Education
Acts of 1950 and 1954, but compulsory education could not be enforced
until 1984 because of a shortage of school places. Beginning in 1973,
the central government made funds available to local governments to
build schools, recruit teachers and print new textbooks. During the
ensuing decade, enrolment grew at a rate of more than eight per cent
per year.
Primary education, of six years' duration, is provided through a
dual system. Nearly 90 per cent of children attend the Sekolah Dasar
which, while administered by regional and local governments, are
required to meet standards set by the Ministry of Education and
Culture relating to the curriculum and the qualifications of teachers.
The Hadarasah Ibtidaiyah (MI), which are supervised by the Ministry of
Religious Affairs, serve approximately 3 million students. These
schools follow the curriculum of the Sekolah Dasar, but, in addition,
offer special religious instruction. The primary curriculum, both in
secular and religious schools, is deeply imbued with the state
philosophy of Pancasila, whose principles include belief in a supreme
God, democracy, social justice and national unity.
The Madarasah Ibtidaiyah are, in most instances, the successors
to more traditional Koranic schools. The
39
transformation of Koranic schools into institutions offering a full
programme of general education proved a challenging task. Providing a
qualified teaching staff was at the root of the difficulty. The
traditional teachers, while highly respected, were unprepared to teach
general subjects and few among them had received teacher training of
any kind. A solution was found in 1975 through an agreement whereby
the Madarasahs adopted the curriculum of the Sekolah Dasar and the
Ministry of Education and Culture, in return, undertook to supply the
MI schools with teachers qualified to handle general education
courses.
Girls make up 58 per cent of enrolment in the MI schools as
compared to 48 per cent in the Sekolah Dasar. This reflects a desire
on the part of parents with traditional values to send their daughters
to religious institutions. Gender disparity, however, does not emerge
as an issue in Indonesian education until the secondary levels, where
girls constitute only 45 per cent of the enrolment. Virtually all
girls attend primary school.
Indonesia presently has over 30 million primary school children
with an annual intake of more than five million. Only a small
minority of students in special situations remains beyond the reach of
the school. Those not as yet enrolled are, in general, in difficult-
to-reach areas. Even they, however, are served by 'visiting-teacher'
and other special programmes. In brief, as a result of persistent
efforts and creative approaches, access to education is no longer a
serious problem in Indonesia.
The annual drop-out rate has in recent years varied between 4 and
5 per cent. In all, nearly 75 per cent of students complete the
Sekolah Dasar and 68 per cent of them continue their studies at junior
high-school level. Between now and the end of the century, it is
intended to considerably increase the transition rate between primary
and junior high school. The aim is to provide all children with a
minimum of nine years of schooling in the 21st century.
As in other countries, improving the quality of education is a
continuing challenge. A five-point programme was launched in 1991 to
respond to this need. It sets higher qualification requirements for
future teachers and provides for the re-training of 85 per cent of
Indonesia's more than one million teachers. This will be accomplished
both in the regular teacher-training colleges and, through an 'open
university', by distance learning. Curricular reforms aimed at better
adapting content to local needs and promoting active learning are also
underway. A new system for producing and distributing textbooks is
planned. The government is also experimenting with the development of
teacher evaluation systems based on merit as well as on seniority.
In looking back over its record of educational achievements,
Indonesia has every reason to be proud. indeed, its progress is a kind
of 'rags-to-riches' story. In less than half a century of
independence, it has transformed education from the privilege of a
tiny minority into a right enjoyed by nearly all.
40
Mexico:
'The main task In the years to come will be to
ensure adequate educational provision, but the priority will be to
achieve the educational standards required by society and the economy.
