Reflecting on the Education for All

agenda in 2015 and beyond

Keynote address to the Education Study Group at DSA Ireland’s Annual Conference

18-20 November 2015

Mary Goretti Nakabugo, PhDTwaweza East Africa

gnakabugo@twaweza.org / gnakabugo@yahoo.co.uk

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• In the year 2000, the global community committed to attaining universal primary education and gender equality by the year 2015

• In the same year, in Dakar, Senegal, a global Education for All (EFA) agenda was set consisting six broad goals

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Education for All Goals 2000-20151. Early childhood care and education (ECCE)2. Free and compulsory primary education 3. Youth and adult skills4. Adult literacy5. Gender parity and equality6. Quality education

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4

2015 is almost gone! What have we achieved? What do we need to do differently in the next 15 years?

There is a lot to celebrate since 2000!

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Enrollments have increased and there is almost gender

parity at primary level…

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In many countries, the current MDG for education has been almost reached.

Schooling status today : Everywhere school enrollments are very high …

- There are 84 million fewer out-of-school children and adolescents, …52 million of these are girls

- 34 million more children have gone to school due to intensive efforts of EFA movement

- Two-thirds more children are enrolled in pre-primary education

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Spending billions: The case of UgandaAlthough with fluctuations, Education getting lion share % of National

Expenditure in Uganda – 1997/98-2012/20131997/1998 - 2012/2013

Source: Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) (MTEF & Annual Budget Performance Reports)

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Spending mostly on Primary Education..

Source: Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) (MTEF & Annual Budget Performance Reports) 10

But we have not reached Education for All globally!• Just a third of countries have achieved all of the

measurable EFA goals

• Only just over half of countries achieved Universal Primary Enrolment

• 121 million children and adolescents were still out of school in 2012

• A third of countries did not reach gender parity in primary education; a half of countries did not in secondary

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Goal 1: Early childhood care and education (ECCE) - globallyAchievements Reasons for success Challenges

Child mortality rates dropped by nearly 50%

- Laws to mandate participation e.g. Mexico

- Abolishment of fees e.g. South Africa

- Campaigns targeting parents e.g. Thailand

- Improving quality e.g. Jamaica

6.3 million children died before 5 years in 2013

Global malnutrition fell from 40% in 1990 to 24% in 2013

1 in 4 children are still short for their age

enrolments in pre-primary education increased by two-thirds since 1999 (from 112 million to 184 million).

Only half of countries made clear progress in pre-primary education

pre-primary education is compulsory in only 40 countries.

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Goal 2: Free and compulsory primary education Achievements Reasons for success Challenges

Most prominent of the EFA goals

- Guaranteeing a truly free education e.g. Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania

- School and classroom construction e.g. Mozambique tripled the no. of its classrooms

- School feeding programmes: In 32 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, providing on-site meals increased girls’ and boys’ enrolment by 28% and 22% respectively.

57 million children are out of primary school in 2015.

Half of countries reached universal primary enrolment

100 million children will not complete primary school in 2015.

Big gaps in attainment between the poorer and the richer households

The proportion of out-of-school children in conflict-affected countries increased from 30% to 36% from 1999 to 2012.

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Goal 3: Youth and adult skillsAchievements Reasons for success Challenges

There are 42 million more adolescents in lower secondary education since 2000

- Abolishing school fees in 94 countries

- Changes in the legal frameworks to assure basic education.

- Ratifying the ILO Minimum Age Convention to enforce labour protection for working children

- Suspending exams at the end of primary school as in the case of Pakistan

Only half of countries achieved universal lower secondary education by 2015

63 million adolescents are still out of school

Only 1 in 3 adolescents finish lower secondary school in low income countries... …compared to 5 of 6 adolescents in upper middle income countries

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Goal 4: Adult literacy Achievements Reasons for success Challenges

This goal registered the lowest achievements of all goals

- International or national surveys that directly assess literacy skills, identify crucial policy challenges. E.g. Kenya’s 2006 assessment

- Mother tongue literacy programmes: Mexico developed learning materials in 45 languages

- Well planned and resourced literacy campaigns: Nepal invested $35 million in a national campaign

- Relevant literacy programmes linked to community needs

Worldwide the adult illiteracy rate will have fallen by only 23% by 2015, far short of the 50% target.

