what is the importance of education for all efa

Education for All: A United Nations Imperative

By Teach Educator

Published on: July 11, 2024

Education for All

Education for All is a fundamental human right and a key driver of sustainable development. Recognizing its transformative power, the United Nations has been a stalwart advocate for Education for All (EFA), aiming to ensure that every child, youth, and adult has access to quality edu. This essay delves into the significance of the United Nations’ commitment to EFA and explores the challenges and opportunities in achieving this ambitious goal.

1. The Vision of Education for All:

The concept of Education for All was first formalized during the World Conference on Education for All in Jomtien, Thailand, in 1990. The vision was clear: universal access to basic edu and a commitment to lifelong learning. This was later reaffirmed in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the subsequent Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically Goal 4, which calls for “inclusive and equitable quality education.”

2. The United Nations’ Commitment:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) plays a central role in coordinating global efforts towards EFA. UNESCO’s Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) framework promotes holistic approaches to learning, emphasizing the interconnectedness of environmental, social, and economic issues. Additionally, UNICEF works to ensure that children, especially those in vulnerable situations, have access to quality edu, addressing issues such as gender disparities and child labor.

3. Challenges to Education for All:

Despite progress, numerous challenges hinder the achievement of EFA. Poverty remains a significant barrier, with many families unable to afford the direct and indirect costs of education. Gender inequality persists, particularly in some regions where cultural norms limit girls’ access to edu. Armed conflicts and humanitarian crises disrupt educational systems, leaving millions of children without schools.

4. Innovative Solutions and Opportunities:

In the face of challenges, innovative solutions are emerging. Technology has the potential to bridge gaps in education, providing remote learning opportunities and access to information. Public-private partnerships are increasingly being leveraged to fund edu initiatives. Community engagement and awareness campaigns play a pivotal role in challenging cultural norms that hinder educational access, especially for girls.

5. The Role of Sustainable Development Goals:

The global commitment to EFA is intertwined with the broader agenda of sustainable development. Education is not only a goal in itself but also a catalyst for achieving other SDGs. Quality edu equips individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to address climate change, reduce inequality, and promote peace and justice.

6. Monitoring and Evaluation:

A critical aspect of the UN’s EFA efforts involves monitoring and evaluation. Data collection and analysis help identify gaps in educational access and quality, allowing for targeted interventions. The Global Education Monitoring Report, produced by UNESCO, serves as a valuable tool for assessing progress and highlighting areas that require increased attention and investment.

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Conclusion:.

In conclusion, the United Nations’ commitment to Education for All is a testament to the belief that edu is a powerful tool for individual and societal development. While challenges persist, the international community’s dedication to this cause offers hope for a future where every person, regardless of their background, enjoys the benefits of quality edu. Through collaborative efforts, innovative solutions, and a steadfast commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals, we can realize the vision of Education for All and create a more just and equitable world.

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Education for All 2000-2015: Only a third of countries reached global education goals

Just one third of countries have achieved all of the measurable Education for All (EFA) goals set in 2000.

Only half of all countries have achieved the most watched goal of universal primary enrolment. An extra $22 billion a year is needed on top of already ambitious government contributions in order to ensure we achieve the new education targets now being set for the year 2030.

These are the key findings of the 2015 EFA Global Monitoring Report (GMR) “Education for All 2000-2015: Achievements and Challenges” , produced by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Oranization (UNESCO) which has tracked progress on these goals for the past 15 years.

“ The world has made tremendous progress towards Education for All ,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova . “ Despite not meeting the 2015 deadline, millions more children are in school than would have been had the trends of the 1990s persisted. However, the agenda is far from finished. We need to see specific, well-funded strategies that prioritize the poorest – especially girls – , improve the quality of learning and reduce the literacy gap so that education becomes meaningful and universal .”

Released today, one month before the World Education Forum in Incheon (Republic of Korea), the Report reveals the following findings:

Goal 1. Expand early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable children.

