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38th SEAMEO Council Conference

Makati Shangri-La, Makati City, Philippines 5 to 7 March 2003

Appendix X

Policy Forum Report ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN DELIVERING QUALITY EDUCATION

The 38th SEAMEC Council Conference conducted a Policy Forum with the theme ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN DELIVERING QUALITY EDUCATION on 6 March 2003.

The objectives of the Forum were:

To serve as a venue for the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education and other educational leaders to share experiences and views on approaches and strategies utilized to maximize the participation of stakeholders in educational initiatives; and

To generate and synthesize lessons learned and insights gained from best practices in multi-sectoral, multi-level and multi-country partnerships and linkages for education development.

The Resource Speakers were:

1) Dr Pratima Kale, President, International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IRRI), Philippines;

2) Mr Charles Currin, Consultant; and

3) Dr Sheldon Shaeffer, Director, UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Cooperation.

The Policy Forum was envisaged to provide a means for: exploring approaches and strategies by which education stakeholders can assume more positive roles in delivering quality education; and generating insights and directions for the formulation of policy agenda (national and regional) for engaging stakeholders in education initiatives.

A major feature of the Forum was a review of country experiences which employ community involvement and participation in education. The Forum’s resource person, the president of the International Institute for Rural Reconstruction (IIRR), presented the institution’s experiences on collaboration of the school and the community in two provinces of the Philippines – Negros Oriental and Masbate. The experiences point to the need for policy makers to consider creative approaches, strategies and innovative technologies for achieving both the global goals and meeting local needs of the education sector.

Two Forum discussants, the Director of the UNESCO Bangkok and an international education consultant, provided inputs on the following concerns: understanding the community in order to increase access to education, enhancing education quality through community ownership, decentralization, management, finance, capacity building.

Highlights of the open forum:

1. In Thailand, the education sector puts equal emphasis on newer technologies and local wisdom in the planning and implementation of educational programs. Its regional initiative on quality

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education factors the significant contribution of communities to the educational development of Southeast Asia. The country’s education reform puts considerable emphasis on decentralization which enables communities to significantly contribute to education activities at the local level.

2. Indonesia considers the community of stakeholders as its most important educational resource from the central to the local levels. Decentralization of educational programs is now being implemented in the country and this strategy has brought forth significant contributions from this community of stakeholders.

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In Singapore, the school system has installed mechanisms which puts into action its philosophy that education is not the sole responsibility of the school but also of business, the private sector and other groups. The Ministry of Education has established advisory councils of community and parents which are now operational in more than 60% of the schools all over the country. These councils are community support groups that carry out volunteer work to complement the efforts of the formal school system. The country has also established the Parents’ Advisory Group for the Internet (PAGI) which orients parents on how they can supervise their children’s use of the Internet.

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By law, Malaysia’s schools are mandated to establish parent-teacher associations. These associations cannot interfere with the affairs of the schools and their primary function is to seek additional resources for educational programs and projects. It has been noted that many high performing schools in the country have strong PTAs. Numerous groups and agencies outside the school system are partners that have supported educational efforts. They include industry, NGOs, civic organizations and even religious groups. For instance, its School-to-Work Program involves a 3-day hands-on student work in various establishments in the community. This scheme enables students to gain experience in the world of work. Its safe school concept solicits the help of the community in solving youth problems such as truancy and other problems.

5. PTAs are likewise very active in Brunei Darussalam. Schools maintain close links with private groups and other educational associations. Business groups and NGOs are often represented in school boards and they are involved in apprenticeship programs, assistance to school leavers, education for learners with disabilities and other disadvantaged groups.

6. In Vietnam, the EFA goals provide the overall guidance to the education ministry in the following major programs: curriculum development, textbook production/dissemination, teacher upgrading, and social participation in education. In all these undertakings, education stakeholders give substantial support to the education sector.

7. RECSAM participates in regional community involvement projects that are initiated by the SEAMEO Secretariat. At the local level, the Centre is a member of PACE (Penang Association of Continuing Education), and is actively involved in its various community-education projects such as workshops and public lectures.

8. Other issues discussed:

The SEAMEC President noted that communities may help in identifying out-of-school youth. However, in some settings, schools are not able to accommodate these out-of-school youth.

