ࡱ>  _aVWXYZ[\]^7 .bjbjUU 7|7|| l...l4{{{h{<| oh}|p"ѩwD$nnnnnnn$up rnߪelѩߪߪn544#n555ߪb4n5ߪn55<hhl l} Pk{ $i*ln0 oiys2:ysl54444Table of Contents Acronyms Executive Summary Introduction5 Participant profiles and response volume.5 Summary of comments6 Analysis & Recommendations..16 Conclusions..18 Annexes Participant contact information..19 Original responses from e-discussion..21 Summary of Spanish e-discussion86 Original responses from Spanish e-discussion...89 Other outreach (listservs, etc)..117 Terms of reference.118 ActionAid would like to thank all who actively participated and followed this e-dialogue. This discussion would not have been possible without the technical support of OneWorld South Asia, who hosted the web platform. Both the Commonwealth Education Fund and Global Campaign on Educations outreach to its global constituency and member participation livened the dialogue considerably. Finally, the Education and Gender Equality Task Force should be recognized for its desire and effort to solicit civil society comments. This report presents a compilation of messages exchanged during the three-week discussion. Please direct any comments you might have to this report to the moderator, Akanksha A. Marphatia.  HYPERLINK "mailto:amarphatia@actionaid.org" akanksham@actionaid.org Acronyms CEF Commonwealth Education Fund CGD Center for Global Development CSO Civil Society Organisation EFA Education for All FLACSO Latin American Faculty for Social Sciences FTI Fast Track Initiative GCE Global Campaign on Education GEM Gender Empowerment Measure ICRW International Center for Research on Women INGO International Non Governmental Organization MDG Millennium Development Goal NGO Non Governmental Organization OWSA One World South Asia PRIGEPP Regional Program for Training in Gender and Public Policy TF Task Force on Education and Gender Equality UK United Kingdom UPE Universal Primary Education USA United States of America Executive Summary The Millennium Project Task Force (TF) on Education and Gender Equality has written an interim report on achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of Universal Primary Education. The TF is gathering input from a variety of perspectives on the interim report, and will be preparing final reports by December 15, 2004. This e-discussion is one of the primary opportunities for civil society organizations around the world to influence these reports. ActionAid International partnered with the Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF), the Global Campaign on Education (GCE) and One World South Asia (OWSA) to launch the e-discussion. As the lead partner, ActionAid International hired a moderator for the discussion and provided managerial support. The Commonwealth Education Fund participated by providing managerial support and by reaching out to its large constituency of staff worldwide. OWSA provided the discussion platform, training for the moderator and technical support for the website. Finally, this e-discussion group builds on the GCEs consultation (and member list) on critical issues in basic education over the past year. The universal primary education MDG and report e-discussion took place from July 12th to August 1st. The dialogue attracted over 1,300 participants, although not all contributed to the e-forum. In total, 57 responses from 17 countries were received. Barring multiple messages sent by any one person, 51 people participated. Twenty-seven of these were male and 20 were female. In addition, over 100 participants took part in the daylong Spanish (August 4th) discussion. Curiously enough the French (August 5th-6th) language discussions did not yield many responses. Both the gender equality and education reports were discussed and key documents were translated. Discussion summary Overall, participants applauded the TFs call for making education transformative and there was excitement with the document calling for a change in how business is usually conducted. However, participants expressed hat the report fell short of guiding how to transform education and what needs to change. This report should be the one that argues the essential and unique role of education both as a fundamental right and as the fundamental enabling right, which helps people, secure and enjoy other basic rights. This one intervention is critical to achievement of all the MDGs. With past education targets having failed, this report should better guide how to achieve UPE by 2015.Governments sign on to commitments easily but there are no mechanisms to hold them accountable for delivering on these no enforcement these reports and the MDG Summit in 2005 should look at how to ensure enforcement and not just make new promises. The flip side is that in Latin America, most governments and decision-makers are simply not aware of the MDGs. So how can they be held accountable for achieving them? Participants felt strongly that there should be both acknowledgement of the crucial role civil society can play in achieving UPE as well as specific recommendations on their role. Both history and contemporary experiences have shown strong social movements (including trade and teacher unions, NGOs, other CSOs) have motivated governments to ensure UPE. In Dakar it was agreed that governments would develop national EFA Plans in consultation with citizens/ civil society and that donors would then come in to provide consistent and coordinated support. A platform where parents, students and teachers can advocate changes with policy makers at local, district, national and even international level needs to exist. Recommendation 1: support womens right to education and not only as a means to an end for wider social change. The slogan education a women and you educate a nation may have increased attention on womens role and contribution to childrens education and well being, but it also has framed womens value within the socio reproductive roles (and therefore reinforcing gender stereotypes). Recommendation 2: support womens education programs. The report needs to explicitly support flexible and participatory approaches to womens education. As it stands now, the message is left empty it justifies the important roles mothers play in childrens education and overall well-being but fails to follow through on a recommendation for supporting womens literacy initiatives. Recommendation 3: recognize the value in education and do not reduce it to a debate over a number of years. The TF is urged to recognize that a lot of work still needs to be done on primary education and that unless a drastic transformation takes place, UPE 2015 will be out of reach. Questions were asked over the congruity between this MDG target and the Dakar declaration, which provides a full agenda for education from early childhood to adult education. Recommendation 4: propose changes to address the fundamental financing obstacles to achieving UPE. These include IMF conditionality limiting government expenditure on education, which may undermine the potential of new aid modalities such as the FTI. A criterion ensuring a transparent and accountable allocation of funds distributed via any funding channel was recommended. Civil society should be involved in monitoring and evaluating the use and impact of these funds. With an organized development compact, there are dangers over government being more accountable to donors than their own parliaments and citizens. Recommendation 5: governments should be held accountable for providing education. The involvement of the private sector is inevitable and even successful in some countries. However, rarely do private schools open their doors to the poor. The government therefore has an even greater role to play in improving public school quality and holding private schools responsible for providing high quality education ant to more than just the elite. Conclusion The task forces desire to collect civil society feedback on the report is encouraging. The goal of this consultation was to elicit perspectives from civil society organizations on the content of the report. The potential of CSO influence on this report would have been more likely if consultations had taken place earlier, when the reports main tenets were being formulated and throughout the process of revisions. This is concerning not only because it questions the genuine space created for participation but also because participants challenged and disagreed with two of the reports key strategic objectives. Albeit these limitations, there is space for the TF to integrate the main recommendations of this consultation as they undertake final revisions in August 2004. The executive summary of this report could be presented somewhere in the main text of the report. Examples provided by participants could also substantiate, strengthen and diversify those currently presented in the report. Finally, this summary could be attached as an annex to the report. ActionAid welcomes the TFs feedback - both directly to the agency and for the e-discussion group on how this kind of dialogue can be more influential and valuable to the Millennium Development Project. Finally, unavailability of the TF papers in different languages limits regional representation. The executive summary of the report is available in Spanish, but there is no document in French or Portuguese. This not only limits participation in the dialogue, but also limits the validity and to some extent, credibility of the report (and Millennium Project) in areas of the world that speak these languages. This French dialogue was based on ActionAids translation of the one-page MDG report summary. It is unfortunate however, that participants will not be able to read the details, and main thrust of the report. Although discussions were held in Spanish and French, a one-day dialogue barely skims the surface. To fully integrate regional perspectives into the report, the TF will need to reach out to groups and participants around the world in order to prove that the MDGs are a relevant and applicable policy movement. I. Introduction The Millennium Project Task Force (TF) on Education and Gender Equality has written an interim report on achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of Universal Primary Education. The TF is gathering input from a variety of perspectives on the interim report, and will be preparing final reports by December 15, 2004. This e-discussion is one of the primary opportunities for civil society organizations around the world to influence these reports. ActionAid International partnered with the Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF), the Global Campaign on Education (GCE) and One World South Asia (OWSA) to launch the e-discussion. As the lead partner, ActionAid International hired a moderator for the discussion and provided managerial support. The Commonwealth Education Fund participated by providing managerial support and by reaching out to its large constituency of staff worldwide. OWSA provided the discussion platform, training for the moderator and technical support for the website. Finally, this e-discussion group builds on the GCEs consultation (and member list) on critical issues in basic education over the past year. The universal primary education MDG and report e-discussion took place from July 12th to August 1st. Discussion questions were sent to the group at the beginning of each week. A one-page summary of the report was provided for the discussion group and participants were also encouraged to read the executive summary and full report. The first week focused on the overall framing of the universal primary education (UPE) report. The second week focused on the six key messages of the report. The third and final week centred on the recommendations section. Weekly summaries prepared by the moderator were distributed to the group. Day-long Spanish (August 4th) and French (August 5th-6th) language discussions were held on both the gender equality and education reports. Summaries of these dialogues, along with original responses can be found in the annexes. The TF is encouraged to read the summary of the gender equality MDG consultation, where numerous messages on education were exchanged. This report integrates some of these messages. Response volume and participant profiles The dialogue attracted over 1,300 participants, although not all contributed to the e-forum. The majority of these participants were part of the previous on-line dialogue on the gender equality MDG report. One hundred and ninety-nine new people joined the group, while approximately 18 unsubscribed.  The gender discussion ended with 1,272 subscribed members. On July 12th, the education discussion began with a total of 1,350 participants. On August 1st, at the end of the three-week discussion, a total of 1,312 members belonged to the group. Incorrect email addresses and those who unsubscribed explain the 55-member decrease. In total, 57 responses from 17 countries were received. Barring multiple messages sent by any one person, 51 people participated (see Annex 1 for a list of contact information of these participants.) Twenty-seven of these were male and 20 were female. They represented International Non Governmental Organization (INGO), local Civil Society Organizations (CSO), academics, and donor agencies. The regional breakdown is as follows: Europe (Switzerland, UK) Asia (India, Pakistan, South Pacific) Latin America and Caribbean (Barbados, Ecuador, Uruguay) Africa (Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia) North America (USA) Summary of Comments This summary compiles messages in a parallel format to the TF report in order to facilitate CGDs integration of comments. Select project examples provided by participants are highlighted in this summary. The TF is encouraged to review the full transcript of original responses (Annex 2) for more project examples. Analysis and recommendations stemming from these responses are offered in section IV of this summary. This first week of the dialogue was intentionally left unstructured to monitor the areas participants felt were important to discuss. A few questions on the overall framing of the report were asked in order to jump start discussions. The MDG target 2 is to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. The report states that education can be either about reproducing or transforming societies. Does the report succeed in illustrating how schools can be transformative? Please highlight any relevant examples you might have on programs that have made education transformative. Is the overall framing of education in this report consistent with the education recommendations in the gender report? Do you have suggestions on how to strengthen coherency between the two documents? It has been suggested that the goal of education all children by 2015 can be achieved with the right resources, political will and programs. In which ways does this report help governments, donor agencies and civil society to more effectively work toward this goal? How can it be strengthened? Please share your reactions on how to reinforce or challenge this report so it can be more useful to you. Responses on the Task Force contribution & perspective  The reports call for making education transformative was applauded and there was excitement with the document calling for a change in how business is usually conducted. However, participants expressed that the report fell short of guiding how to transform education, and what needs to change. How should education be transformed? Schools should be microcosms of the societies that we want to create - spaces that are democratic, respect children's rights, which oppose discrimination and prejudice. If schools are to do this then they should also promote un-learning (e.g. of prejudice / gendered roles etc) as well as learning. As institutions, schools should have a clear agenda for social change, challenging the deep discrimination and violence against girls in society. We need to reformulate our thinking about schools so that they focus more on values and act as places for building positive human relationships countering dominant trends and the breakdown of societypromoting gender equality and inter-cultural relations should be specific objectives of schools, embedded in the curriculum and in teacher training. If education is to be transformed, then teachers have to be a centrepiece. Teachers are the focal point in creating democratic classrooms, where girls and boys can interact freely, where teachers and parents can openly discuss educational issues and where the greater community has a sense of ownership in its local school. The TFs proposal to reduce salaries in some countries is just not acceptable. Low salaries, little training opportunity and few incentives have already led many teachers away from schools. In addition, hiring freezes and caps on wage increases impact teacher-pupil ratios, and the quality of teaching and learning. Transforming education also requires attention to cross-sectoral initiatives, such as the effect of poverty, and poverty alleviating strategies on education. Achievement of the MDGs, and the transformation of education most likely depend on much more than educational specific strategy. After decades of reforms, several problems persist: access to schools in rural communities; education for the disabled; low quality of education; irrelevance of curriculum; lack of uniformity of community schools and the formal education system; training and retention of teachers.  Finally, gender equality is the cornerstone to transforming education. The struggle for gender equality may be different in Africa than in Latin America, where boys schooling is in more crisis than that of girls in some contexts in Latin America. However, even when girls stay on in education for longer than boys, this does not translate into more political representation, better distribution of resources or improvements in sexual and reproductive rights. The report should at the least pose these questions, if not answer them: Why do so many people still live in dire poverty when children do (although not in the numbers desired) attend school? How can we continue to spend billions of dollars on education and yet the majority of people do not benefit? With HIV/AIDS thrown in the mix, it is even more important to transform education, but how? The MDGs and the history of goal-setting in education Participants questioned why more research was being done on the same subject (UPE) instead of using the funds to implement education programs and reform acts? What is really needed is action - dynamic, transformative and accountable strategies that respond to parents, communities, and childrens educational needs. In respect to goal setting, a critical eye was cast on the viability of strategies proposed by the report, especially when adequate political does not exist. In short, we still have a long way to go but when are we going to see the light at the end of the tunnel? The challenge is still in translating the commitments made by governments for EFA and MDGs into measurable action. Governments sign on to commitments easily but there are no mechanisms to hold them accountable for delivering on these no enforcement these reports and the MDG Summit in 2005 should look at how to ensure enforcement and not just make new promises. Almost every government that has had power in India since independence has set target to achieve UPE. A number of policy initiatives have come forth, but none has been matched with adequate funding. The flip side is that in Latin America, most governments and decision-makers are simply not aware of the MDGs. So how can they be held accountable for achieving them? Messages of the Task Force The report suggests that the achievement of UPE 2015 will rest on the integration of six key messages into government-led initiatives. The following questions were sent to the e-group to launch discussions: 1. Mothers matter most. A mothers education has a strong positive affect on childrens (especially girls) enrolment and attainment. Priority should be given to ensuring gender parity at all levels of education, and to overcoming barriers that prevent good quality education for girls. Does the report adequately support mothers educational achievement, so they can in turn ensure their children are schooled? How can womens literacy/education initiatives be justified within a basic education framework? 2. A little education isnt enough. The completion of a minimum five years of schooling is necessary for the mastery of basic competencies. And the completion of a cycle of basic education is even more in line with the long-term goal of prosperity and human welfare. Additional priority should be placed on post-primary education. Where should we set the minimum goal for years of schooling? Five years? A full basic education cycle? If so, then how do we correlate this expanded goal with the internationally agreed upon target of UPE by 2015, which is far from being achieved? 3. Parents and other citizens, have the right to know. The TF suggests that a minimum set of information about school resources and performance be made available to parents. What type of information can genuinely empower parents to hold schools accountable for providing a quality education? Is the use of information by parents even essential to a good education system, or is it possible to have good schools without it? 4. More money better spent. Achieving UPE and gender equality at the primary level will require much more money than currently spent, both from governments and from donors. Many studies show little relationship between spending levels and education outcomes. How can this be? Give us examples of what they are missing! In addition to political will, what other factors constraint the use of external funds for better education? What is the most effective way to use donor funding? Through projects? Sector Wide Approaches (SWAPS)? Fast Track Initiative (FTI)? Budget support? 5. Focus on the hard to reach. Prioritize interventions targeted at getting poor children and girls into school and keeping them there. Why have past reforms failed to school the hard to reach? 6. The economy matters. Attention to economic development can make the difference between education that yields the full range of desired benefits and education that does not; and it can strongly affect the household decisions about sending children to school. How can education-sector policies be developed with a common vision for economic growth and development? Comments on the six key messages Each of the six messages yielded several responses, most either calling for a stronger report, or better linkage between messages and action. Education is a complex and difficult process to change. There are many reasons why UPE has not been achieved, and these six messages do not capture these reasons adequately. Message 1-Mothers matter most: Message 1was seen as a fairly weak claim in its present state. Women's rights are not accorded importance. Women are seen as a means to an end, as a tool for wider change. We've all heard the UNICEF slogan 'educate a woman and you educate a nation.' It becomes part of psyche, that women are a vehicle for impacting their children, and not needing rights and world attention for themselves.  Justifying the value of education as a decrease in fertility ironically reinforces gender roles. Shouldnt the main reasons for educating girls be a right and goal for humanity in itself?  While there was agreement that mothers are important for childrens education, the report fell short of supporting adult and in particular, womens education programs. The report needs to explicitly support flexible and participatory approaches to womens education. As it stands now, the message is left empty it justifies the important roles mothers play in childrens education and overall well-being but fails to follow through on a recommendation for supporting womens literacy initiatives. So what happens to the well being and education of children in households that have illiterate mothers? Is it just bad luck? The probability of women being illiterate is high. If the TF is establishing a causal link between mothers literacy and childrens education, then it has a responsibility to ensure that mothers have access to adult education programs. In the same, womens literacy / basic education should not be seen as a means to an end (education of girls / smaller families etc) but as an end in itself as it is a basic right of all.  Although adult literacy programs have many merits, there is a dearth of evidence about whether literacy acquired later if life has a similar effect on future generations as does early education of girls. Participants felt this statement in the report is simple unacceptable. Participants were frustrated that the TF did not accept the practical and decades long experience of the adult education community as proof of the value of educating women later in life. True, economic metric measure may not exist, and it is more difficult to measure the outcomes of adult education programs, but the field experience says otherwise. Are only quantitative measures valid? Participants echoed that the TFs review of trends in primary education and gender parity section is primarily based on quantitative trends. The quality and intrinsic value of education have yet to be appropriately recognized in the report. Message 2-A little education isnt enough: is a dangerous claim that risks sending the wrong message to people that primary schooling has been achieved. There is still a lot of work to be done to achieve UPE and improving the quality of education. It still needs to be transformed, as the report so rightly points out. In short, we are far from UPE, and it makes little sense to expand the goalpost when we havent achieved even this minimum target. There are still many problems at the micro level (i.e. traditions that support early marriage, keeping girls from school, poverty) needing to be tackled. Participants did agree with the TF comments that advocating investments in post-primary would create an unaffordable burned on resources, and may create increased inequity in fund allocation. There is little doubt that the privileged groups will benefit most from greater access to higher education. Can primary education never be enough? If we make this claim, then what incentive is left for parents to send children to primary school when they most certainly cannot send them onto secondary education? The larger question is about supply as well secondary schools simply do not exist, especially in rural areas, and are riddled with problems themselves. While there is agreement on the TFs analysis that the current conditions of primary schools leaves much to be desired, there was debate (particularly in the gender equality discussion, which has a similar key message) on which level of education (primary or secondary) is most beneficial to girls and women. The TF was reminded if many girls and boys are unable to make the transition from primary to secondary who are we going to empower? Participants support recommendation two from the gender report, which discourages an expansion or shift in the target from primary to secondary education. Participants did remind that education must be conceived as a right for all, at all stages of life. The MDGs reduce the right to a certain number of years of schooling undermining the wider commitment contained in the Dakar framework for action. Without focusing on rights based approach we cannot frame legal action to advance education and we are helpless if governments fail to fulfil the goals they have set. Education is not about goals set by international institutions or governments but about RIGHTS and we must work to ensure these are legally enforceable rights. We need to use legal instruments for example encouraging countries to verify Article 13 (Right to Education) of the San Salvador Protocol. Moreover we should not accept the reduction of the goals to just one or two but rather insist on the 6 goals reaffirmed by over 180 governments in Dakar in 2000. This provides a full agenda for education from early childhood through to adult education and any reduction in this is any attempt to undermine the right to education of all people. Education is not just a right for primary school children. The MDG reports ought to reassert this full agenda rather than being complicit in its reduction. Supporting non-formal learning opportunities for girls and boys The TFs recognition of adolescents and their need for continuing education was welcomed. However, the report fell short on supporting non-formal education strategies. Alternative approaches to increase enrolment at the primary level and provide lifelong learning opportunities for children and adults who have dropped out is incredibly important, especially given the large number of people who do not complete primary school, never mind advancing to secondary. Rather than confine education within school walls, non-formal and informal education will become more and more necessary if we are to reach the marginalized and achieve education for all. Pakistan is just one case to point, where the dropout rate for children is nearly 45% - a large number of these children rely on non-formal education to gain a second chance to mainstream back into the educational system. Message 3-Parents have the right to know: The participation of parents, children, teachers and CSOs was seen as an essential component for improving the quality of teaching and learning. In some communities in Ghana and India, parents have been more involved with monitoring or holding teachers and schools accountable for teacher absenteeism, lack of materials, etc. The next step really must be the involvement of parents to improve the quality of education. But first an agreed upon definition of a high quality school, and what it takes to achieve this, is required. If proper space is created, and parents feel they have a right to be heard, and can impact policies and programs, there is no doubt that their involvement will lead to better educational performance. Clearly, more mobilisation needs to be undertaken at all levels (from governments to students) for this to become a reality. Teachers and students also have right to know more about how education is provided, where resources are garnered, and the conditionality attached to them, and how they are allocated. However, simply knowing this information is not enough; space still needs to be created for parents and others to participate in educational policymaking, and take ownership over programs. We need to move beyond the right to know to the right to have a say - and this means linking community level structures involving parents up to district level / local government structures to ensure accountability. There should be a national debate on the nature of education and what needs to change. Parent Teacher Associations, School Management Committees and Village Education Committees are active in many parts of the world. Civil society should be able to work through these organizations to affect national policymaking on education, and not be restricted to school-based concerns. The reports should also highlight the importance of organised participation of children and students in educational institutions school councils etc so that children can be heard and have a say in schools. Children can learn democratic practices by living them. In Dakar it was agreed that governments would develop national EFA Plans in consultation with citizens/ civil society and that donors would then come in to provide consistent and coordinated support. National alliances / coalitions on basic education are proving crucial in the post-Dakar environment - demanding accountability from governments, demanding the right to know what government is doing to deliver on EFA and demanding an active and ongoing role in policy processes, implementation and monitoring as agreed in Dakar. In the same, NGOs need to combine efforts to deliver education with advocacy there is a need to consolidate learning into clear positions to be taken by governments and for a united call for systemic educational reform. Information disclosure It is somewhat easy for some CSOs to collect timely and reliable information from district authorities when it comes to budget tracking, but very difficult to collect the same from the Ministry of Education and Culture or Ministry of Finance. This scenario makes the exercise very cumbersome when one wants to compare and contrast budget information from the ministry and district authorities. The donor agencies should include a clause on public accessibility and availability to budgetary information in the MOU with the government as a means to re-enforce transparency and accountability. Disbursement of education funding is made through print media showing capitation and development grants per district each quarter. District authorities disburse the grants to respective school authorities, which are managed by school management committees. Paradoxically, the closer to the grassroots the less public the information on budget allocations becomes. Hence, the more difficult for them to monitor progress made in education-given that information is power. Message 4-More money better spent: resources are still not adequate for meeting UPE in developing countries. When resources are available, there are concerns over allocation: corruption, politics, conditionality, and absence of investment in rural areas need to be rectified. With more money also comes the need for greater accountability, especially since there are many different entities delivering education such as governments, NGOs, communities, private sector. Bureaucratic procedures, corruption and lack of government commitment were cited as reasons why past international educational targets (i.e. EFA 2000) have not been achieved. The allocation of donor funds, for example is problematic because only a small percentage is actually used for education-related items, such as schoolbooks, teachers stipends, etc. The bulk is spent on salaries and benefits of project officers, executive directors, government officials, etc. Another chunk inevitably goes towards planning and administrative matters. There is also a need to uncover the realities of free education because in many cases where fees have been abolished, other indirect costs are being passed onto parents under the guise of participation or to build ownership in schools. More efforts for making educational policy making transparent and encourage joint evaluation. The government, NGOs, civil society, teachers, students and especially poor communities need to be involved in deciding if a policy is good, and if it is successful. There needs to be full, and user-friendly disclosure of information by governments. If capacity were built from school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school reports and data that include parameters for quality of learning then perhaps macro level studies would not be necessary? Fundamental obstacles, such as IMF conditionality limiting government expenditure on education may very well undermine the potential of new aid modalities such as the FTI. There was a call to refute the IMFs claim that more aid, and hence a modest increase in inflation and public expenditure is damaging. In fact, most economists believe that moderate inflation (between 10-30%) does not prevent growth and that whilst such inflation is bad for wealthy foreign investors, it is not bad for poor people. This fear of inflation has already blocked funds from the HIV Global Fund to Zambia and Uganda.  Message 5-Focus on the hard to reach: e-learning, private sector involvement and community schools were presented as possible ways to expand and improve education. While there is merit to these strategies and examples of how they have been successful in some contexts, there was general agreement that these approaches do not reach those most in need, especially the poor and those living in rural areas. We have to be more vigilant on the impact of these non-traditional actors in education, and question if they reach poor and marginalized, or succeed in widening the north south, rich-poor divide. The TF is encouraged to consider the pros and cons of privatising education. It is unlikely that UPE will be achieved if privatisation takes hold because it cannot cater to un-reached and poor populace. In Uganda the introduction of UPE has led to the mushrooming of private schools, which in turn has widened the gap between rich and poor. There are of course, positive examples of private school contribution to EFA. Again, the question is perhaps whom we want to reach and if the solutions are internally sustainable. Next, actual transformation of education cannot take place via e-learning or private education, rather improvement of roads, agriculture and health need to occur at the same time. Private sector investment takes place in many other sectors, and not just education. Shouldnt companies that extract natural resources for example be responsible for supporting the communities? Public schools still out number private schools. The government therefore has an even larger role to play, not only in improving public school quality, but also holding private schools accountable for delivering education of high quality, and to more than just the elite. Until governments come up boldly to address the issue of quality in a more profound manner, in addition to instituting tight policies that regulate the operations of private schools, private schools will continue springing up to meet the education needs of the rich and those children who can afford the high fees while more of the poorer children will be condemned to a low quality education as purportedly is being provided by the public schools. Discussion also focused around how community schools, although supported by INGOs, still have huge challenges in terms of long-term survival and sustainability. In Zambia, for example, some of these schools have been taken over by the government. While this is a positive step for sustaining these schools, it still falls short of the desired aim of integrating community management into these now government schools. The sense of ownership in schools is slowly being lost. The quality of education provided in community schools is also debateable. Finally, the inadequacy of schools in rural areas was cited several times. The Azempremji Foundation in India shared a diagram, which outlines some of the reasons that children do not attend schools in rural areas (see next page). The disparate state of rural schools shows that even when more resources are provided, they do not necesarily reach the schools. Message 6-The economy matters: but what should come first, economic development or education development? Poverty is a catch-22, there is recognition that education can help create better lives, but many cannot afford it because of fees, and indirect costs. When people do manage to send their children to school, jobs either do not exist, or continue to offer low wages and poor working conditions. The report should ensure a strong link between economic policies, the gendered impact of these strategies and link these with the content of education and vice versa. People should be educated to stand up for their rights for better working and living standards. Participants in the Spanish language discussion expressed concerns over UPE being encouraged in order to release women to enter the workforce and being led by an economic agenda and motive, rather than a rights agenda. If this message is about taking a holistic approach to education, then there needs to be more direct attention played to the real backdrop within which these goals fit a world in which economic and religious fundamentalism have terrifying power. These are central to maintaining the subordination of women and need to be addressed. The impact on HIV/AIDS, sexual violence , child labour and support for early childhood education should be integrated into the report. These are real concerns that many countries have to deal with, and some of which have defunct education systems. This report cannot only apply to stable countries, who have achieved relative macro economic stability, enough at least to benefit from IMF and World Bank loans. As the report rightly points out, education in conflict and post-conflict societies present a particular challenge. However, it was suggested that this section and perhaps the entire report to a certain extent be reframed to make specific recommendations more than reviews or descriptions of lessons learned. In the education in conflict situations, for example, what components should a good program have? Comments on TF recommendations Questions for this weeks debate included: * The contributions of civil society organizations to meeting UPE do not appear within these recommendations. How should the report acknowledge the contribution of CSOs? What role do they have to play post-Dakar declarations and in holding the government accountable for meeting UPE? * The Task Force endorses the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) funding mechanism. Are the conditionalities attached to the FTI compatible to achieving UPE? Will they actually help achieve a quality basic education around the world? Or is this yet another example of donor prowess? For more information, read pages 37-42 in the report  HYPERLINK "http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/tf3docs.shtm" http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/tf3docs.shtm * The Task Force recommends expanding the primary education goal to include secondary education because it believes that schoolings true benefits are only felt after 5 years of education. Do you agree? * Why are there no recommendations about how to transform education as suggested in the preface of this report? If this is the main report on the education MDG, shouldnt recommendations focus on how to reform the education sector? * The Task Force suggests that money be transferred to poor households contingent on childrens attendance to school. Is this a feasible proposal for all contexts? Is there any way of connecting this mechanism with issues of quality, relevance, and community engagement in education? * What form and role would an independent facility for funding, monitoring and evaluation take? Call on CSO and coalitions to be more organized and intensify policy analysis and monitoring, advocacy, community sensitization and mobilisation to bring in a sense of action and ownership in the education reforms and policies. Comments on recommendations Does the task force take education seriously? Where are the recommendations pertaining to transforming education? Many expressed it was odd that the MDG report on education had no recommendations about how to improve education! For example, free education has not yet happened, especially since the indirect costs of education passed onto parents is growing. How will the Task Force address this? How about improving quality and creating a positive learning environment? The following are a few examples of the minimum criteria for education to be improved. Classrooms should have adequate space per child - covered space of 9sq. ft. or 1 sq. metre per child. A teacher student ratio of 1:20 up to class 2 & 1:30 or 35 for class 3 upwards is ideal. The FTI has also recommended a ratio. There should be a minimum teaching learning time of 1100 hours per annum. There are certain attributes of quality classrooms (library, activity materials, adequate storage space, a combination of classroom organisation - small group, paired, individual work, and large group work, etc.); quality teacher (qualifications, abilities, aptitude, comprehension of subject etc. ) and ensuring that they are implemented. Finally we know that the school curriculum should be developmentally appropriate and based on good research, and should be relevant to the community. Overall development compact: The task force should recognize civil society action and the role of CSOs in creating a debate over the nature of education and what needs to change. Although there was agreement that the government is eventually responsible for delivering UPE, participants signalled that CSOs are essential contributors. They are not only watchdogs, but also partners in the struggle to achieve UPE. Participants felt strongly that there should be both acknowledgement of the crucial role civil society can play in achieving UPE as well as specific recommendations on their role. Both history and contemporary experiences have shown strong social movements (including trade and teacher unions, NGOs, other CSOs,) have motivated governments to ensure UPE. At local level, civil society organizations are often in the closest contact with the most hard-to-reach children and can work with government to identify these children as well as advise on what measures are needed to retain them in school. There can also be sustainable community based systems for school management and monitoring that can be developed jointly by governments and communities. At national level, CSOs is important for advising on sectoral planning on education in the areas of access, quality and resources needed to achieve progress. At global level, international civil society alliances such as the Global Campaign for Education are important for bringing together grassroots organizations around the world interested in achieving UPE as well as advising on global monitoring of progress on UPE including resources committed by donors to this end and FTI. Recommendation 1: Donors to support the FTI mechanism and ensure $1billion starting fund Since the TF supports FTI as a funding mechanism, it is recommended that a criterion ensuring a transparent and accountable allocation of funds be established. These criteria should ensure that more funding is channelled directly to the beneficiaries, with as little overhead costs as possible. It would also genuinely review the current funding process, and create space for genuine civil society participation in educational planning and implementation. Teachers, for example are often absent at the design phase of a reform, but are then expected to brunt the load of successfully implementing the initiatives. School administrators, parents, community leaders, and even school children should also be involved. This would be doing business differently, as the TF report suggests. Many cautioned that the FTI should not turn into another World Bank funding mechanism with conditionality. Examples from Liberia, Nigeria, and Kenya showed how the IMF has either directly or indirectly contributed to the underdevelopment of education and other human development programs in developing countries. In as much as the IMF has provided loans to poor countries to help reduce poverty and improve living conditions, they failed in enforcing policies and setting up qualified monitoring tools at the national level that will ensure transparency in the application of such funds. This opens the door to unnecessary bureaucracy and corruption of funds. Recommendation 2: the fund should also cover basic (and not only primary) education Although there is agreement with this recommendation in principle, since primary education has yet to be achieved, the TF should ensure that adequate resources are allocated to this level. As with the gender report, participants reminded the TF that the achievement of primary education remains a dream in most countries. While its good to be visionary and aim to get children into secondary schools, we first need to ensure they attend and complete primary. This is particular true in countries like Nigeria, where 80% of the education budget is allotted to tertiary education. Recommendation 3: strong monitoring of progress in implementing changes and improving education system performance Everyone aggress on the need for greater transparency dissemination of information. However, this information should be purposeful, and aimed towards providing information for schools and communities themselves, for their improvement, rather than for donors. After 10 years of DPEP in India and elaborate MIS systems - after the project is finished schools don't have any information, neither is it available elsewhere. Teachers had to take off lot of precious time from already constrained teaching time to fill in elaborate forms every few days. Hence 1) it should not be called monitoring but rather something like 'school self-assessment for learning' b) frameworks & systems for this should be carefully & systematically worked out. Finally, there is a need to monitor evaluation fatigue. In many cases each donor agency has their own regulations and the type of information governments are asked to collect is more valuable for international bodies than in-country groups. Participants also reminded that there is still a need for better indicators for it is through quality monitoring whereby policies and practices can be assessed by both service providers and beneficiaries along with necessary recommendations for redressing the situation. For instance, in Tanzania the education policy states that all children of school age should have access to quality education. But in practice 3.6m of these children are out of school for some equity reasons-distance, disabilities, structural and cultural barriers. Finally, as many more community organisations, PTA/SMCs are getting involved in education management, it is important that budget allocations and expenditure at all levels are made available to the public so budget tracking can be done effectively. It is definitely going to be another conditionality of a sort but it is equally important to have transparency. In the Gambia, Parents have succeeded in getting the Department of State for Education to reflect the need for a flexible school calendar in the New Education Policy2004-2015. Presently parents are working towards holding a national debate on the Flexible school calendar. Recommendation 4: strong monitoring of donor funding and practice Part of this analysis also needs to look at the new dangers of donor power. While donors have been criticized for their lack of coordination, new concerns arise with donors moving towards collaboration / sector wide approaches / working in consortiums. The danger is that governments become more accountable to the donors and set policies and priorities more in consultation with donors than with their own parliaments or citizens. The sort of power that donors now have needs to pass to national parliaments / citizens / civil society coalitions. Recommendation 5: cash transfers to households contingent on childrens attendance Transferring money to poor households contingent on childrens attendance in school may have worked in Brazil, but may not work in other places. It is also crucial to point out that cash transfers alone might not be sufficient. Maybe we need to improve schools before expecting parents to send and keep children there. With little data/record tracking systems at the community level, this initiative will be difficult to implement. In Nigeria, when a similar initiative providing school material (textbooks, uniforms) was devised it failed because the materials took a long time to reach the beneficiaries. What has made the Brazilian Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (PETI) successful is the combination of cash transfer with other measures. The programme provides poor families with a monthly allowance per child enrolled in and attending school. Wherever possible, the allowance is paid to mothers or other female adults responsible for the children. After-school activities are also organized to keep children out of work in the hours they are not at school. Parents and older relatives of the beneficiaries also benefit from opportunities in skills development, alternative income generation and micro-credit, carried out in partnerships with other government programmes and agencies. Community-based committees monitor its implementation in order to general local ownership and ensure sustainability. Recommendation 6: genuine evaluation to learn what works Participants suggested that there is a need to also share information about strategies that have not been successful as well as those that have been well implemented. Lessons learned from both type of experiences are valuable. The experience we have in Tanzania and perhaps most countries South of the Sahara is that Ministries of Education have established departments dealing with monitoring of education. These are Departments of the Inspectorate. Inspectors are trained in monitoring and evaluation of education. So what needs to be done is to strengthen the Inspectorate by capacity development, improve facilities for monitoring such as transport, computers and the internet. Thus the information about plans and programmes can easily be available to Education Management Information Systems (EMIS).Data can be collected, processed, analyzed and disseminated to the users, be it national or international organizations. So creating an independent faculty is a duplication of efforts.  