GAPS IN SCHOOL ENROLMENT AND EDUCATION LEVELS AMONG NATIONS MIGHT TAKE DECADES TO CLOSE, KEYNOTE SPEAKER TELLS POPULATION COMMISSION

Commission on Population and Development

Thirty-sixth Session

3^rd & 4^th Meetings (AM & PM)            

GAPS IN SCHOOL ENROLMENT AND EDUCATION LEVELS AMONG NATIONS MIGHT TAKE DECADES

TO CLOSE, KEYNOTE SPEAKER TELLS POPULATION COMMISSION

Delegations Highlight Progress Achieved

And Challenges Still Faced at National Level

Gaps between nations in school enrolment and educational achievement were still wide, and most developing countries would take several decades to close them, keynote speaker Paul Demeny told the Commission on Population and Development today as it took up national experience in population matters.

Individual demand for education was growing as attractive jobs increasingly depended on formal and continuously upgraded qualifications, said Mr. Demeny, distinguished scholar at the Population Council in New York.  Expanding education at all levels during the last century had greatly boosted material wealth in industrialized nations, serving as a model for economic growth in the developing world.

Commenting on whether schools produced useful job-related skills, however, he pointed to possible mismatches in graduate’s skills and the job market demands at a given level of economic development.  Also, comparisons between countries sharply differing in economic performance and income levels, yet similar in ethnicity, culture, language and educational levels, failed to support notions that the level of formal education was key to economic success.

In the discussion that followed, representatives asked about a range of issues, including the tendency for inappropriate education and human capital development in rural areas.  They also requested insights into curbing the brain drain of nations with a surplus of highly skilled workers.

Responding, Mr. Demeny said the tendency for unsuitable education in rural areas was often a result of centralized educational management and financing.  Locally managed and financed rural schools could more likely develop suitable programmes for the needs of rural students and rural economies.  Regarding the brain drain, he said flexibility in the labour market and efficient training programmes were essential to rechannel surplus workers in one industry to another experiencing labour shortages.

The Commission also held a separate discussion today on national experience in population matters, during which delegations highlighted progress made in such

areas as educational funding, literacy and universal access to schooling, as well as the challenges still faced.

Gambia’s representative said his country had increased school enrolment from 44 per cent eight years ago to 87 per cent today, which had helped bring down illiteracy nationwide.  In addition, some 77 per cent of students today were moving on from primary to secondary school, compared to only 12 per cent 15 years ago.  His country had also set up a trust fund giving full scholarships to girls, who would otherwise be unable to attend school for lack of resources.

Guyana had steadily increased educational funding since 1991 to an unprecedented 17.4 per cent of the national budget, its representative said.  The country had achieved universal primary education for all and boasted 96.6 per cent enrolment in primary schools.  It had also reached gender parity in primary, secondary and tertiary levels, as well as a 98.5 per cent literacy rate.  However, it continued to face several challenges –- notably, a lack of quality education for rural communities, children with special needs and male under-achievers.

Noting that education in his country still lagged behind others in the region, Pakistan’s delegate said an estimated 6 to 10 per cent of children aged five to nine years had never attended school, and about 60 per cent dropped out of primary school before completing Grade 5.  Overall, an estimated 36 per cent of children aged five to 19 years had never attended school.  To remedy that, a Comprehensive Education Policy had been set up in 1998, and the Government had proposed increasing the budget for education from 2.2 per cent of gross national product (GNP) to 4 per cent, making primary education compulsory, and extending educational services, and emphasizing computer education.

South Africa’s representative noted that her country had greatly improved facilities for black children with special needs and disabilities, which had been either meagre or non-existent before 1994.  In 2003 alone, 30 full service schools had been set up, ensuring the mainstreaming of vulnerable and disabled children, thus, providing equal education for all children to learn together in a diverse and enabling environment.

Also at today’s meeting, the Commission elected Marc Bichler (Luxembourg) as its Vice-Chairman-cum-Rapporteur.

Other speakers at today’s meeting included the representatives of Sweden, Russian Federation, Belgium, Malaysia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, China, Netherlands, Ireland, Algeria, Indonesia, Nicaragua, France, Tunisia, Kenya, El Salvador, Mexico, India and Iran.

The Commission will meet again tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. to hear a keynote address by Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics.

Background

The Commission on Population and Development met this morning to begin consideration of its agenda item on national experience in population matters: population, education and development.  It was also expected to hear a keynote address from Paul Demeny, distinguished scholar at the Population Council, New York.  (For background information, see Press Release POP/854 of 27 March 2003.)

