Education For All.docx

Education For All (EFA) is a global movement led by UNESCO (United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), aiming to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.[1] EFA was adopted by The Dakar Framework in April 2000 at the World Education Forum in Senegal, Africa, with the goal in mind that all children would receive primary education by 2015.[2][3] Not all children receive the education they need or want, therefore this goal was put in place to help those children. UNESCO has been mandated to lead the movement and coordinate the international efforts to reach Education for All. Governments, development agencies, civil society, non-government organizations and the media are but some of the partners working toward reaching these goals. The EFA goals also contribute to the global pursuit of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), especially MDG 2 on universal primary education and MDG 3 on gender equality in education, by 2015. [The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were the eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millennium Declaration. All 191 United Nations member states at that time, and at least 22 international organizations, committed to help achieve the following Millennium Development Goals by 2015: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger To achieve universal primary education To promote gender equality and empower women To reduce child mortality To improve maternal health To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases To ensure environmental sustainability[1] To develop a global partnership for development[2]]]]] ]

The six goals established in The Dakar Framework for Action, Education for All: Meeting Our Collective Commitments are:      

Goal 1: Expand early childhood care and education[13] Goal 2: Provide free and compulsory primary education for all[14] Goal 3: Promote learning and life skills for young people and adults[15] Goal 4: Increase adult literacy by 50 percent[16] Goal 5: Achieve gender parity by 2005, gender equality by 2015[17] Goal 6: Improve the quality of education[18]

Why is EFA important? Although there has been steady progress towards achieving many EFA goals, many challenges remain: 

Today, an estimated 250 million children around the world are unable to read and write, even after spending three or more years in school.

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In 2012, 58 million children were out of school; half of these children lived in conflictaffected countries.

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In sub-Saharan Africa, girls accounted for 56% of out-of-school children in 2012.

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In 2011, only 60% of countries had achieved gender parity in enrollment at the primary level and 38% at the secondary level.

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In around one-third of countries, fewer than 75% of primary school teachers are trained according to national standards.

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In 2011, around half of young children had access to pre-primary education, and in sub-Saharan Africa the share was only 18%.

Achieving the Education for All goals is critical for attaining all eight MDGs—in part due to the direct impact of education on child and reproductive health, as well as the fact that EFA has created a body of experience in multi-partner collaboration toward the 2015 targets. Simultaneously, achieving the other MDGs, such as improved health, access to clean drinking water, decreased poverty, and environmental sustainability, are critical to achieving the education MDGs.

What are millennium development goals? The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the key development targets declared by world leaders at the end of the millennium. “Achieving universal primary education” is one of the key goals because without basic education, it is difficult to meet other goals which are related to hunger, poverty, health and environment. Hence, the goal to providing basic education to everyone has been the main agenda of international development even before the declaration of MDGs. Government of all countries including Nepal have already agreed to Education For All (EFA). What is EFA? We know that a million children are not going to school, but we do not have statistics to show how many Nepalese people consider basic education a basic need and a human right. EFA is the official international declaration by all governments recognizing that basic education is the right of every individual. Government representatives from all around the world came together in Jomtein, Thailand in 1990 to declare unequivocally that every single person on earth needs basic education. The very first article of the declaration for Education For All clearly affirms the right of every individual—child or adult alike—to get fundamental education: Every person – child, youth and adult – shall be able to benefit from educational opportunities designed to meet their basic learning needs. This declaration stimulated governments to provide basic education to all. However, opening schools, having teachers and textbooks is not enough to provide education for all. There are many other issues such as the student’s personal, emotional, and linguistic and social backgrounds. We will discuss the issue of the dominant language here.