FIRST MEETING OF HIGH LEVEL
GROUP ON EDUCATION FOR ALL
Paris, October 31 (No.2001-119)
- The High level Group on Education for All (EFA) which met for the first time
on October 29 and 30 at UNESCO yesterday evening issued a communiqué stressing
that: “EFA goals must be pursued as part and parcel of national poverty
reduction strategies, and education plans developed and implemented in the
context of macro-economic frameworks and policy reform. Strategic alliances with
the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are crucial in this
regard.”
The meeting took place within
the framework of the follow-up to the World Education Forum which was held in
Dakar (Senegal) in April 2000. The role of the High Level Group is to “monitor
and assess the extent to which progress is being made on the Dakar commitments;
to advocate for more extensive and better co-ordinated action at the
international and national levels; and to promote the expansion of resources
(financial, human, technical and material) to meet each country’s requirements
to achieve the Dakar goals”.
At the opening of the meeting,
UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura recalled the Group’s function to
serve as a “political lever” and declared that the event represented “a
vital opportunity to take stock of progress and problems since Dakar and to
appraise the direction in which we are going.” He added: “Clearly, the
purpose and functions of the High Level Group are crucial for the whole EFA
movement.”
After calling upon all EFA
partners “to redouble their efforts to meet the goals and targets of Education
for All”, the communiqué states that “the events of 11 September, 2001,
have further emphasized the absolute importance of universal basic education of
good quality as an essential, if not sufficient, condition for a healthier, more
democratic and more tolerant world.”
The text reiterates the
priority of action and partnerships. After insisting on “the core
responsibility of governments for education, and especially to provide free and
compulsory quality basic education for all”, the Group declares: “We
encourage governments to establish as broad-based a partnership as possible, in
particular to ensure the full inclusion of teachers’ organizations, and other
non-governmental and civil society organizations in EFA policy formulation,
implementation and monitoring. The full participation of local communities is
equally important.”
After voicing appreciation for
steps already taken to recognize the role of non-governmental and other civil
society organizations as veritable partners in the EFA movement, the Communiqué
calls for capacity-building of NGOs and others. “The private sector needs to
be called upon to contribute to the thinking and actions of the EFA movement,
and must be adequately represented in relevant forums”, it says.
The Communiqué states that “EFA
goals must be pursued as part and parcel of national poverty reduction
strategies, and education plans developed and implemented in the context of
macro-economic frameworks and policy reform. Strategic alliances with the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are crucial in this regard. […]
Increased resource mobilization must go hand in hand with effective resource
utilization and management by all governments and organizations.”
“Nationally, governments must
reinforce national resolve, increase their budget allocations for EFA, address
efficiency and capacity constraints, and use international assistance
strategically,” the High Level Group said, adding that “internationally, all
potential financial sources must be exploited and new creative ways of funding
EFA be found, for example through increased South-South collaboration and
partnership with the private sector. We continue to be alarmed by the
insignificant proportion of overall bilateral and multilateral assistance
provided for basic education. The fulfilment of the Dakar commitment also
requires a reversal of the decline in overall ODA, particularly for the least
developed countries, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.”
The Group issued a number of
recommendations calling, notably, for sector plans - which must serve as the
basis for national and international co-ordinated efforts - to be prepared by
2002 and that, where feasible, the World Bank should take the lead in
identifying the resource gaps. “A strategy to operationalize the
Dakar Framework must be developed by March 2002”, according to the following
recommendation. It is furthermore stipulated that “an authoritative,
analytical, annual EFA Monitoring Report should be produced […] assessing the
extent to which both countries and the international community are meeting their
Dakar commitments. As a matter of urgency, UNESCO should convene key partners to
discuss how the report can best be prepared, managed and resourced.”
The High Level Group brings
together 29 key decision makers, including 16 ministers of education, UNICEF
Executive Director Carol Bellamy, Oxfam Director Barbara Stocking, and ministers
of international co-operation from Canada, Denmark, France and the United
Kingdom, as well as the head of Japan’s international co-operation agency.
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