Statements

BJORN ANDERSSON (Sweden) said that respect for sexual and reproductive health and rights in his country had been strengthened by removing legal and institutional barriers to women’s equal participation in society.  Efforts to change stereotypical gender attitudes had also played an important role.  However, his country still needed to focus on the role of men and boys as a means of achieving gender equality.  Education was a major key in that regard, but must go together with activities related to gender, as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights in other areas, including information and communication campaigns targeted at the general public.

Young people were living in a world where change was taking place at a breakneck speed, he continued.  Among the threats facing them were HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.  They must have access to means of prevention, including education about sex and reproductive health, confidential reproductive health care and condoms.  In Sweden, sex education was integrated into the school curricula and included everybody, girls and boys alike.  In addition, 200 youth clinics throughout Sweden targeted youth from 13 to 20 years old.  The clinics provided information and services aimed at assisting young people to make responsible decisions about their sexual behaviour.  Education on sexuality and HIV/AIDS had led to more caution about sexual contacts, including delayed sexual debuts and increased practice of safer sex, as well as an open and more positive view on sexuality.

YURIY ISAKOV (Russian Federation) said his country was implementing ways to ensure education for all Russian citizens.  Full-scale political and socio-economic reforms in the last two decades had significantly revised national education policy, allowing for academic autonomy of colleges and universities and the creation of myriad educational programmes and institutes, as well as the non-governmental sector.  The 2001-2010 Conception of Modernization of Russian Education aimed to ensure quality education in line with modern standards and sustainable development goals.

Russia’s education overhaul, to comprise three phases, would aim to expand pre-school education; develop State standards for primary, special, vocational and higher education; improve higher education, particularly in abstract and applied sciences; and upgrade information and communication technologies in the education field.  The reform process was occurring during a time characterized by low fertility rates and shrinking numbers of students graduating from high school and entering college.

Regional cooperation among the former Soviet republics in education was of special concern to his country, he said, stressing the need to maintain the Russian language in education and communication, both in the Russian Federation and abroad.  This concern should be reflected in the international education agenda attached to the implementation of the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), with special attention given to problems related to aging and fertility reduction.

JEAN DE RUYT (Belgium) said child mortality in his country was seven per 1,000 live births.  Women with university degrees had a 40-50 per cent lower risk of child mortality than those with less schooling.  The country’s fertility rate was no higher than 1.7 children per woman, mainly because first births were often put off to later ages, particularly in women with higher educational levels.  In contrast, women holding only a primary-school diploma had more children.  He stressed that ensuring high-quality education for women was paramount to ensuring that boys and girls were equally prepared to face tomorrow’s challenges.

He invited bilateral and multilateral donors to assist partner governments to translate educational policies into reality.  Relevant provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Child, such as the right to participation, should be taken into account in educational programmes worldwide.  The international community must also promote qualitative improvement in education. The content, structure, and adaptation of the education system to the socio-economic and cultural context should be considered.  Effective schemes should ensure the educational system contributed to greater understanding and solidarity among individuals, beyond gender, age and ethnic origin.  They should include sexual education and provide information on sexual and reproductive health, reduce income inequalities, fight poverty, and increase environmental awareness with a view to sustainable development.

DONNETTE CRITCHLOW (Guyana) said since 1991 Guyana had steadily increased education funds to an unprecedented 17.4 per cent of the national budget.  It had achieved universal primary education for all and boasted 96.6 per cent enrolment in primary schools, with similar success expected for secondary schools within three years.  It had achieved gender parity in primary, secondary and tertiary levels and a 98.5 per cent literacy rate.  Moreover, Guyana offered a variety of post-secondary education and technical skills training, particularly for micro entrepreneurs, through the University of Guyana, the Government Technical Institute, and several associations.

Despite these successes, Guyana’s education sector continued to face several challenges, notably insufficient quality education for rural communities, children with special needs and male under-achievers, as well as the growth of highly-skilled Guyanese emigrating abroad.  It had formed bilateral and multilateral technical cooperation projects with the United Kingdom, Canada, the International Development Bank, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to institute curriculum reform, introduce information technology, upgrade primary and secondary education, train teachers and modernize education facilities.

In a bid to address the need for HIV/AIDS education, Guyanese officials had developed peer education and youth-specific HIV education programmes.  The Ministry of Education had incorporated a strengthened Health and Family Life Education programme, aimed mainly at secondary school students, into its 2003-2007 Education Strategic Plan.