Forty seven percent of countries reached the goal and another eight percent were close. Twenty percent were very far from the goal. Yet, in 2012, nearly two-thirds more children were enrolled in early childhood education than in 1999.

Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education, particularly for girls, ethnic minorities and marginalized children.

Fifty-two percent of countries achieved this goal; ten percent are close and the remaining thirty-eight percent are far or very far from achieving it. This leaves almost 100 million children not completing primary education in 2015. A lack of focus on the marginalized has left the poorest five times less likely to complete a full cycle of primary education than the richest and over a third of out of school children living in conflict affected zones.

There have been important successes: Around 50 million more children are enrolled in school now than were in 1999. Education is still not free in many places, but cash transfer and school feeding programmes have had a positive impact on school enrolment for the poor.

Goal 3. Ensure equal access to learning and life skills for youth and adults.

Forty-six percent of countries reached universal lower secondary enrolment.  Globally, numbers in lower secondary education increased by 27% and more than doubled in sub-Saharan Africa.  Nonetheless, one third of adolescents in low income countries will not complete lower secondary school in 2015.

Goal 4. Achieving a 50 per cent reduction in levels of adult illiteracy by 2015.

Only 25% of countries reached this goal; 32% remain very far from it. While globally the percentage of illiterate adults fell from 18% in 2000 to 14% in 2015, this progress is almost entirely attributed to more educated young people reaching adulthood. Women continue to make up almost two-thirds of the illiterate adult population. Half of sub-Saharan African women do not have basic literacy skills.

Goal 5. Achieve gender parity and equality

Gender parity will be achieved at the primary level in 69% of countries by 2015. At secondary level, only 48% of countries will reach the goal. Child marriage and early pregnancy continue to hinder girls’ progress in education as does the need for teacher training in gender sensitive approaches and curriculum reform.

Goal 6. Improve the quality of education and ensure measurable learning outcomes for all

The numbers of pupils per teacher decreased in 121 of 146 countries between 1990 and 2012 at the primary level, but 4 million more teachers are still needed to get all children into school. Trained teachers remain in short supply in one third of countries; in several sub-Saharan African countries, less than 50 percent are trained. However, education quality has received increased attention since 2000; the number of countries carrying out national learning assessments has doubled.

Funding and political will

Since 2000 many governments significantly increased their spending on education: 38 countries increased their commitment to education by one percentage point or more of GNP. However funding remains a major obstacle at all levels.

“ Unless concerted action is taken and education receives the attention that it failed to get during the past 15 years, millions of children will continue to miss out and the transformative vision of the new Sustainable Development agenda will be jeopardized,” said GMR Director, Aaron Benavot . “Governments must find ways to mobilize new resources for education. International partners must ensure that aid is distributed to those most in need. ”

The GMR makes the following recommendations:

Complete the EFA agenda: Governments should make at least one year of pre-primary education compulsory. Education must be free for all children: fees for tuition, textbooks, school uniforms and transport must be abolished. Policy makers should identify and prioritize skills to be acquired by the end of each stage of schooling. Literacy policies should link up with the needs of communities. Teacher training should be improved to include gender-focused strategies. Teaching styles should better reflect student needs and the diversity of classroom contexts.

Equity: Governments, donors and civil society must develop programmes and target funding to meet the needs of the most disadvantaged so no child is left behind. Governments should close critical data gaps in order to be able to direct resources to those most in need.

Post-2015: Future education targets for education must be specific, relevant and realistic. At current rates, only half of all children in low-income countries are expected to complete lower secondary education by 2030. In many countries even the core goal of achieving universal primary education will remain out of reach without concerted efforts.

Close the finance gap: The international community, in partnership with countries, must find the means to bridge the US$22 billion annual finance gap for quality pre-primary and basic education for all by 2030. Clear education finance targets must be established within the Sustainable Development Goals where none currently exist.