The UNESCO Bangkok Director underscored the need for the education sector to develop strategies aimed at absorbing those who have been “pushed” out of the formal school and to enhance learning-working skills. He further pointed out that community involvement is an undertaking not only of the SEAMEC Centers involved in basic education but also those involved in other educational concerns (SEAMEO SPAFA, SEAMEO TROPMED, SEAMEO BIOTROP, etc.).

9. The Ministers were one of the opinion that the Policy Forum was an enriching and productive activity of the 38th SEAMEC Conference. The Minister of the Singapore Ministry of Education proposed that this policy forum/dialogue be part of the subsequent SEAMEC conferences and that the HOM help in carrying out preliminary work and pre-conference activities.

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10. Some future themes identified were:

The Brunei delegation proposed review PTA models/best practices in the region and beyond. The Singapore Minister of Education noted that language is an important issue in the SEA

countries. Global versus local literacy may also be considered by the SEAMEC as a possible theme. As a footnote to this suggestion, the UNESCO Bangkok Director informed the Forum participants that UNESCO, together with SIL, has a publication on language policies.

The Indonesian Minister of Education proposed the topics school-based management and school-based financing.

The SEAMEC President observed that training of teachers may also be a possible topic. A related concern he presented is recruitment of the West by locally trained teachers.

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The Forum Resource Person suggested that future forum sessions may consider not only educational innovations involving communities but also the scalability and sustainability dimensions.

Attachment A Policy Forum

Attachment B Engaging Communities in Delivering Quality Education

Attachment C Summary of the Jomtien Declaration

Attachment D Implementing the Convergence Model in Ilog, Negros Occidental

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Attachment A 38TH SEAMEO COUNCIL CONFERENCE

POLICY FORUM 6 March 2003, 2:00-5:00 pm

Makati Shrangila Hotel, Makati City, Philippines THEME Engaging Learning Communities for Educational Development OBJECTIVES The Policy Forum aims to:

• Serve as a venue for the Ministers and educational leaders of the Ministries of Education of the Southeast Asian countries to share views and experiences on the approaches and strategies utilized for maximizing the participation of actors and stakeholders in educational initiatives,

• Generate and synthesize lessons learned and insights gained from best practices in multi-sectorial, multi-level and multi-country partnerships and linkages for education development.

CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK The Policy Forum is envisaged to provide a means for exploring approaches and strategies by which education actors and stakeholders could assume more positive and fully maximized roles in education development. A major focus of the Forum is a review of selected experiences employing total community involvement, participation and proactive educational initiatives. This review is expected to identify directions for the formulation of policy agenda (regional and national) for engaging education actors and stakeholders. Specific emerging issues and concerns to be tackled by the Forum are:

1. Understanding the Learning Community towards Sensitizing Education to Local Needs

2. Advocacy and Community Mobilization

3. Multi-Sectorial and Multi-level Inclusion of Actors and Stakeholders in Education (Private, Informal, Other Sectors) including Gender Issues and Concerns of Excluded Groups (Women, Children, Minorities, Handicapped, Out-of-School Youth, and Other Marginalized Groups)

1. Understanding the Learning Community Towards Sensitizing Education to Local Contexts

A present-day challenge to education planners and managers is the addressing of the need to develop mechanisms which will help them genuinely understand learning communities. These mechanisms in order to strengthen their commitment and claim ownership of education initiatives. A prerequisite activity is generating quality data that will enable education planners and managers to analyze and synthesize information which will serve as inputs to plans that are truly responsive to the needs of the learning community.

2. Advocacy and Community Mobilization

A critical "first-step" dimension in engaging learning communities is creating community awareness of, and generating interest in, educational initiatives towards soliciting commitment and mobilizing community resources in the service of education development.

3. Multi-Sectorial and Multi-Level Inclusion of Actors and Stakeholders in Education (Private, Business, NGO, and Informal Sectors): Partnership and Networking)

The centerpiece element of the Forum is the sharing of ideas on the various experiences of the education sector in the Southeast Asian countries with engaging community involvement and total participation of learning communities in education development.