MOHAMED NOOR YAACOB (Malaysia) said education was a priority in Malaysia, where 18 per cent of government expenditures, about 5 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP), were earmarked for education programmes and policies.  The 2001-2010 Education Development Plan for Malaysia aimed to increase access, equity and the quality of education, as well as promote efficiency and effectiveness in education management.

The Plan sought to ensure all citizens 11 years of free basic education, to strengthen science and technology education, integrate information and communications technology into the education sector and improve education funding and management.  From 1996 to 2001, high school enrolment had risen from 60.7 per cent to 72.3 per cent, and for higher education from 4.2 per cent to 9.1 per cent; gender parity was evident in primary and secondary schools; and average class size was 32 students in primary school and 34 in secondary schools.  In 2001, national literacy stood at 93.9 per cent.

Family life education was part of national school curricula.  Still, most adolescents remained ill-equipped to deal with sexuality and reproductive health concerns, and economic constraints made it difficult for health service providers to reach youth not attending schools or in the workplace.  In that regard, Malaysia had created a Technical Committee on Adolescent Reproductive Health and a Reproductive Health Service Package for Adolescents and Youth to end the shortage of adequate information, referrals and counselling services.

JURGA STRUMSKIENE (Lithuania) said her Government had prioritised modern, quality education, oriented towards the growth of independent, responsible individuals, as well as a modern and knowledgeable civil society.  It had emphasized kindergarten education, adult education, improvements in the quality of basic education, the requalification of teachers for work with kindergarten groups, support for pupils with learning problems and for adult learners, and implementation of adult education in schools.  Lithuania had also begun to revise its school network, grounded on the principle of universal accessibility.  A special “Yellow bus” programme had been launched in 2000, and more than 84,000 school-age children and young people were provided with school transportation during 2000-2001.

By the year 2015, she said, it was expected that all children in the country would be able to attend preschool from age three, and that the percentage of those aged 25-29 with completed secondary education or above would reach 80 per cent or higher.  In addition, young people and adults who had dropped out early and failed to acquire basic education would have the opportunity to return to school and continue their studies; the number of children having special education needs and failing to complete basic education would be halved; and no fewer than 50 per cent of that group would acquire secondary education.

MARC BICHLER (Luxembourg) said that in the last three decades Luxembourg had witnessed an influx of immigration from Central Europe, which had significantly contributed to the local economy.  Two thirds of Luxembourg’s wage earners were foreigners and 40 per cent commuted daily into Luxembourg from border areas with Belgium, Germany and France.  In the past decade, Luxembourg had also become a host country for many Bosnian and Kosovar refugees.  It was a truly multicultural society, characterized by the equitable distribution of wealth.

Luxembourg’s Government had provided adequate social security services for the elderly and was meeting the educational challenges of a multi-ethnic, multilingual society by providing German and French language classes in primary school and English classes in secondary schools, he said.  Public school education was free and accessible to all children.  The Government agreed in 2000 to earmark 0.7 per cent of the GDP for official development assistance (ODA).  Last year, that figure reached 0.84 per cent of the GDP.  He added that Luxembourg was firmly committed to development priorities in education and health and had, earlier this year, fulfilled its commitments to the 20/20 initiative.

CRISPIN GREY-JOHNSON (Gambia) said his Government had held its own in keeping pace with growing demands in the education sector.  Overall enrolment rates had increased from 44 per cent eight years ago to 87 per cent today.  That surge in enrolment, coupled with an increase in non-formal, adult and distance education programmes, had helped to significantly bring down the illiteracy rate nationwide.  In addition, transition rates from primary to secondary levels had been vastly improved from 12 per cent 15 years ago to 77 per cent today.  Six years ago, hardly any tertiary level institutions existed.  Today, they abounded, including the newly established University of the Gambia.

His Government had put in place special programmes designed to increase opportunities for girls, he continued.  A trust fund was created to provide full scholarships to girls who would otherwise not be able to go to school for lack of resources.  That had contributed to closing the gender gap in education and had helped increase access for girls.  Another policy measure sought to improve access in rural areas to obviate the need for rural youths to migrate to urban centres to seek educational opportunities.  Most villages now had a primary school, and clusters of villages shared secondary education and training facilities.

Similar efforts had been made to improve the health sector, he continued. Improved child health care, especially through an extensive and comprehensive immunization programme, had helped to considerably reduce infant mortality. Primary health-care programmes had been strengthened across the board and access overall had significantly improved with the construction of hospitals, health centres and dispensaries throughout the country.

