NINE HIGH-POPULATION COUNTRIES PLEDGE TO INTENSIFY EFFORTS TO ENSURE
EDUCATION FOR ALL
Recife, February 3 {No. 2000-8} - Education ministers and officials from nine
high-population developing countries (E-9) - Bangladesh, Brazil, China,
Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan - reaffirmed their
pledge to "sustain, intensify and accelerate their efforts and policies" in
pursuing education for all, during a conference in the Brazilian city of
Recife.
The E-9 meeting, attended by seven education ministers and two high-level
officials, was the fourth of six conferences to assess the progress and
shortfalls in the worldwide struggle to achieve education for all. Each
meeting will make recommendations to the World Education Forum, which will
take place in Dakar, Senegal, on April 26-28.
In a Declaration issued on Wednesday at the conclusion of the three-day
ministerial review meeting, delegates expressed satisfaction at the
"significant breakthroughs in all nine countries" since the summit in New
Delhi, India, in 1993.
The Declaration recognises the achievements in education recorded in the
last ten years, while stressing the need to draft a new visionary agenda for
the new millennium that recognises basic education as a human right. Quality
education is acknowledged as the biggest challenge and the greatest hope.
The Declaration moves on from the launch of the Education for All (EFA)
initiative in 1990 in Jomtien, Thailand, in that it sets no quantitative
targets. The emphasis has shifted to quality education for all, which is now
seen as the key means of promoting social and economic development with
equity.
Participants from the E-9 countries, which account for half the world's
population and 70% of global illiteracy, stressed that the needs of the 21st
century called for the use of the newest methods and the most modern
technology to achieve truly global modernisation and excellence in
education.
The Declaration takes stock of the achievements and challenges of the last
decade and spells out its goals: prioritising EFA; increasing the number of
students in basic, middle and higher education; mainstreaming children with
special needs; implementing modalities to link education and the world of
work; increased technical cooperation among countries to ensure access and
equity; stressing values such as justice, democracy, human rights, tolerance
and respect for diversity; and paying special attention to adolescents and
gender equity, among others.
In pointing the way ahead, the E-9 countries recognised the seriousness of
the problems that continue to impede their progress towards education for
all and stressed the need to address them in an innovative and creative
manner.
The Brazilian education minister, Paulo Renato Souza, said that in a
globalised inter-dependent world, "educational responsibility is not only
national but should be shared by the whole education community."
UNESCO´s Deputy Director General for Education Colin Power said that ten
years after Jomtien, basic learning needs had to be redefined. Participation
in the education process was no longer enough; the question of imparting
knowledge and skills had to be addressed "if we are to make our way into the
21st century."
This view was reiterated by Egypt's education minister, Dr. Hussein Kamel
Bahaa El Din. Speaking on behalf of 20 other Arab education ministers, he
said: "Knowledge is the capital of the new century," and societies could not
limit themselves to elementary skills in an intensive, knowledge-based
world.
Ministers were candid about the gains and shortcomings of the EFA processes
in their countries. Bangladesh's education minister, Abu Sharaf Hifzul Kader
Sadique, reported significant advances in literacy, but confessed to
difficulties in quality. "In our rush for numbers (after Jomtien), quality
missed out." This assessment was echoed by China, which has otherwise made
remarkable advances. "The overall quality of school teachers leaves much to
be desired," said Lu Fuyuan, deputy education minister. The large part of
China's population that lives in remote, mountainous areas was still
difficult to reach, and while enrollment was high, there was a shortage of
teachers and buildings.
Indonesia's economic and political crisis has affected education. A drop in
purchasing power has resulted in a fall in enrollment and a rise in pupils
dropping out of school. Education Minister Yahya A. Muhaimin said the
country was now engaged in a massive social 'safety net' programme to check
the impact of the crisis.
The EFA Forum is sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank, as well as several bilateral
donor agencies.
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