Only a quarter of countries reduced their adult illiteracy rates by 50%;

781 million adults with minimal literacy skills, of which two-thirds are still women.

Half of all Sub-Saharan African women lack minimum literacy skills

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Goal 5: Gender parity and equality

Achievements Reasons for success Challenges

There have been substantial reductions in gender disparities since 1999, but they have not been eliminated.

- Creating an enabling environment through policy reform e.G. Burkina faso and ethiopia integrated a gender perspective into national education plans

- Community mobilisation and advocacy campaigns, as was seen in tajikistan, uganda and zambia

- Improving facilities including water and sanitation

- Addressing gender equality in the classroom e.g. increase female teachers, safe schools, gender sensitive training

Defining and measuring gender equality remains contested, which undermines effective monitoring

Girls remain less likely than boys to ever enter school, especially girls from poor families.

Only a third of countries did not reach gender parity in primary education; a half did not in secondary education

In wealthier middle and high-income countries, boys are at higher risk of failing to complete a cycle of secondary education.

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Goal 6: Quality Education

Achievements Reasons for success Challenges

Shift of focus from inputs to learning

- Utilising Learning assessments: Since 2000, 142 countries are now monitoring learning outcomes (from 70 countries in 2000) in order to improve education quality.

- Filling the trained teacher gap e.g. of Nepal

- Shifting towards a multi-lingual language policy

- Increasing instructional time: Time devoted to learning does enhance students’ exposure to knowledge.

While many countries have made impressive gains in access to education, ensuring good quality education has been much more of a challenge

Some countries such as Ghana, Kenya, and Mexico - have increased access and learning at the same time

250 million unable to do basics: read, write, count, even after 4 years of schooling

Learning outcomes are lowest in low income countries e.g. in East Africa, less than a third of children in class three possess appropriate literacy and numeracy skills

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Uwezo Uganda Fact 1 (2013): One out of 10 Children Assessed in Primary 3, and 7 out of 10 Assessed in Primary 7 were Able to Read and Comprehend a Primary 2 Level Story and Correctly Solve Primary 2 Level Division Tasks

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• This • is

• how• most

• 3rd-grade kids • in

• Uganda• read, at best

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• This • is

• how• most

• 3rd-grade kids • in

• rich countries (OECD)• read

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What it feels like to be a non-reader…

What next? Agenda 2030• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that

have been agreed internationally (2016-2030) encompass, for education, the same ideals that inspired the MDGs and EFA goals.

• SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all = 7 targets (see notes)

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What needs to be done differently• Focus on access + learning• Invest in the first 5 years of the child• Early grade assessment and learning• Strive for a more balanced approach to educational

development• The fundamental responsibility for successfully

implementing this agenda lies with governments.• Donors to honour their development commitments

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Aid to education fell by US$1.3 billion between 2010 and 2012

International Aid: Donors did not keep their promise

6.5

8.6 8.9

9.8

10.9

12.0 11.8

13.9 13.9 13.0

12.6

2.6

4.2 4.0

4.5

4.9

5.1 4.8

5.4 5.5 5.1

5.2

Total aid to post-secondary education

1.0 1.1

1.3 1.2

1.6 1.9 1.9

2.5 2.4 2.2

2.3 Total aid to secondary education

2.9 3.2 3.5 4.1 4.4 5.0 5.1 6.0 6.0 5.7

5.1

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

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2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Total aid to basic education

Source: OECD-DAC, 2014

Only 2% of aid to basic education went to pre-primary education

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