If we lag behind in the revolution of knowledge, we will be cancelling
out our future'. With these words, from his inaugural address in
1988, President Carlos Salinas De. Gortari launched an era of
profound educational reform. In an era of austerity in public
finance, education saw its budget increased by 86 per cent in real
terms between 1988 and 1993, with basic education receiving the lion's
share of the increase. In 1988, public expenditure on education was
equivalent to 3.6 per cent of gross national product. By 1992, it had
risen to 5.2 per cent of a considerably expanded GNP. But, while
necessary to reform, money alone is insufficient. The three 'pivotal
points' of Mexico's reform were: (i) reorganization of the education
system; (ii) re-design of curriculum, contents and materials; and
(iii) measures to increase the motivation and training of teachers. A
National Agreement for the Modernization of Basic Education, setting
forth the main lines of educational reform, was drawn up and signed
before the President of the Republic by the federal and state
governments and the National Union of Education Employees (SNTE).
The most fundamental aspect of the reform was the transfer of
responsibility for the running of schools from the federal to the
state government. This was an extremely complex undertaking as it
involved, Inter alia, the transfer of some 700,000 employees and the
deeding over of more than 100,000 buildings to the states. In
addition, the federal government undertook to provide sufficient
resources to the states to enable them to improve the quality and
expand the provision of education. In effect, the federal government
did not relinquish its responsibility for education, but merely
entered into a partnership with the states in order to provide
educational services more effectively. These changes have,
nonetheless, profoundly transformed the landscape of education in
Mexico.
The revision of curricula was also a complex undertaking
involving scores of partners and a lengthy process of consultation.
Most of the basic education curricula in use in 1988 had originally
been adopted in the 1960s. The underlying assumptions of the new
curricula are that the foundation of basic education is reading,
writing and mathematics, 'skills which, if firmly assimilated ...
allow us to carry on learning throughout our lives and provide us with
rational supports for thought'. All children should also acquire an
adequate knowledge of the natural and social environment in which they
live as well as knowledge of themselves. To this end, health,
nutrition, conservation of nature and notions regarding different
forms of work are to be taught. Students should also gain an
understanding of 'ethical principle and develop the skills which will
prepare them to play a constructive and creative role In modern
society'. This implies knowing the history and laws of their own
country and the rights and obligations that accompany citizenship.
Basic education also seeks to impart cultural
41
appreciation and to mould the 'personality on values such as
Integrity, respect, confidence and solidarity, which are vital for
peaceful, democratic and productive relations in society'. Curriculum
reform is being supported by a wide range of measures intended to
provide improved textbooks and instructional materials and to create
classroom environments conducive to active learning.
Mexico recognized that nothing is as essential to educational
reform as a motivated and talented teaching force. Whatever is planned
or proposed, it is up to teachers to make it work in classrooms around
the nation.. The reform aims both at providing improved pre-service
and in-service training to future and serving teachers, and improving
the status and benefits of the teaching profession. A searching
review of teacher education is in process. Institutions were invited
to put forward proposals which were then reviewed in 'think-tank'
workshops by representatives of scientific, cultural and educational
organizations and associations. Serving teachers have been offered a
number of options for further education and training, many of which
make extensive use of distance education. To date., over 850,000
teachers have been re-trained. in support of these efforts, 12 mill
ion books have been published and 1,100 teachers' centres established
and equipped to receive and record televised teacher education
programmes.
Yet, as important as training is, it was realized that such
measures would be without great impact unless teacher motivation was
also improved. Over the years, the salaries of Mexican teachers had
been severely eroded by inflation. Correcting this has been by far
the most costly part cf the reform. During the last five years,
teachers' salaries have been increased by 88 per cent in real terms.
As a result, a primary school teacher now earns 3.3 times the minimum
wage as compared with 1.6 times in 1988. Improved salaries are,
however, only one point in a far-reaching programme intended to make
teaching, at once, a more rewarding and a more demanding profession.
The establishment of a teaching career scheme incorporating the
concept of 'horizontal promotions' enables teachers both to gain more
frequent promotions and to advance in their careers without having to
leave the classroom for an administrative post. Special allowances
have also been increased for teachers who serve in hardship areas.
Finally, a new, more systematic and more objective procedure for
assessing teacher performance has been established. Whereas promotion
previously depended mainly on seniority, the new system places far
greater emphasis upon classroom performance and qualifications.