The Forum shall allocate attention to the need to address the exclusion of marginalized groups from education initiatives (e.g., women, children, out-of-school youth, minority / indigenous

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peoples, handicapped, and other excluded groups).

A suggested activity is a review of selected past and present cases, experiences, and best practices that show strategies employed by the education sector for involving the community in educational initiatives, and, conversely, how the community harnesses education resources for delivering community development work.

METHODOLOGY

Forum Format Roundtable Discussion

Lead Facilitator Hon. Edilberto de Jesus Secretary, Department of Education Philippines

Resource Person

Dr Pratima Kale President International Institute for Rural Reconstruction

Discussants - Mr Sheldon Shaeffer Director, UNESCO Bangkok

- Dr Arief Sadiman Director, SEAMES

- Mr Charles Currin Consultant, ADB and UNESCO

Proposed Process Flow

The Roundtable Discussion shall focus on sharing past and present experiences on involving learning communities in education initiatives.

• Reactions and views from the Ministers of Education shall be generated, and opportunities for further clarification and elucidation shall be elicited by an able Facilitator

• At the end of the Session, a synthesis incorporating the various points and outlining ideas for succeeding steps will be presented by the Facilitator

• The Council President may use some of the suggestions and recommendations as take-off points for an initiative or a policy/program direction to be adopted by SEAMEO for further fleshing-out in the SEAMEO Centre Directors' Meeting.

Some Trigger Questions for the Policy Forum

1. Understanding the Learning Community towards Sensitizing Education to Local Contexts

• What is the "learning community"? • Is the curriculum flexible to allow the tailoring of

instruction and learning to local contexts? • What actions points are in place to genuinely

respond to the learning needs of the different educational clients?

• What data does the education sector need to determine the requisites and issues confronting education in communities (local, regional and/or national level)?

• How can the education sector acquire these data?

2. Advocacy and Community Mobilization

• What is the current quality and extent of support local governments for education?

• How can the education sector solicit greater support from local governments and communities

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for schools?

3. Multisectorial and Multilevel Inclusion of Actors and Stakeholders in Education Initiatives Towards Partnerships and Networking (Private, Informal, Other Sectors)

• Are there evidences of engaging learning groups and of concrete partnerships / networking arrangements between these groups and the education sector?

• Who are involved in education planning? Do learning communities participate in education planning?

• What are the roles of stakeholder groups in education planning?

• How much and to what extent would the engagement of other sectors cover?

• What are the processes involved in forging partnerships and engaging learning communities in education initiatives?

• What are the potential areas for further engagement? For extending the engagement beyond the region?

• How could the private sector be engaged in education? To what extent should this engagement be?

• How could/should the education sector strengthen its networking with actor and stakeholder sectors?

• Are marginalized groups (women, children, minorities, handicapped, out-of-school youth, etc.) involved in education planning?

• How can the education sector acquire quality data on marginalized groups?

• Are the needs of marginalized communities given enough representation in education initiatives?

• How can the education sector maximize the participation of marginalized groups in education initiatives?

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Attachment B

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES IN DELIVERING QUALITY EDUCATION

A Paper presented at the SEAMEO Council Conference 2003 in Manila by

Pratima Kale President, International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR)

on March 6, 2003 1. I greatly appreciate the opportunity to share some of my experiences and observations

with the senior leaders and policy makers of SEAMEO this afternoon and would like to thank the Philippine Department of Education and SEAMEO for giving me this opportunity. I do so on the basis of my work as (a) the UNICEF Representative to the Philippines in the second half of the 1980s, (b) as a UNICEF officer focusing on this region during most of the decade of the 1990s, and (c) as the CEO of the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction (IIRR) for the past four years. Our work reflected in the stories has been done in collaboration with education officials in the Philippines at various levels from Manila to local schools and community groups.

2. After telling you the stories of school-community links based on practical experience, I would like to make some observations on what we have learned from these experiences and to share some thoughts on how the SEAMEO leaders and policy makers may wish to consider some of the ideas for your future plans, strategies and programs to link communities with educational development as you work toward achieving the national and regional goals of Education for All.