Analysis & recommendations This analysis discusses the impact of this dialogue, diversity of subject matters, and recommends priority areas of action (report revision) for the TF based on what the majority of respondents supported. Impact As aforementioned, not all of the 1,300 members subscribed to the e-discussion actively participated. Past experience shows that these dialogues have both a direct (those who send messages) and indirect impact. Many expressed that when they are in agreement with responses already sent, they preferred not to send a duplicate message. They contributed when they held a different perspective (i.e. supporting private education or not). Finally, many people also shared that although they had not participated, they keenly followed the dialogue and the outcomes would have an impact on their future policy and programme formulation (indirect impact). The small number of people who actually unsubscribed during the three weeks shows that interest in the dialogue was high. This dialogue also followed a lively three-week discussion on the gender report. Participation fatigue and unavailability, rather than apathy probably explains why this discussion, particularly in the third week, yielded few responses. However, once more questions were launched to the group, the response rate picked up again. Interest was expressed to continue this dialogue as a means of sharing information and debating strategies. It is interesting to note that in this discussion people preferred to debate the technicalities of the reports messages and recommendations, rather than providing project specific examples as in the gender report. Examples were used to substantiate points, but the majority of participants commented directly on the text of theTFreport and the language/framing of the MDG. The Spanish discussion yielded a great number of responses during the one day of dialogue. Participants were both happy to be included in the discussion and frustrated because in many countries in the region the MDGs are still unknown. How could governments be held accountable for policies they were unaware of? Participants did have a lot to contribute to the report itself (see Annex 4 for summary) indicating that even though their governments may not be sensitized, people most certainly are astute to the technical changes proposed in the report. Political will being low puts into question the impact to the MDGs. Curiously enough the French dialogue never took off the ground. Despite several messages from participants asking for the discussion in French, and several confirmations to join (there were 90 members subscribed to the discussion) only two people participated. One explanation is that the dialogue is only two days long. It takes people time to read, digest and respond to the MDG reports. People are also genuinely busy. Time difference was not an issue as Africa is only one hour ahead of London. As with the other dialogues, perhaps with more time to organize the dialogue, and frequent reminders leading up to the discussion, more people may have sent comments? Efforts to reach out to this group of professionals should therefore be strengthened, particularly as education performance and achievement in Africa still lags behind the rest of the world. Diversity of subjects discussed The discussion yielded responses on just about every question asked of the group. Unlike the gender equality debate, where only certain strategies were discussed, questions on each of the six messages were sent to the group. Message six yielded the least amount of comments. Participants expanded the definition of most of the other messages. Recommendation 1: support womens right to education and not only as a means to an end for wider social change. The slogan education a women and you educate a nation may have increased attention on womens role and contribution to childrens education and well being, but it also has framed womens value within the socio reproductive roles (and therefore reinforcing gender stereotypes). Recommendation 2: support womens education programs. The report needs to explicitly support flexible and participatory approaches to womens education. As it stands now, the message is left empty it justifies the important roles mothers play in childrens education and overall well-being but fails to follow through on a recommendation for supporting womens literacy initiatives. Recommendation 3: recognize the value in education and do not reduce it to a debate over a number of years. The TF is urged to recognize that a lot of work still needs to be done on primary education and that unless a drastic transformation takes place, UPE 2015 will be out of reach. Questions were asked over the congruity between this MDG target and the Dakar declaration, which provides a full agenda for education from early childhood to adult education. Recommendation 4: propose changes to address the fundamental financing obstacles to achieving UPE. These include IMF conditionality limiting government expenditure on education, which may undermine the potential of new aid modalities such as the FTI. A criterion ensuring a transparent and accountable allocation of funds distributed via any funding channel was recommended. Civil society should be involved in monitoring and evaluating the use and impact of these funds. With an organized development compact, there are dangers over government being more accountable to donors than their own parliaments and citizens. Recommendation 5: governments should be held accountable for providing education. The involvement of the private sector is inevitable and even successful in some countries. However, rarely do private schools open their doors to the poor. The government therefore has an even greater role to play in improving public school quality and holding private schools responsible for providing high quality education ant to more than just the elite. Conclusion The task forces desire to collect civil society feedback on the report is encouraging. The goal of this consultation was to elicit perspectives from civil society organizations on the content of the report. For their part, CSOs engaged in a lively three-week debate over the report. What is not clear is the extent to which key recommendations and other responses will be integrated into the final report. Particularly since the draft of the report presented for discussion was pretty much the final draft. The potential of CSO influence on this report would have been more likely if consultations had taken place earlier, when the reports main tenets were being formulated and throughout the process of revisions. This is concerning not only because it questions the genuine space created for participation but also because participants challenged and disagreed with two of the reports key strategic objectives. Albeit these limitations, there is space for the TF to integrate the main recommendations of this consultation as they undertake final revisions in August 2004. The executive summary of this report could be presented somewhere in the main text of the report. Examples provided by participants could also substantiate, strengthen and diversify those currently presented in the report. Finally, this summary could be attached as an annex to the report. ActionAid welcomes the TFs feedback - both directly to the agency and for the e-discussion group on how this kind of dialogue can be more influential and valuable to the Millennium Development Project. Finally, unavailability of the TF papers in different languages limits regional representation. The executive summary of the report is available in Spanish, but there is no document in French or Portuguese. This not only limits participation in the dialogue, but also limits the validity and to some extent, credibility of the report (and Millennium Project) in areas of the world that speak these languages. This French dialogue was based on ActionAids translation of the one-page MDG report summary. It is unfortunate however, that participants will not be able to read the details, and main thrust of the report. Although discussions were held in Spanish and French, a one-day dialogue barely skims the surface. To fully integrate regional perspectives into the report, the TF will need to reach out to groups and participants around the world in order to prove that the MDGs are a relevant and applicable policy movement around the globe. Annex 1: Participant Contact Information First Last Sex Organzation Country email July 12 week David Inkey Burleson Male Consultant USA  HYPERLINK "mailto:raccridge@aol.com" raccridge@aol.com Elizabeth Kamchedzera Female University of Malawi Malawi ekamchedzera@chanco.unima.mw Isaac Olofi Male Justice, Development and PeaceCommission Nigeria  HYPERLINK "mailto:isaacolofi@yahoo.com" isaacolofi@yahoo.com Kennedy Kphiri Male Oxfam Zambia  HYPERLINK "mailto:kphiri@coppernet.zm" kphiri@coppernet.zm Phosile Tracy Sichinga Female Zambian Education Coalition/ANCEFA Zambia  HYPERLINK "mailto:phosile@yahoo.com" phosile@yahoo.com Wethu Danster Male Border Technikon Resource Centre South Africa  HYPERLINK "mailto:wdanster@bortech.ac.za" wdanster@bortech.ac.za July 19 week Alfred Bork Male University of Irvine, California USA  HYPERLINK "mailto:bork@uci.edu" bork@uci.edu Bernard Kiura Male Lutheran World Federation (?) Kenya  HYPERLINK "mailto:bernardkiura@yahoo.com" bernardkiura@yahoo.com David Archer Male ActionAid International UK  HYPERLINK "mailto:davida@actionaid.org" davida@actionaid.org Doug Mathews Male Teaching Point USA  HYPERLINK "mailto:doug@teachingpoint.net" doug@teachingpoint.net Felix Edwards Male Felix Edwards UK  HYPERLINK "mailto:felix@felixed.org" felix@felixed.org James Stanfield Male University of Newcastle UK  HYPERLINK "mailto:j.stanfield@newcastle.ac.uk" j.stanfield@newcastle.ac.uk K.M. Osaki Male University of Dar es Salaam Tanzania  HYPERLINK "mailto:osaki@edu.udsm.ac.tz" osaki@edu.udsm.ac.tz Lalita Ramdas Female Independent, activist India  HYPERLINK "mailto:lramdas@vsnl.com" lramdas@vsnl.com Limbani Nsapato Male Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Ed. Malawi  HYPERLINK "mailto:cscqbe@sdnp.org.mw" cscqbe@sdnp.org.mw Louise Wamboui Female University of Nairobi Kenya  HYPERLINK "mailto:lopawer@yahoo.com" lopawer@yahoo.com Musu Stewart Female International Federation of University Women Liberia  HYPERLINK "mailto:kpanah1@yahoo.com" kpanah1@yahoo.com Muthoni Kamau Female Ma'tumaini (Hope) Women Trust Kenya  HYPERLINK "mailto:muthoniwanyambura@yahoo.co.uk" muthoniwanyambura@yahoo.co.uk Nandago Maria Goreth Female PAMOJA African Reflect Network Uganda  HYPERLINK "mailto:pamoja@infocom.co.ug" pamoja@infocom.co.ug Patrick Ngowi Male Save the Children Tanzania  HYPERLINK "mailto:pngowi@scuktz.org" pngowi@scuktz.org Peter Merckx Male Independent Belgium  HYPERLINK "mailto:petermerckx@trclusprov.kabissa.org" petermerckx@trclusprov.kabissa.org Raquel Banchero Female Sect for Gender Science and Technology Uruguay  HYPERLINK "mailto:banchero@montevideo.com.uy" banchero@montevideo.com.uy Samson MacJessie-Mbewe Male University of Malawi Malawi  HYPERLINK "mailto:smacjessie@chanco.unima.mw" smacjessie@chanco.unima.mw Shaheen Rahman Female BUNYAD Pakistan  HYPERLINK "mailto:shaheen_bunyad@hotmail.com" shaheen_bunyad@hotmail.com Simon Daffi Male Community Aid & Small Interprises ConsultancyTanzania  HYPERLINK "mailto:dsimon14@hotmail.com" dsimon14@hotmail.com Tina Ruguru Female ? South Pacific  HYPERLINK "mailto:mwari_mugendi@yahoo.co.uk" mwari_mugendi@yahoo.co.uk Victor Mathonsi Male National Assn of School Governing Council South Africa  HYPERLINK "mailto:victor@nasgb.org.za" victor@nasgb.org.za Vijaya Lakshmi Female Azimpremji Foundation India  HYPERLINK "mailto:vijaya@azimpremjifoundation.org" vijaya@azimpremjifoundation.org Ombech Adidha Male Kenya School Improvement Project Kenya  HYPERLINK "mailto:kensip@akesk.org" kensip@akesk.org July 26 week Anjali Noronha Female Eklavya India  HYPERLINK "mailto:noronhaa@mantrafreenet.com" noronhaa@mantrafreenet.com Anne Jellema Female Global Campaign on Education South Africa  HYPERLINK "mailto:anne@campaignforeducation.org" anne@campaignforeducation.org Chike Anyanwu Male Commonwealth Education Fund UK  HYPERLINK "mailto:canyanwu@actionaid.uk.org" canyanwu@actionaid.uk.org Elaine Unterhalter Female Beyond Access Project UK  HYPERLINK "mailto:Eunterhalter@ioe.ac.uk" Eunterhalter@ioe.ac.uk Elizabeth Smith Female Open University Student France  HYPERLINK "mailto:lisbeth.smith@wanadoo.fr" lisbeth.smith@wanadoo.fr Elizabeth Kamchedrezu Female University of Malawi Malawi  HYPERLINK "mailto:ekamchedzera@chanco.unima.mw" ekamchedzera@chanco.unima.mw Funja O-Saki Male University of Dar es Salaam Tanzania  HYPERLINK "mailto:osaki@edu.udsm.ac.tz" osaki@edu.udsm.ac.tz Isaac Olofi Male Justice, Development and Peace Coomission Nigeria  HYPERLINK "mailto:isaacolofi@yahoo.com" isaacolofi@yahoo.com Juliana Adu-Gyamfi Female ActionAid Ghana  HYPERLINK "mailto:Julianaa@actionaid-ghana.org" Julianaa@actionaid-ghana.org Kadijatou Baldeh Female ActionAid Gambia  HYPERLINK "mailto:educofficer@actionaid-gambia.org" educofficer@actionaid-gambia.org Marguerite Cummins Williams Female Barbados Secondary Teachers Union Barbados  HYPERLINK "mailto:mecwbar@hotmail.com" mecwbar@hotmail.com Michael Gibbons Male Banyan Tree Foundation USA  HYPERLINK "mailto:mgibbons@banyan.org" mgibbons@banyan.org Nazish Brohi Female ActionAid Pakistan  HYPERLINK "mailto:nazishbrohi@hotmail.com" nazishbrohi@hotmail.com Paul Bennell Male Knowledge and Skills UK  HYPERLINK "mailto:paul@bennellswainson.plus.com" paul@bennellswainson.plus.com Rosa Maria Torres Female Instituto Fronesis Ecuador  HYPERLINK "mailto:rmtorres@fibertel.com.ar" rmtorres@fibertel.com.ar Shaila Mistry Female American Association for University Women USA shaian@yahoo.com Stephen Maina Male Tanzanian Education Network (TenMet) Tanzania  HYPERLINK "mailto:tenmet@africaonline.co.tz" tenmet@africaonline.co.tz Subhash T.V. Male FIRM, Human Rights report on Child Labour India  HYPERLINK "mailto:subhashcareandshare@rediffmail.com" subhashcareandshare@rediffmail.com Theodore Mwalongo Male ActionAid Tanzania  HYPERLINK "mailto:theodorem@actionaid-tz.org" theodorem@actionaidtz.org Tumsifu Mmari Male ActionAid Tanzania Urmila Sarkar Female ILO Switzerland  HYPERLINK "mailto:sarkar@ilo.org" sarkar@ilo.org Vinita S Female MAYA India  HYPERLINK "mailto:vinita75@yahoo.com" vinita75@yahoo.com Annex 2: Original Responses from English e-discussion RIGHT2EDUCATION: Starting discussion on UPE Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-12 09:55 Dear All: Welcome to the second e-dialogue on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). This discussion will focus on the Universal Primary Education (UPE) MDG and report. The 3-week forum begins today, on Monday July 12th and ends on Friday, July 30th. We encourage all those who participated in the gender equality discussion to continue contributing to this forum as many of the issues overlap. To contribute, send an email to Right2education@dgroups.org If you wish to unsubscribe, send a blank mail to leave-right2education@dgroups.org Thank you for participating in the gender equality dialogue. Education was one of the key strategies in this report because of the 2005 gender parity in primary and secondary education target and also because of the perceived value education holds for empowering women and attaining gender equality. Many of the points debated also resonate in the education report: although seeing the value in secondary education, participants did not agree with the proposal to shift the target from primary to secondary education. They appealed the TF to mobilize action on achieving the internationally agreed upon 2005 goal. Participants also called for broader reform in schools so they can be centres of learning for transforming gender inequalities. Suggestions also included womens literacy, non-formal education and linking HIV/AIDS to the overall strategies in the report. This second e-dialogue on education presents an opportunity to challenge and strengthen the MDG report and to mobilise a wider civil society debate on the actions necessary to achieve universal primary education. As with the gender equality report, this UPE document is likely to be very influential on how the UN reviews progress on the MDGs and frames the way forward. The UPE report proposes widening the scope of the MDG to include completion of a minimum five years of education and preferably the entire basic education cycle. It is similar to the gender equality report in that it outlines the importance of placing additional priority on post-primary education. The report then goes on to suggest six key messages that should be integrated into policies and programs for UPE to become a priority. It ends with recommendations for donor and technical agencies and the UN about how education priority setting and funding should be changed in the future. Please see a short summary of the report at the bottom of this page. Participants are encouraged to read the executive summary and full report, which is found at: http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/tf3docs.shtm or download it from our discussion page: http://www.dgroups.org/groups/right2education/index.cfm?op=main&cat_id=3692 We will structure this dialogue in a similar fashion to the gender equality discussion that just closed. For this first week, we are looking for your reactions to the overall framing of education in this report. The second week will focus around the six key messages outlined in the report. Discussions in the third and final week will centre on the recommendations section. THIS WEEK'S DISCUSSION QUESTIONS For this first week, we are looking for your reactions to the overall framing of the Universal Primary Education MDG in this report. The MDG target 2 is to ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling. Here are the questions: The report states that education can be either about reproducing or transforming societies. Does the report succeed in illustrating how schools can be transformative? Please highlight any relevant examples you might have on programs that have made education transformative. Is the overall framing of education in this report consistent with the education recommendations in the gender report? Do you have suggestions on how to strengthen coherency between the two documents? It has been suggested that the goal of education all children by 2015 can be achieved with the right resources, political will and programs. In which ways does this report help governments, donor agencies and civil society to more effectively work toward this goal? How can it be strengthened? Please share your reactions on how to reinforce or challenge this report so it can be more useful to you. WHAT DOES THE EDUCATION REPORT SAY? The Task Force (TF, led by the Center for Global Development in Washington, DC) has drafted an interim report on achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal primary education (UPE). This goal is known for its target of ensuring that children will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling by 2015. The TF is one of 10 task forces commissioned to provide independent recommendations to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan about how to meet the MDGs. The TF defines education as the vehicle through which societies reproduce themselves. The educational process is comprised not only of schools, teachers and textbooks, but also the full set of values, norms, and practices about how a given society is structured. This social element of education determines who is educated and what is being taught. It is therefore not surprising that many reform efforts to increase and democratize access, especially for girls, have been slow. The reports review of global trends in education suggests that the achievement of this MDG will be possible only if future policies and programs are dramatically different than past initiatives. Actions that seek to expand the current education system are unlikely to lead to universal education, particularly in societies characterized by profound economic, gender and ethnic inequalities. Instead, success depends on inputs that bring forth fundamental changes that lead to a more democratic and egalitarian education system. The report outlines priority actions to be taken by donor countries and technical agencies towards the achievement of UPE. Six key messages for achieving universal primary education The report suggests that the achievement of UPE 2015 will rest on the integration of six key messages into government-led initiatives. If accepted by the international community, then these messages are likely to influence how education polices and program are defined and implemented in the future. 1. Mothers matter most. A mothers education has a strong positive affect on childrens (especially girls) enrolment and attainment. Priority should be given to ensuring gender parity at all levels of education, and to overcoming barriers that prevent good quality education for girls. 2. A little education isnt enough. The completion of a minimum five years of schooling is necessary for the mastery of basic competencies. The task force suggests that completion of a cycle of basic education is more in line with the long-term goal of prosperity and human welfare. In particular, the TF outlines the importance of placing additional priority on post-primary education. 3. Parents and other citizens, have the right to know. At the local level, parents and school administrators need information about the effectiveness of their local schools to exercise their role in maintaining accountability. The TF suggests that a minimum set of information about school resources and performance be made available to parents. 4. More money, better spent. Achieving UPE and gender equality at the primary level will require much more money than currently spent, both from governments and from donors. The price tag will grow if the TFs recommendation to include secondary education completion is accepted. But studies have shown that more than money is required; in fact, there is no strong correlation between how much countries spend on education and the performance of education systems. Factors such as political will, leadership, management, capacity, community involvement all need to be strengthened to make effective use of the resources. 5. Focus on the hard to reach. Prioritize interventions targeted at getting poor children and girls into school and keeping them there. Many of these operate by making schooling affordable for parents and/or compensating for opportunity costs for girls; some improve students ability to learn and attract children to school through school feeding and school health programs. 6. The economy matters. Attention to economic development can make the difference between education that yields the full range of desired benefits and education that does not; and it can strongly affect the household decisions about sending children to school. Economic policies and education-sector policies should be developed with a common vision for economic growth and development. RECOMMENDATIONS The report outlines specific strategies for the UN, donor agencies and technical agencies about how education priority setting and funding should be changed in the future. 1. Donor agencies should commit at least $1 billion to the Fast Track Initiative, which funds credible education sector plans developed by countries farthest from reaching the UPE goal. 2. Both governments and donors should expand funding priorities and monies to include basic education, which incorporates secondary schooling. The TF suggests that schoolings true benefits are only felt after 5 years of education. 3. Progress in implementing changes and improving education system performance should be closely monitored, with information widely made available. The Task Force recommends including as a criterion that the recipient country has begun implementing a system providing and actively publicizing to all citizens fully transparent information about the total and per child level of public education spending by community and ideally within each publicly managed school as well. 4. Donors should commit to a common framework of transparent annual monitoring and reporting of each others practices. The FTI mechanism is suggested. 5. In addition to FTI funding on an annual basis for the programs of eligible countries, donors should take immediate steps to provide funding to any country for cash or other transfers to poor households contingent on children's attendance at school. School feeding programs and girls scholarships are recommended. 6. There is an urgent need to better understand how well specific interventions and reforms work to increase enrolment, retention and learning. The TF suggests the creation of an independent facility for funding and bringing visibility to the results of rigorous impact evaluation. The full executive summary and complete report can be downloaded at http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/tf3docs.shtm or by going to the discussion groups home page http://www.dgroups.org/groups/right2education/index.cfm?op=main&cat_id=3692 where you will be able to see all the contributions to this ongoing discussion over the next two months. __________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Reforming education David Inkey 2004-07-14 07:11 Dear All, Despite numerous international efforts, education has failed. I outline why it has and what needs to change in the hope of sparking some debate about how the MDG report can bring much needed change to how education is defined. Education, as one of society's costliest and most pervasive institutions is failing miserably or should we say criminally to meet the health, social, economic and cultural needs of its deprived, disadvantaged, disabled, destitute and distanced clients. The word "education" is derived from the Latin verb educare, to lead through. I believe that leading children through enquiry processes can be (is) the most exciting challenge adults are ever given. The power of knowledge gives us the opportunity to protect and enhance our health and nutrition, to ameliorate our conditions of disease and handicap, to improve our employment and improvise new options, to secure our habitats and ultimately to stimulate our imaginations with our own cultural heritages and to venture into other realms of reality and imagination in developing understanding among cultures. In the world of the uneducated and poorly educated life's options usually are constrained, dire and virtually non-existent. Education has failed because education has not provided basic education universally. Basic education means providing education skills in health and nutrition, skills in literacy and numeracy, knowledge in culture and civics, and knowledge in economics and labor. Every culture since the dawn of human history has "enculturated" its members; that is, each and every culture has taken the human animal and provided him or her with the understandings, customs and practices, to live and die in that culture. In all of those situations there was no separation necessary between non-formal and formal education. It is with the development of civilizations, that we see the development of formal education and the consequent disadvantage of inadequate education. Formal education in developing and developed nations fails to engage young clients to participate enthusiastically through the primary and education cycles. Dropout rates of pupils constitute a "criminal" loss of capital. If the failure rates we routinely accept in our educational institutions were failures of water pumps or of syringes or of ORS (oral rehydration salts), or of electrical systems or our transport, we would order up stringent assessments and would castigate those responsible for inefficiency of the systems to perform. It seems we have become so completely inured to regular inefficiency in our human resource development systems, especially in our formal educational systems, that we scarcely react--neither positively nor negatively. We take the gains of the most accomplished products of the systems and we ignore, discount or further neglect the failures, refugees, and rejects of the system. For most of the children whom we do maintain through the primary systems, we fail further in the "basic" educational effort, because we provide predominantly rote, scholastic questions and answers. Is it possible that we allow 80% of the children in many countries to live in poverty, without getting upset, or angry or irate at socio-economic systems that perpetuate and exacerbate ignorance, disease, suffering and early death. We become so involved with crisis relief that we cannot take the time and resources to develop even preliminary crisis prevention programmes. Basic education should allow us to see our eco-crisis, our education crisis, our health-illness crisis, our poverty of economics and of spirit. Education fails by being extremely parochial. Education in the formal sectors neither has nor has embraced the real needs of most of the parents and students who have been recruited into the systems. In the past forty years the growth of primary school enrolment worldwide has been truly phenomenal and most of the nations of the world pride themselves on high initial enrollments. Output rates put the enrollment rates to pandemic shame. I have in reality been speaking not to the subject of "where education fails," but rather to the idea of "where society fails." Society does fail its weakest members. Education in all the best and worst of its professional mandate, is charged by society to protect the most cherished cultural values in each cultural system simultaneous to preparing the clients, the children and youth, to live in a society or of societies different from today's system. All of this is done under the societal mandate without any (?) or adequate (?) instruction to the professional as to which are the fully cherished values and which are the items subject change. An estimated 800 to 900 million adults and probably one billion children are not currently enjoying their right to education. In effect something we have identified as inalienable rights are far from being the exercised rights of a large section of this earth's inhabitants. There are those who say that there will be no peace on earth until every child is adequately cared for. This plausible assertion would then imply that both society and education have failed. In the 1960s and 1970s the sweep of basic education carried with it the promise of providing what was implicitly "survival education." What is or can be the current diagnosis and prognosis for education--formal?, non-formal?, information? community development?, social mobilization and?. Historically, education has not been an innovative discipline. This is neither good nor bad, per se, but it is bad if we are looking to education to provide our social systems with the blueprints, guidelines, maps and strategies for change. The current diagnosis is that education is in a state of crisis; because of current economic circumstances as well as many other social and cultural dilemmas, the prognosis is that education will have to change to meet the needs of vastly accelerated social and cultural change. What those changes might be, immediately and in the short-run, say for the next eight to twelve years is a question of intermediate planning and/or millennial politics. We have the opportunity to grasp mostly under trained educators and their few highly trained but relatively conservative leaders and to provide them with curricula and resource materials and training packages to ask sensory questions regarding the individual, the family, the community, the wider environment, state and nation, and world. A GOBAL VILLAGE curriculum is not a curriculum to be generated by some international corps of educationalists. A GLOBAL VILLAGE curriculum should be an enquiry study of culture, geography, economics, agriculture and industry, music, art, science, mathematics, religion, philosophy, history, astronomy, mythology, and education. The curriculum will become curricula and many, good, honest critics will observe that these curricula are tragically culture-bound just as are most of our current curricula. They will be right, but there should be one difference upon which they are wrong: A GLOBAL VILLAGE curriculum or curricula needs to remain enquiry oriented and not be filled with scholastic terminations. Instead of reiterating that such and such a people do such and such, the curricula should search and search and search for the why's and wherefores of how peoples live and die and find meaning in their diverse human journeys in which all may try to learn to be their fullest selves. Learning to be fully human may be set down as the basic. Integrating goal of the proposed educational innovation and in the processes of developing the innovation we may learn more clearly where our educational systems have failed. It is to be hoped that by identifying where education fails, we will be able to utilize with greatest imagination the remaining years of this millennium to provide most carefully for Children and Peace. David Inkey RIGHT2EDUCATION: Reforming education WETHU DANSTER 2004-07-15 05:14 Dear David In response to your e-mail re-reforming education, i share the same sentiments about the present education system. Educational reforms have been introduced in the past, but has failed to address the needs of its clients. I think this problem can be referred to the higher bodies in Education, so as to reshape the curriculum. Thank u Wethu Danster Border Technikon Resource Centre East London South Africa Tel: 043 7085282 Fax: 043 7085333 Email: wdanster@bortech.ac.za ____________________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative? Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-16 03:57 Dear All, I need some enlightening examples from you: The Task Force report on Universal Primary Education states that "...achievement of the MDG for education will be possible only if the future is dramatically different than the past..this implies the need to conceptualize anew the challenge of universalizing education." As David and Wethu pointed out, there have been many efforts to reform education in the past few decades. But in many countries, the education system continues to serve only a small percentage of children. To name a few examples, in rural areas, schools are too far for all children to access. School fees, cost of books, uniforms, etc make it that families with limited resources cant send children, especially girls, to school. The curriculum continues to be riddled with gender biases and stereotypes and there are an inadequate number of teachers, many who are not trained. The list of problems with the education system goes on... Isn't it overwhelming to think of all the problems schools and education systems continue to face? * What can we possibly change? What kind of projects have you worked on that have successfully changed these problems? * How can we answer the task force's call to reconceptuatlize education? * Really, what do we mean when we say that education has to be transformative? I welcome your response to these questions. Your moderator, - Akanksha RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative? E. Kamchedzera 2004-07-16 11:56 Dear all, I agree with Akanksha' s concern. Indeed there have been many educational reforms but have we really reached out to those children out there in the rural areas? Many studies have been done in many developing countries to improve the children's access to schools. If they enroll, how can they be retained in these schools? What about the plight of the children with special needs education in Africa? These are the most vulnerable children apart from the girl child. For a child with disability, it is a double jeopardy. Something ought to be done. Answers are there but why are they not being implemented? Why are more studies being done in the same areas instead of using that money to implement whatever has been formulated in the Education Reform Acts??? This is very sad indeed. We still have a long way to go but when are we going to see the light at the end of the tunnel? Thank Elizabeth University of Malawi Africa? phosile RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative? Kphiri 2004-07-16 11:57 Dear All These and many other problems is what has led to what we are now calling in Zambia - "Community School Movement" These are not new initiatives. Uganda has been in the fore front on experimenting with this concept. These are community initiated projects that look at offering an opportunity to young people that have missed out of an education for the reasons you alluded to. In most cases they have been pioneered by churches, CBOs and NGOs. In other instances they have been started by formal teachers or simply retired civil servants. In Zambia, Oxfam and other organisations have been supporting community schools through supporting the provision of teaching and learning materials, training of teachers, most of whom are untrained, construction of classroom to increase access and supporting community initiatives at creating wealth. This last bit is important as even with this support, community schools still have huge challenges in terms of their long term survival. Thus, getting the communities to generate sufficient income at the household level is key to the long term success of community schools. Some of these have been taken over by government and therefore converted to government schools. This is very positive step but falls short of the desired aim on integrating community management into these now government schools. In addition many of the teachers who are still untrained find themselves out on the street without a job. The sense of ownership is lost that characterises the schools, is thus lost. There is also the issue of the quality of education that is provided. The SPARK curriculum that is used in the community schools is an abridged syllabus of the main government primary school syllabus. The idea was to fast tract the children that were too old to start grade one (approximately aged 9-16) over a period of four years which would lead to entry into secondary school for some and skills training for others. However, the reality now is that children as young as five find themselves in community schools because that's the only option available for their parents. Such children are therefore likely to be disadvantaged as a result of the focus of the education provided. The issues about what happens after 4 years in community schools are still big challenges that need addressing in view of the large number of young children that are now enrolling in community schools. There are efforts now supported by UNICEF to review this curriculum. We are yet to see what then outcome of this will be. However, it is recognised that community schools with all the advantages they have ( flexible school times for example) still pose a number of challenges in terms of offering quality accessible education to young people. Kennedy Phiri RIGHT2EDUCATION: Reforming education phosile sichinga 2004-07-16 11:58 Dear David i agree with tr sentiments it is ideed a crying shame that in africa people have been to universities at graet costs to our cour countries and yet we have very little to show for it in terms of transforming the continent. why is it that we are still in dire poverty when we have sent many sons and daughters to school? why is education falling to make a tranceformation for Africa? i always wonder that we can spend billions of money and yet still the impact of that education is not being seen in improved lives for the majority. What is the answer to this dilema especialy with the added burden of HIV/AIDS in Africa? phosile RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative? isaac olofi 2004-07-17 08:46 Dear All, I want to totally agree with the issues raised by Akansha. I am one of those who take the challenge(s) of working in the rural areas of Nigeria - Ogun Waterside, Ogun State. I have been in that same school for 15 years, working and trying to see what could be done to alleviate the suffering of the "marginalised" poor. In the whole of the Local Government, electricity was only "commissioned" in 2002, pipe borne water is out of it. Some of the children trekked 3 hours to get to school. they cannot afford to rent a house nearby in the town where the school is situated because the children have to help their parents with chores at home, in the river to catch fish and in the farm - Farming and Fishing being the predominant occupation in this area. While most urban schools are filled with qualified teachers, schools in this area could hardly boast of 22 teachers in the secondary level, while in the primary, School Certificate (attempts) teachers are employed to cushion the effect of inadequate teachers. However, these teachers today are bing encouraged to enroled for the Teachers' Grade II Certificate long distance courses organised by the NATIONAL TEACHERS INSTITUTE (NTI). Some of these teachers today are also aiming at getting a higher certificate. The question here is Will they still be willing to serve the schools on getting further qualification? Some of them will get married and move to urban centers. No school in the area can boast of a computer lab. Children sitting in delapidated classrooms, with floors that look like a poultry house - free ranging system. The student wears school uniform that is torn and worn-out. When it rained, it is prayer session so that the buildings don't cave in, lessons are suspended because of the noise from the rain droppings. The Issue of EDUCATION FOR ALL by 2005 for now is just not visible in Nigeria going by the current trends of events. All the talk on the MDG is still a mirage, how can parents afford the cost of schooling a child, when the average Nigerian parent feed on less than $1.00 a day? Government policies which are targetted at alleviating poverty makes the people more impoverished and helpless. Education for now is still for the priviledged few in the society - never mind the rhetorics on news media. However, the current effort on Long Distance Education could bridge the gap, but at what cost? Can the prospective students afford the tuition fees and regisstration requirements? Education is free and Qualitative, but for whom? Isaac Olofi RIGHT2EDUCATION: Achieving Univeral Primary Education musu stewart 2004-07-19 04:10 Dear All, The Millennium Project Task Force did an good job compiling a background paper on achieving universal primary education by 2015. The paper details the huge cost of "enrolling" rather than completing this task by 2015. In my opinion, the fundamental problems hindering successful achievement of any millennium goal in most developing countries, particularly in Africa can be attributed to 1)poverty, 2)red tape & dishonesty & 3)the lack of commitment by governments and policy-makers. I will attempt to briefly address each factor individually. 1. Poverty - poor people do not have the resources to build schools, pay teachers or set up technical structures to address educational needs. The primary concern of poor people is survival therefore education comes secondary or at times non-existent. How do we find a solution to this? We must address the physiological needs of poor people - food, shelter, clothing, health and prepare them psychologically to accept and understand the importance of acquiring education. Also, donors must build capacities of organizations (comprising teachers) undertaking community school projects so as to prepare them for sustainability when donor funding phases out, i.e. farming project, etc. 2. Red Tape & Dishonesty - the donor community has done a tremendous job in providing funding for educational projects in nearly all developing countries. Mostly, funding is provided for community school projects in towns and villages. Most of this funding has being lost in bureaucracy and dishonesty in government agencies and other organizations responsible for education. The donor community too, has its fair share of blame. Funding donated to governments or organizations to carry out education projects arrive already half spent on benefits and salaries of "project officers, executive directors, etc.," with probably only 20% spared to be actually committed to materials and teachers' stipends. How do we address this? The international community (donors) must now re-think the funding process and ensure that funding set aside for school projects do not become tied up in bureaucracies or squandered in planning, organizing or administration. They must ensure that the beneficiaries (poor children) and those directly responsible for their education (teachers) will benefit from the funding. Teachers must form a part of the planning process of education projects rather than only being blind implementors. The donors must ensure that the channel from donor to beneficiaries is greatly shortened for maximum satisfaction. 