EDUCATION’S VITAL ROLE IN DEVELOPMENT STRESSED AT THEMATIC SESSION

OF BRUSSELS CONFERENCE ON LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRIES

(Received from a UN Information Officer.)

BRUSSELS, 16 May -- As the Third United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries continued this afternoon, speakers at an interactive thematic session, entitled “Education for All”, focused on the vital role of education in development and the need to implement existing education programmes, such as Dakar Framework for Action adopted last year at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal.  That Framework sets goals of universal and free primary education, a 50 per cent improvement in adult literacy and gender equality in education by 2015.

The session’s moderator, Roger Dehaybe, Administrateur général de l’Agence intergouvernementale de la francophonie, said there were plenty of documents, resolutions and diagnostic papers on education, and today’s meeting was designed not to produce yet another paper, but to mobilize political will and the resources needed to achieve the goals.  During the discussion, it had been pointed out that education was both a means and an end, but in both cases it was essential for development.

The Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Koichiro Matsuura, said that the main focus of action following last year’s Dakar Forum should be at the national level, and particular emphasis must be placed on assistance to the least developed countries (LDCs).  Cooperation and networking were also needed, as education for all was a collective commitment.  It was important to build on what already existed, in order to make universal education a reality.  The year 2015 was close enough, but there was still enough time to allow each country to draw its national plans and make better use of its national potential.

One of the session’s co-chairs, Donald Mackenzie, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said that the goal of education for all would be a “non-starter” without involvement at the national level.  He was not talking about a modest increase to the traditional approach of “education for some”.  Rather, there must be a full, unequivocal and urgent commitment to give every child a quality education.

Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said if half of the LDCs responded to the challenge of achieving universal education by 2015, it would mean doubling their present school

enrolment, which would not be easy.  One of the solutions was to guarantee a minimum income to families, to give them the incentive to send their children to school.  Implemented in Brazil, such a system was a government investment, not an expenditure.  While some African governments might not be able to provide the same incentive as the Brazilian Government, a similar scheme using capital from debt reduction was being explored.

Theresa Ndonji Jatta, Minister of Education of Gambia and a panellist at the session, said that today’s session placed education where it should be -– at the centre of development.  It was important to translate good will into action, for there was no country among the LDCs that did not have a plan of action for education.  The problem, however, was how to implement those programmes.  A definite paradigm shift was needed to overcome the low literacy levels and the lack of access to basic education, and donor input should be coordinated to reduce leakages and waste of resources.

Several panellists and speakers in the debate emphasized the importance of women’s and girls’ education and the need to devote funds to that purpose.  To achieve better women’s education, they recommended formulation of new gender-responsive policies; improving the ability to act at grass-roots level and implementing the best practices.  Also noted in the discussion was the role of education in fighting the AIDS pandemic and eradicating poverty.

Fidele M. Kientega, Minister for Literacy and Basic Education of Burkina Faso, acted as a co-Chair of the session.  Sadig Rasheed, Director, Programme Division, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), made opening remarks, and Dina Craissati, Consultant, Egypt, presented the issues paper.

Other panellists included:  Khamliene Nhouyvanisvong (Lao People’s Democratic Republic); Penina Mlama, Director, Forum for African Women for Education; Monique Fouillhoux, Education Officer, Education International; Steve Packer, Acting Chief Education Adviser, Department for International Development, United Kingdom; Christine Hemrick, Vice President of Strategic Technology Policy, Cisco Systems, Inc.; and Yvette Stevens, Special Coordinator, Office of the Special Coordination for Africa and the LDCs.

At 10 a.m. tomorrow, 17 May, the Conference will hold another thematic session on international trade, commodities and services.

            Thematic Session:  Education for All

Issue Paper

An issue paper prepared for the Conference by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), entitled Education for All and Sustainable Development in the LDCs, presents “education for all” -- a goal declared at the World Conference on Education for All, held in Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990 and most recently reaffirmed in 2000 at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal -- in the context of the internationally agreed development goal of reducing the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by at least half by 2015.

The paper opens with a chapter on the status of education for all in the least developed countries (LDCs), including meeting three goals in the draft programme of action for the LDCs for 2001-2010:  ensuring universal primary education by 2015; achieving a 50 per cent improvement in adult literacy by 2015; and eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and achieving gender equality in education by 2015.  Chapter II concerns prospects and strategies for achieving education for all in the LDCs, including its role in promoting development, and Chapter III consists of strategic recommendations in such areas as building human and productive capacities and creating enabling national environments.

Statements

One of the session’s co-chairs, FIDELE M. KIENTEGA, Minister for Literacy and Basic Education of Burkina Faso, stressed the importance of education for development.  Unfortunately, he said, one of the characteristics of the LDCs was the low level of education.  Many people had no access to primary education, which led to a large number of illiterate adults.  Education should be a priority for least developed countries (LDCs), and his country had developed a 10-year plan.  Subregional and regional efforts were also being undertaken to establish a foundation to support non-formal education.  If the battle of education was not won, it would be impossible to achieve the goal of sustainable development.