EWA FREYBERG (Poland) said Poland’s national education policy focused on equal educational opportunity at all levels and general education strategies based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.  In 1999, Poland began to decentralize education management.  As a result, almost all public schools and educational institutions were now regionally managed.  National education reform also focused on setting and monitoring standards of education and teachers, introducing incentives for greater efficiency, and expanding educational services for poor, disabled or culturally marginalized communities.

      Socio-economic and cultural changes in the past several years had led to improved reproductive health services, including better prenatal and post-natal care, she said.  Better education and information to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, including the National Program for HIV Prevention and Care for People Living with HIV/AIDS, had kept HIV infection rates relatively low in the past several years.  As of February, Poland had 7,993 registered cases of HIV and
1,257 cases of AIDS, as well as 618 AIDS-related deaths.  An estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people in Poland were living with HIV.  

WANG GUOQIANG (China) said his Government had prioritized education since the 1990s, and had adopted a series of vital measures to actively promote the development of education.  It had continuously increased funding for education, which accounted for 3.2 per cent of GDP in 2001.  That increase had significantly contributed to the universalization of nine-year compulsory education and the eradication of illiteracy.  Compared to 1990, the number of people with a college education had risen by 154 per cent, with senior high school and technical secondary school education by 39 per cent, and with junior high school education by 45 per cent.

The illiteracy rate for the country was about 6.7 per cent, of whom 70 per cent were women, he said.  However, the proportion of women who received education at various levels had continuously increased and their overall educational level had improved.  The illiteracy rate for women between 18 and 64 years of age had declined from 30.1 per cent in 1990 to 11.1 per cent in 2000. In 2000, the average number of years of education per women was 6.1 years, an increase of 1.4 years compared with 1990.  Even in the economically under-developed West China area, elementary school enrolment of girls had reached over 95 per cent.  College attendance for women had risen from 35.4 per cent in 1995 to 41 per cent in 2000.

The fertility level in China, he went on, had steadily declined from 2.3 in 1990 to 1.8 in 2001, which was below the replacement level.  That decline was closely linked to rapid socio-economic development and the improvement of education levels n China in recent years.  However, there were still disparities in the fertility rates between different regions and areas.  Backward conditions and low levels of education for women had significantly influenced their fertility level, especially in the impoverished areas of West China.  Over the next

20 years, China planned to devote itself to constructing a moderately developed society, continuously develop the country through science and education, and give priority to education development.

Address by Keynote Speaker

PAUL DEMENY, distinguished scholar at the Population Council in New York, said that, by the twentieth century, the education sector in most industrialized countries had become a centralized and centrally financed system of primary and secondary schools, with the addition later in the century of universities, technical colleges and professional schools.  Average public education spending in high-income nations had since reached 5 per cent to 6 per cent of GDP.  In the United States, education was a $647 billion industry in 2000.  Of that,

$389 billion, or more than $7,000 per pupil, was funnelled to elementary and secondary school; another $258 billion, or $15,000 per student, to colleges and universities.

The expansion of education at all levels during the last century contributed greatly to the growth of material wealth in industrialized nations, serving as a model for economic growth in the developing world, he said.  The post-war period gave rise to the spread of modern educational systems and the theory of human capital, whereby greater education improved people’s reading and writing abilities and, thus, made them more productive and adept at mastering new production techniques.  Improved productivity led to higher earnings; greater human capital, acquired through education, meant greater national wealth.

Measurement of what schools produced -– the content and quality of education –- was exceedingly difficult, he said.  Even the seemingly simple notion of the ability to read or write was notoriously difficult to define, and international comparison of illiteracy could be highly misleading.  What was observed and statistically recorded were typically inputs –- enrolment rates, years spent in school, teacher-pupil ratios, monies spent on education, and similar indices. Their relation to useful knowledge acquired could be highly tenuous.

To the extent that schools produced useful job-related skills, there could be a mismatch in the composition of skills acquired by graduating students and the demands of the job market at a given level of economic development.  Also, comparisons between countries closely similar in ethnicity, culture, language, and natural endowments and educational levels, yet sharply differing in economic performance and income levels, did not support the proposition that the level of formal education is key to economic success.

Still, governments of countries with educational statistics that fall short in international comparisons strove to narrow the gap that separated them from those further ahead, he continued.  Individual demand for education was strong and growing as success in competing for attractive jobs increasingly depended on formal and continuously upgraded qualifications.  As a result, there had been an enormous global increase in both school enrolment and adult educational achievement over the last half century.  But the gaps between countries had remained wide, and catching up by the laggards would take some time.  Closing the gaps for most less developed countries would take many decades.