Mexico has already extended access to most of its children. Many
of those who fail to enter the education system, or drop out of it at
an early age, can only be reached through special measures and
approaches. A US$530 million Programme to Combat Underachievement in
Basic Education (PAREB) has been launched, with the support of the
World Bank, to improve education in disadvantaged areas. In 1992-
1993, some 9,000 schools and 615,000 students benefited from PAREB.
This programme gives
42
priority to primary education in rural and indigenous areas. Funding
is used for producing bilingual educational materials and for building
and equipping classrooms, offices and health centres. There is also a
special government programme that produces books and other learning
materials in eight indigenous languages in order to strengthen the
cultural identity and values of children from minority groups.
In brief, Mexico is making a strenuous effort to ensure that its
children do not lag behind in the revolution of knowledge. The nation
has expressed its faith and invested its resources in the conviction
that education is the force that will shape its future.
Nigeria:
Faces the daunting challenge of expanding
education on a shrinking national income, of having to do more with
less. The oil boom which gave rise to ambitious development plans in
all spheres in the 1970s has come to an end while the school-age
population continues to increase at a rate of over 3 per cent per
year. Nigeria, nonetheless, remains determined to provide all of its
children with a full primary education of quality at the earliest
possible date. To this end, five priority goals have been
established:
1. increasing access to primary education for all Nigerian
children;
2. equalizing access for both boys and girls, thus reducing
gender disparities in enrolment;
3. ensuring access to basic education for hitherto underserved
groups;
4. improving the quality of the education provided; and
5. maintaining a suitable learning environment to reduce wastage
rates.
In 1992, Nigeria had an estimated 18.2 million children of
primary-school age, 6-11 years, a number expected to increase by four
million by the year 2000. A total of 14.8 million students were
enrolled in primary schools. Thus, a minimum of some 3.5 million
children remain outside the school system. However, as many of, those
enrolled are either over-aged or under-aged, the number of out-of-
school children within the age-group is certainly considerably higher.
Even with current enrolment, resources are seriously stretched.
Teachers, classrooms, textbooks and learning materials are all in
critically short supply. Nigeria estimates that over 100,000
additional teachers and classrooms would be required to achieve UPE.
Quality is also a major concern. Teachers are a key factor in raising
standards. But many of Nigeria's teachers are inadequately trained
and their morale is low as a result of poor remuneration and difficult
conditions of service, especially in rural areas. The situation,
43
the country report notes, presents a 'gloomy picture', but one which
the government is determined to tackle.
The situation regarding education is, of course, far from being
homogenous throughout the country. Certain areas, such as the North,
have lagged behind the rest of the country in educational development
for historical and socio-cultural reasons. The integration of Koranic
schools, which are numerous in the North, into the national school
system, is intended to reduce regional disparities. In general,
education is better developed in cities than in rural areas, although
the rapid migration into cities has strained resources even in urban
areas. Overall, the enrolment of girls is lower than that of boys,
but there is significant variation among the states. Educational
coverage of particular groups, such as the country's six million
nomads, is well below average. Of an estimated 1.8 million
handicapped children of primary-school age, only about 14,000 receive
some form of primary education.
Fortunately, there are also positive developments.
Qualifications have been raised for newly recruited teachers and
serving teachers are being re-trained. Strenuous efforts are being
made to reduce gender disparities. It has, for example, been made
illegal to remove girls from primary school for marriage. The
recruitment of female teachers for primary schools has been stepped
up. Federal and state ministries of education have established women
education branches to promote enrolment and retention of girls. The
Federal Ministry has produced a national blueprint, or plan of action,
for promoting the education of women and girls. Innovative programmes
have been launched to reach nomads and fishermen. The Nigerian
Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) is actively
engaged in curriculum research and the development of improved
instructional materials and textbooks. To finance these developments,
an Education Tax Law has been passed, which imposes a 2 per cent tax
on the profits of corporations. In brief, Nigeria is facing the
challenge of extending and improving education and has resolved to use
'innovative, even unorthodox strategies' to reach the targets it has
set itself.