DONALD MacKENZIE, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), also a co-chair, said that education was the cornerstone of his country’s domestic agenda.  The United States Administration had reaffirmed its commitment to the goal of education for all.  That goal would be a “non-starter”, however, without involvement at the national level.  He was not talking about a modest increase to the traditional approach of “education for some”.  Rather, there must be a full, unequivocal and urgent commitment to give every child a quality education.  Also, education for all would not succeed without the broad involvement of civil society in planning and implementation, especially at the local level.

Continuing, he emphasized the importance of girls’ and women’s education.  A focus on girls brought additional benefits in higher income, better family health and improved social status.  When countries focused on girls’ education, boys’ education improved, as well.  Another major issue was the impact of HIV/AIDS.  It was not just an African problem -- it was a global scourge, which was sadly underestimated.  No country could contend that it was safe from it.  Education had many benefits in the war against the disease.  The problem was so bad, though, that teachers passing away from AIDS could not be replaced fast enough.

He did not, however, want to be pessimistic, he said.  In the last 30 years, enrolment in education in LDCs had significantly increased, and it was important to celebrate that success.  At the same time, the clock was ticking, with

113 million children out of school and more than 80 million illiterate adults.  Each day that the international community failed to act meant that another child would lack the knowledge and the life skills to make positive choices, or perhaps prevent fatal outcomes.  The challenges were great, but the benefits to each country and its citizens were greater.

In opening remarks, KOICHIRO MATSUURA, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), said that the World Education Forum, held in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000, had had a great impact on his organization.  The Forum had emphasized education for all, as well as all kinds of education.  Education was not only a basic human right, but a means of development, for it allowed men, women and children to develop their potential.  It was also one of the means of combating poverty.

Following the Forum, the main focus of action should be at the national level, he said.  Governments bore the primary responsibility for the achievement of the Dakar goals, with partnership from civil society, local community and the private sector.  Particular emphasis must be placed on assistance to the least developed countries.  National plans, cooperation and networking were needed. Education for all was a collective commitment, the highest expression of which was partnership and fruitful cooperation.  It was important to build on what already existed, in order to make universal education a reality.

To achieve the universal education goals, UNESCO had been working on several levels and pursuing various initiatives, he added.  It was collecting important data regarding the developing countries and disseminating information on the initiatives.  Aimed at harmonizing the commitments to education for all, it was providing assistance to governments in drawing their national plans, making efforts to maintain the momentum in the efforts to achieve the goal of universal basic education. 

Non-governmental organization (NGO) involvement was central in the public efforts towards improved education, he said, adding that NGO participation should be better reflected in the outcome of the Conference.  Many programmes and projects, including education of adults, were being run with the help of such organizations.  Financing was needed for higher education and research and, to that end, a partnership with the private sector would be very useful.  The year 2015 was close enough, but there was still enough time to allow each country to draw its national plans and make better use of its national potential.

RUBENS RICUPERO, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), said the thematic debate was one of the innovations brought to the current conference.  So, this Conference was, in effect, not the third of its kind, but rather the first.  Traditional meetings in the past, which consisted of speakers from various countries reading statement after statement, had been misleadingly called general debates.  They were not debates.

On the other hand, he continued, today he had participated in real debates on health, migration, city-to-city cooperation, export opportunities for LDCs and education.  He would also leave here to go to another on the environment.  The objective was to have an interactive debate, so that people could listen and react.  The second objective was to come up with solutions.  While there were no important disagreements over the diagnoses of LDCs, the therapy was poor.  So, to come here today and once again give only a diagnosis would not answer much.  “We need answers, so that we can provide deliverables”, he added.

He said education was a continuous process of learning, but first it was imperative to learn how to learn.  If half of the LDCs responded to the challenge of universal education by 2015, it would mean doubling their present school enrolment, which would not be easy.  What then were the solutions?  The reason  why families did not send children to school was not because they did not value education, but because they were desperate for income.  In some African countries, for example, the income brought home by children was sometimes 45 per cent of the household total.

He said minimum incomes must be guaranteed to families, to give them the incentive to send their kids to school.  Such a system was at work in Brazil and was a success.  It eliminated such problems as street children and all the associated complications that came with that phenomenon.  Also, it was a government investment and not an expenditure.  While some African governments might not be able to provide the same incentive as the Brazilian Government, a similar scheme using capital from debt reduction was being explored.

            SADIG RASHEED, Director, Programme Division, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), said basic education of good quality was the right of all people.  The Fund had placed the education of girls as its highest priority for the next four years.  There was also an ongoing African girl education initiative that had been taking place for a few years now in some 31 African nations.

