Universal Primary/Basic

Education: Goal #2

South Asia EFA MDA Technical Workshop

27 November- 1 December 2006
Garnett Russell
UNESCO Bangkok
EFA Dakar Framework for Action

“Ensuring that by 2015 all children,

particularly girls, children in difficult
circumstances and those belonging to
ethnic minorities, have access to and
complete free and compulsory primary
education of good quality”
Framework for UBE/UPE Analysis
 General UBE/UPE
 Definition
 Policies, Legislation, Programs
 Structure, Agencies, Coordination
 Financing
 Gender and Social Equality
 Quality in UBE/UPE
 Progress and Challenges
Definition of UBE/UPE
 How is UBE/UPE
defined?
 Primary, lower
secondary
 Which grades are
included
 What is the starting
age?
 Is UBE/UPE
compulsory and free for
everyone?
Policies, Legislation, Programs
 Programs under UBE/UPE
 Special schools for children with disabilities

 Special resource classes for children with

disabilities within regular schools

 Welfare schools for disadvantaged children

 “Inclusive education” and child-friendly schools

What is inclusive education?
• Is based on human rights standards
and principles

• Is defined by UNESCO as a process

of addressing the diverse needs of all
learners by reducing barriers to and
within the learning environment

• It targets all children with a specific

focus on those who are vulnerable to
marginalisation and exclusion

• The overall goal is a school where all

are participating and treated equally
What is a child-friendly school?
UNICEF Definition
 Rights-based
 Child-centered
 Inclusive of all children
 Gender sensitive and girl-
friendly
 Promotes quality learning
outcomes
 Provides relevant education
 Promotes mental and
physical health
 Provides affordable and
accessible education
 Family focused and
community-based
Policies, Legislation, Programs
 The right to UBE/UPE
 National Constitution

 National Legislation

 International Treaties
 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
 International Covenant on Economic, Social, and
Cultural Rights (ICESC)
 UPE/UPE in Nepal
 Programs for UBE/UPE
 Primary school (grades 1-5)
 Free but not compulsory
 Special schools for children with
disabilities and “inclusive
education”
 Scholarships, incentives, and
grants for marginalized groups
(girls, Dalits, Janajatis, disabled)
 The right to education
 1990 Constitution: guarantees the
right to free education
 Education Act
 International Treaties
 Convention on the Rights of
the Child
 International Covenant on
Economic, Social, and
Cultural Rights
Structure, Agencies Coordination
 Structure:
 Grade levels: primary, lower secondary
 “Extended primary”
 Responsible Agencies
 Ministry of Education
 District Education Offices
 Other providers: NGOs, local community
 Coordination
Financing
 Percent of National Education Budget

 Percent of financing by central government, local

government, community, private donors, international
donors
Social and Gender Equality
 Barriers for disadvantaged groups?
 Economic
 Cultural, Social (discrimination)
 Programs or policies for disadvantaged
groups?
 Funding
 Gender sensitivity and mainstreaming across
policies, programs, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation
Gender: Parity and Equality
 Measuring parity: equal proportions of boys
and girls enrolled in school (numerical
concept, GPI)
 Measuring equality in terms of
 access: equal access to education
 quality: inputs (textbooks, learning materials),
learning process, learning outcomes, equality
of job opportunities and earning, political
representation
 Gender Parity Index (GPI)
• Gender Parity Index (GPI) is most widely used index in assessing
gender differences

• GPI is calculated as the ratio of the selected indicator’s value for girls
divided by that for boys

Value of indicator for Girls (Female)

GPI =
Value of indicator for Boys (Male)

• A value of less than one indicates the difference in favor of boys,

whereas a value close to one indicates that parity has been achieved

• Gender parity is sometimes considered to have been attained when the

GPI lies between 0.97 and 1.03*

*Global Monitoring Report

 Gender Parity Index (GPI)
Gender disparity in Literacy (Viet Nam)

Adult Female Literacy Rate (Viet Nam 2000-04)

GPILiteracy =
Adult Male Literacy Rate (Viet Nam 2000-04)

