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Meeting International Goals

There has been no shortage of consultations on how to better educate the world’s children. These include major international meetings held in Thailand in 1990 and Senegal in 2000, both sponsored by several UN agencies. At the latter, over 160 countries adopted six goals aimed at providing a good quality basic education to all children, youth, and adults by 2015. The “Education for All” movement gained particular prominence the same year when world leaders, on behalf of nearly every country, unanimously adopted the Millennium Development Goals in 2000. Two of the eight goals include the achievement of universal primary education and the elimination of gender disparities in all levels of education by 2015. So, how far has the international community come in meeting these goals?

© Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2006 / page 68 There is growing awareness among governments of the powerful ties between education and development, and, as a result, a greater willingness to invest in this sector. Some countries have, in fact, made remarkable progress. Of 155 developing countries, 47 have achieved universal primary education and another 20 are on track to do so by 2015, notes the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Adds a UNESCO brochure on this topic, “many countries—not only in the richest parts of the world but also in Latin America, the Caribbean, East Asia, and even in Africa—are now approaching universal primary education for the first time. Countries such as Botswana, Brazil, China, Mexico, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia are showing the way.”

Bangladesh doubled primary school enrollment, especially for the rural poor, over a period of about 15 years. Strong government commitment, incentives for poor families, parental involvement in school management, curricula focused on real life skills, and the leadership of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) all played a role.

Despite increasing primary school enrollment in some countries and the achievement—or near achievement—of full enrollment in North America, Europe, Latin America, and East Asia, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and in the Arab and North Africa region continue to fall behind. Tens of millions of children remain out of school in these regions, including some 40 million in sub-Saharan Africa alone. In total, UNESCO officials claim that 67 countries are at risk of missing the goal of universal primary education by 2015.

While education spending has increased over the past decade in many developing countries, the UK government estimates that an additional $9.8 billion per year will be required to achieve universal primary education by 2015. While that may seem a substantial sum, only 2.7 percent of all international aid currently goes to basic education. Advocates want to see that figure doubled. Many point to the just over $1 trillion spent internationally each year on military expenditures to argue that the money exists, if governments would choose to spend it differently.

Where gender parity in education is concerned—another Millennium Development Goal—girls’ enrollment still lags behind that of boys in about 40 countries at the primary level, but in nearly twice as many countries at the secondary level. Disparities are even more pronounced at the tertiary level.

When families must choose which children go to school, usually the girls lose out. Girls are more likely to have household tasks that keep them from going to—or staying in—school. Furthermore, the mere lack of safe transportation and separate toilet facilities for girls can keep them out of school. And in some areas, religious fundamentalism puts girls at a serious disadvantage—like in Afghanistan where attacks by a resurgent Taliban are forcing the closure of some girls’ schools.

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

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