3. Lack of commitment by governments and policy-makers - governments and organizations of most developing countries become rhetorical when requesting funding for projects from donors. But when it comes to planning and implementing the process fades away. For education projects in developing countries to become successful all players will have to exhibit full commitment to the process. To achieve this requires putting together a team of professional persons (teachers, school administrators, community leaders, etc) to produce a workable formula that will address the problem of primary education to ensure continued commitment. The discussions continue...... Regards Musu _____________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative? cscqbe 2004-07-19 04:10 Dear All, I have been very much attrached to join the discussions. May be the question is, while it is possible to make education transformative, is there political will and mindset to transform? I have been impressed by the many signatures our leaders in Africa and the rest of the developing world make in forums (for eg. Jomtien 1990, Dakar 2000 etc.). However translating the signatures into measurable action is a challenge. For example in Malawi, four years after Dakar 2000 Meeting, government is still struggling to finalise a credible EFA action plan and yet one of the Goals is to deal with gender disparities in schools by next year (2005). How can cooperating partners like Civil society and funding agencies implement EFA plans if there is no national plan? I do not know the experience in other countries on the EFA Plans. However there are many other examples of non commital, but the bottom line is "Can governments fulfill their international commitments for educational reform now, and walk the talk rather than talk the walk.!" For how long shall we sing that we need to educate our girls, the physically challenged children and the illiterated adults.? I call upon civil society coalitions to be more organised and intensfy policy analysis and monitoring , advocacy, community sensitisation and mobilisation to bring in a sense of action and ownership in the education reforms and policies. Limbani Nsapato Coalition Coordinator Civil Society Coalition for Quality Basic Education (CSCQBE) Lilongwe Malawi. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Malawi SDNP Webmail: http://www.sdnp.org.mw Access your Malawi SDNP e-mail from anywhere ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-19 06:10 Dear All: Welcome to week 2 of the education MDG discussion. Below please find a summary of last weeks discussion and questions to jump start this weeks dialogue on the Task Forces 6 messages for meeting UPE by 2015. SYNTHESIS,WEEK 1: when will we see the light at the end of the tunnel? With previous universal education efforts having fallen short, this MDG report should better guide how UPE can be achieved by 2015. The reports call for making education transformative is applauded, but does the right mindset existed to facilitate a transformation? Why is more research being done on the same subject (UPE) instead of using the funds to implement Education Reform Acts? What is really needed is action - dynamic, transformative and accountable strategies that respond to parents, communities, and childrens educational needs. But things need to change. When strategies have been implemented, why have they failed to improve the lives of the poor, and not been transformative? After decades of reforms, several problems persist: lack of access to schools for rural communities and for the disabled; low quality of education; lack of uniformity between community schools and the formal education system; inadequate training and retention of teachers. The cumulative effect of these problems is a loss of parental and community ownership in schools. A critical eye was cast on the viability of strategies proposed by the report, especially when adequate political does not exist. Malawi, for example, has signed the Jomtien and Dakar declarations but has yet to finalize a credible EFA action plan. How can civil society and funding agencies work towards achieving gender disparities in school by 2005, or UPE by 2015 in the absence of national education plans? QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEK The report suggests that the achievement of UPE 2015 will rest on the integration of 6key messages into government-led initiatives. If accepted by the international community, then these messages are likely to influence how education polices and program are defined and implemented in the future. 1. Mothers matter most. A mothers education has a strong positive affect on childrens (especially girls) enrolment and attainment. Priority should be given to ensuring gender parity at all levels of education, and to overcoming barriers that prevent good quality education for girls. * Does the report adequately support mothers educational achievement, so they can in turn ensure their children are schooled? How can womens literacy/education initiatives be justified within a basic education framework? 2. A little education isnt enough. The completion of a minimum five years of schooling is necessary for the mastery of basic competencies. And the completion of a cycle of basic education is even more in line with the long-term goal of prosperity and human welfare. Additional priority should be placed on post-primary education. * Where should we set the minimum goal for years of schooling? Five years? A full basic education cycle? If so, then how do we correlate this expanded goal with the internationally agreed upon target of UPE by 2015, which is far from being achieved? 3. Parents and other citizens, have the right to know. The TF suggests that a minimum set of information about school resources and performance be made available to parents. * What type of information can genuinely empower parents to hold schools accountable for providing a quality education? * Is the use of information by parents even essential to a good education system, or is it possible to have good schools without it? 4. More money better spent. Achieving UPE and gender equality at the primary level will require much more money than currently spent, both from governments and from donors. * Many studies show little relationship between spending levels and education outcomes. How can this be? Give us examples of what they are missing! * In addition to political will, what other factors constraint the use of external funds for better education? * What is the most effective way to use donor funding? Through projects? Sector Wide Approaches (SWAPS)? Fast Track Initiative (FTI)? Budget support? 5. Focus on the hard to reach. Prioritize interventions targeted at getting poor children and girls into school and keeping them there. * Why have past reforms failed to school the hard to reach? 6. The economy matters. Attention to economic development can make the difference between education that yields the full range of desired benefits and education that does not; and it can strongly affect the household decisions about sending children to school. * How can education-sector policies be developed with a common vision for economic growth and development? As a reminder, the executive summary and full Universal Primary Education MDG report can be downloaded at http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/tf3docs.shtm or by going to the discussion groups home page http://www.dgroups.org/groups/right2education/ ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Raquel Banchero 2004-07-19 10:10 Dear all. I am joining the discussion this week. My specialization is "to reach the unreached" by e-learning. I know that there are priorities and that basic education for everyone is a subject that is in the basis of the development of the countries We think that the issue, the organizations I am workink for is attending, could make a difference for the people that live in isolated places since virtual education could be a very important alternative. As you said Many studies show little relationship between spending levels and > education outcomes. How can this be? Give us examples of what they are > missing! Well to this quetion I say that we must implement educational shortcuts, . Academics, Government and Firms must dedicated all their resources and strenghts to find shortcuts to make educational programs sustainables and efficient for developing countries. Education is a knowldege system. Global, regional, local.... I mean that developing countries must analyse seriously and systematically the existing knowledge systems And those in which they are involved. Through the analysis of these knowldege systems that are integrated by producers, firms, government, NGOs , the formal and informal educational systems, also individuals, we can find the educational shortcuts that could lead us to reach the joint goals that our countries are confronting now to narrow the North-South divide: enhance economics, integrate internal productive chains to the global value chain, develop gender equity, attend life-long learning so mothers do not uncare their children education, etc So se must adopt a Fast Track strategics and require from all the actors in knowldege systems a responsible contribution (leaving behind all the antagonisms and fights about the ownership of education). Knowldege is everywhere and in everybody. we must find the way to enhance and strengthen each single knowledge structure and work with a down-up and up-down analysis methodology and communities demand driven basis to reach the MDG. Raquel Banchero Segecyt (Secretariat for Gender Science and Technology) Universitario Autonomo del Sur Consultant Montevideo Uruguay ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Private schools for the poor J Stanfield 2004-07-19 10:14 Dear All I am currently looking at the growth of private schools for the poor in China, India, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. I would therefore be interested to know what others think about the role of the private sector in helping to achieve EFA, or if most people bel;ieve that EFA can only be achieved by large expansions of government provision. James B. Stanfield E.G. West Centre School of Education University of Newcastle 0191 222 3503 - 07966 865 860 j.stanfield@ncl.ac.uk www.ncl.ac.uk/egwest _____________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Is it possible to make education transformative? Dr. Samson MacJessie-Mbewe 2004-07-20 05:10 Dear All, The discussion on achieving EFA for developing countries is very crucial at this time when we are really struggling to see what we can do. Many people are bringing very important issues here and I hope there is one person who is documenting these issues. In one of the messages, it was said that research has shown that money does not make a difference in educational performance. If we just say this, I think we are not coming to terms with reality. What research has said is that once adequate resources (money) is put into education, more of it does not make any difference. One of the problems we are facing in developing countries is lack of adequate money (resources) to make the difference. If adequate money is put in, I want to agree with those who emphatically say that it does not reach the intended poor. Schools in rural areas are really pathetic. There are no resources what so ever. We need policies that will help rural masses get the adequate educational resources for their children to fully participate in education. In some countries like Malawi what EFA has done is just to improve children's access to school but not to quality education. We need to improve on quality and access of the poor to that quality education. I feel also we have for a long time missed an opportunity in sidelining the concerned grassroot stakeholders in educatinal policy process. Teachers, parents and students in rural areas do not know what is happeing in education and as such they lack ownership of the policies formulated. We need to involve these stakeholders so that they can support education with full knowledge of what is happening in the system. There should be a net-work of relationships between and among teachers, parents, students, the community, and educational planners, policy analysts and makers. These relationships will help to identify deep rooted problems in the community and schools that affect schools and how these can be solved. The grassroot stakeholders do have some of the answers that we struggle with but they do not have a channel to voice out those answers. We need to integrate the rational, interactive and contingecy models of policy process in developing countries for us to achieve the EFA objectives. In many developing countries educators attend one workshop to another about EFA but rarely do they have time to sit down and implement what they discussed in the workshops. We need to change this. If we are to attend a workshop, it should be an aim of each workshop that by the end of it, there should be an action plan formulated to implement whatever transpired. There must be also afficers assigned to be responsible for the implementation of the plans and be given deadlines to report. Let us not just waste our time attending worlshops whose delibarations are not implemented. It's better to take that money wasted and buy materials for schools. The issue of poverty as stated by other poeple should also be seriously looked into. I one day interwied few street girls why they are not going to school. They mentioned issues of food, clothes and shelter. They said they live in the streets begging so that they should support themsleves and their parents who are poor and blind. However, I asked them if they wanted school, they indicated that they really wanted school and they admire their friends when they go to school. The children were aged 4 to 9 just imagine. Similar issues of poverty are critical in rural areas. Poeple have nothing, how can they support their children to go to school. Even compulsory education in this scenario cannot work. So governments in developing countries have a huge task to alleviate the economic status of rural masses before we comfortably sing a UPE song. This leads us to the debate, what should come first, economic development or education development? Samson RIGHT2EDUCATION: Achieving Univeral Primary Education Dr. Vijayalakshmi 2004-07-20 06:53 I agree with the opinion of Mr. musu stewart=92s opinion that at macro level, the fundamental problems hindering successful achievement of any millennium goal in most developing countries, may be attributed to 1)poverty, 2)red tape & dishonesty & 3)the lack of commitment by governments and policy-makers. At the same time we need to look at the micro level issues, the root-cause of the problem as to why the children are not enrolled/ not attending the school. We have developed a diagram (called ISHIKAWA) which gives some of the reasons why children do not attend schools in rural India. Please go to the discussion group's resources page at to download the diagram. http://www.dgroups.org/groups/right2education/index.cfm?op=main&cat_id=3692 Your comments are welcomed. Vijayalakshm C  SHAPE \* MERGEFORMAT  RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Kenya School Improvement Project 2004-07-20 10:06 The unreached, already have no phones, emails, etc. e-learning cannot be effective here. _____________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue musu stewart 2004-07-20 10:40 Agreed. The key to universal primary education in developing countries is not e-learning. I believe that we are far from the fact here. Most developing countries do not have the infrastructure to support wired or wireless technology and moreover the cost of adapting such a program will not be in the interest of the poor. To accomplish what the developed nations have in terms of education and technology we must start from the very beginning - basic learning strategies, personal interaction in classrooms, field studies and laboratories. Musu RIGHT2EDUCATION: Private schools for the poor Victor 2004-07-20 11:05 Dear All It is argued by governments that private sector education provisioning is playing an important role in expanding education provisioning in countries. While one agrees with the stand of governments, it is equally important to note that failing governments would always interventions that hide the broader picture as a scapegoat. Private sector education is purely business based on profit making and often accessible to those who can afford. It is discriminatory and exclusive to the few who can afford and represent socio-economic background and class. In South Africa for example, the government has gone to an extent of subsidizing this sector, a move that has collided with criticism from progressive forces of the civil society including educator unions, student organizations, parents' associations and NGOs. If EFA goals are to be realized, governments must ensure that there is massive fuel inject in public education and bulk of it must be allocated to rural and poor communities and be supportive to initiatives in local communities. Victor Mathonsi National Association of School Governing Bodies (SA) _____________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Private schools for the poor PAMOJA Africa Reflect Network 2004-07-21 04:45 MessageDear All, I have been following the e-discussion - the universal primary Education dialogue, with keen interest. What has greatly provoked my thoughts is the whole question of 'private schools for the poor' as presented by James Stanfield. True, the private sector has a role in helping to achieve EFA, but let us stop a minute and ask what kind of role and how about the motive behind that? Remember that for the private sector the overriding factor is the amount of profits one can generate from any one investment made! I would like to borrow from my country experience where by to date, following the introduction of UPE, private schools are mushrooming day by day! If you ask whose children are in those schools, they are children of the well- to- do, the working class,civil servants and few other peasants. The working class and some of the peasants have had to sell off some of their assets such as land, to be able to sustain their children in the private schools for they do hold a belief that it is only in the private schools now that one can gain access to quality education! Whether these private schools in essence do offer that quality education yearned for, is also subject to debate! You can clearly see that this is a big problem, a time bomb, in that apart from further widening the gap between the rich and the poor , the private schools are also helping in draining further the resources of the poor people who have to sell all they have in order to provide their children with what they think is quality education! To substantiate the point, it is evident in the difference in quality of education provided that the 'UPE Schools' as they are referred to and the private schools, is only helping to create / emphasise classes among the citizens. For instance children who graduate from the 'good' schools are more likely ( and always do) to make it to better schools at high level and eventually to the university or other institutions of high learning. Obviously they will be the ones to get faster access to 'good' jobs once they are out of school! You can then guess what happens to the rest who are not able to make it to those levels. Until governments come up boldly to address the issue of quality in a more profound manner, in addition to instituting tight policies that regulate the operations of private schools, they will continue springing up to meet the education needs of the rich and those children who can affiord the high fees while more of the poorer children will be condemned to a low quality education as purportedly is being provided by the Public schools! Is this fair? I am interested to learn more from James Stanfield about the nature of Private schools he is referring to for the poor in China, India, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana. Could they be different my the ones decribed above, possibly we could borrow a leaf from there. Nandago Maria Goreth PAMOJA Africa Reflect Network Secretriat P.O.BOX 10150, Kampala, Uganda. ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Private schools for the poor Loise Wambui 2004-07-21 04:46 Dear all, A Kenyan view. I disagree with Victor that private schools are not subsidising the government effort on EFA. The practise on the ground is that these schools not only supplements public sector but in the nearest future they may substitute them in some areas of the country. Kenya, with the new government, declared free and compusory primary education. The enrollement was over 100% in January 2003. Today exodus from public to private is evident. Parents are expressing disatisfaction with the Teacher -pupil ratio, lack of materials , teachers attitude towards the policy and lack of commitment to duty. Most of the private schools in the rural and urban poor- areas charge very small figures .This does not mean that we don't have very expensive private schools. These schools play a role in Kenya. They require government support in regislation and supervision. LOISE GICHUHI University of Nairobi. ( i am developing a model school in a rural place where the per capita income is very low but the results are positive. You can charge small fee where the profit is on the minimum and give quality education.The challege for me from the parents is to give them more classes for 2005. ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue patrick 2004-07-21 04:57 Dear All, The e-learning concept stays an admired dream to most of developing countries! The costs of putting such a system (manpower, infrastructure,...) will be enormous amidst serious resource constraints. We have witnessed such other initiatives like distance-learning (through post), rural libraries (stationary and mobile) failing because the concepts were not 'internally' sustainable. They were 'donor' formulas for reducing illiteracy in the developing world. If such formulas have ever worked in the developed world, it was due to infrastructure support and internal resource base to sustain it. Transforming education in rural areas can not succeed through e-learning, rather needs to be accompanied by the transformation of other sectors like roads, agriculture and health. The rural poor population fail to effectively participate even in the 'conventional' literacy programmes because most of their time is spent either on traveling on foot in search of food and medical services or hand-hoeing for a living. So even if e-learning is introduced to foster education for rural people, it will still be received and reach a tiny section of this population. Adequate resourcing and good governance across the board will help deliver education down to the rural sections of our societies. Patrick _________________________ Patrick S. Ngowi Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF) Tanzania Programme Coordinator P.O. Box 10414 Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel. +255 22 2701725 +255 744 297 352 +255 744 444 282 Fax. +255 22 2701726 RIGHT2EDUCATION: Messages on the pros and cons of private education Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-22 06:47 Dear All, I hope you have been able to follow the very lively debate on the pros and cons of private education this week. This debate is incredibly relevant in today's educational context. Perhpas the larger issue is the role of the private sector in education. Simon Daffi with Community Aid and Small Enterprises Consultancy (CASEC) in Arusha, Tanzania frames this broader issue below. Finally, below I have regrouped several of the messages received on private education this week to facilitate lecture. There are those that support private education and others that question if these schools actually reach the poor. I appeal to everyone to move on to the other 5 key messages of the task force but encourage you to continue the private education debate amongst one another! ROLE OF PRIVATE SECTOR IN EDUCATION Dear all - I have couple of things that i found challenging and needs to be given attention in the MDG report on Universal Primary Education. Firsly, I have learnt that many private sectors like mining companies, hunting companies and many others in deloping countries through the process of globalization have already reached the resources found in areas where there are unreached communities in terms of achieving EFA. It is interesting to note that these companies/firms have done very little/limited contribution i helping these communities to achieve EFA goals. Some of these firms are locally based while others are Internationals. The MDG report on the Universal Primary Education must be able to recognize and strategically considert the roles of private sector, so that it is also responsible in supporting the communities in areas where they are extracting local resources. If i give an example of my country Tanzania you find that some communities live in geographically disadvantaged areas in terms of infrastructures, but in those areas you find private sectors extracting local resource and doing almost nothing in supporting local communities to achieve EFA Goals. I think for sustainable development the roles of private sectors must be well integrated in the process of achieving EFA, particulaly in developing countries. What do others say about this? - Simon Daffi, CASEC Tanzania SUPPORT FOR PRIVATE EDUCATION I believe that private schools do help the EFA, particularly in instances where governments fail in providing incentives for public schools to function up to standard. In Liberia private schools have not received government subsidy in nearly two decades but these schools continue to operate to ensure that the educational system does not collapse. Moreover, not all private schools charge exorbitant fees. In the rural areas most private schools charge fees that are affordable by the parents. My observation in Liberia is that even the poorest of parents who desire education for their children will prefer to send their children to (affordable) private schools because of teaching quality. Had it not being for private schools in Liberia as it is most developing countries, the illiteracy level would be far above what it is now. - Musu Stewart, Independent Member, International Federation of University Women, Monrovia, Liberia Dear All, I think private schools are contributing to reach the EFA goals in a country.It all depend how you involve them in governments policy work.When I worked in the SPRINT project in Lusaka Province, our team was clustering schools to reach city schools as well as remote schools.We organised workshops on all kind of teaching methods.In Lusaka Urban there was a cluster of seven schools ; 3 government,2 community and 2 private schools.We had regular meetings in the resource centre discussing the evolution of the project.Ideas of all these schools weree transfered to the in-service working group at the Teacher Education Department. - Peter Merckx, Education advisor, VVOB Another Kenyan view, First of all, let me confess that education is not my speciality and therefore my views are not based on professional academic expertise. However, I am a product of private education in Kenya and my children have gone through private school systems. I do agree with Loise Wambui that one can charge a small fee, deliver quality education and serve a felt need in the country, Kenya and elsewhere. I have witnessed the state of government schools in rural and urban areas. In the same areas, I have taken keen interest in private schools, especially those managed by different missionaries. They do make small profits and can therefore equip the school and pay the teachers reasonably. In addition to whatever they are able to make from school fees and other contributions, many of them require direct contribution in money or kind from the parents and guardians. In most cases, they just make an appeal for an identified need and parents come forward to provide whatever is lacking, without duress or coercion. There is yet another type of private school especially those set in marginalised communities. Although the quality will not be rated among the top ten per cent of achievers, the performance is good enough to enable the children proceed if a sponsor is found or if the government can facilitate entry into a government schools. There are several schools of this nature in the slums and remote parts of the country such as northern Kenya. I do admit that most private school are charging a fortune. The benefit that the country reaps from these expensive schools is that the chldren of parents who can afford them leave needed spaces in the government schools. Every year, one sees several children admitted to national schools but parents who can afford choose to send their children to private schools. This enables a second selection and hence an opportunity for a deserving child to get a good start in life. - Tina Ruguru, South Pacific. PRIVATE SCHOOLS DO NOT REACH THE POOR Louise, It is good you are planning to make an investment, and in the rural area. But if you disagree with those of us who are saying that private schools are not helping us achieve universal education, you should not charge at all. Why? We pay taxes to the government of Kenya so that among other services it can offer education to all. If we have to pay private schools then the government should reduce taxations. Private schools in the rural areas like yours charge less yes, but in relation to what? If it is in relation to urban private schools yes, but if it is in relation to the economic capacity to meet their basic needs, it is not cheap, however little you charge. There are very few investors in these areas, and therefore employment is scarce. Indeed I wonder how much you will pay your workers in the school, I know of a person in Kinangop who pays her teachers between 2000 - 4000 Kshs, and I wonder how best you can do in maintaining your own children in this kind of school where you work and get this kind of pay! Not to mention that cost of living is rising by the day. So, who said that charging 2000 in the rural area is cheap and affordable by all? I don't know where you are putting up your school, but I challenge you to put it up in Kwale, BAringo, Makueni and MAchakos area, or even interior parts of Central Province LIke Ol Kalou in Nyandarua and some parts of Murang'a, where unlike Kwale and the other places people are dying of hunger but no one is reporting. When we talk of universal primary education, are we not talking of these children who do not even have food? Are we not talking of the any boys who do not attend school in pastoralist communities as they are sent days and weeks on end to take animals in such of pasture and water? What about the Boys and Girls I see in the T.V everyday in Kamba land who walk miles in such of water for domestic use. Not to mention the load of domestic work I remember doing and am sure girls of the same age are still doing in most parts of Kenya as their parents, mostly single mothers, venture out further in the fields in such of food and other utilities to sustain their lives? How do you expect even 1000 kshs to be cheap fees for such children and parents. I wish you luck with your investment, but away from emotions, we must advocate for governments to take seriously the question of educating the society and children, both boys and girls. Instead of stealing form public coffers like they are doing in Kenya, those in power must be pressured to invest our money, hard earned through taxes in education. NGOs that are in this field must alos consider being more people oriented than facility oriented. What I mean is that I see good school facilities put up by NGOs in the midst of very remote communities, remote in the sense that they cannot afford such facilities in their other areas of life, and that they also do not think much about education. In the end after the NGO has left the facilities are run down or are dilapidated, since the community was not mobilized or consulted in the venture. Building the people's capacities and understanding is better than putting up fancy facilities. And education is not only in school, it is also at home and in the community, so a wholesome approach that identifies what the community needs more to enhance education is better. Going private is what the government or those in power have done to Kenya and Africa, to the benefit of the already developed Nations. England alone is boosting foreign earning to the tune of more than 4billion Kenya shillings, from Kenyans seeking for education there every year, while on the other hand Kenya is begging from World Bank for 3b to run the Free Primary education scheme. Yes more chances for more children to school but certainly at a higher cost and certainly not an answer to attain the millennium goal. - Muthoni Kamau Dear all, Here in Tanzania we have abolished the term "private schools" and use "non public or non government schools" instead. This is because no school is allowed to operate a private curriculum even though it may be charging fees. Coming to the issue of whether such schools can be for the poor, I find a big contradiction when we create a non-public or fee-paying system and call it 'for the poor'. Few providers of fee paying education here target the poor, exception being the Jesuit fathers and a few other charity organizations which allow high passing children to study at a subsidised rate while the rich parents pay the full fees. Some organizations such as the Aga Khan Foundation, asks parents to contribute development funds to the schools, outside the normal fees, depending on how able they are. This does not attract the poor; instead it promotes elitism and even racism, because only the business community and bureaucrats can pay such high contributions. If one is researching this area, one needs to find out the motives of organizations and individuals owning fee-paying schools in developing countries. The harambee system in Kenya cannot be described as 'for the poor' because those who have nothing to pay may not be encouraged to enrol their children in the school. Unless there is a process of identifying the less financially able and factoring in a support mechanism, it is unrealistic to talk of a private system that caters for the poor. - K. M. O-saki, Faculty of Education, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Dear All, Yes, Victor is right is seeing private schools as discriminatory and exclusive to the few who can afford and representing socio-economic background and class. One more point: they steal from the rural poor! In the rural sections of poor countries, in particular, some so called community private schools have been left to provide education of very poor quality to the learners because the state regulatory systems do not reach the rural areas. In Tanzania, for example, there are some rural secondary schools where almost all students leave O-level without a single pass in their final examinations, while their neighboring government secondary schools have almost all of the students passing their examinations. Though examinations only cannot be taken as a good measure of performance, at least the immediate output of the state schools is far better than their private counterparts. To me, if not properly regulated, private schools will continue committing grave crimes on the poor by siphoning their meager incomes by giving them blank education. Rural education (being basic or secondary) should remain a domain of the government, while the elitist private schools remain with the urban affluent. - Patrick Ngowi, Tanzania ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Insights on the 6 core messages of the UPE report David Archer 2004-07-22 07:18 Dear All: My apologies for arriving late on this second e-discussion - I have been in India, Bangladesh and now Thailand. I would like to share my comments on each of the 6 core messages of the UPE report. Message 1: "Mothers matter most" ... This explicitly calls for us to make the case for adult literacy and we must respond. There is little doubt that investing in women's literacy has a crucial and direct impact on the education of girls - not only on increasing access but on sustaining attendance and improving achievement. We all know that the home environment is a crucial determinant of education outcomes and any child who comes from a non-literate home is at a massive disadvantage. This issue directly interfaces with the other MDG on women's empowerment ... there can be no sustained empowerment without access to the basic / dominant forms of communication within society. There is a need for massive new investment in adult learning, particularly for women - but not focused on traditional top-down literacy programmes that seek to address literacy in isolation of wider communication and power issues. There has been a substantial accumulation of practical learning in recent years around participatory approaches to learning that link the development of literacy, language and other communication skills to women's empowerment and action. Just because economists cant handle it easily we should not marginalise it. There is a real problem in getting data on adult literacy in the same way as data on schooling because of the inherently more flexible / less systematised provision - and the massive under-resourcing of the sector (both of practice and research). We need to respect learning from practice and not just depend on academic research by economists to tell us what works! Message 2: "more education including secondary" This is a dangerous proposal and I feel that it risks sending the wrong message out to people (that primary schooling is more or less resolved or that primary schooling in itself can never be enough). We need much more on the quality and nature of primary education. Achieving universal secondary education by 2015 is just unrealistic; this might be a recommendation for 2015-2025 but shouldnt we start with the base ... unless there really are massive increases in investment from the global community (see below)?? If there are concerns about the value of primary education in itself (and there should be) then let us get a debate on that and change what primary education seeks to achieve / offer etc. This does involve getting into the discussion on the transformatory potential of education. The report raises this as an issue and then systematically fails to follow it through and I am glad to see that this e-discussion is starting to fill the gaps. We do not want schools that just reproduce society - when that society is all too often full of inequality, injustice, discrimination and prejudice. We should be working to make schools into microcosms of the societies that we want to create - places which are democratic in themselves, respect children's rights, which oppose discrimination and prejudice. This is often seen as somehow a radical agenda and yet surely it underpins the expectations of most parents who send their children to school in the hope that their children's lives will be better than their own. If we want to transform society there can be no better place to start than schools ... and if schools are to do this we need to see them as places that promote un-learning (e.g. of prejudice / gendered roles etc) as well as learning! I hope that long after this e-discussion we can sustain a longer global dialogue about strategies to change learning environments and promote active public debate about the role of schools in changing societies. Message 3: "right to know".... This message needs much more on the role of CSOs / citizen action at local and national level - to open up public debate / involve the media and question the nature of education. A key step is closing the gap between schools and parents and we need to pull together ways of doing this through statutory and non-statutory organisations (PTAs, School Management Committees, Village Education Committees etc). We need to move beyond the right to know to the right to have a say - and this means linking community level structures involving parents up to district level / local government structures to ensure accountability. Once we have mobilised from local to district level, the connections to national level alliances can be made fairly easily. One of the most exciting developments in education in the past five years has been the emergence of unprecedented national alliances / coalitions on basic education in s many countries (eg linking NGOs to teacher unions, debt campaigners, child labour activists, faith based organisations, parents associations, women's movement and other social movements). There was no equivalent after Jomtien - and these alliances are proving crucial in the post-Dakar environment - demanding accountability from governments, demanding the right to know what government is doing to deliver on EFA and demanding an active and ongoing role in policy processes, implementation and monitoring as agreed in Dakar. There is a long way to go but these coalitions (especially when linked regionally such as by ANCEFA in Africa and globally by GCE) have immense potential and should be acknowledged in the paper. Budget analysis and budget tracking from national down to local and back up to national level is central to the work of many of these alliances. Parents have a right to know how much is coming to the school in the name of their children, whether this is adequate and how it relates to per-capita spending in other districts / locations. There are often huge distortions in spending per capita within a country. These need to be brought out - and the national alliances / coalitions on basic education are key to this. Message 4: "More money, better spent". I would like to see a stronger link here to the costs of education that have been passed on to parents (which is only covered in message 5) ... as abolishing these needs to be calculated into the resource gap (see below). I also feel we always talk about political will and not enough about the collective will of whole societies (a vision to 2015 MDGs cannot be delivered by a political party that is under short term pressures / is in power for 3/5 years). We need to build domestic pressure in each country across Africa, Asia and Latin America so that whoever is in power has to prioritise education. Part of achieving this involves questioning / challenging the role of NGOs stopping them from being unwitting agents of privatisation by delivering services that should be delivered by the State. Part of this analysis also needs to look at the new dangers of donor power as they move to collaboration / sector wide approaches / working in consortiums. We criticised donors in the past for their lack of coordination but now they are working in consortiums and providing funds right into the heart of the education system, major new threats have emerged. The donors are rarely critically aware of their own power. The danger is that governments become more accountable to the donors and set policies and priorities more in consultation with donors than with their own parliaments or citizens. The sort of power that donors now have needs to pass to national parliaments / citizens / civil society coalitions. Mobilising more resources for education from the international community should not be at the cost of reducing the accountability of governments to their own citizens. In Dakar it was agreed that governments would develop national EFA Plans in consultation with citizens/ civil society and that donors would then come in to provide consistent and coordinated support. In practice donors are still having far too much say over the direction of reforms and they are not sufficiently aware of how this can undermine people's rights and the relation of citizens with their governments. Message 5: "hardest to reach.... There is an immense amount of experience on this within the NGO community but again we have been spending so much effort directly delivering services (and competing with each other to claim the most innovative approaches) that we have failed to consolidate our learning into clear positions that can be taken to government and act as a basis for systemic reform. The Commonwealth Education Fund is committed to pulling together learning in this area within 17 low income countries in Africa and South Asia - but there is a long way to go - and similar initiatives are urgently needed in other regions (e.g. South East Asia, Latin America, francophone Africa). Message 6: "Holistic approaches".... Yes of course we need to be holistic but we must not understate the role of education in breaking the cycle of poverty. This report should be the one that argues the essential and unique role of education both as a fundamental right and as the fundamental enabling right, which helps people, secure and enjoy other basic rights. This one intervention is critical to achievement of all the MDGs. There is a lot more that I have not said but I really hope that some of the above is a useful contribution to these important debates. We MUST sustain this sort of discussion beyond the timeframe of the specific task of feeding into the MDG Task Force reports - to build positions and collective action, perhaps most urgently in 2005. David Archer _____________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Transforming Education musu stewart 2004-07-22 07:24 Dear All, This is a very exciting forum where persons interested in making education a reality for all. Developing countries are suffering a brain drain of qualified educators due to teachers either leaving the profession or travelling abroad to seek greener pastures. Why is this so? Teachers are among the lowest paid in terms of salaries and in developing countries this incentive is not easily forthcoming. If educators are not equipped to aid the transformation process this goal will be unachievable. Educators have to be trained periodically to keep up with the changes in global teaching skills and strategies, preferably "on-site" , in their countries rather than expensive overseas training which sometimes results into trainees absconding to seek better life abroad. Governments and stakeholders will have to be committed to making education a primary national goal and ensuring that educators are rewarded the requisite benefits to enable them make this goal achievable. Many countries speak of "free education". But can education be truly free when teachers and school administrators can not receive their remunerations? In my country, Liberia, teachers sometimes go unpaid for a year. Little wonder how they send their own children to school. As a result, teachers pass the burden on to the pupils who then see this as an easy outlet to obtaining passing grades. Transforming education and achieving universal primary education by 2015 requires the concerted effort of everyone, as achieving this goal is tied to achieving other Millennium Goals. Success in achieving one of these goals could be a formula for success in achieving others. Let us get up and do something!DEEDS NOT WORDS! Musu ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Muthoni Kamau 2004-07-22 09:07 Dear all, One could not agree more with Patrick. E-learning is about modern communication methods and facilities like telephone and computers. In countries where the majority have never enjoyed using electricity in their homes, you cannot expect them to have seen computers,leave alone having the skills to use them. they could be taught through televised programs, but the same problems apply. E-learning for KEnya and I believe other developing countries is not the answer for now. Indeed it compunds the problem, because it may mean governments importing more equipment from the west as we manufacture not even spare parts, and this may lead to taking of more loans from the bretton woods institutions, due to unfavorable trade balance, as the west buys our tea and coffee at throw away prices. We need better education policies that shape the education to meet the needs of the society, as opposed to the current ones where universities and colleges are opened so as to be named after the current president or for political expediency. I agree with Patrick that good and just governance is a major key, with which the lot of revenue collected by our governments through taxes and loans from outside will be channeled to education, to ensure that the capacity for society members to produce more and sustain themselves is increased and improved. This is the essence of education, that human beings, both male and female are able to relate to one another and with nature in a way that enhances their living. Unfortunately this is not the way the political leaders look at it and hence the lack of serious need to address the education system. Take the case of Kenya for instance, Free Primary Education yes, and an increase in enrolment, but how free is it if the teachers who are paid with with our taxes are not paid enough and are overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of children? Is it not more costly in the long run given that the quality is very low? are we after enrolment of children in schools or after educating our people? How free is it yet we are apying more taxes, and instead of paying the teachers better so as to cope with increased work load, or employing more teachers, Parliamentarians are paying themselves 20 times more the salary of a secondary senior teacher? Who is Fooling who? Infact in many Kenyan Languages, the direct translation of free Education is 'useless education', that is why the business people who have invested in education are happy that we are disillutioned with the public schools despite the free-ness and are still paying them the heft fees that they demand! We need to get serious civil Society Advocacy on this question of free education and meeting the Millenium goal by 2015. I am ready for action that can force our policy makers to see sense. That way we can actually dream of having E-learning beginning 2015. - Muthoni Kamau ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Insights on the 6 core messages of the UPE report Loise Wambui 2004-07-22 11:45 Dear All, David's contribution is well thought. My experience is that most deloping countries commit so much to education.However,they relie so much on donors who gives 'dress' measures on how the money is to used. What these countries need is funds and left to cut their own 'dress' sizes especially choosing between formal and nonformal. Your other suggestion is intergrating parents comittees in the running of schools.This is a noble thing but a limit of educational back ground of the members should be set so that they can contribute effectivery . Loise (University of Nairobi). ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: The impact of IMF conditionalities on education expenditure David Archer 2004-07-22 11:47 Dear All, My previous email shared my reflections on the specific messages. Id like to share one further overall argument which relates most to message 4 but impacts on all and relates back to the previous e-discussion on the MDG target on achieving gender equality in primary and secondary education by 2005. It is this target that can give us urgency for action on education. All the other MDGs have targets for 2015 and all of them can be forgotten about easily if there is no substantial action in the next year on this first target. It is becoming increasingly clear from my discussions with people across 40 countries in the ActionAid International staff conference presently taking place in Thailand (from where I am writing) that the biggest single obstacle is the IMF. IMF conditionalities around the macro-economic framework force governments to limit public expenditure on education (e.g. limiting increased teacher numbers / salaries / other investments in education). Their obsessive fear of inflation means they are even preventing some countries from receiving new aid (e.g. Zambia and Uganda - where this is clearest in relation to money from the HIV Global Fund but will clearly affect any significant new aid to education ... and could directly undermine the Fast Track Initiative). Yet the IMF policies on inflation are extremist / fundamentalist even amongst the bizarre world of economists. Most economists think moderate inflation (between 10%-30%) does not prevent growth and that whilst such inflation is bad for wealthy foreign investors, it is not bad for poor people. Now, let us say that perhaps the most serious action the global community could take in 2005 would be to eliminate all user fees in primary and secondary education (as fees are the single biggest factor excluding girls - and that girls are progressively excluded as they go up the education system because costs rise). This could be achieved through some governments increasing public expenditure (parents only have to pay because government is under-funding at present) or by other governments receiving new aid. The IMF would actively block BOTH these steps. In the light of the above I think we should demand that IMF PROVES that modest increases in inflation / modest increases in public spending on education (and indeed other urgent priorities like HIV) OR significant new aid, would do MORE damage to poor communities than the present deprivation of their rights to education (and health / HIV awareness etc). The truth is that they cannot prove this.... and we need to expose this ... exposing them as fundamentalists who are directly undermining the achievement of the MDGs. - David Archer, ActionAid International _____________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: The impact of IMF conditionalities on education expenditure Kphiri 2004-07-23 04:40 David Well Spoken David! I cant agree with you more on this. Interestingly, if IMF had not approved a PRGF for Zambia, other donors were not going to support Zambia in any significant way. Now that we have the PRGF, donors are willing to let aid flow to Zambia. This is a cartel we must work hard at all levels to expose, not only for what it is, but how it holds human life at ransom in the name of managing macro-economic indicators such as inflation. Equally important, is reforming the way our governments do business. Increasing public expenditure on social services may fail us if the institutional constraints that exist at the moment are left unchanged. This is not just about how the government rewards civil servants, its also about the framework of conditions under which they are employed.In many of our countries civil servants survive on allowances( whose negotiation has always been acrimonious and led to many work stoppages). We need to rethink the way things are done in order to create an environment were dedicated and committed personnel including many of our teachers, are allowed to operate in an efficient manner. Kennedy Phiri Copperbelt Livelihood Improvement Programme Oxfam GB RIGHT2EDUCATION: Insights on the 6 core messages of the UPE report Shaheen Rahman 2004-07-23 04:45 David, this about sums it all but our worry is that most Govt.s are not at all keen on AE and just paying lip service to it. Unless mothers are made literate, understand the concept of the 'word' she will not push her children towards schooling or learning. With countries which have a horribly large feudal mind-set, already the cards are stacked against the rural communites.Should we coax UNFPA to also include 'leraning for the illiterate mother'! If there is more coodination amongest the UN agencies ,even then better results can be achieved. Shaheen RIGHT2EDUCATION: Using the internet and computers as learning facilities Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-23 07:15 Dear All: Weve had a number of messages on the merits of e-learning, a few of which are presented below. Its true that e-learning is relevant in some environments more than others, and it can both expand educations reach as well as create a larger divide between the rich and the poor. - Akanksha Tina Ruguru, South Pacific. Mwari_mugendi@yahoo.co.uk If there is a chance to start the e-learnig facility, even in one corner - just like hospitals and police stations do, it should be taken up because computers do not need as much infrastructure as moving quality teachers. Just for example, a building can be wired and a generator is installed. It is possible now to generate power with windmills. With e-learning, a few people can reach a great number over long distances - just as we are doing now -you in Tanzania and me in South Pacific. I know we need to overcome the language barrier in most parts of the world but I believe that there are qualified people who could provide starter kits for different countries. Lets give it a chance. "Doug Matthews I note with interest that you have the same concerns as I do about the difficulty of increasing literacy rates and the additional difficulties of delivering instruction through e-learning to developing countries. I would like to share information about our project, Teaching Point. Our mission is to help teachers get their students to the "Teaching Point" where learning begins. We are building a knowledge base for primary and secondary teaching in every subject. This will provide the subject and grade specific "missing link" in teacher preparation materials. The basic format for each course set provides all the material a principal or department chair expects their teachers to write that doesn't normally come with a textbook or accompanying teacher manual. These elements include standard alignments, complete syllabus, pacing guide, daily lesson plans, assessments, student activities book and class notes for blackboard, overhead projection or PowerPoint. Also, teacher-authors are available by email to serve as mentors to your teachers. So, when you need to assign someone to teach something they wouldn't under normal circumstances volunteer for, and you wouldn't assigned them to, these materials solve numerous attendant problems. They also serve as a good management tool, because you can "check for understanding" during the school year with a copy of the pacing guide to be sure that all the important content will be covered by the end of the school year. These may be the "low tech" solution for teachers in both developed and developing countries where traditional classrooms operate without a lot of "high tech" equipment available. They are a practical, economical solution where much more funding would be necessary, even if such funding were available, for higher tech remedies. Alfred Bork, University of California, Irvine (bork@uci.edu) We are currently working on a proposal to use distance learning where the computer is the tutor. This approach enables each student to learn at a unique pace, and at his/her full capacity. The computer program is interactive and tutors students by posing several questions on the material read. These question and response sessions identify students learning problems and determine which learning material is most appropriate for the student based on past performance and student input. This is all combined with peer learning with small groups, and teachers and other adults (where available) provide further support. We propose testing this program in 5 languages (Chinese, English, Spanish, an Indian language and an Africa language). Please contact me if you want more information, www.ics.uci.edu/~bork _____________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Last few comments on this week's discussion Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-23 11:25 Dear All: To close this weeks discussion on the 6 key messages of the UPE report, I share with you two comments that participants have made on the role (and responsibility) of governments in delivering high quality education for all citizens, no matter how hard they are to reach. This is an important discussion because donor agencies, NGOs and the private sector are increasingly involved in delivering education. These comments provide a great link to next weeks discussion on the reports 6 recommendations, many of which pertain to changing how governments and donor agencies work on education. Stay tuned on Monday for next week's discussion questions on the UPE report's recommendations. - Akanksha Felix Edwards, felix@felixed.org I agree with David that one, if not the biggest, factor that prevents girls from participating in education is school fees, but we need to be careful about how we mitigate against this. I am researching the system here in Liberia and while the government schools are technically fee-free one of the most cited reasons for girls not attending or dropping out is fees. From my initial research this seems to be because government schools are of such a poor standard and overcrowded that parents, when possible, send their children to private schools where fees are charged but the education quality is higher. Also private schools have been quicker to mobilise in the rebuilding effort as they are able ot access funds more quickly. Upwards of 50% of children are attending private schools, to such an extent that the WFP extended their feeding programme to include them. Therefore the work here needs to focus on improving the quality of education in government schools, training teachers, ! providing more materials etc rather than lobbying government to remove fees. Kiura Ben, Mombasa Kenya, Bernard Kiura There are about 17000 public schools in Kenya. Private schools are located in major urban areas and highly productive rural areas. A few private schools, mainly by the religious bodies are operational in the remote areas of Kenya. Those who have not visited a remotely located public school in the recent past are likely not able to feel the change that FPE is bringing. While I acknowledge that so much remains to be done in terms of providing the essential teaching and learning resources, a few resources/materials are flowing into the schools. This was not there before 2003. You just have to be in a public school in Kenya to feel this. Therefore, inspite of the problems public schools are facing, the government is big and in every corner of the country that there will never come a time when private schools will be more than the public schools, not unless we all became educational entrepreneurs and/or missionaries. RIGHT2EDUCATION: Insights on 6 core messages Lalita Ramdas 2004-07-26 05:31 Dear All, Although I have been receiving all the animated messages from the beginning of the first round on Gender, I have been unable to respond because of pressing commitments as also a lot of travel. However, I too would like to add some observations - primarily based on several of the comments already circulated. First of all, and by way of a brief background - I live in a small village, and a rural community on the west coast of India - after our formal `retirement' from our respective working lives so to speak. My earlier work experience, over a period of nearly three decades,had been primarily in urban areas, straddling at various times, primary education, adultliteracy and non-formal education in diverse communities, especially with minority groups, women, and indigenous groups. For some time I also had the privilege of being part of an International group working in Adult Education and I continue to be closely involved with regional initiatives in Adult learning. Nothing in my earlier experience had quite prepared me for the reality of rural existence , and I spent a good part of the first few years as a member of a local Village Education Committee - trying to understand the realities and the dynamics of these institutions and why they are in the state we see today in large parts of the developing world. It is from this perspective that I would like to offer some comments on this important debate. 1.Mothers Matter Most ....or as we have been told ad infinitum - that a community of educated,empowered, women can make the difference that matters. David has summed up the core issues well - and there can be no quarrel with this in principle. The devil lies as always in the interpretation and practice on the ground. Even in this relatively progressive state where I live - where there is by and large a greater degree of freedom enjoyed by women - in rural areas the retention and practice of literacy after marriage, and the value of education per se, is not yet universally recognised as something to be accorded priority, especially for the girl child. EMPOWERMENT is a word which is part of every official policy document of Govt, NGOs and donor agencies - however the definitions and interpretations differ hugely!! The struggle to build a `bottom-up' demand for schooling/educationi in the less developed states - which form the bulk of regions which have extremely low rates of literacy and the highest out of school/drop-outs can well be imagined. This, combined with an apathetic if not callous administration, as also the predominantly patriarchal mind sets of men in society and in positions of governance, creates a system which delivers a form of schooling which is poor in quality and even poorer in motivation. Resource allocation is just one part of the problem. Deep rooted attitudes and a scarcely concealed lack of seriousness in considering the needs and problems of the poor and marginalized are the more difficult part of the> problem. 2. More of education - [beyond Primary]- and the Nature of Education. Once again I find myself in agreement with David's warning about the danger inherent in any assumption that the problems of Primary education have more or less been resolved by policy frameworks - be they governmental or other - being put in place. To locate this squarely in ground realities again: almost every government that has come to power in India since Independence has set itself targets within which to achieve UPE. And we have seen a number of policy initiatives none of which have actually matched with funds the targets they have set for the country. Along with a number of groups in different parts of the country , I have been part of an effort to intervene in the District administration run primary school system to identify the gaps which continue to result in 30 to 40 % of kids coming out of primary school barely knowing how to read and write. The reasons are manifold - and complex - starting from disinterested and de-motivated teachers and administration - to lack of competencies and training - to overloading and lack of appreciation of teachers - to parental uninvolvement. Education - or schooling - is still viewed by the majority as a means to employment - no matter how lowly. So certification is of the essence - and the very concept of quality is premised on what helps to get that piece of paper in hand. The idea of education as and for TRANSFORMATION - at whatever level - is still somewhat problematic in isolation of concentrated efforts to initiate and sustain discussion around the questions of what people want from education. 3. RIGHT TO KNOW - and the RIGHT TO HAVE A SAY - a very essential question - and one that continues to be problematic given the top-down relationship between teachers and parents - as indeed between administration at all levels, and the `people'. One of the tougher struggles in developing societies like ours, with its many layers of hierarchy and discrimination, is indeed to move towards a more democratic relationship. The democratization of the classroom is an intrinsic aspect of moving to a greater expression and practice of democracy outside of the right to vote once in five years! But having said this - it is exciting to see that there is increasing awareness and confidence about rights and responsibilities - largely as a result of NGO and peoples organizations who have worked hard and building confidence and capacity among communities who have traditionally preferred silence as a way of survival. However, it is still a long way to realizing the goal of effective parent participation in PTAs - which is the only way forward . The distance between teacher and taught is as sacrosanct as the distance between the parent and the teacher - who is still regarded as a powerful entity whose authority dare not be questioned. I have more that I would like to add - but am aware that this might already be too late - so shall stop here and hope that we will continue to connect on these issues. Lalita Ramdas Alibag Maharashtra India RIGHT2EDUCATION: Summary, week 2 discussion Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-26 08:20 SUMMARY, WEEK 2: comments on 6 key messages of the UPE report MESSAGE 1-Mothers matter most: the report needs to explicitly support flexible and participatory approaches to womens education. As it stands now, the message is left empty it justifies the important roles mothers play in childrens education and overall well-being but fails to follow through on a recommendation for supporting womens literacy initiatives. MESSAGE 2-A little education isnt enough: a dangerous claim that risks sending the wrong message to people that primary schooling has been achieved. There is still a lot of work to be done on meeting UPE and improving the quality of education. It still needs to be transformed, as the report so rightly points out. Can primary education never be enough? If we make this claim, then what incentive is left for parents to send children to primary school when they most certainly cannot send them onto secondary education? The larger question is about supply and quality secondary schools simply do not exist, especially in rural areas, and are riddled with problems themselves. There are also problems at the micro level (i.e. traditions that support early marriage, keeping girls from school, poverty) need to be tackled. In short, we are far from UPE, and it makes little sense to expand the goalpost when we havent achieved even this minimum target. MESSAGE 3-Parents have the right to know: teachers and students also have right to know more about how education is provided, where resources are garnered, the conditionality attached to them, and how they are allocated. Simply knowing this information is not enough- a platform where parents, students and teachers can advocate changes with policy makers at local, district, national and even international level needs to exist. In Dakar it was agreed that governments would develop national EFA Plans in consultation with citizens/ civil society and that donors would then come in to provide consistent and coordinated support. In practice donors are still having far too much say over the direction of reforms and they are not sufficiently aware of how this can undermine people's rights and the relation of citizens with their governments. The report should recognize civil society action and the role of CSOs in creating a debate over the nature of education and what needs to change. National alliances / coalitions on basic education are proving crucial in the post-Dakar environment - demanding accountability from governments, demanding the right to know what government is doing to deliver on EFA and demanding an active and ongoing role in policy processes, implementation and monitoring as agreed in Dakar. In the same, NGOs need to combine efforts to deliver education with advocacy there is a need to consolidate learning into clear positions to be taken by governments and for a united call for systemic educational reform. MESSAGE 4-More money better spent: this is a double-edged sword. Resources are still not adequate for meeting UPE in developing countries. There was a call for action to ensure that conferences and international declarations such as the MDG result in action plans that are implemented, monitored and evaluated. When resources are available, many practitioners voiced concerns about their allocation: corruption, politics, conditionality, and absence of investment in rural areas need to be rectified. With more money also comes the need for greater accountability, especially since there are many different entities delivering education such as governments, NGOs, communities, and the private sector. Finally, there is also a need to uncover the realities of free education because even in the rare cases where fees have been abolished, other indirect costs are being passed onto parents under the guise of participation or to build ownership in schools. This is not only unsustainable, but also frees governments of their obligation to provide education to all citizens. Part of this analysis also needs to look at the new dangers of donor power. While donors have been criticized for their lack of coordination, new concerns arise with donors moving towards collaboration / sector wide approaches / working in consortiums. The danger is that governments become more accountable to the donors and set policies and priorities more in consultation with donors than with their own parliaments or citizens. The sort of power that donors now have needs to pass to national parliaments / citizens / civil society coalitions. Fundamental obstacles, such as IMF conditionality limiting government expenditure on education may very well undermine the potential of new aid modalities such as the FTI. There was a call to refute the IMFs claim that more aid, and hence a modest increase in inflation and public expenditure is damaging. In fact, most economists believe that moderate inflation (between 10-30%) does not prevent growth and that whilst such inflation is bad for wealthy foreign investors, it is not bad for poor people. This fear of inflation has already blocked funds from the HIV Global Fund to Zambia and Uganda. MESSAGE 5-Focus on the hard to reach: e-learning and private sector involvement were presented as possible ways to expand and improve education. While there is merit to these strategies and examples of how they have been successful in some contexts, there was general agreement that these approaches do not reach those most in need, especially the poor and those living in rural areas. We have to be more vigilant on the impact of these non-traditional actors in education, and question if they reach poor and marginalized, or succeed in widening the north south, rich-poor divide. For example, how can a non-public or fee-paying system be for the poor? The UPE report needs to acknowledge the participation of these new and non-traditional actors in education and highlight the pros and cons of these initiatives particularly underline that they do not serve the hard to reach. Public schools still out number private schools. The government therefore has an even larger role to play, not only in improving public school quality, but also holding private schools accountable for delivering education of high quality, and to more than just the elite. The disparate state of rural schools shows that even when more resources are provided, they do not necessarily reach the schools. MESSAGE 6-The economy matters: but what should come first, economic development or education development? Poverty is a catch-22, there is recognition that education can help create better lives, but many cannot afford it because of fees, and indirect costs. When people do manage to send their children to school, jobs either do not exist, or continue to offer low wages and poor working conditions. The report should ensure a strong link between economic policies, the gendered impact of these strategies and link these with the content of education and vice versa. People should be educated to stand up for their rights and advocate for better educational, working and living standards. Finally, this report in particular needs to highlight the role of education in breaking the cycle of poverty. This report should be the one that argues the essential and unique role of education both as a fundamental right and as the fundamental enabling right, which helps people, secure and enjoy other basic rights. This one intervention is critical to achievement of all the MDGs. ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Discussion questions for week 3 Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-26 09:57 Welcome to the third and final week of this e-discussion on the UPE MDGs. This weeks dialogue will focus on the reports specific strategies for the UN, donor agencies, and technical agencies about how education priority setting and funding should be changed. QUESTIONS FOR THIS WEEKS DISCUSSION * The contributions of civil society organizations to meeting UPE do not appear within these recommendations. How should the report acknowledge the contribution of CSOs? What role do they have to play post-Dakar declarations and in holding the government accountable for meeting UPE? * The Task Force endorses the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) funding mechanism. Are the conditionalities attached to the FTI compatible to achieving UPE? Will they actually help achieve a quality basic education around the world? Or is this yet another example of donor prowess? For more information, read pages 37-42 in the report http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/tf3docs.shtm * The Task Force recommends expanding the primary education goal to include secondary education because it believes that schoolings true benefits are only felt after 5 years of education. Do you agree? * Why are there no recommendations about how to transform education as suggested in the preface of this report? If this is the main report on the education MDG, shouldnt recommendations focus on how to reform the education sector? What suggestions do you have? * The Task Force suggests that money be transferred to poor households contingent on childrens attendance to school. Is this a feasible proposal for all contexts? Is there any way of connecting this mechanism with issues of quality, relevance, and community engagement in education? * What form and role would an independent facility for funding, monitoring and evaluation take? TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Donor agencies should commit at least $1 billion to the Fast Track Initiative, which funds credible education sector plans developed by countries farthest from reaching the UPE goal. 2. Both governments and donors should expand funding priorities and monies to include basic education, which incorporates secondary schooling. The TF suggests that schoolings true benefits are only felt after 5 years of education. 3. Progress in implementing changes and improving education system performance should be closely monitored, with information widely made available. The Task Force recommends including as a criterion that the recipient country has begun implementing a system providing and actively publicizing to all citizens fully transparent information about the total and per child level of public education spending by community and ideally within each publicly managed school as well. 4. Donors should commit to a common framework of transparent annual monitoring and reporting of each others practices. The FTI mechanism is suggested. 5. In addition to FTI funding on an annual basis for the programs of eligible countries, donors should take immediate steps to provide funding to any country for cash or other transfers to poor households contingent on children's attendance at school. School feeding programs and girls scholarships are recommended. 6. There is an urgent need to better understand how well specific interventions and reforms work to increase enrolment, retention and learning. The TF suggests the creation of an independent facility for funding and bringing visibility to the results of rigorous impact evaluation. The full executive summary and complete report can be downloaded at http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/tf3docs.shtm or by going to the discussion groups home page http://www.dgroups.org/groups/right2education/index.cfm?op=main&cat_id=3692 where you will be able to see all the contributions to this ongoing discussion over the next two months. RIGHT2EDUCATION: thoughts on task force recommendations Musu Stewart 2004-07-26 10:55 Dear All, 1) I agree with David and further believe that the IMF has indirectly contributed to the underdevelopment of education and other human development programs in developing countries. I use the word "indirectly" because, in as much as they had provided loans to poor countries to help reduce poverty and improve living conditions, they failed in enforcing policies and setting up qualified monitoring tools at the national level that will ensure transparency in the application of such funds. I had earlier mentioned that educational programs failed to meet the desired objective in poor countries due to unnecessary bureaucracy and dishonesty in governments. When governments receive loans from the IMF and misapply them the burden is passed on to the poor and intended beneficiaries. These poor people are made to believe by their governments that the international community is not doing anything about their plight. The IMF should not cut aid (particularly aid that affects education and health) to poor countries due to the non-performance by their leaders. They (IMF) should instead draw up guidelines that would indicate clear channels, remove bottlenecks, and ensure that loans are used to benefit the intended target. Macro-economic conditionalities are blanket and hurt sectors that need aid the most. THE IMF MUST RE-THINK ITS STRATEGIES OR THEY WILL HURT THOSE WHOM THEY SEEK TO HELP! 2) Community and household involvement - we must reach out to poor communities through vigorous and continuous sensitization and awareness initiatives to inform them about the importance of education to their social and economic well-being. These community leaders must be made to understand and accept that education improves their livelihoods and that boys and girls alike should have equal opportunity to education. 3) Minimum goal for years of schooling - I disagree with the Task Force that "education is, first and foremost an end in itself". The education process is never-ending. Education is dynamic and must continue to be pursued if we are to continue to achieve other MDG's. Five years of schooling becomes obsolete in ten years. No one should be limited to a specific amount of education. Education is a catalyst to realizing human capacity. At what point do we determine that human capacity has been realized? I say never. If education were an end in itself and we all agreed that a limited amount of time spent in schooling, say 12 years, is sufficient then our cause is futile, there would be no need for research and knowledge aimed at improving life. The UPE goal should be to ensure a process that would be a means, and not an end in itself, for more children to continue to attend and remain in school, achieve primary education and be motivated to seek further education. If we limit the poor to limited education how would they cope with changes around them? Musu Stewart International Federation of University Women - IFUW Monrovia, Liberia __________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: A recommendation to strengthen monitoring and evaluation Elaine Unterhalter 2004-07-26 14:13 Dear All: I would like to share a paper on the Gender empowerment measure (GEM) in education developed by the Beyond Access. These indicators could contribute to strengthening monitoring and evaluation mechanisms in education. I have outlined the main indicators below and the full paper can de downlaoded at: http://www.girlseducation.org/PGE_Active_Pages/NetworkMembers/BeyondAccess/index.asp Although there are many criticisms of using measures and indicators to guide public policy I think better measures might contribute to better policy. We all know that existing measures of enrolment, attendance and even achievement in tests are inadequate to capture an idea of education for all. I have been working with others on a more in depth measure of quality drawing on the capability approach, but have in the course of this work developed the idea of a gender empowerment measure (GEM) in education. This uses sources governments and census departments have to hand and does not require any new collection of data. My suggestion for the GEM in education is as follows: A weighted index that encompasses: Women percentage share of seats in parliament Women % of total in decision making positions regarding education, that is in provincial legislatures, as senior officials and managers in education and training departments in the public and private sector.(including HEIs). This can go down to the levels of School Governing Bodies or Village education committees Women % of total head teachers in primary and secondary school Ratio of estimated womens to mens earned income as teachers and other workers in the education sector Ratio of estimated womens to mens earned income in other sectors Proportion of education budget spent on areas of specific concern to a majority of women (eg ECCED, strategies to counter sexual violence in schools etc) I am currently in discussion with educatiohn officials in South African on putting this to some use and would be very interested to hear from others interested in using the approach. Elaine Unterhalter Beyond Access Project www.girlseducation.org RIGHT2EDUCATION: Welcome to week 2 of the Universal Primary Education dialogue Kadijatou Baldeh 2004-07-27 07:50 Dear all I wish to add weight to Muthoni,Patrick and David Archer's views. How free is free education? What do we understand as free education? Education for what? In The Gambia we talk about free education for girls but in actual fact it is free tuition for both boys and girls in Grades 1-6 and free tuition for girls in Grades 7-9. However, parents buy school uniforms ,exercise books, pens, pencils, spend on feeding, etc. When all add all these costs are put together, it is more than the tuition fees. Therefore parents are seeking an alternative education in "Madrasas" (meaning School in arabic-Islamic/arabic institutions)which are seen to be less expensive and more flexible. In fact almost 10% of the school going population are enrolled in these schools. The other thing is quality is lacking. We should now focus on how to provide quality education in a conducive learning environment. Visit schools in the provinces and you will wonder how effective learning could take place in such unfriendly and harsh conditions. I am convinced that in Africa Elearning is yet to be a reality. For now it is a dream/luxury available only to the elite few who can afford other sources of electricty other than than the public electricity supply. How relevant is the curriculum? Most parents think that what children learn is not relevant for their needs and as such refuse to enrol children in schools. We need to focus on our problems and right some of the wrongs before thinking of elearning. This does not in any way mean that I do not support or value elearning I just believe that there is time for every thing. As the saying goes in wollof, " slowly slowly catch the monkey in the forest". Finally, in the Gambia the qualty education problem we are facing stems from the implementation of IMFs regulations in the early 1980s. To cut down on cost,double shifts were introduced in schools and untrained teachers hired(less pay) to fill the classrooms. How cost effective have this implementation of IMF policy been to the Gambians. Very fatal, as we now produce school leavers who can barely read, write or speak good english. The streets are filled with idle school leavers who are more of a liability to the nation than an asset. I cannot agree more with Mr Archer. It is high time that developing countries take the bull by the horn and negotiate properly with the bank as this is no gift. Remember the person paying the piper calls the tune. Our governments must learn to stand firm and say NO! Thanks Kadijatou ____________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Discussion questions for week 3 Paul Bennell 2004-07-27 09:02 I am pleased to see that the pivotal role of teachers in the attainment of EFA has been discussed by a number of contributors. The immiseration of teachers in many countries is a critical constraint. I have recently completed a commissioned paper on teacher motivation and incentives in low-income developing countries, which reviews some of the key issues. Since it is not possible to circulate it via this e-discussion, please let me know if you would like me to send it to you. Regards Paul Bennell ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Comments on education report recommendations Chike Anyanwu 2004-07-28 05:35 Dear All, Sorry for the silence from my end in the past weeks on the e-discussion, it has been mainly due to other work demands. Please let me share my thoughts again on issues raised for the Week 3 discussion on UPE. Contributions of CSOs to meeting UPE: I do not believe that the much talked about MDG Task Force report and recommendations do not have any thing on what CSO can contribute towards the actualisation of the MDG's UPE. I am a great beliver that it is still the responsibility of governments to deliver UPE - that is staying in the driving seat of the UPE delievery van, however that same van needs the hands and support of others, especially CSO for UPE to be properly delivered. One of the problems why UPE is still a mirage in many developing countries is that government have been the all and all, while in so many other developing country context the fact remains that about 80% of pre-primary and primary education is delivered by CSOs. So if the MDG Task Force report and recommendation does not capture the value that CSOs have the potential of adding to the delivery of UPE, one then begins to question the authors understanding of basic education. It is common knowledge that most of the innovative schemes that addresses the education issues of out of school children, difficult to reach children of school going age has been that of CSOs. The Dakar Framework for Action on EFA not only recognised the critical role that CSOs play but even recommended that CSO be involved in the entire process of education policy making process all through to implementation and monitoring/evaluation. The MDG Task Force report should not take us backwards to pre 1990, but should be adding value to the gains of post 2000. Task Force endorse the Fast Track Initiative (FTI): I do not claim to be a economist so most of my conclusion here will be that of a lay person. It is interesting to note that the Task Force is endorsing the FTI, which to my understanding is a World Bank initiative. My concern here is whether this initiative and funding support from the WB will be different from previous ones that come with conditionalities. It is also common knowledge today that some of these conditionalities hurt education and other social sector issue more than they are helpful. It is the conditionalities that have made it impossible to hire more teachers required for the delivery of EFA and especially Universal Basic Education (UBE) in many African countries. Also it is important to note that most developing country government's short change education and other social sectors in the budgetary allocation processes, all in the name of paying off previous loans and debts. So as the report endorses the FTI, I am not sure that they are speaking the mind of many from the developing world. Task Force recommends expanding the primary education goal to include secondary education: There is nothing wrong in expanding the education goal to include secondary education, there is nothing wrong in being visionary by looking beyond UPE to UBE. However, the challenge here is that many countries are still struggling with the delivery of primay education - UPE for all children, hence shifting the goal post might not be a step in the right direction for now. How do we expect someone who is struggling with finishing a 100 meters race to grapple with an increase of that race to 1500 meters. Countries that have achieved UPE should be encouraged to move on to secondary of UBE, but those still struggling with UPE should be supported and encouraged to pass the first hurdle first. These are just my initial thoughts on this weeks' questions, hopefully it will help generate some more discussion on this subject matter. Chike Anyanwu ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Summary, week 2 discussion Shaila Mistry 2004-07-28 05:40 Dear All: I am keen to continue discussing these topics beyond this e-dialogue. One such venue is the upcoming International Federation of University Women (IFUW) conference. The theme this year is "humanizing globalization: empowering women." I feel the seminars and papers that will be presented are very relevant to this ediscussion. Please take a look at the website www.ifuw.org If anyone from right 2 education is attending the conference, it would be great to meet and continue discussing how exactly education, within the context of globalization can empower women and youth. Look out for me, as I will be involved in several activities: Running for election for the Status of Women commission Presenting a seminar on Winning Strategies of Leadership Colaborating workshop on Family, work and Life balance Shaila Mistry California ifuw.org Come to the 28th IFUW Conference! Perth, Western Australia 4-10 August 2004 Join IFUW members for an exciting week of interdisciplinary seminars and workshops; important debates on changes in IFUW, its future, its policies and resolutions for action; networking; tours; social activities, international friendship and much more. Use the links on the left to explore and find out what the Conference has to offer _________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: more comments on recommendations Chike Anyanwu 2004-07-28 06:37 Dear All: A few more comments on the report's recommendations: No recommendations about how to transform education sector as suggested in the preface of this report: Does the Task Force really take education seriously? it is no doubt that education has been identified as one of the major planks for both economic and social development. Most developing countries have been investing heavily in the education sector since they gained independence, however they are still in the woods in relation to achieving their education goals. What this brings to mind is that maybe what needs to be done is to reform the education sector to make them relevant to the contemporary needs of the citzenry. An example in support of this is a recent statement credited to the World Bank Nigeria office, which stated that over 80% of the national education budgetary allocations goes to the tertiary level alone. What this clearly says is that there is a need to reform that sector as well as review it budgetary allocation formula. It is also a fact that most developing countries education policies and systems are still living in the late 1950s and 1960s. Relaible data for planing in the education sector is a mirage in most developing countries, this is not say that there is no will for but it more about the lack or inadequate systems to generate them. The MDG Task Force report cannot be complete without a recommendation on how to reform the education sector to deliver the kind of education that is needed for this global village. Reforms that aim at opening up the education sector for all stakeholders participation, especially that which encourages more local communities involvement in the management of schools as well as policy making is a step in the right direction. Next, the Task Force suggests that money be transferred to poor households contingent on childrens attendance to school: This initiative might have worked in some countries but I am afriad it might work in all cases. There is no doubt that innovative ways of encouraging parents to release their children to get the necessary education they need to function in our ever changing world, but what works well in country Amight not necessarily work in others. It might not necessary be money tranfered to poor households but some other benefits which could encourage por household to send their children to school as against focrcing them into the labour market. The other thing to bear in mind with this kind of recommendation is that most of the countries where poor household cannot send their children to school, also do not have good welfare systems, so how to implement this kind of initiative will be very difficult due to inadequate or lack of data/records. Looking forward to hearing your responses, Chike Anyanwu RIGHT2EDUCATION: participants for French and Spanish MDG ediscussions Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-28 14:08 Dear All: We will be holding one-day French and Spanish dialogues on the two MDGs. The French edialogue will take place on Tuesday August 3rd and the Spanish dialogue on Wednesday August 4th. Please let me know if you are fluent in either of these languages and would like to participate. And PLEASE send me names of colleagues who would like to enlist and take part! Best wishes, Akanksha RIGHT2EDUCATION: transforming education vinita s 2004-07-29 05:24 this is in response to some of the points brought to light by chike anyanwu esp that any effort to transform should focus on how relevant is education to the citizenry. i work with an organisation called MAYA in india that was visited by the task force in Jul 2003 (also mentioned in the interim report). our approach to reform in elementary education works closely towards facilitating community ownership of education which we see as THE most determining way to ensure quality education; it also draws from a systemic understanding of issues of the education system that is seen as crucial. here, the issue of making education relevent to the citizenry is the very premise on which processes are facilitated and we have seen significant impact in the different districts across teh state where we work. - Vinita MAYA, India RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-29 07:22 Dear All: This dialogue ends tomorrow. Do you have any last comments to share on this week's discussion (see questions below) ? Two more that people have yet to comment on: 1. The Task Force feels that programs and policies that are implemented need to be monitored more closely. More information needs to be available on how well or poorly the education system is performing. Everyone agrees, right? They want to create an independent facility for funding and disseminating the results of evaluations on these programs. --- What would this yet another type of international bureaucracy or can this truly improve education? Would this help you in your work? What would this kind of independent facility look like? 2. The Task Force recommends that donor agencies should include a new criteria for funding: that governments provide transparent information on the total and per child level of public education spending by community and by each publicly managed school to all citizens. Is this another conditionality to aid? --- Can you actually see governments in your countries making this kind of information available? What else needs to happen in order for people to use this information to advocate for better education? Looking forward to your responses Many thanks- Akanksha RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Loise Wambui 2004-07-29 08:14 Dear All, This dialogue has been very informative. My main area concerns the government commitment. In many developing countries, the government is the major supplier of education and also the major consumer of that education. In many years public supply has not matched the demand.this indicates lack of focus on education planning.The curriculum changes without equal changes to the training of teaches. The curriculum also do not reflect the labour market needs . this makes the education fail in transforming the lives of the graduates in these countries. The per pupil expenditure can work in a well organized and managed systems. Alot of transparent on the sides of the managers. It is important to note that some pupils needs more than the government would offer. in Kenya for example some children would go to school because the food is given available. hence equitable way of giving the funds would be more efficient than per capita value. loise ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! musu stewart 2004-07-29 10:12 Dear All, I wish that this dialogue could go on for much longer until at least we can begin to see some of the recommendations being implemented. However it seems like we could go on forever because there is still much to be done. 1. Programs and policies governing education needs to be "properly" monitored. I do not believe this is not another bureaucracy but a missing component of the program. Donors have not been particularly keen on monitoring how funding is used to implement education programs. Such a facility is necessary (as long as it is cost effective) to avoid redundancy in programs and overlapping of goals by implementing partners. 