He said that if the education of girls did not become a global priority of the international community, the goal of universal primary education or gender equality would never be achieved.  Improving the quality of education for girls meant improving the quality of life for all and enhancing the chances for appropriate social and cultural development.  Girls faced glaring inequalities and discrimination, which were enforced in their home and their environments.

The session’s moderator, ROGER DEHAYBE, Administrateur général de l’Agence intergouvernementale de la francophonie, said there would be no success if definitive action to provide education for all was not taken.  The Dakar objectives and related programme of action had to be the backbone for all future ideas. 

Education was at the heart of the programme of cultural diversity and globalization.  It also needed to be borne in mind that the private sector had already made contributions to education and agriculture, and had made them genuine aspects of their trading operations.

DINA CRAISSATI, Consultant, Egypt, said information and communication technologies (ICTs) had opened up new and important avenues for rethinking educational systems, specifically non—formal methods of delivery, and for reconsidering the role of education.  The propagation of world culture and the slow erosion of cultural distinctiveness and identity were creating tensions between the local and the global, which encouraged withdrawals into closed communities and rejections of the “other”.  That represented a major challenge to the quality of education in LDCs, which would have to address issues related to content and values,

Those issues, she continued, would include empowerment of people; engaging in relations and dialogue with others while asserting one’s difference and identity; keeping up with scientific progress without turning one’s back to the past; adopting critical approaches; and engaging in positive action. 

On the other hand, she continued, the strong ties of decentralization and internationalization were providing LDCs with opportunities to address bottlenecks in educational and social reforms.  Those involved the growing drive and capacity of citizens to become “agents of change”; to be more autonomous, reflexive and critical; to act and create; and to make better decisions relevant to themselves and to their everyday lives.

Panellists

THERESA NDONJI JATTA, Minister of Education of the Gambia, said that today’s session placed education where it should be -- at the centre of development.  Least developed countries were marginalized in the global economy, and the low level of education was one of the problems.  It was important to translate the good will into action, for there was no country among the LDCs that did not have a plan of action for education.  The problem, however, was how to implement those programmes. 

“The right mix and fit” must go into the individual education of each person, she continued.  A definite paradigm shift was needed to overcome the low literacy levels and the lack of access to basic education.  Donor input should be coordinated to reduce leakages and a waste of resources.  The importance of education for girls and women could not be overstated.  The expression “to educate a man meant educating just one person, but to educate a girl meant educating many” was considered trite.  It was, however, true and donors must become involved in that cause.  Education was the key, which would open the door to development.  To really make an impact, it was important to support girls in going to school and remaining.  Women should also be encouraged to become teachers and role models.

KHAMLIENE NHOUYVANISVONG (Lao People’s Democratic Republic) said that poverty and extreme poverty were an attack on fundamental human rights.  Long-term strategies to overcome poverty must be harmonized with other development policies, and education should not be forgotten in that connection.  Both formal and non-formal education needed to be strengthened as a basic human right and a means of social advancement.  School diplomas create opportunities.  Access to education was what helped people to understand the world and one another.  All children should have equal educational opportunities, regardless of their gender and ethnic origin.  Men and women needed to be prepared for the future roles in society. 

PENINA MLAMA, Director, Forum for African Women for Education, said that educating girls and women was an investment in the future.  However, that potential was not fully exploited.  All the problems of girls’ education were well known.  The Dakar commitment to girls’ education was also not a secret.  One of the main problems remaining was the lack of political will.

Also, even though many governments intended to improve education for women, they lacked the funds, she continued.  In many cases, there was not enough capacity to formulate new gender-responsive policies.  It was important to build up the ability to act at the grass-roots level, especially in marginalized communities.  In conclusion, she emphasized the importance of learning the lessons of the past and to implement the best practices. 

MONIQUE FOUILLHOUX, Education Officer, Education International, said that the silence of indifference and fear towards AIDS was finally being broken.  Information and services should be made available to young people to combat the problem, but sexual education was prohibited in many countries, although it could teach safe behaviour.  Schools could have a primary role not only in education, but also in health.  Teaching children and adolescents to become responsible citizens should be among the fundamental goals of schools all over the world.  Health education should become a global issue.  Teachers should receive proper training, receiving maximum information about the disease.  They should also have access to interactive methods of education. 

Steve Packer, Acting Chief Education Adviser, Department for International Development, United Kingdom, said there was now a stronger recognition and understanding that enabling all children to benefit from a quality education was a component of poverty reduction and an essential human right.  What the world was thus seeing were education plans conceived in terms of learning outcomes that were linked to wider development objectives.

He said education sector planning now had to be more demand-led and more understanding of the needs of poor people.  There was no longer any one-size-fits-all model.  Therefore, while the type of planning that allowed for flexibility was challenging, it was necessary.

