Education for All: A Report Card

Mon., Sep. 11, 2006

At the core of the EFA [Education for All] partnership is the belief that education is the key to sustainable development and peace and stability within and among countries, and accordingly that is indispensable for people to participate fully in the societies and globalized economies of the 21st century.
- Kailash Satyarthi, President
Global Campaign for Education

Vijaya Lakshmi preparing for classes. © Janet Barry / World Education, Inc.

While it may be assumed in many countries that all children can go to school, that was not the case for 14-year-old Vijaya Lakshmi in Andhra Pradesh, India. She and almost 250,000 other young children in this region are employed in the cotton seed industry as bonded laborers�forced to work long hours in difficult conditions to return loans given to their families. Vijaya has been lucky enough to benefit from a World Education program that provides relevant, practical life skills for child girl laborers, but many girls in similar circumstances never go to school at all. Working�to help a family survive�takes priority, even though education has the most potential to help break these long-term cycles of poverty.

Those committed to universal education generally assert that much more is at stake than just getting kids into school. Rather, they claim, education is a major part of the solution for many of the world�s development problems. Education and literacy, they note, are prerequisites for economic growth and poverty alleviation; the knowledge and decision-making skills gained in school improve family health and well-being; an educated electorate usually makes better political decisions; education protects children from situations of abusive child labor and trafficking; and education helps to stop the spread of HIV and AIDS.

Despite all these benefits, governments are not pouring resources into improving access to quality education. While some countries are making notable commitments to education, progress is often uneven within countries and others are making little progress at all. About 100 million children of primary-school age in the developing world do not attend school and, in about one third of countries, one out of every three children that begins primary school will not finish it. Getting kids in school is one thing; keeping them there is another.

A crowded classroom in Guinea. Student-to-teacher ratios in some parts of the world are 60 to 1. © International Rescue Committee

None of the above is to say that the international community has not come a long way in providing at least a primary school education for many of the world�s children. It has. Advancements since the 1950s, for example, have been substantial, with primary school enrollments increasing more than three-fold in the past 50 years. But there is still much to be done. In many cases, for example, the quality of education, which is fundamental to keeping kids in school, has received less attention than expanding access. About one fifth of the world�s adult population still cannot read or write. And, in many countries, the reality is that an individual will have greater educational opportunities if they are not poor, female, or residing in a rural area.

Page 1 - Education for All: Introduction
Page 2 - Meeting International Goals
Page 3 - Investing in Tomorrow
Page 4 - It Takes a Village

PERSPECTIVES HOME: Learning the Future

Comment List

"EDUCATION FOR ALL IS SECOND STOREY OF THE BUILDING"

Author: DEVINDER KANSAL

Time: 03/16/2008 19:53

Comment: In order to achieve the millenium goals for education for all,we will have to conceptualise the realistic & SMART goals which are specific,measureable,achieveable,realistic paced and time-bound.
We must understand EFA is the second storey of a building whose first storey must be built by
'WORK FOR ALL'centres.As long as we are unable to create self-sustaining work for all cetres,we can never achieve the education for all goals.

My spiritual Guru has clearly indicated ,rather proved that EFA is a matter of only 10 years for 100 percent world literacy once we catch the real problem,which is evaded by all agencies till date.
Whether it is UNO,UNESCO,or World Bank,all are concentrating on EFA ,instead of working on WORK FOR ALL CENTRES which can easily be created on self sustainable basis by giving opportunities of work on as is where is basis of the skills level of the needy,ready to work,but for the opportunity to work.Once all parents and would be young mothers get priority in employment & literacy skills,there is no reason to fail empowering the poorest of the poor countries to stop adding illiterates any more in future.
Talking only for EFA is definitely trying to build the second storey of a building without building the first storey,which is an impossible task.