Adult Female Literacy Rate (Viet Nam 2000-04) 86.9

GPILiteracy =
Adult Male Literacy Rate (Viet Nam 2000-04) 93.9

GPI

0.93
Identify Disadvantaged Groups
 Who is not in school? Where are they, who
are they and why are they not included?
Disadvantaged Groups
 Religious, linguistic, racial and ethnic minorities/tribal groups
 Castes, socio-economic classes, and other social stratifications
 Women and girls (or boys)
 Persons with disabilities or special needs
 Residents of remote, rural, or border areas
 Undocumented people, non-citizens, non-registered residents
 Migrants, refugees, displaced persons
 Children affected or infected by HIV/AIDS
 Children affected by conflict
 Working children
 Orphans
 The very poor
Analysis of Disparities:
using disaggregated data
 Male/Female
 Social Groups
 Language
 Wealth Index
 Geographic location (region, urban/rural)
 Public/private
 95
105
115
125
135
145
155
165
EASTERN
DEVELOPMENT

CENTRAL
DEVELOPMENT

WESTERN

2003
DEVELOPMENT

MID WESTERN

FAR WESTERN

EASTERN
DEVELOPMENT

CENTRAL
DEVELOPMENT

WESTERN
DEVELOPMENT

2004
(Flash)

MID WESTERN

FAR WESTERN
GER in Primary Education, 2003-5

EASTERN
DEVELOPMENT

CENTRAL
DEVELOPMENT

WESTERN
2005

DEVELOPMENT

MID WESTERN
Nepal: GER by Region & Sex

FAR WESTERN
Girls
Boys
Total
Thailand MICS Survey (2006)

Primary School Net Attendace Ratio

87.5
88 86.5
86 85
84 83.4
%

82
80
Central North Northeast South
Region
 Secondary School Net Attendance Rate in Thailand (MICS 2006)
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
Region
Central (include BKK.) 72.0
75.4
North 78.3
83.1
Northeast 81.5
86.6
South 63.1
79.6
Residence
Urban 76.5
78.5
Rural 75.0
82.8
Age**
Population Characteristics

13 84.3
87.8
14 89.6
93.4
15 86.5
90.1
16 75.8
80.2
17 61.1
76.4
18 55.4 Boys
60.6
Mother's education
None 47.2 Girls
60.8
Primary 79.2
87.9
Secondary + 92.1
95.1
Wealth index quintiles
Poorest 72.5
77.3
Second 76.4
83.0
Middle 70.9
80.6
Fourth 73.4
82.4
Richest 84.3
85.4
Language
Thai 77.3
82.3
Other Languages 55.0
75.5

75.4
 Primary Completion Rate – Viet Nam
Quang Nam

Quang Ngai

Kon Tum

Binh Dinh

Gia Lai

Rate
Phu Yen

18.9 - 38.4
38.5 - 58.0 Dac Lak

58.1 - 77.6 Khanh Hoa

77.7 - 97.0
Binh Phuoc Lam Dong
Ninh Thuan

Binh Duong
BinhThuan
Dong Nai

Central Highlands
Ho Chi Minh City

2002-2003
1992-1993

Extracted from presentation of DEVINFO - UNICEF

Ethnic Disparities
Quality
 Inputs
 Trained teachers that meet national standards
 Infrastructure: classrooms, drinking water, sanitation
facilities, textbooks, learning resources
 Teaching-Learning Process
 Child-centered, hands-on activities
 Gender Sensitive
 Outputs
 Transition to secondary school
 Achievement Tests
 Outcomes
 Success in the education cycle
 Long-term: employment opportunities and earnings
Female Teachers in Nepal

Percentage of Female Teachers in Government

Schools by Level
(Flash 2005)

30
25
20 Primary
15
%

Lower Secondary
10 Secondary
5
0
Primary Lower Secondary
Secondary
Progress & Challenges
 Progress and Achievements?
 Are current programs & policies adequate?
 Impact of UBE/UPE in terms of equality and
quality
 Remaining Challenges?
 Target groups
 Geographic areas (province, urban/rural)
 Issues to be addressed