The Jomtien Conference on Education for All (EFA) : 1990 3. In 1989-1990, many of us representing the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank,

UNDP, UNESCO and UNICEF worked with the Philippine Department of Education in preparation for the Jomtien Conference. National Ministries of Education in all countries including the member countries of SEAMEO had prepared similar plans for the EFA Conference with assistance from these multilateral and other bilateral agencies.

4. While thinking about my presentation this afternoon, I re-visited the Jomtien Declaration and reviewed some other documents including the EFA Assessment for the World Education Forum in Dakar in 2000. In this search I found some references to school-community links in the documents that are worth noting here:

• "One of the six dimensions of EFA targets" refers to "family and community interventions, especially for poor, disadvantaged and disabled children for expansion of early childhood care and development".

• "Increased acquisition by individuals and families of knowledge, skills and values required for better living and sound sustainable development made available through all channels of education including mass media, other forms of modern and traditional communication and social action, with effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioral change."

• Under the heading "Other Considerations", there is a reference to "local empowerment and community action" for achieving EFA targets.

• "Strengthening partnerships and mobilizing resources".

EFA Assessment : World Education Forum, Dakar, Senegal, 2000 5. The document refers to the need to focus on " improving all aspects of the quality of

education and ensuring excellence so that measurable outcomes are achieved by all,

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especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills". 6. It recognizes "seven dimensions required for successful programs of education"

including "respect for and engagement with local communities and cultures". 7. As part of the assessment in 2000, the document refers to "new partnerships" that have

"emerged between education providers, industry and community bodies" since the Jomtien Conference.

8. The document also refers to "two aspects of sharing responsibility", i.e. "EFA as partnership of countries, inter-governmental bodies, NGOs etc." and "grassroots movement of community participation including people and groups taking responsibility for their own education and development".

9. Elsewhere the document refers to (a) "decentralization of education" and "devolution of resources and responsibility for education", (b) increasing "focus on learning and development rather than schooling", and (c) a greater sense of "ownership among local communities and people".

10. The document states that "the modalities of partnerships are still evolving" and the concept of "shared responsibility is still being worked out and needs to be made effective as a means of advancing EFA".

11. On the question of "what difference is EFA making?", the document states, "Greater involvement of NGOs, community groups and parents in decision making, action programs and operations of child care and educational facilities".

12. I find it interesting to note that the document on assessment of progress has a number of references to families and communities in moving the EFA agenda forward. Such references are a bit more sporadic in the Jomtien Declaration, understandably so, with its focus on national and global goals and targets but not as much on strategies, approaches and technologies. I also find it interesting to note that the specific references to these links are made in both documents with respect to early childhood care and development, and literacy, but not related to elementary school education.

School-Community Links : Some Philippine Experiences 13. In the following section, I would like to cite specific cases of collaboration with the

Department of Education at various levels. I have been personally and professionally involved as a participant observer as part of my work in the Philippines with UNICEF and IIRR over the past fifteen years.

An Integrated Program to Reduce Malnutrition in the Province of Negros Occidental 14. In response to the sugar industry crisis in the Province of Negros Occidental in the mid-

1980s, UNICEF provided assistance to the province to reduce severe and widespread malnutrition through a multi-year integrated program of child survival and development. Interventions ranged from emergency assistance for immediate relief to rehabilitation and medium term development through a package of multi-sectoral projects.

15. In response to food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition, the bio-intensive gardening (BIG) project was launched in 1986 by IIRR and the Department of Agriculture (DA). The purpose was to enable thousands of unemployed landless laborers to produce foods on 50 square meter lots of land for family consumption and small income. The response from families was extremely positive because the BIG (organic farming) technology was not known to sugar workers who had always worked on sugar farms and because it addressed the need for food security at family level at the right time.

16. Noting that the malnutrition problem was also affecting elementary school children, officials of the provincial Department of Education requested and received UNICEF assistance for collaborating with IIRR and DA to extend the BIG project from family and community gardens to cover all schools in the province. The Department of Education joined the multi-agency network at the provincial level under the leadership the Governor.

17. Over the next few months in 1986-87, school principals, teachers and students received BIG training and developed school gardens and fish ponds in almost all

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schools in the province. Foods grown in the school gardens were used in the school lunch programs for malnourished children. The Teacher-Child-Parent (TCP) approach used as part of the UNICEF-assisted country program in the Philippines was applied to the BIG project and links between schools and parents and community groups were established and strengthened.