2. Transparency is the key to success of any program. Transparency will help secure and protect funding from misapplication. Obtaining information on management of publicly funded schools could prove challenging. However, it is a necessary criteria because such information will help donors in estimating the education burden of governments and give the citizens a clearer picture of how external and public funding for education is managed. This is a necessary criteria. RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Kadijatou Baldeh 2004-07-29 10:13 Dear All I would like to respond to the last two questions: Can you actually see governments in your countries making this kind of information available? Yes.My opinion is that governments do provide information on the budget allocated and the actaual expenditure to Education by level and department. However I believe this is not enough. It is the role of the beneficiaries to verify and compile their findings on the reliability of the figures provided. What else needs to happen in order for people to use this information to advocate for better education? Parent Teacher Associations and other civil society organisation need to be trained on budget tracking and informed of their rights to demand for better educetion at the community level. Once parents know their rights and are well equiped with information they can come up with informed decisions. Parents will be able to compare the figures with the realities on the ground and use the informtion generated to request for better conditions. This is one way in the strggle to achieve good quality education. In the Gambia, Parents have succeeded in getting the Department of State for Education to reflect the need for a flexible school calendar in the New educetion Policy2004-2015. Presently parents are working towards holding a national debate on the Flexible school calendar. Thank you Kadijatou RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Raquel Banchero 2004-07-29 10:16 Dear all I have some comments about: Can you actually see governments in your countries making this kind of information available? What else needs to happen in order for people to use this information to advocate for better education? Strong actions from civil society networks. Civil society organizations had been in recent years the only help at hand for poor people against the actions and empowerment of global economic organizations imposing neo-liberalism and other global strategies that have devastated our countries and excluded more and more people from the benefits of literacy and education. Government failed in their task of reducing the effects ot these global actions against disfavoured communities since many times the corruption and self-interest of the politicians leave aside the needs of the people who elected them for conducting their destinies. So my proposal is (as some of my colleagues had expressed) that The Task Force must check programs and policies closely with social networks before implementation to tailor them to people real needs and develop tools to allow these program to be monitored more closely by cicil society. This programs must be develop considering methodologies that allow the adoption of the solutions and experiences that each community consider more efficient to achieve their own aims. For example : the Aymara people is an indigenous nation that live in many LA countries: Chile, Paraguay, Peru. They are using TICs as the main tool to recover their identity. and language They live in lonely places, far away from each other, and they found that using technology could bring them together and are very sucessful in it. Non-geographical communities and their interests transcend boundaries. That is the main reason why many times governments, that localize geografically their policies, fail in understanding communities needs. The proposal of better education is an education born from the people and their needs and hopes and not from a bureaucratic point of view. First of all, we must teach teachers new methodologies about how to make student and communities the centre of the education they impart and not to follow to the line those imposed educational programs that are, many times obsolete. We could say that we need "real- time education upgrading" in a long life learning point of view. This cultural change is very hard to achieve and will take a long, long time, but we must begin as soon as possible looking for the best for future generations. Thanks for the opportunity of participating in such a rich debate about social capital and education. Raquel Banchero Consultant Universitario Autonomo del Sur Secretariado de Genero Ciencia y Tecnologia RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Juliana Adu-Gyamfi 2004-07-29 11:31 Dear Akansha and all, Sorry for being out of the loop due to much travel. But I have followed some of the good comments from colleagues.Well done all of you for keeping the discussions going. My last comments- I believe transparency with information is ideal for most countries. It has been difficult to engage as CSo for lack of information. Many ministries and government officials are reluctant to release data especially if it relates to funding. As many more community organisations, PTA/SMCs are getting involved in education management, it is important that budget allocations and expenditure at all levels are made available to the public so budget tracking can be done effectively. It is definitely going to be another conditionality of a sort but it is equally important to have transparency. Julie RIGHT2EDUCATION: Dialogue extended until Monday, August 2nd Akanksha Marphatia 2004-07-30 10:47 Dear All: Unfortunatly we have been experiencing technical problems all day. It's been fixed now so you will begin recieving messages soon. In light of the delay, we will be extending this dialogue until end of day on Monday August 2nd. Please continue to participate! If you have sent a message between yesterday evening and today, please do resend it... Best wishes, Akanksha RIGHT2EDUCATION: Fw: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! noronhaa 2004-07-30 11:15 Dear Akanksha & others, I have been reading the discussions regularly but unfortunately have not = been able to participate earlier. The topic of UPE & UEE is very close = to my heart as I have been involved in elementary education in Madhya = Pradesh, a central State of India for over 20 years now. A few words of = introduction before I my comments & suggestions. My work has involved = working in the government schools of remote tribal areas as well as in = urban areas. I work in the area of curriculum development which includes = work with teachers, students, community as well as the educational = beauraucrats. What I say is on the basis of this long experience. I work = in a CSO called Eklavya. 1. Very little is usually said on ensuring quality in policy documents = or in reports such as the Task Force Report we are discussing. In the = last 10 years it has become amply clear that there are some crucial = minimum conditions for ensuring quality in education - some of these are = purely logistical - others are more qualitative. These are: a) adequate space per child - covered space of 9sq. ft. or 1 sq. metre = per child. b) a teacher student ratio of 1:20 upto class 2 & 1:30 or 35 for class3 = upwards. c) A minimum teaching learning time of 1100 hours per annum d) parameters defining attributes of quality classrooms (eg library & = activity materials & adequate strorage space for them, a combination of = classroom organisation - small group, paired, individual work, & large = group work etc.) quality teacher (qualifications, abilities, aptitutde, = understanding of subject etc. )& ensuring that they are implemented.=20 e) A curriculum which is developmentally appropriate & based on good = research. In this context, I take strong exception to the phrase 'In half the low-income countries, teachers' salaries may need to be = raised while in others the difficult prospect of lowering salaries may = be required.' (from the section Task Force messages - More money better = spent) If we believe in the right to quality education for all children = in the world, teacher quality must be ensured & this cannot be done on = low salaries - in fact there must be an insistence on developing cadres = of professional teachers right from the elementary level. In many = countries like India - teachers are being made into low paid contract = teachers even at college level. If not edited out it must be opposed = publicly. I don't think there is a single developing country where a = primary school teacher would get more than an engineer, doctor or = professor - then what is the basis of even considering lowering of = salaries of the school teacher. These can be ensured only if all developing countries & their states = have Education Acts that outline these and commit to them - eg. It shall = be the State's responsibility to ensure that every child has a minimum = learning space of , .......a teacher with .......attricutes & salary = commensurate to ......etc. The Task force should recommend that every country develop such an act = within a given time frame. 2. While I agree that every child should get a minimum of 10 years of = education - this can be done in a phased manner - what happens in = developing countries is that targets like 100% are never achieved fully = over program time periods but never the less there is a quantum jump for = example the DPEP (District Primary Education Program) in India which was = implemented between 1996 and 2002, aimed at universalisation of Primary = Education but there are atleast 20-40% of Primary school going age = children out of school in different States & districts - only some = states may have just 10-15% children out of school. But the number & = percentage of children going to class 6 has also increased - if more = middle schools are not provided immediately - these children would not = be able to complete an education which is their right granted by their = Constitution. Hence this phase in India must address both universalising = Primary education and increasing middle and high school education. The = former cannot be abandoned nor can the latter be made to wait until UPE = has been realised. 3. While education of girls is important, it should be seen as a human = right in itself for women like it is seen for boys & men. However, most = policy documents & reports give arguments reinforcing gender divides in = roles - such statements as 'where few women had secondary education = family size averaged more than five of whom 2 dies in infancy. But in = countries where half the girls were educated at the secondary level, the = fertility rate fell to just over three children and child deaths were = rare.' (pg. 5 of the report) reinforce the attitude that fertility & = child survival are the responsibility of women. These kinds of = statements should not only be edited out but replaced by recommendations = for including in the curriculum, aspects that inculcate a responsibility = for family health in boys & men. 4. As regards monitoring & evaluation - implementing recommendation 3 = would suffice - recommendation 4 & 6 is not needed. If capacity is built = from school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school reports = that include parameters of quality learning at every level of schooling = - separate macro studies - which would per force have to be sample = studies would not be needed. These macro evaluations lend themselves to = a lot of negative pressures & uses compromising on quality of the = studies & their methodologies. Good quality institutions are built from = within & not by pressures from outside. The approach should be more = bottom up than top down - the learnings for policy can be developed on = the basis of these records for those interested.=20 5. The role CSOs should also be better articulated articulated in the = report - not as watch-dogs or evaluators but more as partners.=20 This has become a very long mail - but as most of the issues are of deep = interest to me I could'nt leave them. Hope I am in time for some of = these to be put into the summary. Also I've probably missed what = actually will be the outcome of this discussion - will these be sent to = the task force to include in finalisation of the report.=20 with warm regards, Anjali Noronha Dear Akanksha & others, I have been reading the discussions regularly but unfortunately have not = been able to participate earlier. The topic of UPE & UEE is very close = to my heart as I have been involved in elementary education in Madhya = Pradesh, a central State of India for over 20 years now. A few words of = introduction before I my comments & suggestions. My work has involved = working in the government schools of remote tribal areas as well as in = urban areas. I work in the area of curriculum development which includes = work with teachers, students, community as well as the educational = beauraucrats. What I say is on the basis of this long experience. I work = in a CSO called Eklavya. 1. Very little is usually said on ensuring quality in policy documents = or in reports such as the Task Force Report we are discussing. In the = last 10 years it has become amply clear that there are some crucial = minimum conditions for ensuring quality in education - some of these are = purely logistical - others are more qualitative. These are: a) adequate space per child - covered space of 9sq. ft. or 1 sq. metre = per child. b) a teacher student ratio of 1:20 upto class 2 & 1:30 or 35 for class3 = upwards. c) A minimum teaching learning time of 1100 hours per annum d) parameters defining attributes of quality classrooms (eg library & = activity materials & adequate strorage space for them, a combination of = classroom organisation - small group, paired, individual work, & large = group work etc.) quality teacher (qualifications, abilities, aptitutde, = understanding of subject etc. )& ensuring that they are implemented.=20 e) A curriculum which is developmentally appropriate & based on good = research. In this context, I take strong exception to the phrase 'In half the low-income countries, teachers' salaries may need to be = raised while in others the difficult prospect of lowering salaries may = be required.' (from the section Task Force messages - More money better = spent) If we believe in the right to quality education for all children = in the world, teacher quality must be ensured & this cannot be done on = low salaries - in fact there must be an insistence on developing cadres = of professional teachers right from the elementary level. In many = countries like India - teachers are being made into low paid contract = teachers even at college level. If not edited out it must be opposed = publicly. I don't think there is a single developing country where a = primary school teacher would get more than an engineer, doctor or = professor - then what is the basis of even considering lowering of = salaries of the school teacher. These can be ensured only if all developing countries & their states = have Education Acts that outline these and commit to them - eg. It shall = be the State's responsibility to ensure that every child has a minimum = learning space of , .......a teacher with .......attricutes & salary = commensurate to ......etc. The Task force should recommend that every country develop such an act = within a given time frame. 2. While I agree that every child should get a minimum of 10 years of = education - this can be done in a phased manner - what happens in = developing countries is that targets like 100% are never achieved fully = over program time periods but never the less there is a quantum jump for = example the DPEP (District Primary Education Program) in India which was = implemented between 1996 and 2002, aimed at universalisation of Primary = Education but there are atleast 20-40% of Primary school going age = children out of school in different States & districts - only some = states may have just 10-15% children out of school. But the number & = percentage of children going to class 6 has also increased - if more = middle schools are not provided immediately - these children would not = be able to complete an education which is their right granted by their = Constitution. Hence this phase in India must address both universalising = Primary education and increasing middle and high school education. The = former cannot be abandoned nor can the latter be made to wait until UPE = has been realised. 3. While education of girls is important, it should be seen as a human = right in itself for women like it is seen for boys & men. However, most = policy documents & reports give arguments reinforcing gender divides in = roles - such statements as 'where few women had secondary education = family size averaged more than five of whom 2 dies in infancy. But in = countries where half the girls were educated at the secondary level, the = fertility rate fell to just over three children and child deaths were = rare.' (pg. 5 of the report) reinforce the attitude that fertility & = child survival are the responsibility of women. These kinds of = statements should not only be edited out but replaced by recommendations = for including in the curriculum, aspects that inculcate a responsibility = for family health in boys & men. 4. As regards monitoring & evaluation - implementing recommendation 3 = would suffice - recommendation 4 & 6 is not needed. If capacity is built = from school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school reports = that include parameters of quality learning at every level of schooling = - separate macro studies - which would per force have to be sample = studies would not be needed. These macro evaluations lend themselves to = a lot of negative pressures & uses compromising on quality of the = studies & their methodologies. Good quality institutions are built from = within & not by pressures from outside. The approach should be more = bottom up than top down - the learnings for policy can be developed on = the basis of these records for those interested.=20 5. The role CSOs should also be better articulated articulated in the = report - not as watch-dogs or evaluators but more as partners.=20 This has become a very long mail - but as most of the issues are of deep = interest to me I could'nt leave them. Hope I am in time for some of = these to be put into the summary. Also I've probably missed what = actually will be the outcome of this discussion - will these be sent to = the task force to include in finalisation of the report.=20 with warm regards, Anjali Noronha RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Tenmet 2004-07-30 11:15 Dear Akasha and All, As the debate has come to an end, I would like to chip in a few points in relation to the questions you have asked. 1. The experience we have in Tanzania and I think in most countries South of the Sahara is that Ministries of Education have established departments dealing with monitoring of education. These are Departments of the Inspectorate. Inspectors are trained in monitoring and evaluation of education. So what needs to be done is to strengthen the Inspectorate by capacity development, improve facilities for monitoring such as transport, computers and the internet. Thus the information about plans and programmes can easily be available to Education Management Information Systems (EMIS).Data can be collected, processed, analyzed and disseminated to the users, be it national or international organizations. So creating an independent faculty is a duplication of efforts. 2. If the Governments collaborate with NGOs, CSOs and CBOs in the exercise of collecting data on the basic needs of a child in a public school and there are open discussions about the issue, it is obvious that the education stakeholders such as the donor community, the private sector, the CSOs and NGOs will be willing to participate in improving education. This is the whole idea of transparency. As a result, the government will be willing to release information on education spending openly. In Tanzania, the Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP) is in an open document to the public. It is my hope that this debate will bring to light some important points to be taken up by all the parties concerned. Let us all be serious and committed to make UPE and finally UBE to all developing countries. Stephen Maina. (For personal contact please use email:  HYPERLINK "mailto:stephenmaina2004@yahoo.com" stephenmaina2004@yahoo.com) RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! isaac olofi 2004-07-30 11:17 --0-1310734706-1091186347=:4293 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Dear All, As we round up this discussion, one expect that the Task Force will look at the realities facing the developing countries towards achieve the MDGs in the UBE. The few comments I have as a round-up are: Civil societies in Nigeria can only assist the government in the area of information disseminations and monitoring of government and donor activities in the implementations of the MDGs. However, it should be noted that for effective participation of the CSOs, they must be involved at the planning stages through consultations by the various government. But, it should be noted that in most developing countries using Nigeria as case study, CSOs are only involved at the implementation stages, hence some resistance to government good policies and intentions. Furthermore, using per household method may not work 100% in Nigeria, for obvious reason poverty level of the people. Hence, it will be better, if this is transform in terms of provision of materials like, textbooks, uniform, feeding and other writing materials, direct to the actual beneficiaries. It should also be noted that efforts made by previous administration in Nigeria to implement some of the above suggestions were thwarted by those whose duties in providing these items. Some of these items get to the beneficiaries VERY late, hence not use by the direct beneficiaries. Donor Agencies can use their Embassies in the host countries through NGOs in getting these materials to the actual beneficiaries in the various communities. On the Fast Track Initiatives, it may not succeed in Nigeria, as the government is busy trying to satisfy those they are indebted to. The conditional ties attached will take us back to the colonial period, hence may not be accepted. It should be noted that those who took the World Bank and IMF loans are worst-off for it because of conditionality. The Nigeria economy is where it is today because of conditionalities that were not too clearly stated at the beginning before attempting the loan the government got. The aim of Education by itself is transformation; hence, much emphasis is not placed on it. It will be worthwhile, if the MDGs is extended to the secondary Schools. This is because ending the programme at the Primary education will make the graduates not fitting properly into the society, because they will not be able to secure a job, except menial jobs such as cleaners and security, I hope that is not the aim of the UN. Securing a good job means attaining some level of secondary education, which will enable him to develop himself later for tertiary education. Through this, he will be able to secure a sustainable livelihood. An independent funding should be that which is directly given to the host communities through the various Embassies. Monitoring and Evaluation should be contracted to credible NGOs which could be identified by the various Embassies. Thanks. I have enjoyed all the contributions, while looking forward toward a more collaborative effort. Isaac Ovotu Olofi, Human Rights program, Justice, Development and Peace Coomission, Box 1923, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria ______________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Kphiri 2004-07-30 11:17 Dear All Missed out on most of the discussion but this last bit is VERY important. Important from two reasons: 1. Government can use a well designed monitoring tool to impress upon donors to commit more resources to poor countries like Zambia if Zambia is able to demonstrate through such a tracking system the gaps in funding given the current levels of donor and government commitments.Governments need to work with other stakeholders to make the information as user friendly as possible. Organisations such as Jubilee Zambia could benefit from this resource for their campaigns for debt cancellation for example. So it is not a conditionality but part of the package of funding to governments. 2. Civil society can use the same too to hold their governments accountable through citizens forums that would discuss how well or badly government were performing on certain promises, including education. It is the lack of this information that has led to mediocrity in our government planning and implementation. "Government knows it all" is the general trend and this can be changed if stakeholders were part of the monitoring process meaning that they can feedback to government on the success or failure of such programmes as BESSIP ( Basic Education Sub-Sector Investment Programme). It is not always that government has it wrong. But the structures that are in place mean that government sabotages itself -staff on the ground! It is therefore to me in the interest of everyone concerned (government, donors, civil society) to see that these programmes succeed and a good yardstick is how we monitor and use the feedback from such a tool. Kennedy Phiri Oxfam Zambia RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Marguerite Cummins Williams 2004-07-30 12:02 Dear All I have been very intrested in the discussions but too much on the move to participate. However I think it is important tht governments and ministries should be prodded to keep up to date information of statistics and progress in education commitments. It is also important that teachers organisations should moitor these and should provide another means of keeping techers informed and on task. I hope we will alfind the Education International website a source of much information. The ecent conference was very illuminaating and inspiring. In times like these when for many reasons teachers feel under pressure it is important for there to be opportunities to share even small solutions and provide support. Furthermore as teachers and educators we need to recognise the importance of co-opting communities into a shared commitment to goals. We cannot push the agendas on if we do not hve the cooperation and in particular in many of our countries if we do not have the understanding of male teachers, parents etc to assist us in recognising that goals to empower women are goals to empowwer men as well and ultimately to empwer our societies to successfully negotiate the shoals of globalisation. I must go ! best wishes Marguerite RIGHT2EDUCATION: transforming education Lisbeth 2004-07-30 12:02 Following Vinita's points, may I insist that education should be owned by the community concerned, each one of its members should be in a position to participate and a child's future is in the hands of all. The perinatal period may be an excellent opportunity for the more advanced in the community to bring some training to young mothers. They will, in turn, share their new awareness with their immediate environment, this is where their children grow Elisabeth Smith - 62 years - Open University student in social psychology. RIGHT2EDUCATION: Discussion questions for week 3 blank 2004-07-30 12:03 One of the crucial process in determining the "Quality of education" is what takes place in the classroom, the interaction between the teacher and the pupils. You may have beautiful building equipped with teaching and learning materials, but if the instructor(teacher) is demotivated the output shall be poor and definately the quality of education deteriorating. Regards Mwalongo. RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! osaki 2004-08-01 05:20 Dear all, I comment on the issue of 'proper' monitoring and 'information provision'. Yes, this is a good idea, and without information and evaluation report, we cannot asess successes or fauliures of programmes. However, I substitute monitoring to joint evaluation, in which both sides get information about successful and unsuccessful schools in both funded and donor countries. Lessons on the type of information to be shared should also come from the esperience of developed countries. I do not think it is fair for donor countries to continue using aid as a means of collecting all sorts of information from all corners of developing countries in the pretexts of 'monitoring aided countries education system' to the extent that people get fatigued with information collecion teams doing this and that evaluation or assesment. Second, information on successful (and unsuccessful) experiences must also be shared from experienced and developed countries. These might help developing countries' education systems. For example, we need to know the lessons learned from reduced or subsidised fees systems in European and American systems before we try them in developing countries. Have these being practiced, and have they helped the poor in those systems? We need to learn lessons about licensed untrained teachers as a means of 'reducing cocts', etc. An old Swahili saying goes: ' A spear, when thrown at a pig is ok, but to a human being it hurts' We must not throw spears to developing countries as if we were throwing at pigs. Funja O-saki University of Dar es Salaam _____________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! Pratap Kumar Pradhan 2004-08-01 05:21 >From: "Kphiri" >Reply-To: "Education Rights and Realities" >To: "Education Rights and Realities" >Subject: [right2education] Re: get in your comments before the dialogue >ends tomorrow! >Date: Thu, 29 Jul 2004 18:05:04 +0200 > >Dear All > >Missed out on most of the discussion but this last bit is VERY important. >Important from two reasons: >1. Government can use a well designed monitoring tool to impress upon >donors to commit more resources to poor countries like Zambia if Zambia is >able to demonstrate through such a tracking system the gaps in funding >given the current levels of donor and government commitments.Governments >need to work with other stakeholders to make the information as user >friendly as possible. Organisations such as Jubilee Zambia could benefit >from this resource for their campaigns for debt cancellation for example. >So it is not a conditionality but part of the package of funding to >governments. > >2. Civil society can use the same too to hold their governments accountable >through citizens forums that would discuss how well or badly government >were performing on certain promises, including education. It is the lack of >this information that has led to mediocrity in our government planning and >implementation. "Government knows it all" is the general trend and this can >be changed if stakeholders were part of the monitoring process meaning that >they can feedback to government on the success or failure of such >programmes as BESSIP ( Basic Education Sub-Sector Investment Programme). It >is not always that government has it wrong. But the structures that are in >place mean that government sabotages itself -staff on the ground! > >It is therefore to me in the interest of everyone concerned (government, >donors, civil society) to see that these programmes succeed and a good >yardstick is how we monitor and use the feedback from such a tool. > >Kennedy Phiri >Oxfam Zambia RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! blank 2004-08-01 05:27 Dear Akansha and others, I am sorry for not being able to participate in the previous discussions. However, I have attached some responses for the two questions in the context of Tanzania. Many thanks, Tumsifu, from Tanzania 1. The Task Force feels that programs and policies that are implemented need to be monitored more closely. More information needs to be available on how well or properly the education system is performing. Everyone agrees, right? In deed, education programmes and policies under implementation need to be closely and consistently monitored against set indicators. It is through quality monitoring whereby policies and practices can be assessed by both service providers and beneficiaries along with necessary recommendations for redressing the situation. For instance, in Tanzania the education policy states that all children of school age should have access to quality education. But in practice 3.6m of these children are out of school for some equity reasons-distance, disabilities, structural and cultural barriers. The following can re-inforce monitoring performance of education system: Intensification of capacity of CSOs in programme cycle, budget and policy analyses and advocacy. Education coalitions could be very instrumental in policy agenda. This is happening in Tanzania in which Tanzania Education Education Network has slots in Techincal Working Groups and Basic Education Development Committee, which is autonomous decision making body in the Ministry of Education and Culture. 2. The Task Force recommends that donor agencies should include new criteria for funding-that governments provide transparent information on the total and per child level of public education spending by community and by each publicly managed school to all citizens. Is this conditionality to aid? Can you actually see governments in your countries making this kind of information available? What else needs to happen in order for people to use this information to advocate for better education? Disbursement of education funding is made through print media showing capitation and development grants per district each quarter. Finally, district authorities disburse the grants to respective school authorities, which are managed by school management committees. Paradoxically, the closer to the grassroots the less public the information on budget allocations becomes. Hence, the more difficult for them to monitor progress made in education-given that information is power. It is somewhat easy for some CSOs to collect timely and reliable information from district authorities when it comes to budget tracking, but very difficult to collect the same from the Ministry of Education and Culture or Ministry of Finance. This scenario makes the exercise very cumbersome when one wants to compare and contrast budget information from the ministry and district authorities. Let the donor agencies include a clause on public accessibility and availability to budgetary information in the MOU with the government as a means to re-enforce transparency and accountability. RIGHT2EDUCATION: get in your comments before the dialogue ends tomorrow! noronhaa 2004-08-02 05:29 Dear Akanksha & others, I have been reading the discussions regularly but unfortunately have not been able to participate earlier. The topic of UPE & UEE is very close to my heart as I have been involved in elementary education in Madhya Pradesh, a central State of India for over 20 years now. A few words of introduction before I my comments & suggestions. My work has involved working in the government schools of remote tribal areas as well as in urban areas. I work in the area of curriculum development which includes work with teachers, students, community as well as the educational beauraucrats. What I say is on the basis of this long experience. I work in a CSO called Eklavya. 1. Very little is usually said on ensuring quality in policy documents or in reports such as the Task Force Report we are discussing. In the last 10 years it has become amply clear that there are some crucial minimum conditions for ensuring quality in education - some of these are purely logistical - others are more qualitative. These are: a) adequate space per child - covered space of 9sq. ft. or 1 sq. metre per child. b) a teacher student ratio of 1:20 upto class 2 & 1:30 or 35 for class3 upwards. c) A minimum teaching learning time of 1100 hours per annum d) parameters defining attributes of quality classrooms (eg library & activity materials & adequate strorage space for them, a combination of classroom organisation - small group, paired, individual work, & large group work etc.) quality teacher (qualifications, abilities, aptitutde, understanding of subject etc. )& ensuring that they are implemented. e) A curriculum which is developmentally appropriate & based on good research. In this context, I take strong exception to the phrase 'In half the low-income countries, teachers' salaries may need to be raised while in others the difficult prospect of lowering salaries may be required.' (from the section Task Force messages - More money better spent). If we believe in the right to quality education for all children in the world, teacher quality must be ensured & this cannot be done on low salaries - in fact there must be an insistence on developing cadres of professional teachers right from the elementary level. In many countries like India - teachers are being made into low paid contract teachers even at college level. If not edited out it must be opposed publicly. I don't think there is a single developing country where a primary school teacher would get more than an engineer, doctor or professor - then what is the basis of even considering lowering of salaries of the school teacher. These can be ensured only if all developing countries & their states have Education Acts that outline these and commit to them - eg. It shall be the State's responsibility to ensure that every child has a minimum learning space of , .......a teacher with .......attricutes & salary commensurate to ......etc. The Task force should recommend that every country develop such an act within a given time frame. 2. While I agree that every child should get a minimum of 10 years of education - this can be done in a phased manner - what happens in developing countries is that targets like 100% are never achieved fully over program time periods but never the less there is a quantum jump for example the DPEP(District Primary Education Program) in India which was implemented between 1996 and 2002, aimed at universalisation of Primary Education but there are atleast 20-40% of Primary school going age children out of school in different States & districts - only some states may have just 10-15% children out of school. But the number & percentage of children going to class 6 has also increased - if more middle schools are not provided immediately - these children would not be able to complete an education which is their right granted by their Constitution. Hence this phase in India must address both universalising Primary education and increasing middle and high school education. The former cannot be abandoned nor can the latter be made to wait until UPE has been realised. 3. While education of girls is important, it should be seen as a human right in itself for women like it is seen for boys & men. However, most policy documents & reports give arguments reinforcing gender divides in roles -such statements as 'where few women had secondary education family size averaged more than five of whom 2 dies in infancy. But in countries where half the girls were educated at the secondary level, the fertility rate fell to just over three children and child deaths were rare.' (pg. 5 of the report) reinforce the attitude that fertility & child survival are the responsibility of women. These kinds of statements should not only be edited out but replaced by recommendations for including in the curriculum, aspects that inculcate a responsibility for family health in boys & men. 4. As regards monitoring & evaluation - implementing recommendation 3 would suffice - recommendation 4 & 6 is not needed. If capacity is built from school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school reports that include parameters of quality learning at every level of schooling - separate macro studies - which would per force have to be sample studies would not be needed. These macro evaluations lend themselves to a lot of negative pressures & uses compromising on quality of the studies & their methodologies. Good quality institutions are built from within & not by pressures from outside. The approach should be more bottom up than top down - the learnings for policy can be developed on the basis of these records for those interested. 5. The role CSOs should also be better articulated articulated in the report - not as watch-dogs or evaluators but more as partners. This has become a very long mail - but as most of the issues are of deep interest to me I could'nt leave them. Hope I am in time for some of these to be put into the summary. Also I've probably missed what actually will be the outcome of this discussion - will these be sent to the task force to include in finalisation of the report. With warm regards, Anjali Noronha RIGHT2EDUCATION: Resending comments from Tumsifu, in Tanzania Tumsifu Mmari 2004-08-02 05:31 Dear Akansha and others, I am sorry for not being able to participate in the previous discussions. However, I have attached some responses for the two questions in the context of Tanzania. Many thanks, Tumsifu, from Tanzania 1. The Task Force feels that programs and policies that are implemented need to be monitored more closely. More information needs to be available on how well or properly the education system is performing. Everyone agrees, right? In deed, education programmes and policies under implementation need to be closely and consistently monitored against set indicators. It is through quality monitoring whereby policies and practices can be assessed by both service providers and beneficiaries along with necessary recommendations for redressing the situation. For instance, in Tanzania the education policy states that all children of school age should have access to quality education. But in practice 3.6m of these children are out of school for some equity reasons-distance, disabilities, structural and cultural barriers. The following can re-inforce monitoring performance of education system: Intensification of capacity of CSOs in programme cycle, budget and policy analyses and advocacy. Education coalitions could be very instrumental in policy agenda. This is happening in Tanzania in which Tanzania Education Education Network has slots in Techincal Working Groups and Basic Education Development Committee, which is autonomous decision making body in the Ministry of Education and Culture. 