There had to be firm commitment to develop the national action plans advanced at the World Education Forum held in Dakar, Senegal, in April 2000.  In that context, the importance of putting those plans in a wider framework also had to be recognized, even though the challenges would be hard to meet.  In addition, the process had to be all-inclusive, particularly with regard to the education of girls.  The question was, where did the larger international community fit in?  The answer -- in helping to build new capacities, which would help address new challenges.

Christine Hemrick, Vice-President of Strategic Technology Policy, Cisco Systems, Inc., said she wanted to leverage ICTs as a good basis for education processes.  She realized that there were many questions about using e-learning for LDCs.  Yet, just as there was a lot of attention being paid to the genuine issues of the digital divide, it would be remiss to neglect the opportunities provided by ICTs for education. 

She said she was not talking about simply dumping computers in classrooms, but designing entire education programmes from start to finish.  Information and communication technologies could improve the quality of learning, make better use of teacher and pupil time and be extremely cost effective in terms of return on investment.  Information and communication technologies provided for the continuous improvement of academic content leaving teachers free to focus on the most important aspect of their jobs -- motivating students and helping them to learn.  E-learning would also enable anytime, anywhere learning.

She realized, however, that ICT systems required technology and training that were scarce and costly.  Up-front costs would be high.  There was also scepticism and opposition by traditional educational establishments.  One could say that with all those issues -- why bother?  “Simply because it can work”, she said.  “We know it works and we have seen it at work.”.  Cisco learning instruments were now being made available to non-profit organizations, along with support for learning, at no cost.  “It is not too early to get into ICT education, but it could be too late if we do not consider the needs of LDCs in terms of narrowing the digital divide now”, she added.

Yvette Stevens, Special Coordinator, Office of the Special Coordination for Africa and the LDCs, said the importance of  science and technology in addressing poverty could not be overemphasized.  Information communication technologies were critical not only to basic education processes, but also in other formal and non-formal settings of the process.  She said South-South cooperation was important, so that experiences in education could be shared.  Education, information and cooperation must be promoted in the development of scientific knowledge.  Scientific and technological institutions must also be strengthened, while new technologies must be allowed to adapt to local settings.

      Interactive Session

During an interactive session that drew keen responses from the floor, the issue of incentives for teachers was raised by a few participants.  One speaker called for a reorganization of the teaching profession, stressing that reasonable salaries might yield quality results.

It was also observed that there was a lack of opportunity in the educational field, and that there had been no action of any significant kind to improve education in the LDCs in the last year.  A speaker said that, while there was consensus, there were no political commitments or changes to meet the target of reducing poverty.  There was no longer any need whatsoever for any more messages of solidarity or goodwill -- hard answers were now required.  It was also noted that more money was given towards military spending or currency speculation in a shorter space of time than there was to education in a year.

Other speakers underscored the need for education in the LDCs to be more relevant, with one speaker stating that African children should not have to spend time learning irrelevant European history.

There was a tendency to forget about the role of teachers, a speaker said, drawing attention to the need to create proper working conditions and incentives for them.  It was not normal that, in many cases, teachers in the developing countries were forced to take second jobs to sustain themselves.  He also stressed the need to provide proper teacher training and to consider their views in making decisions on education.

One of the easiest ways to achieve education for all was to engage the children in peer-to-peer literacy programmes, speaker pointed out.  Another speaker said “appropriate education” should involve reorienting education towards sustainable development, for modern education was producing the worst kind of “environmental vandals” who were responsible for most of the damage to the planet.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. RASHEED stressed the importance of both national and partners’ efforts in education.  Massive investments in education were needed to achieve educational goals.  Today, neither LDCs nor their partners were making sufficient investments in education.  Today’s discussion also demonstrated a high level of agreement regarding the need to improve women’s and girls’ education.

Summarizing the session, Mr. DEHAYBE said that many important views had been expressed in the debate, although those were not new.  The context of discussion was new, however, because speakers had placed education at the heart of international commitments.  The participants had heard how vital education was and how important it was to invest in it.  Girls’ education and the role of education in the fight against poverty were also stressed.  Participation of the countries concerned was needed, as well as broad involvement of civil society.  Some illustrative figures and examples had been presented. 

It was pointed out in the discussion that education was both a means and an end, he continued, but in both cases it was essential for development.  All the

speakers had expressed the wish for better partnership, and the presence of panellists representing various stakeholders testified to the importance of the matter.  The need for high-quality content in education was also emphasized, as well as the quality of teaching.  The governments needed to determine strategies and implement them within the framework of the Dakar Declaration.  Mobilizing resources and political will, as well as an individual approach to education, were also mentioned in the discussion.  Today, there were plenty of documents, resolutions and diagnostic papers on education, and the role of today’s meeting was not to produce yet another paper, but to mobilize political will and resources needed to achieve the goals.

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