18. Based on these and other experiments, the national Department of Education adopted the TCP approach and the BIG technology as innovative ways to improve the quality of education in elementary schools in the Philippines. (In the more remote provinces like Ifugao, other approaches such as the multi-grade schools and mobile teachers were more relevant while the TCP and BIG were more relevant to the province of Negros at that time.)

Sustainable Program in the Municipality of Ilog, Negros Occidental 19. In an attempt to further decentralize the program from the provincial to municipal level,

Ilog was selected out of 26 municipalities in the Province of Negros Occidental in 1989. IIRR was invited to provide technical and training assistance to the municipal government and local communities. An inter-agency team was established in Ilog under the leadership of the Mayor and his Municipal Planning & Development Coordinator. Representatives of the Departments of Health, Education, Agriculture, Social Welfare & Development joined the municipal network along with locally elected officials - the Barangay Captains - from all villages of Ilog. By 1991, the Ilog teams had been implementing and monitoring multiple projects including bio-intensive gardens managed by families of landless workers, community groups of women and by elementary schools.

20. The team of IIRR Trustees and staff visited Ilog in 2000 - nine years after the Ilog project had been concluded in 1991. The team was pleasantly surprised to note that the Dancalan Elementary School had maintained the garden throughout the decade under the leadership of Principal Daguia and the Parent-Teacher-Community Association (PTCA) had been actively involved in the project under the leadership of the former Mayor Benigno Gequillana.

21. A report received from Ilog in February 2003 indicates that the PTCA continues to hold monthly meetings and the Principal reports on school attendance records and students' scores on achievement tests. Parents and community groups have contributed funds and labor to maintain and improve the school facilities and the garden. In 2002, Ilog Municipality received an award for the performance of its schools on achievement tests. The school in Dancalan received the "Harvest of Excellence" award from the Department of Education for the year 2002-2003. Representatives of government agencies and NGOs have visited the school garden and orchard maintained jointly by the school and parent groups in Dancalan.

The Learning Community Program in Diwata Watershed, Masbate Province 22. The IIRR team has recently made a deliberate attempt at "community immersion" to

develop rapport with families and communities in seven barangays (villages) of Diwata watershed area to understand and address issues of poverty with no 'pre-conceived plans' for development interventions in the area.

23. Following formal and informal meetings at regional, provincial, municipal and village levels, secondary data were collected, participatory needs assessment exercises were conducted and a 'transect walk' was organized for community members to visit the watershed area to understand the inter-connected nature of their villages sharing the same watershed on the one hand, and the inter-linkages of their environment and natural resources and their problems of food insecurity, nutrition and health conditions on the other. As an outcome of this work, the communities have organized a multi-barangay organization known as "Salud san Diwata". The elementary school principal in Barangay Baybaydagat has been involved in these activities and has shown strong leadership qualities.

24. Based on the needs assessment process, community members have identified a number of issues and problems including food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition. In response to these needs, over 200 community members joined training courses in BIG

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in August 2002 organized and conducted by IIRR and the Department of Agriculture. The community groups have accepted the BIG technology and have undertaken experiments in family, community and school gardens.

School Principal promotes school gardens and the Teacher-Child-Parent Approach 25. Once Principal Erlina Caparino and a number of teachers of the elementary school in

Baybaydagat received BIG training, they trained fifth and sixth grade students who in turn have developed a school garden. They cleared the lot in the school compound, children brought soil in small buckets from home every day to prepare the soil, and parents and other community members have made their contributions to the BIG project in addition to digging a well in the school compound. By November 2002, the garden had been harvested several times and 74 malnourished children were receiving snacks and lunches with produce from the garden combined with additional resources from the community. Today the number of malnourished school children has been reduced from 74 in August 2002 to 21 and children are attending school more regularly. Principal Erlina Caparino has now visited other rural schools in the surrounding villages. Villagers and teachers from surrounding areas have visited the school garden to learn about BIG.

Some Observations on School-Community Links 26. Based on the Philippine experiences cited above, I would like to indicate how local

officials of the Department of Education got involved in these projects and have played important roles in their areas of work even if the projects were not originally planned as "education projects".