2. The Task Force recommends that donor agencies should include new criteria for funding-that governments provide transparent information on the total and per child level of public education spending by community and by each publicly managed school to all citizens. Is this conditionality to aid? Can you actually see governments in your countries making this kind of information available? What else needs to happen in order for people to use this information to advocate for better education? Disbursement of education funding is made through print media showing capitation and development grants per district each quarter. Finally, district authorities disburse the grants to respective school authorities, which are managed by school management committees. Paradoxically, the closer to the grassroots the less public the information on budget allocations becomes. Hence, the more difficult for them to monitor progress made in education-given that information is power. It is somewhat easy for some CSOs to collect timely and reliable information from district authorities when it comes to budget tracking, but very difficult to collect the same from the Ministry of Education and Culture or Ministry of Finance. This scenario makes the exercise very cumbersome when one wants to compare and contrast budget information from the ministry and district authorities. Let the donor agencies include a clause on public accessibility and availability to budgetary information in the MOU with the government as a means to re-enforce transparency and accountability. RIGHT2EDUCATION: Importance of early childhood care Anjali Noronha 2004-08-02 05:34 Dear All, I also want to add that the recommendations should include appropriate early childhood care & education provisioning by the State. It is now quite well proved that appropriate stimulation in the early years - which is usually not available in developing countries at home - is crucial to later cognitive development. Recommendations should also put limits to privatisation of elementary education in developing countries. It is indeed ironical that in developing countries like India the Public Elementary Education System is getting defunct through increasing privatisation - (urban areas have 80% private & 20% government schools) and dissolution of a well paid professional teacher cadre. Funders should put these two conditionalities - public elementary education & well paid professional teachers cadre before funding any country programs. Lot of people seem to be in favour of monitoring & evaluation. While everyone needs transparency & information for improvement - the way this should be structured is so that the message goes through that the information is for the schools and communities themselves, for their improvement, not for some big boss up there. After 10 years of DPEP in India and elaborate MIS systems - after the project is finished schools don't have any information with themselves - neither is it available elsewhere - & teachers had to take off lot of precious time from already constrained teaching time to fill in elaborate forms every few days. No good quality system really comes about from external monitoring & evaluation - Funder driven evaluations & monitoring can be disastrous. Hence 1) it should not be called monitoring but rather something like 'school self-assessment for learning' b) frameworks & systems for this should be carefully & systematically worked out. Warm regards, Anjali Noronha __________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Discussion questions for week 3 E. Kamchedzera 2004-08-02 07:59 Dear colleagues, I agree with Mwalongo, our teachers need to be motivated if they have to deliver the kind of services that we need. They are human beings too and their conditions of service need to be improved. Elizabeth Kamchedzera University of Malawi RIGHT2EDUCATION: RELEASE OF HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH REPORT ON CHILDREN AFFECTED AND INFECTED WITH HIV/AIDS IN INDIA subhash Care and Share International 2004-08-02 08:06 Dear friends In India hundreds of thousands of children are living with HIV/AIDS, according to official statistics. Children of parents with HIV/AIDS suffer in turn: many are forced to withdraw from school to care for sick parents, are forced to work to replace their parents income, or are orphaned. Although the government has not conducted studies to assess the number of children affected by AIDS, some experts calculate that more than 1 million children under age 15 have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS. Human Rights Watch, A New York based International Human Rights organization conducted a study on children affected and infected with HIV/AIDS in December 2003 in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Delhi and Kerala. They are releasing their findings in Chennai, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram simultaneously Human Rights Watch entrusted FIRM to host the Kerala event which will be held at Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust Hall, Pulimoodu, Thiruvananthapuram on 2nd August at 3 pm. Dr.T.N.Jayachandran, Mr. Paul Zacharia,Mr.Gauridasan Nair(The Hindu) and Dr.C.R Soman will attend. You are cordially invited to attend the program. Sincerely Yours, SUBHASH.T.V,Program Director,FIRM 0AT.C.14/1514,Beatrice Mansion Near Valsala Nursing Home, Thiruvananthapuram-695 014, Kerala,India Tel: ++91-471-2324060,2331667,;swfk@asianetindia.com,tvsubhash@hotmail.co RIGHT2EDUCATION: Another recommendation: capacity building for NGOs Michael Gibbons 2004-08-02 09:22 Dear All: Because education is still such a government-dominated arena, innovation and fresh thinking is limited in the field. NGO leadership in this field is lagging behind program needs. At the Banyan Tree Foundation we have found that the NGOs working in education are led by either NGO program leaders for whom education is a new technical area, or education leaders trying to innovate but with limited NGO or program management experience, and few bold new ideas about education. Therefore we have concluded that increased effectiveness and innovativeness of NGO work in education requires more systematic support for leadership development. We would like to open this hypothesis up for discussion, in order to better understand what to do and how to do it in response to this need. Michael Gibbons, Banyan Tree Foundation _________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: Thank you for participating! Akanksha Marphatia 2004-08-02 11:47 Dear All: These last six weeks have been greatly enriched by your contributions to the online discussion on the gender and education MDGs and reports. Today is the "last" day of this discussion. A few information bits: I will circulate an executive summary of the education discussion to the group this Friday. The Task Force is also eager to respond to your comments, and will do so on August 23rd. Please stay connected. You will recieve an email from the Global Campaign on Education (Anne Jelema) outlining the next steps to this very valuable edialogue. I will be in touch on Friday! Akanksha RIGHT2EDUCATION: Right2Education: What happens next? Anne Jellema 2004-08-02 11:49 Dear all On behalf of the Global Campaign for Education, I would like to thank you all for your contributions to this very productive and stimulating forum on the MDG Taskforce Reports, and outline how the GCE plans to take things forward in coming months. Particular thanks to the MDG Taskforce team for creating this space for civil society comment on the reports, and for providing the funds to hire a moderator; to ActionAid, for recruiting the moderator and managing the process; to OneWorld South Asia, for providing the technical platform; to Akanksha, who has done a truly excellent job of keeping us all focused and thinking hard; and most of all, to all of you for sharing your experience and critical insight. The GCE agrees with many of you that it would be a shame if this process came to a halt after today. Here is how we will be following up: What GCE will do 1) Making your voices more widely heard: The Taskforce members have been receiving Akankshas summaries of the discussion, and the main points have been noted. When the Taskforce presented their education report to the EFA Working Group meeting convened by UNESCO in Paris recently, I was able to share some of your main concerns and issues from the floor, and afterwards I was also able to spend a couple of hours discussing these issues informally with the authors. They asked GCE to send a full set of written comments, which provides another opportunity to incorporate some of the most salient points from the e-consultation. Finally, on the 23rd August the Taskforce will send a written reply to all members of this list, explaining which comments have been taken on board and which have not and why. 2) Consolidating key positions and recommendations: Some of the points made by participants in the e-forum reaffirm longstanding GCE principles, such as our commitment to free public education; our conviction that the right to education must embrace quality for all and not simply access for all; and our demand for education authorities at all levels to be more responsive, accountable and transparent to citizens and to civil society. However, other points that you made challenge us to expand our core advocacy agenda, taking on new issues, clarifying positions or setting new priorities. GCEs advocacy positions and priorities are democratically decided by its members and elected Board. In December of this year the GCE World Assembly will bring together all registered and paid-up members of the GCE to debate policy resolutions and set campaign direction and priorities for the 2 years to come. The outputs from this forum will be a key input to developing GCE positions and policy change objectives on the education MDGs, and as a part of this process, we may hold a second, smaller e-consultation on the education MDGs among GCE member organisations. 3) Continuing the Right2Education forum: GCE is committed to holding more e-discussions on crucial issues of education policy, and will endeavour to raise the funds to run a third session of Right2Education before the end of 2004 on an issue or issues to be determined by the Board. (If you have suggestions, please send them to me.) What you can do 4) Getting organised: If you do not already belong to an active national coalition on education, which brings together a wide range of civil society groups and which links into regional networks as well as to the GCE, we urge you to join one now or, if one doesnt already exist, help to form one. Although it can be hard work to hammer out common positions on matters as complex as those we have been debating, the effort will be rewarded by having a far more coherent, effective and legitimate civil society input to policy at the national level. If you dont know whether a GCE member coalition exists in your country please search the database on our website www.campaignforeducation.org follow links to About. If you are already involved in a national coalition or network, why not organise your own citizens debate on the 2015 and 2005 education goals at a national or state level with the aim of agreeing on concrete and specific recommendations to your government and to donor agencies. The debates could take place by e-mail, if connectivity levels permit; or in face-to-face workshops or village meetings. You might want to invite other organisations such as UNDP, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance or groups campaigning on related MDG issues such as health, water, debt etc. to give their perspectives. Local donors should be willing to support events such as this that will help to increase public and civil society engagement in the EFA and MDG goals. 5) Taking action: The GCEs annual Global Action Week mobilises millions worldwide on a different education issue every year. Next year, the Action Week (scheduled for the last week of April 2005) will focus on the education MDGs, and what governments and international agencies need to do now to make them real. I hope that all of you will pitch in and join with other interested local groups to plan actions that will put pressure on governments (of both rich and poor countries) to translate their MDG pledges into reality. This could be an ideal opportunity to spotlight some of the compelling issues raised in this e-consultation and bring them to the attention of a wider public, whether through the launch of research reports or scorecard initiatives, through radio phone-ins and TV debates, through rallies and marches, or whatever seems most appropriate. In addition, there will be one or two common global activities during Action Week, which almost anyone can participate in from wherever they happen to be based. More information on the common global activities and suggestions on how to prepare an effective national strategy will be distributed within a couple of weeks. 6) Staying informed: Please sign up to the monthly GCE e-bulletin if you want to stay informed of policy debates, Action Week plans and other advocacy opportunities in months to come. Fill in the box on the home page of our website www.campaignforeducation.org, or send a blank message with subject line subscribe to e-news@campaignforeducation.org. You can also read the news on our website (follow links to Action for info about the Action Week, News for all other happenings and events and About for membership information. I personally urge and request all of you not just to read, but to contribute to the newsletter and website by sending in news of your activities. Thanks again to all of your for your enthusiastic and constructive engagement over the past month. Best wishes Anne Anne Jellema GCE Advocacy Coordinator Cape Town, South Africa RIGHT2EDUCATION: a few last messages Akanksha Marphatia 2004-08-03 05:24 Dear All: We had two very insightful messages that floated in yesterday so I'd like to circulate them to the group even though our dialogue has finished for now. Here's one from Urmila Sarkar of the ILO. (sarkar@ilo.org) Dear all, I have followed with great interest the discussion around both gender equality and UPE MDGs. It is indeed a wonderful opportunity to share ideas and reflections with each other from around the world! Regarding responses to some of the questions for this week's discussion: 1. Civil society participation I feel strongly that there should be both acknowledgement of the crucial role civil society can play in achieving UPE as well as specific recommendations on their role. Both history and contemporary experiences have shown strong social movements (including trade and teacher unions, NGOs, other CSOs,) have motivated governments to ensure UPE. At local level, civil society organizations are often in the closest contact with the most hard-to-reach children and can work with government to identify these children as well as advise on what measures are needed to retain them in school. There can also be sustainable community based systems for school management and monitoring that can be developed jointly by governments and communities. At national level, civil society participation is important for advising on sectoral planning on education in the areas of access, quality and resources needed to achieve progress. At global level, international civil society alliances such as the Global Campaign for Education are important for bringing together grassroots organizations around the world interested in achieving UPE as well as advising on global monitoring of progress on UPE including resources committed by donors to this end and FTI. 2. Expanding primary education goal to secondary education I strongly support the Task Force recommendations of expanding the primary education goal to include secondary education (incl. 9 years basic education which is referred to there). In addition to the reasons outlined in the report on the value of having more than 5 years education, I would like to add another perspective which is highlighted in the section dealing with hard-to-reach children. Considering that the majority of these children out of primary education are working, efforts to achieve UPE must go hand in hand with efforts to eliminate child labour. But, it is in fact in this critical period of transition from primary to lower secondary education that children drop-out and are often forced to work in hazardous conditions in the Worst Forms of Child Labour which affects 180 million children wordwide of the 246 million child labourers. In order to achieve sustained progress in education and child labour, it has been argued that free and compulsory education of good quality up to the minimum age for entering into employment as defined by ILO Convention 138 (15 yrs and 14 for developing countries) is essential. For increased opportunities in wage and self-employment including "Decent Work", it becomes all the more crucial to ensure more than 5 years education. 3. Reforming the education sector It is true that there needs to be more recommendations in this area. It is important to address barriers to education in the area of accessibility, affordability, quality and relevance. There is of course much more to write on this subject but I need to move on to other points. 4. Cash transfers There are examples where money has been transferred to poor households contingent on children's attendance to school linked to promoting quality and relevance of education as well as community engagement. What has made the Brazilian Programme for the Elimination of Child Labour (PETI) successful is the combination of cash transfer with other measures. The programme provides poor families with a monthly allowance per child enrolled in and attending school. Wherever possible, the allowance is paid to mothers or other female adults responsible for the children. After-school activities are also organized to keep children out of work in the hours they are not at school. Parents and older relatives of the beneficiaries also benefit from opportunities in skills development, alternative income generation and micro-credit, carried out in partnerships with other government programmes and agencies. All 27 Brazilian states took part and almost half the 5,561 municipalities were involved in the programme. Community-based committees monitor its implementation in order to general local ownership and ensure sustainability. While this initiative has had success in Brazil, it might not work in another contexts such as low income regions which have insufficient internal and external resources for this. It is also crucial to point out that cash transfers alone might not be sufficient. Finally, there were two points I wanted to raise that are not specifically in relation to the questions for this week's discussion. First, since there is a focus on "hard-to-reach" including child labour in the Task Force messages, there could be related recommendations on the importance of greater coordination between education initiatives, social protection programmes to combat child labour, and poverty reduction measures. It is important to address the root causes of the poor quality and access to education and child labour within a broader poverty reduction strategy in line with the MDGs. Also, since I was not able to participate in the dialogue around gender equality I would like to highlight the following point if I may: Special measures must be undertaken to address the barriers to girls' education, in particular girls' work such as household chores, domestic servitude, agricultural work and home-based work. Not surprisingly, the majority of child domestic servants are girls and child domestic labour remains a serious impediment to achieving gender parity in primary and secondary education in 2005 and gender equality in education by 2015. The last EFA Monitoring Report has highlighted child labour as a "major brake on schooling" and a major obstacle to achieving EFA and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Many thanks again for providing me the opportunity to share my thoughts with you. Urmila Sarkar Coordinator, Education & Training Unit International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour International Labour Organization Geneva RIGHT2EDUCATION: Message from Rosa Maria Torres Akanksha Marphatia 2004-08-03 05:28 Dear All: Rosa Maria Torres shares some insights from Latin America. Very interesting. See attached document for more information on life long learning. Rosa Maria can be contacted at: rmtorres@fibertel.com.ar A few brief comments related to this report: - The word "right" seems to be evaded, it is all about "opportunites". It is essential to go beyond the rhetoric of opportunities and recover a culture of rights. Education as a right. Moreover, LEARNING THROUGHOUT LIFE as a right. For girls and boys, for women and for men. - What abaout modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and gender? Again here, let us go beyond access (to the computer, to the Internet, etc.); choice, content, language, etc, are all quality-related issues and learning-related issues that are also contaminated by gender biases. - Why only women in legislature positions? What about leaderhisp and management positions is all spheres of government - supranational, national, local? - The quota argument needs to be complemented with the quality of women's positions and relationships when they are in leadership positions. Two sides of this, with concrete examples: a) I was Minister of Education and Cultures in my country (Ecuador) last year and had to face the most rampant machismo by cabinet members, including the President himself. Being "up" there is not enough. We, women, need to fight for respect not as women-ladies but as individuals, professionals with our own merits, often against mediocre men. b) there is a woman Minister in Ecuador who is in charge of the Ministry of External Trade, of the Miss Universe contest that took place recently in this country, and of the (much-hated and antipopular) negotiation of the "Free" Trade Agreement with the United States. We, Ecuadorians, men and women, are not exactly proud of her. A frivolous woman in power is simply unbereable. Same with the First Lady. We have top class "first ladies" - isn't there a better way to refer to the wives of Presidents? - in our region (for example, Cristina Kirchner in Argentina) and also the usual type. - Gender equality in primary and secondary education is quite a complex goal, a major cultural war against institutions and inertias at all levels. Who can reasonably think that this goal has any chance to be accomplished by 2015?. Sexism is just as strong as racism. - What about the discussion on the "primary education goal", in fact reduced to FOUR years of schooling in the Millennium Goals? Are you going to organize a new forum to debate that? It is critical to discuss it, and not to continue to confuse Education for All -EFA (6 goals related to "quality basic education for all", children, youth and adults, by 2015) with the Millennium Goals on education. The latter are much more limited in scope. And are simply unacceptable, very much so in the case of Latin America and the Caribbean where four years of school is clearly a step back, not forward. - Finally, on this very issue, let me share here a short piece of mine entitled "Lifelong Learning in the North and basic education in the South?". The answer, to me, is NO. No more double standards if we are to really start to bridge the North-South gap and think again in terms of "development" and not merely of "alleviating poverty" or "eliminating extreme poverty". Below is a list of other related publications of mine that may be of interest for this report and discussion. Kind regards, Rosa Mara Torres Instituto Fronesis www.fronesis.org Otra educacin es posible (si otra economa es posible) Another education is possible (if another economy is possible) 1. One Decade of Education for All: The challenge ahead, IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000 http://www.iipe-buenosaires.org.ar/difusion/publicaciones/_pdf/education.pdf 2. What happened at the World Education Forum (2001)? http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/whathappendatdakar.pdf 3. From Dakar to Cochabamba (April 2000-April 2001): EFA Follow Up in Latin America and the Caribbean http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/fromdakartocochabamba.pdf 4. Lifelong Learning: A New Momentum and a Nw Opportunity for Adult Basic Learning and Education (ABLE) in the South (2003) http://www.sida.se/content/1/c6/02/01/92/EDD%2014.pdf 5. Knowledge-development aid: Do we need it? Do we want it? (2001) http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/RMT%20paper%20Bonn%20seminar.pdf http://funredes.org/mistica/english/cyberlibrary/participants/docuparti/eng_doc_08/ 6. Cooperacin internacional en educacin en Amrica Latina: Parte de la solucin o parte del problema? (2001) (Spanish only) http://www.campus-oei.org/equidad/coopal.PDF HYPERLINK "http://www.dgroups.org/groups/Right2education/attach/Right2education/143595/LLL_North___EFA_South.doc?ois=no"LLL_North___EFA_South.doc _____________________________________________________________________________ RIGHT2EDUCATION: mothers do matter most but does this really accord women rights? Nazish Brohi 2004-08-03 05:38 I understand the spirit of the catch phrase 'mothers matter most', but also think we need to be careful while wielding this. More often then not, women's rights are not accorded importance per se, but as a means to an end, as a tool for wider change. UNICEF for example, has made all women into mothers and their importance centers around that role - the statement is quite sweeping, maybe not very fair, but I'm trying to illustrate. Their health matters as it impacts their children, maternal mortality makes kids orphans, lack of attention to their health makes their kids suffer, their illiteracy deprives children from proper nutritional intake, sanitation etc. This sounds like its on similarlines, we've all heard to death 'educate a woman and you educate a nation' etc. While using slogans that capture people's minds are effective, they also make inroads to them. It becomes part of psyche, that women are a vehicle for impacting their children, and not needing rights and world attention for themselves. Its just a note of caution. Regards, Nazish ActionAid Pakistan RIGHT2EDUCATION: discusion electronico sobre educacion y genero - 4 agosto Akanksha Marphatia 2004-08-03 08:13 Hola a todos, Durante las ultimas 6 semanas hemos facilitado un discusion electronico a nivel global sobre los goles en relacion a educacion y genero establecido en la Assemblea Millenial de los Naciones Unidos. Hay dos informes oficiales que estamos criticando - con la participacion de mas de 1,500 personas a nivel global. Lastimamente todo de este discusion ha sido en ingles porque no hemos tenido los recursos para hacerlo en espanol. Finalmente hemos conseguido recursos para traducir resumenes de los documentos claves y queremos montar un discusion electronico - para un dia solamante - el dia de miercole 4 de Agosto. La direccion de la pagina web de este grupo es: http://www.dgroups.org/groups/ODMgeneroeducacion Del 4 de Agosto, para anotarse enve un correo electrnico en blanco a: join-ODMgeneroeducacion@dgroups.org Solicitamos que contribuya a esta discusin a medida que se desarrolla enviando su mensaje a: ODMgeneroeducacion@dgroups.org Para salir de la lista, mande un mensaje en blanco a: leave-ODMgeneroeducacion@dgroups.org Se puede descargar los Resmenes Ejecutivos Completos de los informes sobre gnero y educacion en espaol de http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/html/tf3docs.shtm o http://www.dgroups.org/groups/ODMgeneroeducacion/index.cfm?op=main&cat_id=7498 Si tiene problemas para anotarse o quitar su nombre de la lista, por favor contacte a Akanksha A. Marphatia en akanksham@actionaid.org o Kedar Dash en kedar.dash@oneworld.net Esperamos montar un discusion muy activo sobre estos dos informes - los cuales podrian tener un impacto importante sobre los politicas a nivel mundial Saludos David Archer (ActionAid) RIGHT2EDUCATION: Summary of week 3 discussion on Task Force recommendations Akanksha Marphatia 2004-08-04 11:43 Dear All: Below please find a summary of week 3s comments. A summary of the complete 3-week discussion will be sent to you by Monday. The Spanish discussion has started today! If you still want to participate, send an email to join: join-ODMgeneroeducacion@dgroups.org Para participar en la discusin espaola, que ser ocurrir ahora, enve un correo electrnico en blanco a join-ODMgeneroeducacion@dgroups.org Cheers/saludos! - Akanksha SUMMARY OF WEEK 3 DISCUSSION ON THE EDUCATION MDG Discussion during this third and final week focused on the reports recommendations. Participants suggested several changes and clarifications for the task force: The task force should recognize civil society action and the role of CSOs in creating a debate over the nature of education and what needs to change. Although there was agreement that the government is eventually responsible for delivering UPE, participants signalled that CSOs are essential contributors. They are not only watchdogs, but also partners in the struggle to achieve UPE. As with the gender report, participants reminded the TF that the achievement of primary education remains a dream in most countries. While its good to be visionary and aim to get children into secondary schools, we first need to ensure they attend and complete primary. This is particular true in countries like Nigeria, where 80% of the education budget is allotted to tertiary education. More efforts for making educational policy making transparent and encourage joint evaluation. The government, NGOs, civil society, teachers, students and especially poor communities need to be involved in deciding if a policy is good, and if it is successful. There needs to be full, and user-friendly disclosure of information by governments. If capacity were built from school level upwards to maintain, share and analyse school reports and data that include parameters for quality of learning then perhaps macro level studies would not be necessary? Many cautioned that the FTI not turn into another World Bank funding mechanism with conditionalities. Examples from Liberia, Nigeria, and Kenya showed how the IMF has either directly or indirectly contributed to the underdevelopment of education and other human development programs in developing countries. In as much as the IMF has provided loans to poor countries to help reduce poverty and improve living conditions, they failed in enforcing policies and setting up qualified monitoring tools at the national level that will ensure transparency in the application of such funds. This opens the door to unnecessary bureaucracy and corruption of funds. Teacher motivation, salary and training issues yielded a lot of interest. As did the need for sensitizing teachers on participatory methodologies Transferring money to poor households contingent on childrens attendance in school may have worked in Brazil, but may not work in other places. Money isnt and shouldnt be the only incentive to sending children to school. Maybe we need to improve schools before expecting parents to send and keep children there. With little data/record tracking systems at the community level, this initiative will be difficult to implement. In Nigeria, when a similar initiative providing school material (textbooks, uniforms) was devised it failed because the materials took a long time to reach the beneficiaries. Does the task force take education seriously? Where are the recommendations pertaining to transforming education? Many expressed it was odd that the MDG report on education had no recommendations about how to improve education! For example, free education has not yet happened, especially since the indirect costs of education passed onto parents is growing. How will the Task Force address this? How about improving quality and creating a positive learning environment? Finally, Anne Jellema of the Global Campaign on Education (GCE) explained how your invaluable comments have not only peaked the interest of the task force as they are revising the report, but also of GCE as they develop their next 2-year strategy. GCE is also eagerly searching for funding to continue this on-line dialogue as a way to continue discussion and debate on education. YOU CAN: join an active national coalition on education and also be part of the GCE network. Organize a citizens debate on the 2005 and 2015 education goals with the aim of agreeing on concrete recommendations to your government and donor agencies. Take part in the GCEs annual Global Action Week. The April 2005 Action Week will focus on the education MDGs and what governments can do to make them real. You are well positioned to participate after contributing to this e-dialogue! Stay informed. Sign up for the GCE ebulletin. Send an email with a subject line subscribe to e-news@campaignforeducation.org or go onto the website at www.campaignforeducation.org Annex 3: Summary of Spanish Discussion - 4th August 2004 The summary is written by the moderator of the e-discussion, David Archer, Director of International Education Division, ActionAid. There was a very active discussion involving over 100 people from civil society across Latin America. Active contributions were made by 25 people from countries as diverse as Peru, Mexico, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Argentina. Below are some of the core issues raised. They are not strictly sequential but there is some attempt at giving order to the far reaching discussion. *** The education of boys is in more crisis than that of girls in some contexts in Latin America, so the struggle for gender equality is different. However, it was strongly notes that although girls stay on in education for longer than boys in some contexts, this does not translate into more political representation, better distribution of resources or improvements in sexual and reproductive rights. In other contexts, probably still the majority, especially in rural areas, girls still have less access and leave earlier. It is clear that equality in education as presently conceived is a necessary but not a sufficient condition in itself to achieve womens empowerment. * However, many contributors focused on the importance of radically transforming education systems so that schools become institutions with a clear agenda for social change, challenging the deep discrimination and violence against girls in society. We need to reformulate our thinking about schools so that they focus more on values and act as places for building positive human relationships countering dominant trends and the breakdown of society. Promoting gender equality and inter-cultural relations should be specific objectives of schools, embedded in the curriculum and in teacher training. * It was felt that the reports should emphasise the importance of giving teachers a decent wage so that they are valued by society as they are key to any agenda of reform. If society does not value teachers then teachers will not value their potential role in transforming society. * There were some concerns that pushing universalisation of education is done in order to release women to enter the workforce i.e. it is led by an economic agenda and motive, more than a rights agenda. * It was observed that most governments/leaders are not aware of the MDGs - so how can they be held accountable for achieving them? We must demand that all Ministries assume their responsibilities in relation to these goals whether education, health or finance ministries. We must also demand participation from across society in developing national strategies and plans for achieving the MDGs so the goals are collectively owned. We need the type of collective effort achieved in Nicaragua with the National Literacy Crusade. * These goals are a key political opportunity for us all, concentrating efforts. What actions can we take as civil society nationally and globally to prepare for the G8 and UN Summit in 2005 to demand action following the failure of the 2005 goal? We can put education and gender at the top of the political agenda next year. To achieve these goals needs mass mobilisation and this is a key role for civil society to take the debate beyond government, beyond closed circles. These goals require political action not technical solutions and the reports fail to acknowledge this sufficiently they talk of political will as something only belonging to governments not of the collective will of whole societies which is the real political force. Technical solutions are not enough when the problems are systemic. * There needs to be more direct attention played to the real backdrop within which these goals fit a world in which economic and religious fundamentalism have terrifying power. These are central to maintaining the subordination of women and need to be addressed. * We should not look at where we now as being four years since the education and gender goals were set but rather as fourteen years since Jomtien and many of these commitments have even deeper origins. Moreover we should not accept the reduction of the goals to just one or two but rather insist on the 6 goals reaffirmed by over 180 governments in Dakar in 2000. This provides a full agenda for education from early childhood through to adult education and any reduction in this is any attempt to undermine the right to education of all people. Education is not just a right for primary school children. The MDG reports ought to reassert this full agenda rather than being complicit in its reduction. * Education must be conceived as a right for all at all stages of life and the reports fall short and do not really frame it in this way. There is more of a focus on opportunities which is inadequate as a framework for action. The MDGs reduce the right to a certain number of years of schooling undermining the wider commitment contained in the Dakar framework for action. Without focusing on a rights based approach we cannot frame legal action to advance education and we are helpless if governments fail to fulfil the goals they have set. Education is not about goals set by international institutions or governments but about RIGHTS and we must work to ensure these are legally enforceable rights. We need to use legal instruments for example encouraging countries to verify Article 13 (Right to Education) of the San Salvador Protocol. * In this context of rights we must avoid NGOs or the private sector taking on responsibility for delivery of education because citizens cannot secure their right to education from NGOs or the private sector. We must not help the liberalisation / privatisation agenda by running parallel provision as NGOs. Education must be explicitly the responsibility of governments and the right of citizens. We need to build peoples awareness of education as a right and not just a place in a school but a right to QUALITY education. * There is much to be celebrated in Latin America with strong examples of national campaigns and coalitions on education that have emerged in recent years. The recent World Education Forum was one opportunity to share these experiences and the different strategies used, particularly the tracking of national education budgets and dialogue on education with parliaments and elected officials. These experiences should be mapped and reinforced and recognised for the profoundly significant role they can play in achieving education and gender goals. These existing campaigns and coalitions can play an important role in raising the profile of all international commitments on education and gender, and in holding governments accountable for delivering on these. These national campaigns are reinforced by the Global Campaign for Education. Particular contributions that this work can make to the MDGs and the strategies that can be used in 2005 to hold the G8 and UN Summit accountable will be discussed at the next World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in January 2005 and all contributors to this e-discussion were urged to participate. * It is not just a question of more money for education especially if that money comes as international aid that facilitates, even incentivises corruption and reduces democratic accountability of governments to their citizens. We need instead full transparency in the budget that is invested and independent monitoring by civil society to ensure resources are used properly. Government education budgets do need to be expanded but this should not be through aid if it can be avoided but through reducing or ending debt payments, securing fair trade terms and reprioritising. * The real struggle for education is not about the budget. We dont need MORE education we need a DIFFERENT education. We need different social and economic policies. * We need a shift in paradigm one that places education in the context of poverty and injustice as a key mechanism for change. But we should also understand that this paradigm shift will struggle to be achieved if there are not wider changes in society and in social and economic policies. * Governments sign on to commitments easily but there are no mechanisms to hold them accountable for delivering on these no enforcement these reports and the MDG Summit in 2005 should look at how to ensure enforcement and not just make new promises. * There is a lack of coordination between international institutions many duplicating initiatives which absorb resources into different international institutions and diminish effectiveness. There is a scandalous waste of money produced by this proliferation of initiatives but the MDG reports fail to address this adequately * Too often these international targets encourage governments and international agencies to make big displays of action which translate to nothing on the groun whereas organisations with capacity to deliver real change, especially womens organisations are left under-funded and cannot access the government or international agency funding. * The reports should highlight the importance of organised participation of children and student in educational institutions school councils etc so that children can be heard and have a say in the school. Children will learn democratic practices by living them. The same is true of parents groups / PTAs who should have a more active say in supervision of the life of the school and not just be puppet structures for fundraising controlled by the headteacher. * The report places too much focus on participation of women in national parliaments and not enough on womens representation and leadership at local level and at the global level. Getting women into positions of power is not enough if they are not treated with respect as equal human beings and do not use their positions effectively. * Womens literacy / basic education should not be seen as a means to an end (education of girls / smaller families etc) but as an end in itself as it is a basic right of all. * There are many examples of substantial programmes which address gender equality in education in Latin America often with a more comprehensive vision than that shown in the report and yet these have not been well systematised or shared. (eg PRIOM Argentina) * Need to look at wider issue of sexual violence must address this within education * We need to focus on quality education for all not parallel systems for rich and poor but a single unitary system of good quality in which all children participate, whether middle class or poor, so education can become a force for equalising society. * Secondary education is in real crisis and is where the focus should be for many Latin American countries * It was felt that the Task Force has not drawn on the full accumulation of learning and reflection on these goals and that as a result the reports were unsatisfactory and limited. It was suggested that following this electronic discussion and drawing on a stronger sense of the history of these commitments and struggles, we should develop our own full complementary document as civil society. * The vast majority of contributors were women and it was observed ironically that this seems to be yet another example of womens socially constructed roles. *** Annex 4 Original responses from Spanish discussion MESSAGE 1 Hola David y Akanksha, Primero felicitarlos por el excelente trabajo que hay realizado hasta ahora y por estar incluyendo este dia de dialogo en espaol. Espero con ganas las primeras intervenciones y en especial si hay reacciones al documento preliminar que elaboramos desde PRIGEPP sobre el grado de conocimiento y opiniones sobre los ODM en America Latina. Un grupo selecto de ex-alumnos de PRIGEPP en toda Amrica Latina ya ha empezado a entrevistar a las autoridades responsables de las polticas para determinar si las personas estn al tanto de los ODM, cules son sus puntos de vista y cul es la mejor forma de empear a las personas en iniciativas de promocin activa. A mediados de agosto se discutir un resumen de los resultados obtenidos en un dilogo en lnea con estos ex-alumnos. En septiembre se realizar un dilogo ms amplio que incluir a muchos grupos ms para discutir los resultados e identificar la forma de seguir avanzando en materia de promocin activa y otros esfuerzos programados. En este dilogo los ex-alumnos de PRIGEPP compartirn los resultados obtenidos y todos ustedes estn invitados a esta discusin. Estn atentos a las fechas! Hay un resumen de la investigacion inicial de PRIGEPP el la pagina web de este debate: HYPERLINK http://www.dgroups.org/groups/ODMgeneroeducacion/index.cfm?op=main&cat_id=7498 http://www.dgroups.org/groups/ODMgeneroeducacion/index.cfm?op=main&cat_id=7498 o a la pagina web de PRIGEPP: HYPERLINK www.prigepp.org www.prigepp.org Estare de nuevo en un rato. Gloria Bonder PRIGEPP prigepp@flacso.org.ar MESSAGE 2 Hola Querria hacer un breve contribucion sobre dos puntos: * En muchas partes de America Latina el problema de genero ya esta invertido ... Los ninos salen de escuela antes de las ninas - sobretodo en areas urbanas. Este es un indicador de la crisis mas general de masculinidad. Si hamblamos de iqualidad de genero tenemos que tocar el tema de este crisis dentro de procesos educativas * hay muchos retos en respeto a la transformacion de educacion ... Para muchas ninos y ninas la experiencia de la escuela es negativa. La escuela reproduce la sociedad con todos los injusticias y discrminacion de este sociedad. Tenemos que buscar modelos alternativos - pero no es un cuestion de construit micro-pryectos en uno o 10 o 100 comunidades. Hay que hacerlo aq nivel sistemico. Cuales expereincias tenemos en America Latina de transformacion educativa a nivel macro. Conozco algo de la experiencia de la Escuela Nueva en Colombia y hay mucho que podemos rescatar de este ... Pero este experiencia es ya bien conocido. Hay que tener otras experiencias muy ricas de trabajo de transformacion en una escala grade. Pero donde?? Esperando un dia de discurso rico Jill MESSAGE 3 ICAE/GEO Alejandra Scampini Montevideo, 4 de agosto de 2004 PREGUNTAS GENERALES para la discussion 1. Nos interesa contar con ejemplos especficos de sus pases y regiones con relacin a las siguientes preguntas. Dganos los informes prestan debida atencin a los obstculos que sus pases enfrentan respecto del logro de la igualdad entre los gneros y la educacin primaria universal? A nuestro modo de ver los informes sostienen aun un enfoque clsico para lograr la educacin universal. Se asume que las actividades generales destinadas a aumentar la matriculacin beneficiaran a todos los nios y nias por igual. No hay un profundo analisis de los obstaculos especificos que enfrentan las nias. Aunque no es la realidad especifica de Uruguay, en muchos paises de America Latina hay miles de nias que no acuden a la escuela, y las nias que se matriculan abandonan la escuela antes que los nios. Nuestros trabajos en educacion y genero han demostrado que en la persistente y a veces oculta discriminacin de gnero que existe en nuestras sociedades, las primeras sacrificadas son las nias: ellas son las primeras en quedarse sin escolarizar y a quienes se saca de la escuela primero cuando llegan los tiempos difciles Sostenemos que hay que revindicar la educacin como un derecho humano inalienable y para toda la vida. El utilizar el marco de derechos humanos en nuestro lobby es fundamental para que los gobernantes consideren la educacin como un derecho, y den los recursos necesarios para que todos los nios y las nias terminen una educacin de calidad. 2. Qu relevancia tienen los ODM de educacin e igualdad entre los gneros para el trabajo de usted? ICAE esta trabajando junto a la Oficina de Genero del ICAE ( GEO-ICAE) y REPEM el seguimiento de las Conferencias de los aos 90 de ONU , especialmente la V CONFINTEA de 1997. Hemos tomado las Metas del Milenio como una oportunidad politica de demandar que se cumplan las metas en las fechas previstas. Vemos la agenda de las Metas del Milenio como una nueva agenda de asistencia, las MDGs dan un marco de trabajo comun acordado por todos los gobiernos con metas medibles, indicadores de progreso, alrededor de los cuales se pueden reunir y concentrar los gobiernos, las agencias de ONU, los IFIs y la sociedad civil. Creemos que las MDGs proveen un punto estratgico para evaluar las barreras para alcanzar esos objetivos y son una herramienta de la cual agarrarnos para rendir cuentas a las agencias de cooperacion y a los gobiernos. Respecto a la meta de igualdad de genero y empoderamiento de las mujeres varias voces han sugerido que solo podemos celebrar como un simbolo del impacto significante del advocacy feminista en estos aos, a pesar de que sabemos del vacio retorico de las declaraciones de genero. Hemos tambien trabajado en el sentido de identificar las limitaciones de estos MDGs: Entre otros: lo inadecuado de las metas y los indicadores; las restricciones de los indicadores que son cuantificables, cuando sabemos que la igualdad de genero y el empoderamiento no son faciles de cuantificar. Tambien vemos una abstraccion del contexto social, politico y economico en el cual deben ser implementados- 3. Las contribuciones de las organizaciones de la sociedad civil respecto del logro de los ODM no han sido incluidas en las recomendaciones de los informes. Qu tipo de acciones podran ser emprendidas a modo de preparacin para la Cumbre de los G8 o de los Jefes de Estado de la ONU que demuestren que la comunidad internacional toma este objetivo en serio? Hemos discutido algunas estrategias en algunas areas en las cuales el genero es crucial y se deben hacer esfuerzos para analizar esto a traves de discuiones sobre las barreras para alcazar as metas: 1) Apoyar la inclusion entre Objetivos y Metas de la Violencia en contra de Mujer y Los Derechos Reproductivos y Sexuales y tambien hacer lobby para que se incluya el contexto y el medio ambiente institucional 2) alcanzar las metas requiere movilizacoin de masas, no solo los gobiernos y lsa agencias de desarrollo tambien la sociedad civil. Las organizaciones de mujeres tenemos que mantener nuestra vigilancia en el monitoreo nacional e internacional evaluar el progreso hacia las meta 3 por ejemplo y las dimensiones de genero de las otras metas 3) Respecto a las estadisticas nacionales, en muchos paises hemos alertado la falta de datos desagregados por sexo en muchas presentaciones hechas por oficiales de gobierno que trabajan en estadistica por ejemplo en VIH/SIDA. Eesos datos no existen porque simplemente no hay un acuerdo en la importncia de esto. Los gobiernos firman acuerdos, convenciones y peticiones pero la toma de accion es algo totalmente diferente. 4) Tenemos que llamar la atencion sobre la importancia que tienen las Oficinas de la Mujer en el monitoreo y medicion de la implementacion de las Metas del Milenio. y establecer vinculos con los ministerios de salud, educacion, trabajo, finanzas y planificacion y el ministerio de asuntos internacionale 5) Otra sugerencia seria examinar como se vinculan los trabajos de las MDGs con el trabajo de los Presupuestos de Genero. 6) Dada la importancia que se le esta dando a las MDGs como el nuevo consenso de trabajo para el desarrollo y la asistencia, tendremos que hacer trabajos para establecer vinculos con otras Plataforasm de Accion y Agendas del Futuro con las cuales trabajamos en nuestro propio lobby y advocacy en terminos de metas e indicadores. Finalmente , todas las metas del milenio son temas politicos y no podran ser alcanzados con meras herramientas tecnicas. No importa lo bueno que sean los indicadores, o las estadisticas si no tenemos VOLUNTAD POLITICA. Se necesita hacer un cuidado analisis del poder y un conjunto de estrtegias para alcanzar las MDGs PREGUNTAS SOBRE EL INFORME DE GENERO El informe de gnero propone ampliar el objetivo actual de paridad entre los gneros en la educacin para abarcar (a) el acceso universal a la salud sexual y reproductiva; (b) la igualdad en el acceso y control de los bienes econmicos y el empleo; (c) un 30% de escaos para la mujer en rganos electos en el mbito local y nacional; y (d) reducir a la mitad la violencia contra la mujer. 