Questions and Answers

Responding to a question from the representative of France concerning the tendency for inappropriate education and human capital development in rural areas, Mr. DEMENY said that problem was often a result of centralized educational management and financing.  Locally managed and financed rural schools could more likely develop suitable programmes for the needs of rural students and rural economies.

The representative of Belgium, speaking in his personal capacity as a demographer, requested Mr. Demeny’s feedback on education’s role in social and cultural, rather than purely economic, development.  In response, Mr. DEMENY said education served to provide people with autonomy, more flexible and open mindsets, cultural and social savvy, and better communication skills, not just greater economic earning power.  The United States, he said, was a good example of where a flexible education system that incorporated immigrants’ native languages was used to create a cohesive culturally diverse society.

To the United States representative’s question regarding educational overcapacity and the ensuing brain drain of nations who have more highly skilled workers than their economies can employ, he said this mismatch was a difficult problem.  Foreseeing the future labour needs of a society was also hard.  He said governments would be well advised to both maintain centrally financed and managed education programmes and adapt to current and changing needs through alternative education channels.  That would keep State systems on their toes and allow for innovation and experimentation.

Responding to the representative of Italy’s concern over how to adjust public education programmes and training to changing demographic trends,

Mr. DEMENY said a flexible labour market was a key solution.  In Italy and other nations grappling with a surplus of teachers due to shrinking school-age populations, he recommended training programmes that moved the surplus of skilled workers into industries and positions where there were labour shortages.

The representative of Mexico asked how declines in fertility in many developing countries had contributed to population levels and about any demographic gain that had occurred.

The representative of the Philippines asked who the dominant force was in the educational system.  To the extent that students were predominantly young, what was the role of parents in the system?

The representative of Tunisia asked what role the private sector should play to accompany State efforts in the field of fertility.

JOSEPH CHAMIE, the moderator of the discussion, asked what countries with low fertility could do to climb back up from a rate of 1.2 to 1.85.

Responding, Mr. DEMENY said that parental roles in education were important almost everywhere in the past, but today that influence had weakened, especially in highly centralized systems.  Support for education in those systems was taken from tax revenues and provided to schools, which accepted pupils free of charge. Parents had the remaining burden of caring for the children.  The problem with that arrangement was that parents’ influence on the schools was relatively limited.  Also, parents were unaware of the cost of education; they only knew that their children could get tuition-free education.

There was a need, he said, to rebalance influence in education between the central authorities, teachers’ associations and consumers/parents.  More intensive debate was needed on the extent to which a more flexible system could be created by giving more choice to the parents/consumers.

AS for the question on raising fertility rates, he said the popular solution to that problem was to make women’s labour force contribution compatible with child-rearing.  That was an important and laudable objective, but clearly could only be satisfactorily accomplished if women had only one or two children. Policies advocating the total employment of women with children in the active labour force needed to be rethought.

Pop01apr.Netherlands          Maria

NICO VAN NIMWEYEN (Netherlands) said raising political and public awareness and promoting the full implementation of the Cairo agenda should be a top priority for the Commission.  In that regard, the Dutch Minister for Development Cooperation had organized a working lunch for the diplomatic corps on International Women’s Day to bring attention to sexual and reproductive rights for women.  The Minister had stressed the need to implement the ICPD Programme of Action in order to achieve poverty reduction and the Millennium Development Goals, as well as urged nations to fulfil their pledges to devote at least 4 per cent of ODA to reproductive health, a target reached thus far by few countries.

He noted the persisting “wealth gap” in education, whereby the poor have far less access to adequate, quality schooling than the wealthy, resulting in the perpetration and social exclusion of the poor, particularly young girls.  The changing ethnic landscape of the Netherlands due to international migration posed new challenges for the Government.  Special attention, including courses for newcomers, was given to educate the growing migrant population and successfully integrate them into Dutch society.

Moreover, he stressed the need for sex education in schools to prevent unwanted pregnancies, stem the spread of HIV/AIDS and prevent risky sexual behaviour among adolescents.  He also suggested more extensive studies, particularly in developing countries with high population growth and population densities, on the long-term impact of sustained below-replacement fertility and population decline.