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Education for All – A Quiet Revolution

• First Online: 01 January 2014

Cite this chapter

• Colin Power 5  

Part of the book series: Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects ((EDAP,volume 27))

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The Education for All (EFA) movement is a global movement committed to providing quality basic education for all children, youth and adults. The movement stemmed from concerns voiced by UNESCO, UNICEF and developing countries about the growing number of children, youth and adults whose right to even the most basic education was being denied. Education was not keeping pace with population growth. Education and health, the key areas for development, suffered badly from the savage reduction in resources available to developing countries during the economic crisis of the 1980s, particularly in the context of structural adjustment policies. Crippled by debt repayments and plunging export commodity prices, developing countries were forced to slash their education budgets. Spending on education per inhabitant fell by 65 % in Sub-Saharan Africa and by 40 % in Latin America between 1980 and 1987 (Samoff J, Coping with crisis: austerity, adjustment and human resources. Cassell, London, 1994). Paradoxically, as poverty increased in the world’s poorest countries, official development aid fell from nearly $80 billion a year in 1985 to around $65 billion in the early 1990s. Whatever was happening to the peace dividend expected to flow from reductions in arms expenditures at the end of the Cold War, it was not being invested in reducing poverty or in education.

The struggle to ensure that all people have access to education is our mission, our vision, our dream. (Colin Power)

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UNFPA joined as the fifth UN sponsoring agency after the Conference.

The broad view of education for all prevailed during the 1990s, and was endorsed at the World Education Forum at Dakar in 2000. But the battle continued. At the World Development Summit in 2000, the only Millennium Development Goal relating to education was that of achieving Universal Primary Education by 2015. Once more, EFA = UPE, and the rights of very young children, youth and adults were ignored.

For example, I helped in the development of India’s District Primary Education Programme and in supporting its efforts to secure the $800 million needed to implement the programme throughout India.

Francesco Zanuttinni and the Documentation and Information Service of the Education Sector of UNESCO did an outstanding job, handling over 20,000 requests for information, producing and distributing, on average, 30,000 documents per month during the 1990s.

UNESCO Education Sector has a budget of around $100 million p.a. of which roughly half comes from extra-budgetary sources to fund operational projects at the national level. Regular programme funds cover international and regional co-operation in education, staff and operational costs, and grants to UNESCO’s education Institutes.

For example, the UN Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979.

Although UK was not a Member State of UNESCO, we maintained a close working relationship with several UK universities, especially the Institute of Education, Edinburgh, Leeds, Sussex and the Open University.

The “glass-ceiling index” was created (Economist March 8–14, 2014) to show where women in developed countries have the greatest chances of equal treatment at work and in education. The data indicate that gender equity is highest in the Nordic countries, but that Asian countries have a long way to go .

Extracts from my keynote address at LETA Conference, Adelaide, September, 1994.

Information about rehabilitation and education programmes for street children supported by UNESCO can be found in UNESCO-ICCB Working with Street Children , 1995, and Velis, J-P., Blossoms in the Dust: Street Children in Africa , UNESCO Publishing 1995.

Examples include China, India, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda and the countries now being targeted by the Global Alliance for Education, all of which have made significance progress towards meeting their EFA targets.

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Power, C. (2015). Education for All – A Quiet Revolution. In: The Power of Education. Education in the Asia-Pacific Region: Issues, Concerns and Prospects, vol 27. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-221-0_4

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Published : 26 September 2014

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Global Education Monitoring Report

Education for all - the quality imperative

Quality is at the heart of education. It influences what students learn, how well they learn and what benefits they draw from their education.

The quest to ensure that students achieve decent learning outcomes and acquire values and skills that help them play a positive role in their societies is an issue on the policy agenda of nearly every country.

As many governments strive to expand basic education, they also face the challenge of ensuring that students stay in school long enough to acquire the knowledge they need to cope in a rapidly changing world.

Assessments show that this is not happening in many countries. This Report reviews research evidence on the multiple factors that determine quality, and maps out key policies for improving the teaching and learning process, especially in low-income countries. It monitors international assistance to education and progress towards the six goals of Education for All, to which over 160 countries committed themselves in 2000, at the World Education Forum.

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