These targets call for the country to increase enrolment annually
by about 800,000 students in order to achieve a 100 percent gross
enrolment ratio by the year 2000. Each year 20,000 'classrooms are to
be added, especially in areas where access to education is limited.
Efforts to promote equalization of access, especially through the
elimination of gender disparities, will be intensified. Quality is
being improved by up-grading teacher competence and morale, curriculum
reforms and the provision of a more adequate supply of instructional
materials. School inspection services are being strengthened as a
means for lending increased professional support to teachers. These
are ambitious targets which, if achieved, will have an important
impact.
The difficulties that Nigeria has encountered during the past
decade have hammered home the message that a nation's only
44
real and reliable wealth is in the talents, commitment and cohesion of
its peoples. Hardships have therefore served only to strengthen
Nigeria's resolve to create an education system which is 'functional,
universal and of quality'.
Pakistan:
Education in Pakistan is increasingly a focus of
attention and concern. The 'gloomy situation' of education with
widening gaps between town and countryside, male and female, 'calls
for revolutionary and firm measures', for the mobilization of the
needed human and material resources to grapple effectively with the
enormous challenge of providing basic education to all. In
particular, the improvement of primary education 'which yields the
highest rate of return' must be a priority. In brief, as these quotes
from the country report suggest, the government views the development
of education as a matter of utmost urgency. 'The challenges are as
numerous as the inadequacies of the system'.
There are 124,000 primary schools in Pakistan, including mosque
schools, providing education to children between the ages of 5 to 9
years. The establishment and management of schools is a
responsibility of the provincial governments, while the curriculum is
prescribed by federal authorities in consultation with the provinces.
Only approximately one-third of school-age children are presently
enrolled. The enrolment ratio, however, varies considerably among
provinces and between urban and rural areas. The highest rate, an
estimated 53 per cent, is in the urban areas of Punjab. The lowest
rate, about 10 per cent, is in rural Balochistan. The enrolment of
girls is markedly inferior to that of boys in the rural areas of all
provinces, ranging from a high of about 21 per cent in the Punjab to a
low of 9 per cent in Balochistan. Drop-out rates are of 'fearful'
proportions, especially in rural schools and among girls. The
conditions of schools are extremely poor. Indeed, nearly one-quarter
of all schools are classified as 'shelterless'. More than one-third
of schools consist of a single classroom accommodating all five
grades.
Pakistani educators are asking themselves how matters arrived at
their present unsatisfactory state. There would appear to be many
contributing factors. The inheritance from colonial times was small.
In 45 years of independence, Pakistan has increased the number of
primary schools fourteenfold and multiplied enrolment eleven times.
But this has not been enough given the high rates of population
growth. While education has figured prominently in development plans,
implementation has been weak. 'The checkered and uneventful history of
five year plans' has brought to light shortcomings and a tendency to
set unrealistic and unattainable goals. Compared to many countries,
there has also been serious under-investment in education and, more
particularly, in primary education. Constancy of purpose and
direction has also been wanting. In 1972, for example, the Government
nationalized private schools and then, in 1979, again sought to
encourage the establishment of private institutions, which now
constitute 14 percent of all schools, to expand the
45
availability of school places. The lessons of the past point to the
need for greater realism and continuity in future educational
policies.
The National Education Policy, 1992,
expresses the
government's resolve to reinvigorate and intensify its struggle to
achieve UPE - a national goal which has been eluding the nation so
far'. Among the goals set by NEP are the following:
1. Universalizing primary education, eliminating drop-out and
fulfilling the basic learning needs by the year 2002;
2. Improving the quality of education, by reasserting the role
of the teacher in the teaching-learning process, modernizing
curricula and textbooks, improving physical facilities, and
introducing activity-oriented new sciences at all levels of
school education;
3. Inviting the private sector to participate in education
programmes;
4. Giving teachers a prominent status in society, but, at the
same time, subjecting them to accountability-based
performance evaluation;
In addition to these goals, the 8th Five Year Plan calls for the
enactment and enforcement of legislation for compulsory school
attendance in areas where schools are available within a reasonable
distance and for the removal of gender and rural-urban disparities.