JOHN GRINDLE (Ireland) said that a growth in the numbers of his country’s school-age children in the 1990s had begun to level out, with declining numbers at the primary and secondary levels.  The interaction of rapid economic growth, rising population and immigration had had complex effects on the economic returns to education in Ireland.  Those who had successfully completed secondary education earned around 40 per cent more than those with only primary education, while holders of university degrees earned twice as much on average.  The widening gap in income appeared to have stabilized in more recent years, in part because of the influx of educated and skilled workers.  International migrants in many nations were less educated than residents, but the opposite was true in Ireland, partly because many were returning migrants.

Internationally, he continued, Ireland was supporting the strengthening of educational systems and providing resources for learning materials, improvement of facilities and enhanced management capacity.  Central to that assistance was support for teacher development, particularly where there were large increases in the number of students attending school.  The spread of HIV/AIDS seriously affected the supply of, and demand for, education and undermined the quality of education.  Ireland had emphasized education because of its key role in preventing and mitigating the effects of the pandemic on young people, families and communities.  In particular, that meant increasing girls’ educational opportunities, which helped lower the rates of HIV among girls.

RACHIDA BENKHELIL (Algeria) said education was a top priority for Algeria, where basic education was mandatory and free for children aged six to 16.  The 2003 education budget represented 20 per cent of public expenditures, and was the nation’s highest sectoral budget.  The education sector employed 8.6 million people, 24 per cent of the total population.  School enrolment, just 47 per cent in 1966, stood at 91 per cent in 2002.

The infant mortality rate had dropped to 37 per 1,000 births in 2002, thanks to greater health education and life expectancy.  For the 2002-2005 period, the Government had taken ambitious steps towards reducing the education gap in poor areas, particularly among young girls; ending illiteracy, and infant and maternal mortality; and increasing contraceptive use.  Illiteracy, 75 per cent in 1966, had dropped to 28 per cent in 2002.  Over the same period, female illiteracy shrank from 85 per cent to 35 per cent.  National educational reform aimed to establish a favourable environment for women’s education, promoting and encouraging women’s potential in science and technology, especially in secondary schools.

ABDUR RASHID KHAN (Pakistan) stressed that developing countries were well aware of their responsibilities and were making concerted efforts to achieve international literacy goals.  Though there had been considerable expansion in Pakistan’s educational infrastructure, it still lagged behind compared to other countries in the region.  Overall, an estimated 6 to 10 per cent of children aged five to nine years had never attended school.  Of those who enrolled in primary school, about 60 per cent dropped out before completing Grade 5.  Overall, an estimated 36 per cent of children aged five to 19 years in Pakistan had never attended school.  Only 31 per cent of the population had completed Grade 10 or above in the 1998 census.

Pakistan, he continued, had adopted a three-pronged strategy focusing on:  n improved literacy rate and universal primary education; improvement in the quality of higher education, better teachers, reformed curricula and an efficient examination system; and the introduction of gender and area specific technical and vocational education at subdistrict and district levels.  A comprehensive education policy had been announced in 1998, which aimed to enhance basic education and lay the foundation for a massive literacy programme.  Its goal was to increase literacy from 39 per cent in 1998 to 70 per cent by 2010. The Government had proposed several measures, such as increasing the budgetary allocation for education from 2.2 per cent of gross national product (GNP) to

4 per cent; compulsory primary education with special emphasis on female education; extension of educational services, including schools and teachers; and greater emphasis on computer education.

SISWANTO AGUS WILOPO (Indonesia) said Indonesia was committed to providing universal access to quality education, with priority given to primary and technical education and job training.  Indonesian authorities were promoting non-formal education for boys and girls at literacy centres, resulting in a jump in the literacy rate among people aged 10 and up from a mere 54 per cent in 1970 to 90 per cent in 2000.  The Government had recently passed a historical constitutional amendment mandating 20 per cent of the public budget for education. Steps were also under way to create a new education law, decentralize education management and reform the national school curriculum.  It was also providing scholarships to poor children.

Moreover, Indonesia was working to eliminate gender disparities at all educational levels.  While equity had been achieved at lower grades, challenges remained to increase girls’ school enrolment at higher educational levels and reduce female illiteracy.  School enrolment, which nosedived to 5 per cent during the 1997-1998 financial crisis, was restored to 80 per cent in 1999.  Despite fiscal difficulties, he said the nation remained steadfast in its commitment to implement the ICPD education goals.  Indonesia firmly supported the theory that education was a key factor in sustainable development, as illustrated by its impact on economic, health and social areas such as illiteracy, gender disparity, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS, as well as the correlation between education and population with fertility, morbidity and mortality.