1. Piensa usted que esta propuesta de ampliacin de los objetivos desva la atencin del fracaso del ODM respecto de eliminar las desigualidades entre los gneros en la educacin primaria y secundaria? Desde una perspectiva de las mujeres, el contexto en el que las metas estan siendo discutidas contienen para muchas de nosotras dos fuerzas terribles: el fundamentalismo economico y el fundamentalismo religioso; subordinando y explotando el trabajo, el tiempo y la sexualidad de las mujeres para el beneficio del capitalismo. Por otro lado todas las metas tienen una dimension social reproductiva y biologica, creemos que la igualdad de genero y el empoderamiento son esenciales para alcanzar todas las metas. Los movimientos comprometidos con la educacion de mujeres tenemos que ver las MDGs como una oportunidad estrategica de incluirnos en una dialogo poliico alrededor de los objetivos que estan ocupando un lugar privilegiado en los procesos de planificacion social y economica en las regiones del mundo. Si se incluyen mas metas y objetivos de mas interes para las mujeres entonces tenemos alli otros puntos estrategicos para analizar y evaluar las barreras al alcance de esas metas. MESSAGE 4 Hola!! Soy de la Comunidad Prigepp, y quiero compartir algunas opiniones. Son varios los disparadores, el documento sobre equidad en la educacin primaria, el informe de prigepp, los ODM en Uruguay y las distintas preguntas que plantea David Archer... Por un lado, en Uruguay se repite un poco la situacin de otros pases, donde las inequidades en educacin primaria afectan ms a la poblacin masculina. En nuestro pas en trminos generales la pobacin femenina cuenta con un nivel educativo superior al de los varones, lo que no se refleja en los otros mbitos como podra pensarse, en la participacin poltica representativa, la distribucin y control de bienes econmicos y empleo ni en la universalizacin de los derechos sexuales y reproductivos, por lo que creemos que incorporar estas temticas a los ODM no desva los puntos de inters sino que enriquece en trminos de integralidad. Un ejemplo de sto es cmo el aumento y mantenemiento de escolarizacin de los nios desde la primera infancia, incide en las condiciones de ingreso de la mujer a la vida laboral y pblica. Los ndices de alfabetizacin en Uruguay se acercan mucho a la universalidad, si pensamos que en 1996 distintas fuentes estadsticas sitan en 99,6 la matrcula neta en enseanza primaria (poblacin de 7 a 11 aos), y entre 98 y 99% las tasas de alfabetismo de la poblacin de 15 a 29 aos hombres y mujeres respectivamente. Los ltimos aos las inequidades aumentan en cuanto a las condicioines de educabilidad tanto de primaria como nivel secundario, debido a un aumento de la fragmentacin social de nuestro pas. Al da de hoy ms del 40% de los nios nacen en situacin de pobreza, el aumento de familias monoparentales con jefatura femenina, vinculadas muchas a la tasa de desempleo que es superior en la poblacin femenina. Esta situacin incide directamente en condiciones que al precarizarse reproducen da a da el ausentismo, rezago y abandono del proceso educativo formal. Estamos de acuerdo en que en muchos puntos de la regin las escuelas ya no son un referente de la socializacin y educacin en valores, aumenta la violencia, se despersolizan las relaciones, pero siguen siendo parte de un sistema existente que puede ser enriquecido y reformulado. En 1995 comenz en Uruguay una reforma educativa con grandes crticas por parte de grandes sectores de la poblacin, que ampli la cobertura de educacin inicial a partir de los 4 aos de edad, lo que junto con una mayor articulacin del organismo estatal responsable de las polticas de infancia con la sociedad civil, busca llegar ms directamente a la poblacin de primera infancia. De todas formas plantea dcit importantes respecto a los horarios que cubren los servicios que no estn pensados para favorecer la insercin de esas madres al mercado laboral, la escuelas de tiempo completo no cuentan con programas que enriquezcan la propuesta, tiempo ocioso, desvalorizacin de los roles docentes con sueldos increiblemente descendidos, locales muchas veces ruinosos y sin el equipamiento necesario, etc. - Existen grandes dficit en el sistema, CEPAL plantea que tanto para Uruguay como para la regin son necesarios 12 aos de estudios para facilitar el acceso al bienestar. En nuestro pas actualmente, aumentar y mantener la matrcula en niveles secundarios es un desafo importante (planteos de ODM en Uruguay). - El documento de los ODM en Uruguay, por lo menos el captulo de EPU, cuenta con datos desagregados por sexo que facilita su anlisis, tiene en cuenta las trabas actuales para el logro de sus actuales objetivos, pero no explicita una visin de gnero sobre el mismo. Por ahora sto, tal vez un poco desordenado, pero es dficil articular los distintos temas que estn en juego as como los estmulos planteados por los disparadores... Un abrazo, Elena Goiriena MESSAGE 5 Hola! Quera realizar un pequeo aporte en cuento a la educacin de calidad. Todos sabemos que la CALIDAD en la educacin est relacionada con los contenidos curriculares, sin embargo, si en ellos no inclumos una clara reforma que promueva la equidad entre los gneros, no creo que se pueda lograr un real empoderamiento de las mujeres (nias an). Entonces estaramos equivocndonos si slo nos planteamos la educacin primaria universal como estrategia para lograr la equidad entre los gneros. Un saludo fraternal desde Buenos Aires. Eva. MESSAGE 6 n primer lugar felicitarles por esta valiosa inicativa que estoy segura tendr sus frutos. Para universalizar la educacin debemos ir ms all de la educacin en el sentido estricto. La falta de educacin, con todo lo que esto implica (acceso, oferta, infraestructura, recursos financieros, entre otros) es parte central de los problemas estructurales en los pases pobres y extremadamente pobres. El informe preliminar presentado por el PRIGEPP, seala la falta de conocimientos por parte de funcionarios /as del Estado sobre los ODM y la MDM, la falta de participacin en la formulacin de los objetivos y meta de pas. Al menos en mi pas, este proceso se limit a la participacin de algunas instituciones, pero fundamentalemente fueron elaboradas por un equipo tcnico; esto redunda en la calidad misma del trabajo, en la falta de conocimiento, apropiacin y compromiso por parte del Estado y la Sociedad Civil con estos instrumentos. Por otra parte la traduccin de los ODM y de las! MDM en estrategias de reduccin de la pobreza y Planes Nacionale de Desarrollo ha sido limitada, sobre todo en los asuntos de gnero y me atrevo a decir que en general existen deficiencias de fondo. El asunto de la Educacin y las iniciativas que surgan de este esfuerzo que estamos realizando debe quedar incluido en estos instrumentos, de lo contrario quedan fuera de las prioridades y por lo tanto de los recursos. Debemos ir a la raz de los problemas si no lo hacemos, podramos quedar en la suma de ms metas que no podrn cumplirse porque el resto de cosas no funcionan. Por ejemplo no podemos proponernos metas (que por supuesto son vlidas) si no se trabajan a la par de salud y trabajo. El sector educacin debe estar articulado a con las instituciones que tienen incidencia directa en el cumplimiento de las metas para este sector. Debe ser asumida como una responsabilidad del Estado, desde un abordaje interinstitucional e intersectorial. Estoy pensando en que se realize una Cruzada Nacional de Educacin, en el marco de una Cruzada Mundial, que movilize al Estado (en primer lugar), a la sociedad civil, a los Organismos Intenacionales (intergubernamentales, financieros,! cooperacin, etc.). Esto implica tocar tres temas cruciales para los pases: MODELO DE DESARROLLO, MODELO DE ESTADO, MODELO CULTURALES. Hasta Pronto, Violeta Otero Nicaragua MESSAGE 7 Saludos a todos/as. - Yo haba enviado antes a Akanksha, Kelly Tobin y Ruth Levine un comentario en ingls (ver abajo) y un breve documento mo relativo al tema, como adjunto. Envo aqu dicho comentario traducido al espaol, con algunos pequeos agregados, lamentablemente no tengo tiempo para otra cosa. - He circulado la informacin sobre este foro, y los resmenes ejecutivos del informe, en las diversas redes electrnicas que modero y en las que participo. Espero que muchos participen en este foro el da de hoy. Tenemos mucho que decir al respecto desde Amrica Latina! - Aqui va el mensaje traducido/ampliado: Unos pocos y breves comentarios acerca de este informe: * La palabra "derecho" parece evitarse, todo se reduce a "oportunidades". Es esencial que vayamos ms all de la retrica de las oportunidades y recuperemos una cultura de derechos. La educacin es un derecho. Ms an, EL APRENDIZAJE A LO LARGO DE TODA LA VIDA ES UN DERECHO. Para los nios y las nias, para mujeres y hombres. * Qu pasa con las modernas Tecnologas de la Informacin y la Comunicacin - TICs- y las cuestiones de gnero? Tambin aqu, es indispensable que superemos el ACCESO (a la computadora, a la Internet, etc.). La posibilidad de optar, los contenidos, los idiomas elegidos para la informacin y la comunicacin, etc. son todos ellos factores vinculados a la calidad y al aprendizaje, y que estn cruzados por sesgos de gnero. * Por qu se aspira y contabiliza solamente mujeres en posiciones legislativas? Y las posiciones de liderazgo y gestin en todas las esferas y niveles de gobierno - supranacional, nacional, local? * El argumento de las cuotas requiere ser complementado con la calidad de las posiciones ocupadas por mujeres, la calidad de las mujeres mismas que ocupan esas posiciones y de las relaciones que establecen y en que se ven inmersas una vez en ellas. Dos lados de este asunto, con ejemplos concretos: a) el ao pasado, siendo Ministra de Educacin y Culturas en mi pas, el Ecuador, me toc palpar y enfrentar el rampante machismo imperante en el gabinete y el del propio Presidente de la Repblica. Llegar o estar "all arriba" no es suficiente. Nosotras, las mujeres, necesitamos luchar por ser respetadas no como "damas" sino como personas, profesionales con nuestros propios mritos, a menudo contra hombres medicocres. b) en el Ecuador - hoy uno de los pases con mayor porcentaje de pobres y mayor corrupcin en Amrica latina, y con una de las tasas ms altas de presupuesto nacional dedicado al pago de la deuda externa - tenemos una ministra polifuncional: preside el Ministerio de Comercio Exterior, organiz el reciente concurso de Miss Universo realizado en este pas y fue designada por el Presidente para liderar el equipo de negociacin del Tratado de "Libre" Comercio (TLC) con Estados Unidos, desyoyendo el clamor popular. El ALCA y el TLC atentan contra la soberana y el desarrollo de nuestros pueblos, y vienen levantando movilizaciones y repudio a nivel continental. Las y los ecuatorianos no nos sentimos precisamente orgullosos de ella. Una mujer frvola en el poder es intolerable. Lo mismo puede decirse de las Primeras Damas (no hay mejor manera de referirse a las esposas de los Presidentes?). Las hay de primera clase en nuestra regin (un ejemplo actual es Cristina Kirchner, en Argentina) y tambin de las otras. * La igualdad de gneros en la educacin primaria y secundaria es una meta sumamente compleja, implica una guerra cultural de alta intensidad con las instituciones y las inercias a todos los niveles. El sexismo es slo tan fuerte como el racismo. Quin puede pensar que esta meta tiene alguna posibilidad de lograrse para el ao 2015? A menos que nuevamente se piense exclusivamente en acceso y matrcula, en indicadores cuantitativos, sin atencin a la calidad. * Y la discusin sobre la "universalizacin de la educacin primaria", en verdad reducida a CUATRO aos de escolaridad en los Objetivos y Metas del Milenio? Es fundamental discutir esto, y no continuar confundiendo la Educacin para Todos (EPT-EFA, seis metas referidas a una "educacin bsica de calidad para todos y todas", ni@s, jvenes y adultos, para el mismo ao 2015) con las Metas del Milenio para la educacin. Estas ltimas son mucho ms reducidas. E inaceptables, ciertamente en el caso de Amrica Latina y el Caribe, donde la aspiracin a cuatro aos de escuela significa un gran paso atrs, no un paso adelante. Una mirada retrospectiva sobre las distintas iniciativas y planes internacionales para la educacin suscritos en los ltimos treinta aos por agencias y gobiernos revela que, paradjicamente, antes que ampliarse, los objetivos y las metas vienen reducindose... en pleno advenimiento de la tan mentada "sociedad del conocimiento"!, mientras sigue agrandndose la deuda externa, junto con la dependencia externa, la corrupcin, la pobreza y la exclusin social en nuestros pases. * Adems, las iniciativas y los planes vienen generando una verdadera maraa ininteligible, producto entre otros de la descoordinacin entre las diversas agencias de "cooperacin internacional", cada una planteando objetivos y metas por separado, en paralelo. En este mismo momento, en nuestra regin tenemos al menos cuatro iniciativas para la educacin actuando en paralelo y con metas diferentes, respectivamente con metas para el ao 2010 (Cumbres de las Amricas), el 2015 (Educacin para Todos y Objetivos del Milenio) y el 2017 (Proyecto Regional de Educacion para Amrica Latina y el Caribe-PRELAC, coordinado por la Oficina Regional de la UNESCO). Un desquicio, un sinsentido, un despilfarro de tiempo y de recursos. * Finalmente, sobre estos mismos temas, permtanme compartir este breve artculo mo titulado "Aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida en el Norte, educacin bsica para todos en el Sur?" (si adoptamos como referencia las Metas del Milenio, deberamos cambiar el ttulo a "Aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida en el Norte, cuatro aos de escuela para el Sur?") . La respuesta es NO. No ms dobles estndares si estamos realmente dispuestos a empezar a cerrar la brecha Norte-Sur y pensar nuevamente en trminos de "desarrollo" y no meramente de "alivio de la pobreza (extrema)". Incluyo abajo un listado de otras publicaciones mas relacionadas que pueden ser de utilidad para este informe y su discusin. Saludos cordiales, Rosa Mara Torres Instituto Fronesis HYPERLINK www.fronesis.org www.fronesis.org Otra educacin es posible (si otra poltica, otra economa y otra "cooperacin internacional" son posibles) 1a. Una dcada de Educacin para Todos: La tarea pendiente, IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000 HYPERLINK http://www.iipe-buenosaires.org.ar/difusion/publicaciones/_pdf/educacion.pdf http://www.iipe-buenosaires.org.ar/difusion/publicaciones/_pdf/educacion.pdf 1b. One Decade of Education for All: The challenge ahead, IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000 HYPERLINK http://www.iipe-buenosaires.org.ar/difusion/publicaciones/_pdf/education.pdf http://www.iipe-buenosaires.org.ar/difusion/publicaciones/_pdf/education.pdf 2a. Qu pas en el Foro Mundial de Dakar? (2001) HYPERLINK http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/quepasoenelforodedakar.pdf http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/quepasoenelforodedakar.pdf 2b. What happened at the World Education Forum (2001)? HYPERLINK http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/whathappendatdakar.pdf http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/whathappendatdakar.pdf 3. From Dakar to Cochabamba (April 2000-April 2001): EFA Follow Up in Latin America and the Caribbean (available in English only) HYPERLINK http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/fromdakartocochabamba.pdf http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/fromdakartocochabamba.pdf 4a. Aprendizaje a lo largo de toda la vida: Un nuevo momento y una nueva oportunidad para el aprendizaje y la educacin bsica de los adultos en el Sur (2003) HYPERLINK http://funredes.org/mistica/castellano/ciberoteca/participantes/docuparti/ABLERMTorresEspanolfinal.doc http://funredes.org/mistica/castellano/ciberoteca/participantes/docuparti/ABLERMTorresEspanolfinal.doc 4b. Lifelong Learning: A New Momentum and a Nw Opportunity for Adult Basic Learning and Education (ABLE) in the South (2003) HYPERLINK http://www.sida.se/content/1/c6/02/01/92/EDD%2014.pdf http://www.sida.se/content/1/c6/02/01/92/EDD%2014.pdf 5a. Knowledge-development aid: Do we need it? Do we want it? (2001) HYPERLINK http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/RMT%20paper%20Bonn%20seminar.pdf http://www.fronesis.org/documentos/RMT%20paper%20Bonn%20seminar.pdf HYPERLINK http://funredes.org/mistica/english/cyberlibrary/participants/docuparti/eng_doc_08/ http://funredes.org/mistica/english/cyberlibrary/participants/docuparti/eng_doc_08/ 5b. Ayuda internacional basada en el conocimiento: la queremos?, la necesitamos? (2001) (Abridged version) HYPERLINK http://www.redistic.org/brecha/es/2_-_Rosa_M_Torres.html http://www.redistic.org/brecha/es/2_-_Rosa_M_Torres.html 6. Cooperacin internacional en educacin en Amrica Latina: Parte de la solucin o parte del problema? (2001) (available in Spanish only) HYPERLINK http://www.campus-oei.org/equidad/coopal.PDF http://www.campus-oei.org/equidad/coopal.PDF MESSAGE 8 Hola soy Carmen Torres de Ayuda en Accin Mxico, y me parece muy importante la realizacion de estos eventos. Mi participacin la hare sobre aspectos que me parecen fundamentales a parte de estar de acuerdo con la mayoria de la reflexiones que se hacen. Quiza la participacion no sea tan ordenada pero las planteare. 1.- Me parece que a nivel de primaria y secundaria es fundamental incluir el tema de interculturalidad, es decir hacer una planteamiento especfico sobre la importancia por un lado de los grupos indgenas y como empezar hacer la diferencia en la enseanaza de acuerdo a las regiones y a las culturas de cada pais, pero a la ves empezar a general una cultura intercultural entre meztisos e indigenas, este es un tema que me parece de suma importancia. 2.- Me parece que a nivel primaria y secundaria debe pugnarse por la creacin de espacios de participacion y organizacion de los estudiantes, es decir que la voz de los ni@s y de jovenes sea escuchada. Esto me parece que en verdad podra ir creando conciencias mas criticas en los alumnos, estos espacios tendran que estar manejados no por profesores autoritarios, sino justamente ver un perfil adecuado que permita en desarrollo de los nios en otros mbitos de la vida y no solo los de la educacin formal. 3.- De igual manera una preocupacion es como debemos formentar la organizacin de los padres de familia no solo en las cooperaciones economicas para la escuela sino en temas como la calidad educatia de tal suerte que sean los reguladores de los sistemas educativos y que sean como un filtro de supervicion real en todos los sentidos dentro de las escuelas ya que sabemos que todabia existen muchos abusos desde los sexuales hasta los maltratos fisicos y psicologicos. 4.- Otro aspecto sobre todo a niveles de secundaria y bachillerato, me parece que si bien hay escuelas tecnicas si es importante dar mas herramientas para la vida, es decir muchos jovenes sobre todo de zonas marginadas no pueden seguir estudiando, creo que parte de la escencia que se debe modificar en la educacion es justamente como hacerles llegar mas herramientas para la vida, para su desarrollo para el ejercicio de sus derechos y tambien en la preparacin tecnica media profesional, que les permita en un momento dado desarrollarse laboralmente . Pues por ahora es mi intervencion. Gracias. Carmen Torres MESSAGE 9 El comentario de Jill me parece importantisimo, durante muchos aos se ha venido luchando por hacer cambios en la educacin sin embargo habria que preguntarse si no hay que disear nuevas estrategias para abordar el tema, por ejemplo el dice vamos a un diseo MACRO que realmente tenga un impacto de cambio y transformacin en la educacin, ESTO ES REALMENTE INTERESANTE, COMO UNIR ESFUERZOS Y HACER UNA PROPUESTA DE FONDO Y VER LOS MECANISMOS DE NEGOCIACION. Me parce que elaborar una proppuesta educativa para America Latinasera una apuesta muy importante para un cambio estructural en la educacin. En Mxico tambien hay que hacer una serie de transformaciones educativas al igual que en otros paises, en donde tambien es necesario avanzar en este aspecto de una propuesta MACRO INTERGRAL. Por ltimo es importante acercar metodologias de enseanza-aprendizaje diferentes a los doscentes, el arte de ensear es justamente COMO y PARA QUE ENSEAS, por lo que se necesita introducir en la formacion de nuevas generaciones de maestros estos contenidos, una forma diferente de ENSEAR. Carmen Torres MESSAGE 10 La educacin toca muchas aristas, por eso mi insistencia de plantear estas propuestas en un marco ms integral. El problema de la violencia intrafamiliar y sexual, la violencia contra la niez y adolescentes, la erradicacin del trabajo infantil , la explotacin comercial y sexual, el "turismo infantil", la pornografa infantil, entre otro tipologas de violencia contra la mujer, niez y adolescencia, y la misma violencia de gnero, son asuntos centrales para lograr lo que queremos en eduacin. Coincidiendo con Rosa Mara Torres, no ms de lo mismo. Yo agregara la educacin como uno de los derechos humanos debes ser tratado como parte integrante e inherente a los seres humanos. Pienso que esta iniciativa toca muchas teclas y que si logramos estructurar una propuesta ms amplia estaremos dando un aporte ms global que no significa etreo, por el contrario muy concreto. Violeta Otero, Saludos desde Nicaragua MESSAGE 11 De acuerdo Rosa Mara con tus planteamientos. Me interesa tener acceso a los documentos que refieres. Saludos desde Nicaragua Violeta Otero MESSAGE 12 No puedo dejar de expresar mi satisfaccion por las contribuciones de las colegas integrantes de la comunidad PRIGEPP. Comparto muchos de los puntos sealados pero me aparto un poco de el tono habria que hacer .... como si nada se hubiera hecho o se estuviera haciendo. Creo que en todos los paises hay experiencias muy valiosas de las que tenemos que sacar lecciones y una de ellas , la primera es difundirlas y suscitar la motivacion a inspirarse en ellas Por ejemplo durante gran parte de la decada del 90 algunos paises desarrollaron con mas o menos amplitud y profundidad planes, programas, campaas, e incluso politicas nacionales para integrar la equidad de genero en las politicas educativas. Yo misma tuve la responsabilidad de planificar y poner en practica el PRIOM (Programa Nacional de Igualdad de Oportunidades para la mujer en educacion ) una politica que abarco 20 provincias y tuvo mucha incidencia en varios aspectos, curricula, investigacioin, formacion docente, etc. Tambien esta la experiencia del PRIOME en Paraguay, programas que conozco en Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, Dominicana, y tantos otros paises. Mi impresion es que en su mayoria fueron mucho mas " radicales" que las metas que sugieren los ODM porque se ocuparon de la medula de la expereincia educativa, y no del acceso como fin ultimo. Reivindico esos enormes esfuerzos y creo que nos abrieron el camino para pensar que equidad de acceso no esta reido con la calidad y que la calidad educativa no puede asegurarse sin alguna forma de integrar y valorar por igual los saberes, necesidad, experiencias y contribuciones de mujeres y varones. Gloria MESSAGE 13 Hola, mi nombre es Claudia Anzorena, y son de Mendoza Argentina. Espero que este debate sea no solo fructifero para nosotr@s, que eso es indudable, sino que tenga algn impacto concreto. Se me hace muy dificil seguir todas las consignas. Me parece que un solo dia para tantas es demasiado poco. As que voy a hacer una exposin general de cosas que me han ido surgiendo al ir leyendo los emails. Yo tampoco veo favorable extender los objetivos cuando se fracas en el objetivo inicial de eliminar la discriminacin en el nivel primario. Creo que extenderlo o expandirlo contribuye a que se diluyan las acciones. Si me parece importante abordar a tema del nivel secundario, porque la adolescencia es una etapa fundamental de la vida, tanto como la niez, pero como un objetivo en s mismo y no como ampliacin de uno anterior. Cuestiones que me parecen centrales es ver qu mecanismos de control se van a usar para que los gobiernos cumplan con las responsabilidades asumidas. Los gobiernos parecen muchas veces adherir a los Pactos y Convenios Internaciones sin demasiado problema porque despus no hay instancia que los obligue a cumplir. Es triste tener que buscar instancias que "obliguen" pero la verdad es que por propia voluntad esta demostrado que ningn pas va a transformar las relaciones sociales establecidas. Otra cosa que veo es que prorrogar los tiempos de las metas le quita seriedad a las acciones de los Organismos Internacionales. Los gobiernos pueden especular, si total si no implementan acciones despus les dan ms tiempo y as se convierte en algo eterno. Es decir, que si no se cumplieron las metas para el 2005 es necesario tomar medidas, y si son punitivas mejor. Ac en Argentina el gobierno establece sin problema puniciones para los hogares que gasten ms energa que el ao anterior, y les aseguro que ah no va haber ningn tipo de prorroga ni salvedad. Yo hice algunas entrevistas a organizaciones y despus que pas el tiempo de entrevistas a toda la gente que encuentro le he preguntado si conocan las OMD o si haban participado de ellas. Casi nadie las conoca y nadie haba participado en la elaboracin del PNUD. Entonces una ve siempre que tal organismo hizo tal informe, redacto tales metas, llegs al terreno y te encontrs que hay programas de concientizacin de empoderamiento, etc. Pero cuando te pods a indagar todos vienen bajados del estado o de organizaciones que se pusieron a trabajar el tema ad hoc, y las organizaciones que realmente estamos trabajando con las mujeres no tenemos financiamiento, cuando te presents a subsidios nunca te los dan y siempre se los dan a las mismas. Entonces al final te queda la sensacin de que son solo un "negocio" que beneficia a algun@s. En sntesis, es necesario que los recursos lleguen a las organizaciones que realmente trabajan y que no se queden en el Estado y en algunas pocas organizaciones. Y que los llamados a subsidio no sean tan engorrosos. Nosotras nos presentamos a PROFAM (subsidios del BID) y nunca nos notificaron que haba pasado con nuestra solicitud y porqu nos haban rechazado y cuando escribamos nos decan que estaba en revisin. En relacion al punto sobre DDRR creo que es necesario, sobre todo cuando se trata en la educacin primario y secundaria, empezar a romper con el prejuicio de que es una responsabilidad excluiva de las mujeres, los nios y adolescentes deben aprender que ellos tambin son responsable, que deben cuidarse y cuidar a sus comperas aunque sea una relacin ocasional, porque somos todos seres humanos. Agunas reespuestas 2. Cul es la evidencia de un vnculo entre la alfabetizacin de la mujer y el desempeo escolar de los nios? El vinculo es que las mujeres alfabetizadas valoramos ms la educacin y eso replica necesariamente en los ni@s que nos circundan. Pero creo que es un error que los programas de alfabetizacion y finalizacin de educacion de mujeres se asiente en esto. Las mujeres deben educarse porque es un derecho, que eso impacte en las siguientes generaciones es un efecto, pero no debe ser la meta. Adems tambin se debera inducir a los varones a que se hagan responsable de la educacion de l@s hij@s para que no siempre todas las responsabiliades caigan en las mujeres. 4. Por qu las reformas del pasado no lograron escolarizar a los grupos difciles de alcanzar? Proporcione ejemplos especficos de su pas sobre qu ha logrado resultados positivos y qu no los ha logrado. No han logrado porque no se mejoran las condiciones de vida. Los resultados positivos en Argentina creo que tienen que ver con la universalizacin de la eduacion a partir de principios de siglo XX, donde el Estado brind educacion gratuita y de calidad para tod@s-. Sin hacer diferenia entre una educacin para ric@s y otra para pobres como hacen ahora los planes y progamas sociales que pretenden educar. 5. El Equipo de Trabajo sugiere transferir dinero a las familias pobres sujeto a la asistencia de los nios a la escuela. Esta propuesta es factible en su pas? Habra manera de conectar este mecanismo con los asuntos relacionados con la calidad, relevancia y empeo de la comunidad en la educacin? Yo creo que debemos volver a la eduacin de calidad para tod@s. Lo del ingreso por chic@ para estudiar me parece que es una medida pronatalista que atenta contra el derecho a decidir cuantos hij@s sin cohersin. Por qu premiar a quin tiene ms hij@s solamente. Qu pasa con aquell@s que no tienen hij@s y son pobres, no tienen derecho tambien? Este amil ya se hizo demasiado largo. Propongo que se amplien la cantidad de dias de debate. Muchas gracias por permitirnos participar. MESSAGE 14 En relacin a que los varones abandonan ms que las mujeres. Yo no creo que signifique que los problemas de gneros se trasladaron a los varones, sino que con las malas condiciones de vida, estar 4 horas en una escuela son 4 horas que no se pueden hacer trabajitos o salir a pedir. Es decir, la educacion se convierte en una perdida de tiempo productivo que en los varones es inadmisible, no as en las mujeres. Y si bien las mujeres hemos logrado hasta mayor nivel educativo que los varones, eso no se ha traducido en igualdad en el acceso a los mismos cargos ni a los mismos ingresos. Adems si desagregamos en qu carreras siguen las mujeres y los varones, siguen fuertemente asignada a las mujeres las profesiones que se consideran femeninas y a los varones las masculina. No creo que en ingeniera en petrleo haya la misma cantidad de estudiantes mujeres que varones. Creo que este es un punto a fortalecer, no slo la igualdad de eduacin sino la igualdad de acceso a todos los niveles, las carreras y cargos. Claudia MESSAGE 15 Me gustaria conocer vuestra opinion sobre el enfasis de los ODM en la educacion primaria. Personalmente entiendo que puede ser una prioridad insoslayable en algunos paises o comunidades pero al mismo tiempo me perturba que esa prioridad se convierta en exclusividad y por tanto deje de lado acciones fundamentales como son las dirigidas a jovenes,o sea el nivel secundario, el mas abandonado, y despojado de sentido en la mayoria de los paises y tambien los estudios universitarios cuya calidad ha decrecido tanto al menos en algunas realidades que parecen ser solo transitos para posgrados. Como lo ven? Gloria MESSAGE 16 Estimados y estimadas colegas: La discusin que comienza a tomar forma resulta interesantsima. La misma parece tener hasta ahora varias dimensiones de distinto orden que me permito discriminar y agregar algn comentario: a) Universalizacin vs Calidad: En Amrica Latina, la cuestin no estara pasando tanto por la universalizacin del ciclo primario, que aun con diferencias y brechas regionales y al interior de los pases, se viene alcanzando (tanto nenas como varones, con tasas levemente superiores, en algunos pases, para ellas), sino por la calidad de la misma. Est en cuestin la eficacia el sector para transferir y asegurar la apropiacin de los conocimientos que demandan los procesos de autonoma individual. b) La escuela secundaria, por su parte, es una asignatura pendiente: es muy bajo aun el porcentaje de las y los adolescente insertos. De los que asisten (al menos en el cono sur) las chicas quedan ms aos en la escuela que los varones. Ello no se refleja ms tarde en mayor participacin poltica, acceso a puestos de poder en la empresa privada o pblica y/o salarios iguales a calificaciones semejantes. c) Derecho y /u oportunidades: Rosa Mara Torres trae uno de los problamas conceptuales (y operativos) ms interesantes, a mi juicio, de la tarda modernidad. El aprenizaje como derecho universal y permanente y de paso, con enfoque de gnero. Derecho y oportunidades no parecen ser intercambiable. d) Las ODM: Violeta Otero coloca en la agenda de este dilogo un tema central, (motivo de la indagacin que realizamos en el marco del PRIGEPP): las ODM son practicamante desconocidas por parte de funcionarios /as y legisladores /as. Personas que tendrn que dar cuenta en algn momento del cumplimiento de las metas nacionales!!!!. Cmo puede cumplirse algo que no se conoce?. A la vez nos interpela para demos cuenta de los modelos de desarrollo, acumulacin y el rol del Estado para llevar adelante los deasafos que se nos propone. Felicito a Akanshka y a David por la oportunidad de compartir este dilogo. Mnica Rosenfeld MESSAGE 17 Solamente una nota muy breve: de lo que puedo entender, todos los participantes en este debate electronico hasta este momento han sido mujeres (aparte de mi). Es asi? Si es asi, porque? David MESSAGE 18 Estimadas compaeras y compaeros, Me incorporo al debate, que desde ya quiero resaltar como un lugar de intercambio muy interesante, retomando una cuestin que mencion Mnica Rosenfeld: calidad vs. universalismo. Sin duda, como bien dice ella, en gran medida se est llegando a niveles (al menos tericos) bastante aceptables en cuanto a la asistencia de nios y nias a la escuela primaria. Si bien ese dato habra que desglosarlo de manera adecuada entre zonas urbanas y rurales, lo cierto es que, si de asistencia se trata, podramos decir que no estamos en mal camino. Pero si nos paramos a examinar la calidad de la educacin que reciben esos nios y nias, el anlisis es menos optimista. Yo vivo y trabajo en Ecuador desde hace tres aos y he tenido un contacto muy fuerte con el sistema de educacin bsica ya que mi compaero diriga un programa de cooperacin belga para capacitar a profesores y profesoras. El panorama muchas veces era desolador (y Rosa Mara Torres podra darnos datos ms concretos): profesores/as destinados en escuelas rurales sin los medios bsicos para trabajar, en escuelas unidocentes con nios y nias de todas las edades, con sueldos de miseria para los y las profesionales de la educacin. Desde mi punto de vista, es imprescindible mejorar las condiciones de trabajo de los profesores y profesoras si queremos lograr, por ejemplo, la inclusin del enfoque de gnero en la enseanza. En estas circunstancias, los nios y nias pasan de un ciclo a otro sin asimilar correctamente la mayor parte de los aprendizajes y enseanzas necesarias para su adecuado desarrollo. Y as hasta llegar a la Universidad y encontrar personas en su ltimo curso que conjuga el verbo haber si h, no llega a tener una capacidad de lectura comprensiva total y cuenta con grandes lagunas culturales. Un saludo muy afectuoso para todas y todos ustedes, Brbara MESSAGE 19 Hola! soy Yolima Arellano desde Trujillo Venezuela, les felicito por esta iniciativa y les sugiero para el futuro ampliar el tiempo de participacin, creo que 1 da es poco para tan importante tema. A su pregunta de la participacin exclusiva de mujeres en el foro, nos demuestra una vez ms lo dispuestas que estamos las mujeres en participar en todo lo que constituya aprendizaje y participacin en una sociedad ms equitativa, tal vez por nuestra "socializacin". Sobre las ODM, considero que an cuando en Venezuela no han sido suficientemente promocionadas entre la sociedad civil, de alguna manera el Edo. ha asumido lo relativo a ampliar la cobertura de la educacin primaria en igualdad de condiciones para varones y hembras, lo que se traduce en la aplicacin de polticas sociales que tienen que ver con programas de alimentacin escolar (PAE) y subsidio a pasajes estudiantiles, por ejemplo, sin embargo no son universales en el sentido de que cubren un sector de la poblacin estudiantil. Creo que los programas dirigidos en este sentido son bsicos, como se refiere en uno de los informes las mujeres educadas trasladan esa educacin a la familia y a sus vidas personales y multiplican los efectos, an cuando la desigualdad de gnero es estructural, creo necesario exigir y orientar a los gobiernos en el diseo de polticas pblicas que transversalicen el enfoque de gnero y se tomen en cuenta las necesidades de las mujeres al momento de su atencin, la Educacin es una estrategia importante para cambiar los estereotipos y desigualdades estructurales y an cuando se comprometan formalmente a travs de los acuerdos internacionales, estos constituyen una plataforma para exigir su aplicacin, asunto en el que la sociedad civil cada da est incorporando a su accin, gracias por permitirme participar y saludos a todos y todas MESSAGE 20 Hola amigos. Escribimos desde la Plataforma Interamericana de Derechos Humanos, Democracia y Desarrollo para comentar la consulta con los E-mails ya recibidos. Bueno, nos parece importante sealar que estamos de acuerdo con los comentarios y preocupaciones de l@s compaer@s y contestamos a partir del E-mail de Claudia, a quien nos sumamos especialmente en lo que se refiere a la necesidad de trabajar ms el tema de la exigibilidad y justiciabilidad de los derechos. La Plataforma est involucrada en el Grupo de Trabajo que discute el Protocolo Facultativo al PIDESC en la ONU. Referente a los ODM, nos preocupa el hecho de que no se cumplan y "nopasanada". Muchas organizaciones estn siendo incentivadas en trabajar el tema. Incluso hay gobiernos que estn transferiendo para la sociedad civil (empresas+ONGs) con una lgica super neoliberal la responsabilidad por el cumplimiento de los objetivos. Bueno, no creemos que los objetivos tengan que ver con solidaridad, pero con retos impuestos por los gobiernos para ellos mismos. Por lo tanto, metas no cumplidas y plazos no cumplidos son metas no cumplidas y plazos no cumplidos. Sigue la verguenza de los gobiernos, la prdida de legitimidad de los ODM y de Naciones Unidas en lo que se refiere al DESARROLLO. La idea es de que podamos construir efectivamente el derecho al desarrollo de forma amplia. Particularmente respecto a educacin y gnero, tenemos que luchar por el DERECHO a la educacin de calidad para tod@s, la conscientizacin respecto a este derecho, instrumentos y instancias que garanticen este derecho. Una accin importante, por lo tanto, sera el fortalecimiento de este derecho y de la igualdad de gnero en la educacin en las cortes nacionales, regionales y internacionales. Es importante verificar el articulo 13 (Derecho a la Educacin) del Protocolo de San Salvador en el sistema interamericano y las posibilidades de que la Comisin y la Corte interamericanas cumplan con los derechos all mencionados. Educacin es uno de los pocos DESC que pueden tener casos presentados en la Comisin. La educacin de mujeres y hombres adult@s y de ni@s debe ser considerado como derecho y no como meta. Que hacer si los ODM no son cumplidos? Los Estados con una lgica totalmente neoliberal transfieren sus responsabilidades a otros sectores y no tratan seriamente las metas. Hay que garantizar educacin para tod@s y responsabilizar a los Estados (y entes de Estados federados como las provincias) cuando no cumplan con este derecho. Adems de la transferencia de responsabilidades y de la ausencia de instancias judiciales para demandar los derechos, hay por parte de los Estados una nueva estrategia muy vinculada con los ODM que es lo que llaman de "mnimos sociales". Si hablamos de derechos, no podemos hablar de mnimos, pero de plenitud. Claro que hay problemas graves que imposibilitan que los Estados cumplan con los derechos que deben garantizar- corrupcin, deuda externa injusta, supervits acordados con el FMI sin inversin de gastos sociales presupuestados (un escndalo por ejemplo en Brasil), pero justamente por eso es que hay que responsabilizar y no dirigir el abordaje de los ODM para detalles que generan una discusin ms intra-poltica pblica y menos de los obstculos para seguir discutiendo y legitimando un proceso que sigue sin claridad y postura consecuente. Supimos que el BID ya quiere que los objetivos sean postergados para 2050!!! Los queremos como DERECHOS hoy. Como comentaran las compaeras esta es la promesa de la modernidad y que justifican nuestros Estados Nacionales como garantes de los derechos humanos. Gracias por la oportunidad de podermos participar en este debate. Esperamos poder seguir construyendo juntos. Daniel Mauricio Arago MESSAGE 21 Saludos: Estoy muy impresionada del debate que se viene sosteniendo y de las tareas que tenemos por delante. Saludo con entusiasmo a las personas responsables de este foro. En el Per es verdad como seala Gloria y otras ms, se han dado interesantes avances. Pero tuvimos una poca (la de Fujimori) que en su afan de mostrar avances, encubrio cifras y datos que ahora producen problemas para la evaluacin de lo avanzado. Por ejemplo se hicieron campaas de alfabetizacin con militares y eran a favor de la re-re-re eleccin, y muestran cifras d edisminucin del analfabetismo que igualmente muestra las cifras en negativo para las mujeres. El otro problema es la calidad de lo aprendido. Esto esta complicando los planes del mismo MINEDU y los anlisis de quienes se disponen a hacer seguimiento a las metas del milenio. Se espera que un informe se presente pronto desde el PNUD con algunos avances que se aaden al informe preliminar que Rosa Bravo hizo para CEPAL. Tambin hay algunos avances con el INEI ( Instituto Nacional de Estadistica e Informtica) con su voluntad de aplicar encuestas disgregadas por sexo, para tener ms claro el panorama. Aqu los problemas son presupuestales y de voluntad politica. En educacin primaria haya cifras positivas en lo urbano, pero en lo rural las nias asisten menos. La desercin y retraso escolar es un grave problema que afecta en un 49 % a las nias y 37 % a los nios, que hasta los 14 aos no haban completado su ciclo de 6 aos de la primaria. En la siguiente edad de 15 a 19 aos quienes afrontan estos problemas son los hombres. Se forma as una cadena de brechas que alimentan la cadena de la pobreza. Las cifras aunque aburran deben mostrarse siempre disgregadas por sexo y zona urbana y rural, pues en los totales pueden mostrar a veces que se avanza mucho, ya que en la zonas urbanas es donde se ven ms avances. Las cuestiones de calidad y universalidad, deben estar en relacion armoniosa, tienen que llevar a mejores diseos educativos. El proceso de descentralizacin que se viene aplicando en el Per aun no muestra resultados pero es una esperanza a la que hay que incidir para obtener mejores programas educativos y ms acordes a las realidades rurales que pueden aportar por ejemplo a la retencin de estudiantes en relacin a sus trabajos en el campo en los tiempos de cosechas, o tambin con nios/as con discapacidad y en el acceso a la educacin entre otros. La otra gran cuestin es el presupuesto dedicado a la educacin, que cada vez es menor. La voluntad politica es imprescindible y los compromisos de los gobiernos para cumplimiento de las MDM son una posibilidad interesante de presin desde la sociedad civil. Saludos Mara Esther Mogolln Comunidad PRIGEPP MESSAGE 22 Hola a todas/os, les escribo desde Montevideo, Uruguay. Quisiera hacer un comentario respecto al nfasis de los ODM en la educacin primaria. Como ya se ha planteado en otras intervenciones en el caso de Uruguay la universalizacin a nivel de la enseanza primaria ha reconocido un logro casi total.Pero creo que eso no resuelve lo que sucede posteriormente, me refiero a la desercin dada en el trnsito de la enseanza primaria a la secundaria, considerando adems que en Uruguay, as como otros pases de la regin, se necesitan al menos 12 aos de estudios para un mnimo acceso de bienestar. Creo que debiera plantearse la universalizacin equitativa de la enseanza secundaria como un desafo tambin importante. Sigo luego. Isabel. MESSAGE 23 Me parece importante retomar algunos de los puntos que plante en mi mensaje de hoy, y dado que el tiempo apremia (el mio y el de este foro, que lamentablemente solo dura un dia, no hay posibilidad de extenderlo al menos a 2-3 dias?), har uso de mensajes que he enviado antes a otros grupos, redes y foros, si no les molesta. Aqui va ste, con mirada latinoamericana,referido a la laaaaaaaaaaarga marcha tras los cada vez ms reducidos objetivos y metas para la educacin. Organismos internacionales y gobierno se han dedicado durante dcadas a formular planes y ms planes, a iniciar unos sin completar los anteriores aplazandosistemticamente las metas, a redactar documentos y organizar reuniones para firmarlos. Quin cree en ellos? La poblacin los desconoce, los tcnicos y especialistas los elaboran o citan, los politicos los firman, los organismos internacionales han hecho de esto un oficio. Si hemos de dialogar en un foro, dialoguemos en serio, con verdades. Hay demasiado miedo y complicidades en el ambiente, pero la situacin de nuestros pases no los tolera ms, y nuestro compromiso social y coherencia no deberia tolerarlos ms tampoco. Qu puede hacer que un nuevo plan o una nueva iniciativa, esta vez s, se cumpla, cuando el record histrico de incumplimiento es casi del 100% (miren abajo una pequea parte de este recorrido), y cuando los pases han llegado a sus limites de endeudamiento y a su mximo (aunque nos falta an ver ms...) de empobrecimiento y de dependencia de los fondos y las ideasdela "cooperacin internacional"? Seequicovan quienes piensan que "mejorar la educacion" y lograr metas es solo asunto de dinero, de ms presupuesto para la educacin. Ya sabemos que ms inversion no necesariamente se traduce en mejoria (a menudo los dineros internacionales incluso incentivan la corrupcin y el despilfarro, hay ejemplos claros de esto en todos nuestros pases). Todo depende en qu y cmo se invierta, y de dnde provengan esos recursos que se invierten. No es lo mismo donacion que prstamo, aunque este ultimo se ha naturalizado por la via de los bancos multilaterales siempre dispuestos a colocar (y cobrar con intereses) sus crditos, sin responsabilizarse de sus consejos y acciones. Dnde est la rendicin de cuentas de los organismos internacionales? Si se equivocan, e incluso si reconocen sus errores (como lo viene haciendo en muchos mbitos el Banco Mundial), son los pases, y los ms pobres en esos pases, quienes pagan el precio de esos "errores". Buen punto para agregar al Objetivo 8 del Milenio, el gran pacto internacional por el desarrollo. Saludos, Rosa Mara Torres Instituto Fronesis  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.fronesis.org" \t "_blank" www.fronesis.org Otra educacin es posible (si otra poltica, otra economa y otra "cooperacin internacional" son posibles) ----- Mensaje original ----- De:  HYPERLINK "mailto:institutofronesis@yahoo.com" \o "institutofronesis@yahoo.com" \t "_blank" Instituto Fronesis Para:  HYPERLINK "mailto:comunidadeducativa@gruposyahoo.com.ar" \o "comunidadeducativa@gruposyahoo.com.ar" \t "_blank" ComunidadEducativa Enviado: Lunes, 26 de Abril de 2004 03:36 p.m. Asunto: Re: [ComunidadEducativa] Educacion para Todos, aspiracion de varias dcadas Efectivamente: esta iniciativa mundialque se conoce con el nombre de Educacin para Todos (EPT) tiene ya - como se ha dicho- CATORCE AOS de vida (se inici en Tailandia en 1990) y se extender por lo menos hasta el 2015, que es el nuevo plazo fijado para las seis metas de EPT, o sea que la EPT durar al menos VEINTE Y CINCO AOS, un cuarto de siglo!!!. Pero, con ste y con otros nombres,ya llevamos cerca de CINCUENTA AOS - MEDIO SIGLO- de sucesivos intentos de alcanzar la universalizacin de la escuela primaria / la educacin fundamental / la educacin bsica, as como la universalizacin de la alfabetizacin. Con anterioridad a 1990, en nuestra regin (y en las otras regiones del mundo) venan dndose ya varias iniciativas en este sentido. * En 1956 se realizaba en Lima la Conferencia Regional sobre Educacin Obligatoria y Gratuita en Amrica Latina (MINEDLAC I) y la II Conferencia Inter-Americana de Ministros de Educacin convocada por la OEA. * Entre 1956 y 1965 se desarroll el primer gran proyecto regional de Extensin y Mejoramiento de la Educacin Primaria.  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/50y/brochure/unintwo/94.htm" \t "_blank" http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/50y/brochure/unintwo/94.htm * A ste le sigui el Proyecto Principal de Educacin (1981-2000) que culmin - sin cumplir sus tres metas - en el ao 2000 y cuya evaluacin se present en la reunin de Ministros en Cochabamba, Bolivia, en marzo del 2001.  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.unesco.cl/03prelac.htm" \t "_blank" http://www.unesco.cl/03prelac.htm * A su vez, ste fue sustituido por el actual PRELAC (Proyecto Regional de Educacin para Amrica Latina y el Caribe), aprobado en La Habana en el 2002 y que se extender hasta el 2015.  