Some 40 global leaders attended the Tenth Meeting of the High-Level Group (HLG) on Education for All (EFA) from 22 to 24 March in Jomtien, Thailand. 

Jomtien was the site of the historical 1990 World Conference on Education where the EFA movement was launched. Two decades on, the aim of providing quality basic education for all children, youth and adults remains a major challenge.   

Hosted by UNESCO and the Kingdom of Thailand, the 2011 HLG meeting was based on new statistics and research findings from  the 2011 Global Monitoring Report (launched on 1 March); the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, and regional reports for 1990-2010. Participants have also revisited the original Jomtien vision of Meeting basic learning needs, as well as reviewing progress towards the six EFA goals adopted in Dakar in 2000. 

The Dakar goals brought a sharper focus to the EFA movement and their adoption was followed by significant progress. However, many countries are still struggling to meet the 2015 deadline for achieving them. For this reason, the HLG identified strategic and operational initiatives to address remaining challenges. Countries were urged to revive political commitment to EFA and scale up efforts to tackle key education issues between now and 2015.