LINDI MOLEFE (South Africa) said her country had one of the highest school enrolments in Africa, with almost 100 per cent participation in Grades 1 to 12. Since the early 1990s, access to education had improved dramatically, particularly among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable students.  As many girls as boys had been able to benefit from the expanded and improved education system.  The Government’s commitment to educate girls included legislation allowing them to return to school after childbirth.  That had resulted in delays in second births for many girls, and had extended opportunities for them to obtain education even beyond secondary school.

Prior to 1994, South Africa had inadequate or no facilities for black children with special needs and disabilities.  That had changed dramatically through the new democratic education system.  In 2003 alone, 30 full service schools had been established, which had ensured the mainstreaming of vulnerable and disabled children, thus providing equal education and supporting all children to learn together in a diverse and enabling environment. Age-appropriate education in accordance with the ICPD Programme of Action had been promoted through various mediums, including home-based education. In addition, mass media had been involved in educating the community on sexual and reproductive rights and services.

LINDOLFO MONJARRETZ (Nicaragua) said, thanks to the Nicaraguan Government’s efforts to improve and expand education programmes, school enrolment had risen

6.3 per cent this year.  The Government had earmarked 17.6 per cent of public expenditures for education and had instituted public-private sector partnerships in education and health, such as the “Glass of Milk” initiative for primary school children from poor families.

During the 1998-2001 period, Nicaragua continued its HIV/AIDS prevention campaign and passed the Law to Promote, Protect and Defend Human Rights against AIDS, guaranteeing respect and treatment for HIV/AIDS victims.  As a result, Nicaragua’s AIDS growth rate was the lowest in Central America.

He also noted that, while external funding for the ICPD’s Programme of Action had steadily increased until 2001, the levelling of funds had slowed the rate of progress.  Thus far, only 40 per cent of the Programme’s goals had been achieved.  He urged donor countries to make good on their financial pledges to assist countries to implement the ICPD Programme of Action.

PIERRE-ALAIN AUDIRAC (France) noted that longer schooling had become much more prevalent during the second half of the twentieth century.  Today, almost all children between the ages of three and five were enrolled in school.  While in 1960 almost one out of two children did not go on to secondary school, today secondary school enrolment was much more widespread.  Globally, the average duration of school enrolment was 17.1 years in 1985, and that had risen to

19 years by 1987. Of five students completing education, two held a higher degree, one a secondary school diploma, and two certificates in vocational studies.

Professional success was strongly linked to school success, he noted.  In 1992, the unemployment rate was 30 per cent for those without junior high school, and 15 per cent for those without a secondary school diploma.  To fully appreciate the effectiveness of the French educational system, the Government had evaluated school success.  Of those entering school in 1989, 82 per cent of those from higher socio-economic levels received secondary school diplomas.  Those students were also found in greater prevalence in prestigious areas of study, leading to higher education.

MOHAMED AYARI (Tunisia) said Tunisia’s efforts to make education a top priority had positive results, including 99.1 per cent school enrolment for children aged six and up.  Since 1991, nine years of basic education was mandatory for all Tunisians.  In 2001, 30 per cent of social public expenditures were channelled into education.  Girls school enrolment had risen from 79 per cent in 1987 to 91 per cent today, and women accounted for 11.5 per cent of the representatives in the Chamber of Deputies.

Tunisia had invested significantly in human capital, a fundamental aspect of development efforts.  It had worked to keep pace with rapid changes in science and technology, capitalizing on the advent of the Internet in education development.  The country had also developed a national literacy strategy aimed at promoting pre-school education, particularly in dense urban working class and rural areas, and higher education.  Tunisia had become a leading destination of choice for African and Arab students.  It also advocated implementation of the Cairo Agenda, and supported UNFPA and UNICEF programmes to promote universal education by 2015.

S.B.A. BULLUT (Kenya) said that over 52 per cent of people in his country lived below the poverty line, with the majority in rural or urban settlements. Poverty was observed to be highest among people with no or little education.  On attaining independence, the country had carried out a massive public campaign to achieve universal primary education. By the late 1980s and early 1990s, enrolment in primary schools had reached 100 per cent, although enrolment for girls was slightly lower at 96 per cent.  Widespread and increasing poverty, coupled with a cost-sharing policy implemented as part of the broad Structural Adjustment Programme, had caused enrolment in schools to drop by the late 1990s.  By 2000, gross enrolment in primary education had dropped to 87.6 per cent.