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.unesco.cl/03prelac.htm" \t "_blank" http://www.unesco.cl/03prelac.htm Es decir, la historia es larga y por proyectos, planes, documentos y eventos no ha faltado. Lo que ha faltado es concretar los propsitos y lasmetas planteadas, que, curiosamente, en lugar de ir expandindose, van achicndose!! Es importante tener presente y estudiar la historia de la educacin, de otro modo todo es un continuopartir de cero y un continuoinventar la plvora. Para quienes tengan inters en indagar ms, la propia UNESCO tiene un buen archivo histrico y parte de ste est ya en formato electronico o disponible en la web. Ver por ejemplo (en ingls): Year by Year - UNESCO's Action for Education  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/JALONS_E.PDF" \t "_blank" http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf/JALONS_E.PDF UNESCO Milestones  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/50y/brochure/mile.htm" \t "_blank" http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/50y/brochure/mile.htm Saludos, Rosa Mara Torres Instituto Fronesis  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.fronesis.org" \t "_blank" www.fronesis.org De: Navarro Leal Marco Aurelio Para: ComunidadEducativa@gruposyahoo.com.ar Enviado: Lunes, 26 de Abril de 2004 06:46 a.m. Asunto: RE: [ComunidadEducativa] Educacion para Todos, aspiracion de varias dcadas No son solamente diez aos. Las aspiraciones de Educacin para Todos en los foros de UNESCO, se originaron en las conferencias celebradas de 1959 a 1963, sucesivamente en Karachi, en Adis Abeba y en Santiago de Chile. En estas asambleas se acord nombrar a la dcada de los sesenta como "la primera dcada del desarrollo". Durante sta, los pases afiliados a UNESCO se planteaban como metas: - Matricular a todos los nios en el nivel de educacin primaria en un plazo de dos dcadas - Proporcionar educacin secundaria a una proporcin de jovenes de 10 a 20% durante el mismo perodo - Extender las oportunidades de educacin superior y profesional en todos los paises afiliados, y - Terminar con el analfabetismo en el mismo trmino de dos dcadas. Distintos documentos del Insituto Internacional para la Planeacin Educativa-UNESCO, dan cuenta de esto. La misin de este Instituto, establecido en Paris, hacia 1962, fu la de entrenar a los planificadores que apoyaran a los gobiernos en el cumplimiento de estas metas. Marco Aurelio Navarro, Mxico. -----Mensaje original----- De: PronunciamientoLatinoamericano [mailto:pronunciamientolatinoamericano@yahoo.com] Enviado el: Sb 24/04/2004 10:20 p.m. Para: ComunidadEducativa Asunto: Re: [ComunidadEducativa] Educacion para Todos, por Koichiro Maatsura, Director General de UNESCO Lo dicho. Parece increble, pero al propio Director General de la UNESCO hay que recordarle que la iniciativa mundial de Educacin para Todos se inici mucho antes que l llegara a UNESCO, no en Dakar en el ao 2000 sino en Jomtien, Tailandia, diez aos antes (1990), durante la Conferencia Mundial de Educacin para Todos, donde se acord impulsar la "visin ampliada de educacin bsica". Llevamos pues no CUATRO sino CATORCE aos de Educacin para Todos y sus seis metas, a saber: 1. Expandir y mejorar el cuidado infantil y la educacin inicial integrales, especialmente para los sectores ms vulnerables. 2. Asegurar que todos los nios y nias accedan y completen una educacin primaria gratuita, obligatoria y de calidad. 3. Asegurar la satisfaccin de las necesidades de aprendizaje de jvenes y adultos a travs del acceso equitativo a programas apropiados de aprendizaje de habilidades para la vida y para la ciudadana. 4. Mejorar en un 50% los niveles de alfabetizacin de adultos para el 2015, especialmente entre las mujeres, y lograr acceso equitativo a la educacin bsica y permanente para todas las personas adultas. 5. Eliminar las disparidades de gnero en educacin primaria y secundaria para el 2005, y lograr la equidad de gneros para el 2015, en particular asegurando a las nias acceso a una educacin bsica de calidad y rendimientos plenos e igualitarios. 6. Mejorar todos los aspectos de la calidad de la educacin y asegurar la excelencia de todos, de modo que todos logren resultados de aprendizaje reconocidos y medibles, especialmente en torno a la alfabetizacin, el clculo y las habilidades esenciales para la vida. El compromiso firmado por los gobernantes y lderes mundiales se dio hace catorce aos, y lo que debemos evaluar son los avances desde entonces, no desde el ao 2000. Cul es la razn para borrar de un plumazo toda una dcada y crear la ilusin colectiva de que apenas llevamos cuatro aos en esta carrera? Cmo es posible que la propia UNESCO haga borrn y cuenta nueva, dejando atrs toda una dcada de esfuerzos de EPT, cuya evaluacin fue precisamente el motivo del Foro Mundial de Educacin en Dakar? Coordinacin, Pronunciamiento Latinoamericano por una Educacin para Todos  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://ar.groups.yahoo.com/group/ComunidadEducativa/" \t "_blank" http://ar.groups.yahoo.com/group/ComunidadEducativa/ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ La Nacin, Buenos Aires,23 Abril 2004 http://www.lanacion.com.ar/04/04/23/do_594949.asp?origen=premium Educacin para todos Por Koichiro Matsuura Durante esta semana, jvenes de ms de 100 pases se constituyen en grupos de influencia para instar a sus respectivos gobiernos y parlamentos a que realicen ms esfuerzos con vistas a proporcionar educacin bsica a ms de 100 millones de nios sin escolarizar. . Se cumplen en estos das cuatro aos del compromiso contrado por la comunidad internacional en el Foro Mundial sobre la Educacin (Dakar, 2000), para lograr que la Educacin para Todos (EPT) sea una realidad de aqu al ao 2015. . En esos cuatro aos se han realizado progresos considerables, aunque desiguales. En efecto, en el mundo hay 670 millones de nios que estn recibiendo la enseanza primaria necesaria para proseguir sus estudios o, con el tiempo, encontrar un trabajo. . Sin embargo, se necesita todava hacer ms en favor de los nios marginados del sistema escolar -cuyo nmero se calcula que asciende a 104 millones- para impedir que se malogre no slo su porvenir personal, sino tambin el futuro de las sociedades en que viven. . Los nios que van a participar en la campaa El Gran Lobby, organizada con motivo de la Semana Mundial de la Educacin para Todos 2004, tratarn de poner de relieve el despilfarro de talentos y capacidades que supone ese gran nmero de nios excluidos de la escuela. En Malawi, por ejemplo, los hurfanos del sida y los nios de la calle estn presentando a los jefes tribales y miembros del Parlamento "mapas de los excluidos". En Gran Bretaa, los nios reemplazarn simblicamente a los 659 miembros de la Cmara de los Comunes y centenares de legisladores en estos das estn visitando escuelas. . Segn el ltimo Informe de Seguimiento de la Educacin para Todos en el Mundo, publicado por la Organizacin de las Naciones Unidas para la Educacin, la Ciencia y la Cultura (Unesco), el nmero ms importante de nios sin escolarizar se concentra en las regiones del Africa Subsahariana y Asia Meridional y Occidental. Muchos de los nios excluidos del sistema escolar son nias (60%, aproximadamente) y viven en zonas rurales pobres. Otras categoras de excluidos son: los hurfanos del sida, los nios que trabajan, los miembros de grupos minoritarios, los discapacitados y los nios que se ven envueltos en conflictos. Los jvenes que han rebasado la edad de ir a la escuela primaria y han perdido la oportunidad de escolarizarse tambin necesitan que se les capacite para alcanzar un nivel de educacin apropiado. . La experiencia demuestra que la supresin del pago de derechos de matrcula puede provocar un espectacular progreso de la escolarizacin. Tambin puede surtir el mismo efecto la distribucin de incentivos financieros a los padres necesitados, como se hace en Brasil, donde se entregan cada mes subvenciones a 10 millones de familias pobres. En algunos pases como Nger, Guinea-Bissau y Bangladesh, la escolarizacin ha mejorado sensiblemente gracias a la adopcin de una medida muy sencilla: ofrecer almuerzos en las escuelas. . Sin embargo, como esas medidas no son suficientes de por s, es necesario replantearse el concepto mismo de escolarizacin cuando se dan determinadas circunstancias. En efecto, los nios no pueden recibir educacin all donde se carece de maestros en nmero suficiente, ya sea porque es demasiado costoso pagarlos o formarlos, o bien porque muchos de ellos estn siendo vctimas de la epidemia del sida, como ocurre en algunas partes de Africa. Adems, se plantean otros obstculos: los docentes formados no suelen estar dispuestos a ejercer en zonas rurales, y los sistemas formales de educacin excluyen a menudo de la escuela a amplios grupos de nios, por ejemplo los que trabajan o los que no hablan la lengua oficial del pas. . Los gobiernos, organismos internacionales, donantes y organizaciones no gubernamentales deben tener presente dos cosas: que son acertadas todas las posibilidades por las que se opte en materia de aprendizaje, con tal de que no hagan peligrar la calidad de la educacin; y que los mtodos poco convencionales son dignos de respeto y estima. . Impartir ahora una educacin a todos los jvenes -sin excepcin alguna- permitir garantizar el da de maana el desarrollo social y econmico, al reducir el nmero de analfabetos adultos que, hoy en da, se calcula que asciende a unos 860 millones de personas. Adems, la educacin de las nias, en particular, tendr repercusiones positivas palpables en la salud y el crecimiento demogrfico de los pases. El autor es director general de la Unesco. ~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<> COMUNIDAD E-DUCATIVA Enviar mensajes: ComunidadEducativa@gruposyahoo.com.ar Subscribirse: ComunidadEducativa-subscribe@gruposyahoo.com.ar Des-subscribirse: ComunidadEducativa-unsubscribe@gruposyahoo.com.ar Sitio web: http://ar.groups.yahoo.com/group/ComunidadEducativa/ Comunidad E-ducativa es el grupo electrnico de los firmantes del Pronunciamiento Latinoamericano por una Educacin para Todos. Para ms informacin visite: www.fronesis.org/prolat.htm Instituto Fronesis www.fronesis.org "Los analfabetos del siglo XXI no sern quienes no sepan leer y escribir, sino quienes sean incapaces de aprender, desaprender y reaprender" - Alvin Toffler MESSAGE 24 Aqui abajo va otro mensaje, ste referido al "encogimiento" sistemtico que viene experimentando la Educacin para Todos (EPT), desde sus origenes, y que ahora se plasma, claramente y sin tapujos,en los 4 aos de escolaridad llamados "educacion primaria universal" en los Objetivos y Metas del Milenio (OMM). Algunos argumentos se exponen en este mensaje, circulado no hace mucho en Comunidad E-ducativa, la red latinoamericana que modero, en la cual venimos discutiendo y dando segumiento a la EPT, el proyecto del Milenio y las dems iniciativas, desde una visin amplia de lo educativo, lo que incluye meterse con la poltica, con la economa, con la(s) cultura(s), con los medios de comunicacin, con las TICs, con las lgicas del poder a nivel nacional y mundial, con el anlisis de la "cooperacin internacional" actuada y vivida en nuestros pases, con los dramas de la pobreza, la corrupcin y el endeudamiento externo, etc. Por eso, es importante yhabilitador el enfoque INTEGRAL que aportan los OMM, pues permiten superar la mirada sectorial estrecha que ha primado en el campo de la educacin y en muchos otros. Pero, dado ese marco de integralidad, debemos ahora discutir - seguir discutiendo- cmo se inter-relacionan esos varios mbitos y esos varios actores nacionales e internacionales. Como educadora, segura de que lo que necesitamos no es slo ms sino OTRA educacin para nuestros nios, jvenes y adultos, s que la lucha no es nicamente por ms presupuesto para la educacin sino por otra poltica econmica y otra poltica social. Esto es, nada ms ni nada menos, lo que esperamos poder discutir y avanzar dentro de este marco que aportan los OMM. Otra vez saludos, Rosa Mara Torres Instituto Fronesis  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.fronesis.org" \t "_blank" www.fronesis.org Otra educacin es posible (si otra poltica, otra economa y otra "cooperacin internacional" son posibles) ----- Mensaje original ----- De:  HYPERLINK "mailto:rmtorres@fibertel.com.ar" \o "rmtorres@fibertel.com.ar" \t "_blank" Rosa-Maria Torres Para:  HYPERLINK "mailto:comunidadeducativa@gruposyahoo.com.ar" \o "comunidadeducativa@gruposyahoo.com.ar" \t "_blank" ComunidadEducativa Enviado: Mircoles, 28 de Abril de 2004 02:07 p.m. Asunto: [ComunidadEducativa] Las metas de la Educacion para Todos son SEIS, no UNA. Vuelve a repetirse la misma historia: Educacin para Todos convertida en Educacin para  HYPERLINK "mailto:Ni@s" \t "_blank" Ni@s, Educacin para  HYPERLINK "mailto:Ni@s" \t "_blank" Ni@s entendida como Educacin Primaria, y sta reducida a matrcula y a la completacin de cuatro grados. Sucedi durante la llamada "dcada de Jomtien" (ver R.M.Torres, "Educacin para Todos: La tarea pendiente", IIPE-UNESCO Buenos Aires, 2000; FUM-TEP, Montevideo, 2000; Artmed Editora, Porto Alegre, 2000). Ahora vuelve a repetirse en el seguimiento de la EPT luego del foro de Dakar y se refleja en la Campaa Global por la Educacin (ver texto abajo). Las metas de la Educacin para Todos son seis, no una. TODOS incluye a nios, jvenes y adultos. LaEDUCACION BASICAno se refiere solamente a nios ni a educacin escolar. Un pas no puede avanzar slo con educacin primaria ni slo con educacin bsica. Necesitamos una visin sistmica de la educacin, de sistema y de poltica educativa, y una visin de poltica educativa que vaya junto con poltica social y poltica econmica. Es el modelo econmico-social el que excluye, no nicamente el sistema escolar. El aprendizaje, por otra parte, que es lo que importa, excede al sistema escolar y a la educacin en cuanto tal. Rosa Mara Torres Instituto Fronesis  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.fronesis.org" \t "_blank" www.fronesis.org ------------------------------------------------------- Las metas de la Educacin para Todos son SEIS, no UNA. Education for All are SIX, not ONE. ------------------------------------------------------- Campaa Mundial por la Educacin  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.campaignforeducation.org/_html/2002-docs/04-gaw-lobby_es/frameset" \t "_blank" http://www.campaignforeducation.org/_html/2002-docs/04-gaw-lobby_es/frameset .shtml Lobby Briefing - Abril de 2002 Todos los nios y nias en la escuela: cmo puede el mundo lograr Educacin para Todos  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.campaignforeducation.org/_html/2002-docs/04-gaw-lobby_es/frameset" \t "_blank" http://www.campaignforeducation.org/_html/2002-docs/04-gaw-lobby_es/frameset .shtml intro Porqu necesitamos un plan de accin ahora Elementos claves de un plan de accin para EPT Pases de accin inmediata Cronograma Recomendaciones El 25 de abril de 2000, en el Foro Mundial de Educacin celebrado en Dakar, los gobiernos del Sur y la comunidad internacional prometieron tomar medidas inmediatas para proveer educacin gratuita y de calidad a todos los nios y nias. Su objetivo de alcanzar la culminacin universal de la educacin primaria para 2015 fue apoyado por los dirigentes mundiales en la Cumbre del Milenio de las Naciones Unidas. Sin embargo, dos aos despus, casi la mitad de los signatarios del Marco de Accin de Dakar, es decir, 88 pases, no estn en el buen camino para lograr este objetivo. Sin una accin urgente, 75 millones de nios seguirn fuera de la escuela en 2015. Durante la tercera Semana Mundial de Accin de la CME, grupos de la sociedad civil en ms de 90 pases estn pidiendo a la comunidad internacional que ponga en prctica un plan de rescate de la Educacin para Todos. Este documento de informacin esboza nuestra visin de una iniciativa mundial ambiciosa y a la vez prctica para lograr la EPT: una iniciativa que vincula los planes nacionales de educacin universal gratuita al financiamiento de los donantes, con un cronograma detallado de resultados y un resumen claro de las funciones y responsabilidades de los gobiernos de los pases ricos, los gobiernos de los pases pobres y las organizaciones internacionales. Por qu necesitamos un plan de accin ahora La culminacin universal de la educacin primaria se puede lograr para 2015; en efecto, es el ms plausible de los objetivos de desarrollo del milenio. Los dos aos que han pasado desde el Foro Mundial de Educacin de Dakar han visto crecer el consenso entre los gobiernos, la UNESCO y el Banco Mundial sobre cmo alcanzar los objetivos de EPT. Pero, lo que no se ha podido hacer, es traducir ese consenso en accin. Hay que movilizar tres a cinco veces ms de ayuda a la educacin primaria y hay que conseguir incrementos considerables en los gastos de los pases en desarrollo, junto con reformas de polticas de gran envergadura. A fin de mantener y aumentar el compromiso de los gobiernos de los pases en desarrollo, es urgente operacionalizar la promesa de Dakar de que "ningn pas realmente comprometido con la educacin para todos ver el logro de este objetivo frustrado por falta de recursos". Los anuncios recientes del aumento de la ayuda externa para el desarrollo de parte de JUL, la UE, Canad y otros pases han creado un nuevo clima de oportunidad. El Banco Mundial ha jugado un papel importante en resaltar la necesidad de aumentar la asistencia para el desarrollo. Tanto la EPT como el tema de frica estarn en el temario de la Cumbre del G8 en junio. Es el momento preciso para unir a todos los interesados alrededor de una iniciativa prctica para cubrir el dficit de financiamiento de la EPT. (sigue) Si los participantes en la conferencia de msterdam acuerdan un plan de accin fuerte, que logre unir a la comunidad internacional detrs de una visin y un programa de accin nicos, existe una posibilidad real de acelerar el progreso hacia la educacin bsica gratuita universal para 2015. Este documento de informacin ha sido preparado por la Campaa Mundial por la Educacin, una coalicin de organizaciones no gubernamentales y sindicatos de docentes activos en ms de 150 pases. Los miembros de la CME incluyen a World Vision International, VSO, la Internacional de Servicios Pblicos, Oxfam Internacional, Inclusion International, Marcha Mundial contra el Trabajo Infantil, FAPE, FAWE, Fe y Alegra, La Internacional de la Educacin, CEAAL, ASPBAE, ANCEFA, Alianza Ayuda en Accin y muchas coaliciones nacionales de educacin de la sociedad civil. Para obtener ms informacin, por favor visite nuestro sitio web:  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.campaignforeducation.org" \t "_blank" www.campaignforeducation.org Comit Directivo de la CME, 15 de abril de 2002 Contacto:  HYPERLINK "mailto:anne@campaignforeducation.org" \t "_blank" anne@campaignforeducation.org ~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<>~<> COMUNIDAD E-DUCATIVA Enviar mensajes: ComunidadEducativa@gruposyahoo.com.ar Subscribirse: ComunidadEducativa-subscribe@gruposyahoo.com.ar Des-subscribirse: ComunidadEducativa-unsubscribe@gruposyahoo.com.ar Sitio web:  HYPERLINK "http://outlook.actionaid.org.uk/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://ar.groups.yahoo.com/group/ComunidadEducativa/" \t "_blank" http://ar.groups.yahoo.com/group/ComunidadEducativa/ Comunidad E-ducativa es el grupo electrnico de los firmantes del Pronunciamiento Latinoamericano por una Educacin para Todos. Para ms informacin visite: www.fronesis.org/prolat.htm POR UNA EDUCACION DE CALIDAD PARA TODOS Y TODAS Dgroups es una iniciativa conjunta de Bellanet, DFID, Hivos, ICA, IICD, OneWorld, et UNAIDS. Le suscriben actualmente como odmgeneroeducacion : davida@actionaid.org Para salir de la lista, mande un mensaje en blanco a  HYPERLINK "mailto:leave-odmgeneroeducacion-174525U@dgroups.org" leave-odmgeneroeducacion-174525U@dgroups.org MESSAGE 25 Estimados participantes de este debate electrnico: Quisiera contribuir a esta discusin compartiendo una informacin ms amplia sobre los ODM. El pasado 26 de julio, en el marco del Foro Social de las Amricas en Quito, realizamos una reunin de redes regionales sobre los ODM. Estuvo con nosotros Salil Shetty coordinador de la ONU para la campaa por el cumplimiento de los ODM. En general se constat la falta de vinculacin de la mayora de las redes sobre este tema de los ODM. Si bien todas las redes estamos informadas de la asamblea del 2000 y de las metas del milenio, pocas se han vinculado con la campaa. Se constata tambin la visin crtica que hay sobre las metas. Son un planteamiento minimalista y que, en algunos casos, marca retrocesos respecto al conjunto de planteamientos de las diversas conferencias internacionales de los noventas y principios de esta dcada. Dijimos que la mejor manera de contribuir a estas metas era continuar trabajando en los temas especficos de cada red: mujeres, infancia, Sida, educacin... Y desde ah contribuir al tema de las metas. En el caso especfico de educacin ya hay mucho acumulado en las reflexiones sobre Dakar, sobre CONFINTEA y sobre otras iniciativas como la dcada de alfabetizacin de la misma ONU. En concreto hay que hacer una buena sntesis de ese acumulado para aportar a las dos metas del milenio que refieren a la educacin bsica y a la equidad de gnero. No es la primera vez que discutimos este tema. Es claro que lo planteado por el Equipo Tcnico no retoma todo ese acumulado y por ello sus planteamientos resultan insatisfactorios y limitados. Una sugerencia concreta es que, a partir de lo debatido en esta consulta electrnica y de lo reflexionado en diversas reuniones internacionales se pueda elaborar un planteamiento complementario al documento del ET. En esa reunin sobre los ODM identificamos cuatro ejes de discusin: Primero un eje que podramos llamar de debate paradigmtico y que refiere a la concepcin de desarrollo, a la superacin de la pobreza y a la vinculacin entre las polticas econmicas y sociales. En el caso de la educacin aqu cabra el debate sobre el rol de esta en las polticas de superacin de la pobreza y a la vinculacin entre poltica econmica y polticas educativas. Es clarsimo que no hay manera de mejorar la calidad educativa si no cambian sustantivamente las lgicas de asignacin de recursos y el vnculo con los procesos de trabajo y empleo. Segundo un eje de debate sobre las experiencias nacionales de incidencia para el cumplimiento de los ODM. En la reunin se presentaron algunos ejemplos de campaas nacionales, de anlisis a partir de los presupuestos nacionales, de dilogos con los congresos nacionales. Vimos que era importante tener un mapa de estas experiencias. El tercer eje tiene que ver con la estrategia de desarrollar propiamente una campaa de difusin amplia sobre el significado de los ODM. Esta campaa se insertara en las diversas campaas que ya se realizan en torno a diversos temas: ALCA, EDUCACION, VIVIENDA, DESC, PUEBLOS INDIGENAS, EQUIDAD... ETC. Otra vez, en el caso de educacin ya tenemos una campaa global y una campaa regional en Amrica Latina. Se tratara entonces de sumar a estas el debate sobre los ODM ms que realizar una nueva campaa. El cuarto eje tuvo que ver con el tema de la incidencia como sociedad civil en este campo de los ODM. En 2005 se realizar la reunin de la ONU para hacer un primer balance de los 5 aos de los ODM y ah queremos incidir. Para ello debemos avanzar en la coordinacin de nuestros esfuerzos y acordamos volvernos a reunir en enero en el marco del FSM con el objetivo de precisar las tareas para esta incidencia. Sugiero entonces que desarrollemos estos cuatro ejes en el campo educativo que es el que nosotros -los promotores y participantes de este debate- estamos trabajando. Leyendo los diversos aportes, tanto los del debate en ingls como en espaol, queda evidente que hay una profunda insatisfaccin con los planteamientos de los reportes sobre educacin bsica y equidad de gnero y hay muchas sugerencias para enriquecer tanto el enfoque como las polticas para lograr reales avances. Ya los compaeros de Action Aid que sistematizarn los comentarios nos precisarn tanto las crticas como las sugerencias y a partir de ah podremos avanzar en nuestros planteamientos para llegar a la reunin de balance en 2005 con aportes consistentes que, sin duda, los tenemos. Saludos y me sumo a las felicitaciones por esta iniciativa de debate electrnico Carlos Zarco Mera Consejo de Educacin de Adultos de Amrica Latina Toledo 46 Col. Jurez. Mxico D.F. 06600 Tel: (5255) 55 33 17 55 / 55 33 03 49 Fax: (5255) 55 14 06 10 Pgina WEB: www.ceaal.org MESSAGE 26 Hola nuevamente! He quedado preocupada por el tema de la calidad en la educacin, pues quiero ser clara con lo que quise advertir anteriormente. Mi comentario estaba dirigido exactamente al punto que rescata y resalta Gloria: las experiencias latinoamericanas, ms concretamente la argentina como el PRIOM, han dejado un saldo favorable en cuanto a la equidad de gnero en educacin, y es en ese sentido en el que debemos avanzar, ya que no todos los pases latinoamericanos han pasado por experiencias tan ricas como estas. Los ODM son acotados en este punto y confunden accesibilidad con calidad, o accesibilidad con empoderamiento. Creo que, experiencias como el PRIOM, no slo deben ser pensadas como experiencias pioneras, sino que, adems deben profundizarse hasta poder incluir dentro de los programas educativos temas como la salud sexual y reproductiva (aunque hay algunos avances, es una "asignatura pendiente") la violencia de gnero, o la difusin de los derechos de las mujeres. Creo que experiencias como las del PRIOM son un muy buen punto de partida desde el que debemos ampliar los ODM. Accesibilidad ms calidad, creo que es una buena forma de hacerlo, retomar experiencias exitosas para profundizarlas puede serlo tambin. Hasta pronto! Eva MESSAGE 27 Hola! Pertenezco orgullosamente a la comunidad PRIGEPP y agradezco la oportunidad para participar en este foro. Algunas consideraciones: 1. Qu tan viable es para todos los pases por igual alcanzar la meta de la educacin secundaria para el 2015? Si en mi pas ( Mxico) por ejemplo el porcentaje de la poblacin de 15 aos y ms con educacin bsica completa (primaria y secundaria) ha aumentado del 3.2 para los hombres y 2.2 para las mujeres en 1970 a 19.5% y 17.5% en el 2000. 2.Estoy de acuerdo en que se tomen medidas para sancionar a los pases que no cumplan las MDM pero tambin sera necesario instrumentar estrategias de evaluacin para conocer cmo se alcanzaron las metas en los pases que s cumplieron. 3. En mi pas (Mxico) el acento est puesto en los resultados y no en los procesos de ah que los obstculos slo se miren de manera tangencial. Por ejemplo, no se habla de cmo se ha instrumentado la meta de educacin primaria universal con los nios y nias con discapacidad, con los nios y nias de zonas rurales en extrema pobreza, cuando lo que dominan son los criterios eficientistas, cuando los contenidos, las estrategias didcticas, las normas de acreditacin, la infraestructura fsica, etc. no se adecuan a esta poblacin. De acuerdo a mi experiencia en la Direccin de Educacin Especial el problema radica en que, las desigualdades de gnero que atraviesa a esta poblacin se agudizan por el hecho de que desde son objetivad@s desde el deber y no desde el derecho. 4. Es importante recuperar las contribuciones de la sociedad civil porque an cuando no hay conocimiento sobre los ODM se est trabajando sobre ellos. Quiz valdra la pena establecer redes nacionales articuladas en una mega red regional potenciando las tecnologas de la informacin y comunicacin como instrumento de accin colectiva crtica y propositiva. La iniciativa de PRIGEPP es un buen comienzo que abre camino para instrumentar esta estrategia, por lo menos en mi pas, entre las entrevistadas se gener la necesidad por un lado, de conocer ms a fondo los ODM, de cmo articularlos con su prctica y de establecer una red de alianzas entre las ONGs. 5. Considero que s es necesario ampliar el objetivo de igualdad entre los gneros a los 4 objetivos que se sealan en el documento. 6. Respecto a las acciones afirmativas para aumentar el nmero de mujeres en los Parlamentos Nacionales pienso que se tendran que proponer alternativas al sistema de cuotas. Quiz revisando los conceptos de poblacin y votacin en los que se sustenta el diseo electoral pues ambos estn cargados de sesgos de gnero. 7. El sistema de cuotas podra emplearse para los temas de la agendas nacionales. Saludos Silvia Arriola MESSAGE 28 Aunque David ya se despidi, aqu en Nicaragua son las 10.30 p.m. del da 04, o que estoy en tiempo. Los ODM de educacin e igualdad entre los gneros son de mucha importancia para el trabajo que realiz, no slo en el sentido estricto del mbito laboral, sino que constituyen para mi como ciudadana de este pas aspectos fundamentales para salir de la pobreza y repensar en el desarrollo. Estos ODM tocan la vida de cada persona y es muy valioso que existan y que adems estemos buscando caminos, puertas y ventanas para perfeccionarlos y asegura su cumplimiento de la mejor manera deseable y posible. Creo que un trabajo clave(al menos para tener un marco slido) es la precisin de los indicadores generales y sobre todo los indicadores a nivel de pas. En el caso de Nicaragua, particip en los esfuerzos iniciales por "aterrizar" el indicador de gnero y debo confesar que result muy complejo, primero un equipo de trabajo prepar propuestas de marco conceptual e indicadores para lo! gra una mejor interlocucin con el equipo tcnico de la Presidencia, sin embargo el nivel de conocimientos sobre los asuntos de gnero de quienes coordinaban el equipo tcnico fue una limitante, luego surguieron pegones al momento de negociar los indicadores con las instituciones, por varias razones (falta de presupuesto, no era prioridad, no existan condiciones institucionales para cumplir, manifestaron dificultades para el monitoreo). La transversalizacin del enfoque de gnero finalmente qued casi en su totalidad a nivel de lneamientos de polticas y no en los indicadores. Una iniciativa interesante para darle mayor impulso e institucionalidad, es la creacin (en el caso Centroamrica) del Consejo de Ministras de la Mujer de Centroamrica, esta iniciativa esta caminando, la idea es que este Consejo forme parte del Sistema de Integracin Centroamericano, de tal manera que tenga una autoridad legtima y legitimada por este mecanismo Regional. Ya se han realizado tres sesiones de trabajo, existe la propuesta de constitucin del Consejo y prximamente se realizar una cuarta sesin para la definicin de una Agenda Regional. En cuanto a la propuesta de ampliacin de los objetivos, considero que no desva la atencin, ya que en la prctica lo que hace es precisar el objetivo 3, con lo cual estaramos avanzando en decifrar (abrir la caja de pandora) lo que se pretende con este objetivo, aunque algunos podran ser indicadores. Agradezco la oportunidad de participar en este espacio, espero que podamos dar continuidad a estos esfuerzos. Un da resulta muy corto para exponer y debatir sobre estos temas. Felicidades y estamos en contacto. Buenas noches!!! Violeta Otero Comunidad PRIGEPP - Nicaragua MESSAGE 29 Saludos. Carlos Zarco ha planteado muchas de las preocupaciones que comparten varios grupos de mujeres acerca de los ODM. Para nosotras en la Coalicion International de Mujeres por la Justicia Economica (WICEJ), la mayor consideracion es que los ODM plantean propuestas tecnicas a problemas sistemicos. No cuestiona el actual sistema neo-liberal, e intenta aliviar la pobreza, deterioro ambienta, etc. sin enfrentar un modelo que esta acentuando aquellas realidades. Tanto en la educacion, como en SIDA, malaria, salud maternal e infantil, no tiene mucho sentido fijar metas para mejorar estas realidades, y a la vez empujar los recortes presupuestales, el pago de la deuda, y la privatizacion de servicios publicos. La Declaracion del Milenio afirma los Derechos Humanos como punto central. Esto no se refleja en los ODM. Asi que la afirmacion de CEDAW (en la declaracion), que definitivamente transversa todas las metas, no esta en los ODM. El trabajo del Task Force #3 hace un buen esfuerzo en re-introducir temas claves de Beijing, Cairo y CEDAW que se "perdieron" en los ODM-- tanto como la violencia, derechos reproductivos, accesso al trabajo, trabajo no remunerado de la mujer, etc. Sin embaro, ellas tambien lo hacen sin enfrentar el contexto macro-economico. Ademas, mientras las conferencias de los 90 tiene el compromiso de paises tanto en el Norte como el Sur, los ODM se enfocan en los paises del sur. Siendo del Norte, se que hay mucho que hacer -- en temas de pobreza, medio ambiente, equidad de genero, etc. etc. en el Norte tambien, y no solo se trata de su papel de ayuda para el sur. En el Foro Social Mundial de Mumbai (2004) WICEJ presento un librito, "Seeking Accountability on Women's Human Rights, Women Debate the UN Millennium Goals." (en ingles se consige en: HYPERLINK www.wicej.org www.wicej.org. con suerte, una traduccion al espanol para fin del ano). Interesante las diferencias entre regiones. Alli, ni la ONU, ni "el desarrollo," ni los ODM tenia mucho espacio. Fue quizas el unico tallercito acerca del tema. Se que en Porto Alegre han habido mas discusiones acerca de como usar la ONU estrategicamente para avanzar nuestras agendas. Es interesante que se da esta discusion en Quito, y capaz en Porto Alegre en 2005. Sigo con el interrogante, si los ODM nos obligan a conformar a la agenda de otros, o si nos dan la posibilidad de plantear nuestra agenda mas claramente. El hecho que se conversa con grupos organizando en el FSM me da aliento-- capaz es posible tener muy claro nuestras agendas, y usar los ODM para avanzarlas. Para nosotras, unos puntos claves serian: --no se puede lograr los ODM sin cancelacion de la deuda --no se puede lograr los ODM con la privatizacion de servicios publicos --no se puede lograr los ODM con una agenda de libre comercio que aplasta a los pequenos productores, gran numero de ellos mujeres --no se puede lograr los ODM sin equidad de genero, lo cual incluye cumplimiento de CEDAW y compromisos de Beijing y Cairo --no se puede lograr los ODM sin un compromiso a todos los DDHH, incluyendo derechos economicos, culturales y sociales Si construimos un plataforma de pre-requisitos para lograr los ODM, y no solo enfocar on como mejorar cada punto, y cada indicador, quizas podemos convertirlos en una herramienta util y eficaz. Carol Barton Coordinadora WICEJ 12 Dongan Place #206 New York, NY 10040, USA info@wicej.org HYPERLINK www.wicej.org www.wicej.org MESSAGE 30 Gracias David y Akanshka por esta oportunidad. Me parece que el foro salio muy interesante. Quiero recordarles que PRIGEPP estara realizando un foro de dialogo del 14 al 20 de agosto con la comunidad de graduados para discutir todos los documentos y en especial el nuestro. El segundo foro sera abierto al publico y se realizara durante septiembre. Me gustaria que figurara esto en el documento final. Felicitaciones y hasta muy pronto. Gloria Bonder Annex 5: Other Outreach (listservs, etc.) Dissemination list for e-consultation Announcements posted Action Aid International website Association for Women in Development (AWID) Siyanda gender newsletter IDS Yellow Monday news bulletin Organization networks: these organizations disseminated announcements about the e-discussion to its staff and partners worldwide ActionAid International Action week members from Basic Education Coalition African Network Campaign on Education for All (ANCEFA) Basic Education Coalition (BEC) Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Collective Consultation of NGOs, UNESCO (CCNGO) Commonwealth Education Fund (CEF) Danish Youth Association (focuses on bringing youth voices in the MDG processes) Global Campaign on Education: South Africa, UK, USA International Centre for Research on Women (ICRW) Institute of Development Studies (IDS Bridge) Interaction One World South Asia members Open Society Institute (OSI) Voices of Youth, UNICEF Womens International Coalition for Economic Justice (WICEJ) World Bank Gender and Development Civil Society Group In addition, professional contacts of the coordinators: David Archer, Chike Anywanu and Akanksha A. Marphatia were solicited to join the discussion. Outreach to coalitions: a message was sent to these coalitions, but no response was received. Association for African Women on Research and Development (AAWORD) Central and Eastern European Womens Network for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (ASTRA) Caribbean Association for Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA) Center of Concern (COC) Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN) Development Gateway Foundation Female Genital Cutting Education and Networking Project (FGM-L) The Latin American and Caribbean Womens Health Network (ISIS) KARAT Coalition Royal Tropical Institute, KIT Gender WEDO Annex 6 Terms of Reference Consultancy Description: Coordination of an E-Group Civil Society Consultation on: Millennium Task Force Reports on Education and Gender Equality. Background The Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality have prepared interim reports on achieving the Millennium Development Goals of (a) Universal Primary Education; and (b) Gender Equality. These reports, which have been reviewed by the Task Force members, are now ready for external input from a broad range of interested parties and knowledgeable individuals. Consultations will be conducted to elicit the views and comments of civil society actors and groups through the use of an e-group. Consultancy services are required to coordinate the e-group discussion and to summarize the results as input into the preparation of the final reports of the Task Force. Duration of the Task: The consultation is expected to last a maximum of twelve (12) weeks from May 20th, 2004 through to August 6th 2004. If the start date is delayed the period of time will be shorter as the deadline of August 6th cannot be passed. Timeline and Responsibilities of the E-Group Coordinator and Action Aid : TimeframeTask Concrete outputPreparatory phaseWednesday May 26th : exchange comments Friday, May 29th: phone discussion on comments and decide how to frame discussion with task forceDuring the initial two weeks, the coordinator will read and become familiar with the messages and recommendations of both reports. AM and Action Aid to exchange comments on report. AM and Action Aid to decide on how to frame discussion with task force.Week of June 1st : set appointment with task force for as soon as possible. S/he will ask for clarification of Task Force staff at the Center for Global Development and/or the International Center for Research on Women, as needed.AM to collate comments and discuss with the task force AM to share discussion notes with Action Aid (unless David and Chike are part of the discussion via phone?)To be covered in above discussion June 1st: finalize participant list. Latest by June 4th - Write introductory email to invite participants to discussion.During the initial two weeks, the coordinator will work with the Task Force staff at the Center for Global Development to agree upon (a) the networks through which the reports will be disseminated; and (b) the type of information about institutional affiliation, location, and demographics that will be obtained from respondents.Action Aid to put forth core list of people on education and help connect some gender groups; AM to research gender groups and help connect other education groups AM to collate Action Aid and Task Force suggestions into one document AM and Action Aid to draft introductory paragraph on discussion inviting participantsMay 20th 31st Exchange information by May 31st Phone conversation on June 2nd to make final decisions on technology, discussion formatResearch appropriate e-discussion technologies.AM to speak with UNICEF David to research on his end. Decide on technology and discussion format, number of participants and language issues (i.e. combination of key invited participants and 4 planned live dialogues. )June 7th 14th : technology in place, training for Akanksha on moderating discussionSetting up discussion software and testing June 2nd 7th: Action Aid to put in place discussion software and ensure technical support is providedJune 7th 14thFinalize introductory text on reports and discussion Finalize discussion questionsAM and Action Aid to draft text together Discussion questions developed conjointly. Have a rough outline of questions, but keep flexible as they will change as discussion proceedsE-discussion phaseJune 15th to July 30th E-discussion Gender equality discussion: June 15 July 2nd Education discussion: July 12th to 30th During the following approximately 7 or 8 weeks, the coordinator will work through existing virtual networks to disseminate the reports and collate feedback. The vehicle for the dissemination of the messages/recommendations will be through e-discussions on virtual networks, including coalitions and campaigns like the Global Campaign on Education, national/ sub-regional networks coalitions of civil society, and others like international NGOs or academic forums. Weekly discussions as per decided format. Weekly summary notes on discussion (Action Aid to provide input from Spanish and Portuguese language discussions) Weekly meetings with Action Aid Report writing phaseJuly 3rd to 11th : Gender report August 1st - 6th : Education report Draft reports will be forwarded to ActionAid Intl for comment.During the final two weeks, the coordinator will summarize the responses into a written document, organizing the responses, recommendations and suggestions for each message along thematic lines. Draft reports to Action Aid for comment Final reports by July 12th and August 6thExpected Deliverables from the Coordinator: The coordinator will handle the reports separately, and sequentially. By August 1st 2004, the coordinator will provide the following deliverables related to the gender equity discussion. The same outputs will be produced for the universal primary education discussion by August 6th 2004: The electronic version of a report summarizing responses, organized around the messages and recommendations of the reports, highlighting both general and specific feedback (with separate sections for gender quality and education); The electronic version of an annex to the report: on the number, institutional affiliations, regional distribution and other demographics of respondents; and All original responses on a CD. Working Arrangements: The coordinator will be UK based, though can be working from home if s/he has access to Internet and emailing facilities. S/he must be able to meet with the UK oversight team (David Archer and Chike Anyanwu) at ActionAid in North London, ideally once a week for progress reviews. It is anticipated that this will involve work for 2 to 3 days a week. It is not full time. The payment is a fixed amount for the task rather than tied to hours worked. Qualifications/Experience: The coordinator should: be knowledgeable about international education policy and programmatic issues. have practical experience of moderating e-discussions. have superior written and oral communication skills. Have a track record of completing written work on time (to a tight deadline) and to a high quality standard. Payment: The coordinator or his/her home institution will receive 400 British Pounds (400) per week, to undertake and complete this consultancy contract. The coordinator or his/her home institution will receive 40% of the total payment upon signature of the contract, and 60% upon submission of a satisfactory set of products, as outlined above. Because any significant delay will greatly reduce the value of the work, the coordinator or his/her home institution will forfeit 20% of the value of the contact for every two-week delay in submission of the final report. All interested applicants should send a copy of their application and CVs to Jill Hart: E-mail:  HYPERLINK "mailto:jhart@commonwealtheducationfund.org" jhart@commonwealtheducationfund.org. Deadline for all application is on the 17th May 2004 and interviews will be conducted immediately, only short listed candidates will be contacted. The selected person needs to be ready to start IMMEDIATELY!  The majority of these participants were part of the previous on-line dialogue on the gender equality MDG report. One hundred and ninety-nine new people joined the group, while approximately 18 unsubscribed.  This report is written by the moderator of the e-discussions, Akanskha A. Marphatia.  Contacts for these organizations are as follows: David Archer (ActionAid International), Chike Anywanyu (Commonwealth Education Fund), Anne Jellema (GCE), and for OWSA, Geeta Sharma, Kedar Dash, and Atanu Gurai.  It should be noted that these numbers might not represent everyone who joined and left the group because the discussion site was down for a few days during this three-week period.  In the gender discussion 28 females and 19 males participated.  Weekly summaries of the three-week discussion were distributed to the group and can be found in Annex 2, amongst the original responses.  Spanish discussants.  E. Kamchedzera, Malawi.  N. Brohi, Pakistan.  A. Noronoha, India.  Task Force 3 Interim Report on Primary Education, pp. 16  A. Noronha, India; D. Archer, UK; and S. Rahman, Pakistan.  While the example is taken from the gender equality discussion, participants in this education dialogue raised the same point and encouraged the TF to support non formal education.  S. Rahman, Pakistan.  Moderators contribution, based on field research and published Catholic Relief Services case studies on community participation in Ghana and India.  U. Sarkar, Geneva.  A. Noronha, India.  F. O-saki, Tanzania  T. Tumisfu, Tanzania.  J. Adu-Gyamfi, Ghana.  K. Baldeh, Gambia  S. Mania, Tanzania  The dialogue was originally supposed to be for one day. When responses did not follow, it was decided to extend it to another day. This however did not make much of a difference; only one person (the same one as the first day) responded.  A synthesis of key points will be forwarded to the TF the first week of August.  AM refers to consultant, Akanksha A. Marphatia.     Summary of E-discussion on Universal Primary Education MDG and Task Force Report PAGE  PAGE 1 Summary of E-discussion on Universal Primary Education MDG and Task Force Report With previous universal education efforts having fallen short, this MDG report should better guide how UPE can be achieved by 2015. Malawi has signed the Jomtien and Dakar declarations but has yet to finalize a credible EFA action plan. How can civil society and funding agencies work towards achieving gender disparities in school by 2005, or UPE by 2015 in the absence of national education plans? L. Nsapato, Malawi. The SPARK curriculum that is used in the community schools is an abridged syllabus of the main government primary school syllabus. The idea was to fast tract the children that were too old to start grade one (approximately aged 9-16) over a period of four years which would lead to entry into secondary school for some and skills training for others. However, the reality now is that children as young as five find themselves in community schools because that's the only option available for their parents. Such children are therefore likely to be disadvantaged as a result of the focus of the education provided. The issues about what happens after 4 years in community schools are still big challenges that need addressing in view of the large number of young children that are now enrolling in community schools. K. Phiri, Zambia A platform where parents, students and teachers can advocate changes with policy makers at local, district, national and even international level needs to exist. To accomplish what the developed nations have in terms of education and technology we must start from the very beginning basic learning strategies, personal interaction in classrooms, field studies in laboratories. M. Stewart, Liberia This report should be the one that argues the essential and unique role of education both as a fundamental right and as the fundamental enabling right, which helps people, secure and enjoy other basic rights. This one intervention is critical to achievement of all the MDGs. D. Archer, UK. In Nigeria, EFA by 2005 is simply not viable. All the talk on the MDG is still a mirage, how can parents afford the cost of schooling a child, when the average Nigerian parent feed on less than $1.00 a day? Education for now is still for the privileged in society. Government policies, which are targeted at alleviating poverty, make the people more impoverished and helpless. - I. Oloofi, Nigeria Responses on adult education from the gender equality MDG e- dialogue The link between womens educational achievement and girls enrolment and completion has been well documented. In rural Yemen, for example, increased community demand for womens and adolescents education occurred after some adult women in the community learned to read and write. Social change and increase in girls enrolment and community engagement is more likely to occur when women are given a voice. The report should support adult literacy programs for women, and for girls that have dropped out of school. Examples from ActionAids Reflect program (www.reflect-action.org) and Forum for African Womens Educationalists (FAWE) adult literacy initiative illustrated the importance of a well designed, intensive and long term initiative as opposed to quick and project linked literacy courses. These programs support open adult learning processes. Changing attitudes and behaviours does not happen overnight or in short courses on health education or legal rights or HIV ... but can happen if women are immersed in a serious ongoing learning process. Donors are still having far too much voice over the direction of reforms and they are not sufficiently aware of how this can undermine people's rights and the relation of citizens with their governments. Reasons for non- attendance among children The Fast Track Initiatives may not succeed in Nigeria, as the government is busy trying to satisfy those they are indebted to. The conditional ties attached will take us back to the colonial period, hence may not be accepted. It should be noted that those who took the World Bank and IMF loans are worst-off for it because of conditionality. The Nigeria economy is where it is today because of conditionalities that were not too clearly stated at the beginning before attempting the loan the government got. I. Olofi, Nigeria. In The Gambia we talk about free education for girls but in actual fact it is free tuition for both boys and girls in Grades 1-6 and free tuition for girls in Grades 7-9. 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