The underdeveloped state of primary education in Pakistan has led
governmental and non-governmental organizations alike to the
conclusion that 'business-as-usual' approaches are incapable of
solving the problem of access within the coming decade. In response,
a considerable number of innovative projects and programmes have been
developed. The revival of mosque Schools is one such 'innovation'.
Every village in Pakistan has its mosque which, in earlier times, was
a place not only of prayer, but also of religious and cultural
training. The revival of these schools, as places of secular as well
as religious learning, has met with a strong popular response.
Parents who have been unwilling to send their daughters to school find
no difficulty in sending them to study in a sacred institution. The
fact that the mosque schools operate year-round, following the rhythm
of the community rather than that of the academic year, has also
favoured attendance and achievement. Mosque schools are spreading
nation-wide.
Home schools
have been another major success. These
schools began modestly in the Sind in 1980 to assist children who did
not have access to schools. Each home school consists of 25 to 30
pupils, usually of primary school age. Their schedules are flexible
and usually limited to two to three hours per day. Such schools are
normally organized by NGOs and run by a committee of community
members. They use regular primary school textbooks.
46
It is estimated that some 500 home schools are presently in operation
in the Karachi area. Most were started by women's organizations and,
in total, enroll an estimated 11,000 girls.
Following the World Conference on Education for All (1990),
Pakistan resolved to make a new beginning in its quest for UPE. The
task before it is enormous. Yet, perhaps for the first time, it is
being tackled with a combination of determination, realism and
creativity that promises to produce favourable results. Education is
no longer perceived as the assignment of a ministry; it is recognized
to be the mission of the nation: its government, its secular and
religious institutions, and, above all, its people.
ooo
Lessons of Experience:
Indeed, the above accounts certainly
contain scores of lessons, most of them applicable uniquely to the
context or situation in which they arose. But are there not also some
principles of more general applicability? Four lessons drawn from the
review of national experiences follow. Attentive readers, it is
hoped, will find other lessons relevant to their particular situations
and needs.
1. The rewards of persistence: Those countries that have
achieved the highest degree of success in advancing toward
EFA are precisely those that have pursued that goal most
relentlessly and persistently. In the race to EFA, it is the
qualities of the tortoise that are triumphant steadfastness.
The hares learn to their sorrow that on-again, off-again
efforts do not pay off.
2. Strength in unity: In several of the cases examined,
potentially divisive issues arose. A struggle between
religious and secular schools could, for example, have arose,
as it did in parts of Europe. Through wisdom and compromise,
this was avoided. Room was found for all under the 'big
tent' of EFA and potential adversaries converted into future
partners.
3. Division of labour: Is EFA achieved by remote control from
the capital city or by 'spontaneous combustion' all over the
country? The answer, of course, is 'both' and 'neither'.
Central control is incapable of responding to the countless
questions and problems which inevitably arise in implementing
large scale actions, while local initiative is unlikely to
occur on the required scale. There has to be a division of
labour. The centre has to articulate the mission of the
nation and local authorities have to implement it. This can
only be achieved through an interactive process. The
national vision has to be shared by local authorities and
must be relevant to local
47
realities and aspirations. Local authorities also-have to be
able to count on national support and, where necessary,
resources to overcome exceptional problems. As Jomtien
emphasized, UPE can only be achieved through effective
partnerships.
4. Fixed purposes, flexible means: Experience suggests that
there should be not only clarity regarding the Aims and
priorities of EFA policies and strategies, but, in so far as
possible, consensus as well. However, if the destination has
to be clearly specified, the route to it should be left to
those at all levels who will be guiding the voyage. Much
will depend upon the 'season' and the 'topography'. No
opportunity should be missed to speed progress towards the
goal, and no unnecessary obstacles encountered. While it can
be helpful to be dogmatic about purposes and goals, it is
usually wise to be pragmatic and flexible about how they are
to be achieved. Those in charge of EFA should be encouraged
to be entrepreneurial and imaginative in finding their own
routes to the destinations that have been fixed by them or
for them, as the case may be.
48