Kenya’s education system faced high dropout and non-completion rates, he said, due to poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The pandemic had killed many young couples, leaving behind orphans who had dropped out of school for lack of fees. Other children had dropped out of school for lack of fees when family resources had been consumed managing the disease.  To address that problem and other educational problems, the country’s new Government was implementing a policy of free and compulsory primary education, which had created an overwhelming demand for education.  About 1 million children, who had either dropped out of school due to poverty or had no hope of ever attending school, had enrolled in schools from the beginning of 2003, overstretching existing facilities to the limit.

VERONICA SIMAN DE BETANCOURT (El Salvador) said El Salvador had made significant advances in access to education.  It had also reduced illiteracy among adults, aged 16 to 20, particularly in rural areas, from 23 per cent in the 1990s to 15 per cent at present.  Gender parity had been achieved in basic education, thanks to efforts to promote girls schooling at the basic, technical and professional levels and to bring more women into traditionally male-dominated professions.  Moreover, reforms were under way to protect pregnant school-aged girls from discrimination in the classroom.

Since 1999, El Salvador had incorporate family planning into school curricula, focusing on sexuality, and HIV/AIDS prevention, as well as domestic violence prevention.  Two years later, the Government launched the Life Education Programme, aimed at raising students’ self-esteem and promoting sexually responsible behavior.  It had also implemented the National Education Action Plan, with participation from the Government, the private sector and non-governmental entities.

ELENA ZUÑIGA HERRERA (Mexico) said that her country had changed from an almost illiterate country over the past century to one where nine out of every

10 people could read and write.  As of September 2003, the number of registered students came to nearly 30.8 million in 226,000 schools.  In 1970, the mean number of school grades attained by women was 3.1, while boys reached 3.7.  By the beginning of the new millennium, girls had reached 7.3 years in school, a figure close to that reached by boys (7.8 years).  If that trend persisted, boys and girls registered for the first time during the current academic year would study an average of 11 and 12 years.

Despite those achievements, Mexico faced complex challenges in providing education to the entire population.  Problems, for example, existed in ensuring the education of its rural and indigenous populations, of migrant workers, of street children, and of people with different abilities.  To address those challenges, the Government had carried out several compensatory educational programmes, reinforced support and encouragement for teachers, and had largely increased spending on physical infrastructure.  Currently, through the programme “Opportunities”, almost 4.5 million students living in extreme poverty received scholarships.

SUJATHA RAO (India) said India, whose population was expected to surpass

2 billion in 2050, was poised to achieve its targeted fertility rate of 2.1 per cent by 2010 and, thus, stabilize the population by 2045, thanks to four major factors.  India’s crude birth rate and total fertility rate had been falling steadily.  Greater efficiency in infant deliveries had pushed the infant mortality rate down from 146 per 1,000 live births in 1951 to 66 in 2001.  Female literacy had risen 15 per cent during the 1991-2001 period.  Moreover, the Government had created a National Population Commission and a National Population Stabilization Fund.  The Fund, with an initial budget of 1 billion rupees, mobilized private-sector resources for health-care services to underserved communities.

Legislation and harsher punishments had been enacted to curb the widespread practice of sex selection, as had a wider social agenda for girls, to promote girls education, curb alcohol abuse and promote reproductive rights, career advancement and micro-enterprise development.  Data clearly illustrated that

illiterate women who were empowered sought better access to quality health services, small families and a better quality of life for themselves and their children.  Despite fiscal constraints, India had mobilized sufficient resources from external sources for health-education services.  Almost 40 per cent of India’s 5 billion-rupee annual budget for family planning came from external sources.  Still, that budget was inadequate to meet the increasing demand for services, she said.

NASROLLAH KAZEMI KAMYAB (Iran) said that strong political commitment matched by an efficient infrastructure, as well as policies and programmes ensuring universal access to education, had been vital in implementing educational programmes in his country.  Private sector involvement in all levels of education, creation of a literacy movement focusing mainly on older people, and promoting and expanding higher education among families, especially in urban areas, had contributed to the expansion of education.

As a result of those policies, he continued, the literacy rate was currently more than 81 per cent, and the proportion of the population with access to basic health-care services exceeded 89 per cent. In addition, the population growth rate had declined from 3.2 per cent in 1986 to 1.2 per cent in 2001.  That was partly the result of improving public awareness, particularly of contraceptive methods, promoting female education and a higher marriage age, and supporting clerics and politicians in advocacy and executive aspects of population issues.  Gender equality and women’s empowerment had also received special attention.  According to the Constitution, the Government was responsible for safeguarding women’s rights based on Islamic principles, protecting mothers, establishing family courts, and fulfilling special insurance schemes for widows, elderly women and female heads of household.

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