• Multi-Dimensional Attacks on Poverty & Malnutrition and the Role of Schools : In order to address issues of poverty and malnutrition, the "convergence of basic services" strategy has been based on the assumption that poverty attacks multiple aspects of individual and family lives, and therefore, attacks on poverty must be multi-dimensional; they must be decentralized to meet local needs and must be coordinated at local government and community levels. In both provinces, local education officials recognized the urgent needs in their areas and identified a role for themselves and their schools for addressing those needs.

• Multi-Stakeholder Horizontal Collaboration : Officials of the Department of Education joined multi-agency networks at the provincial level in Negros Occidental and at municipal level in the Ilog Municipality. In Barangay Baybaydagat in Masbate, the school principal joined local government agencies and community groups. Together they contributed their human and institutional resources to address local issues of malnutrition among children.

• Multi-Stakeholder Vertical Collaboration : The Negros program has shown how the Department of Education coordinated the project work with other government agencies, donors and NGO partners and also within the Departmental structure at national, provincial, municipal and community levels.

• Leadership : In each case, the officials of the Department of Education assumed leadership roles in identifying local issues, mobilizing external and internal resources and disseminating lessons while working within the policy and program framework of the educational system. Leadership has been identified as one of the key factors leading to successes of these and other projects.

• Sustainable Programming : While the program in Diawata watershed in Masbate is relatively new, the Negros and Ilog cases have shown how a number of schools in the province and the school in Dancalan have sustained the BIG and TCP programs for over a decade even after external assistance had been withdrawn.

• School-Community Links for Mobilizing Local Resources : In these cases, school- community links have been established by school officials who have been able to mobilize local resources and assets for improving their school programs while addressing local community issues.

• Innovative Approaches & Technologies for Creative Learning

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Experiences for Children : In these cases the education officials have adopted and adapted TCP as an innovative approach and BIG as an innovative, low cost technology to teach children in elementary schools about food production, health, nutrition, and about hands-on, out-door work experience and about sharing of knowledge and skills with other children and parents in their communities.

What Do These Experiences Mean to Quality Education and EFA? 27. While EFA goals and targets are very important from global and national policy

perspectives to Ministries of Education and regional bodies like SEAMEO, it is equally important for policy makers to consider creative approaches, strategies and innovative technologies for achieving the national and global goals and meeting local needs of children's survival, development, protection and participation as part of educational development. It is also equally important to identify local educational leaders involved in creative work who often remain unnoticed, to recognize their talents and leadership qualities, and to disseminate their creative ideas and innovative work among their peers around the country and the region.

28. I am pleased to share the Philippine experiences with all of you and would like to express much appreciation to the local education officers in the provinces of Negros Occidental and Masbate for their leadership and work. I am not sure if and to what extent they are aware of the EFA goals and targets but they certainly are making their contributions to quality education and to achieving the EFA goals of their country, the Philippines. I am sure all of you have similar stories of ‘best practices’ in all your countries. I hope you will recognize these “gems” collectively and help disseminate their experiences and lessons to hundreds and thousands of other schools in your countries and in this region.

Thank you.

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Attachment C

SUMMARY OF THE JOMTIEN DECLARATION

UNESCO declared 1990 as a World Literacy Year to generate world awareness on the problems of illiteracy. UNESCO convened an international gathering, the World Conference on Education for All. The Conference was held in Jomtien, Thailand, from 5 to 9 March 1990. The Conference resulted with the World Declaration on Education for All and the Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs. The former cemented a commitment from the participating governments to mobilize efforts to eradicate illiteracy by the year 2000. The latter was a general guideline to attain total eradication of illiteracy; it was an ambitious framework for governments, international organizations, educators and development professionals “designing or carrying out policies and strategies to improve basic education services.” The framework set the foundation and directions for the global action for achieving education for all.

The Jomtien Conference generated targets the eradication of illiteracy by the year 2000. In line with this, Jomtien identified the thrusts in education that government should pursue until the end of the twentieth century, which are articulated in its Goals:

1. To meet the basic learning needs of all children, youth, and adults. Appropriate authorities at the national and subnational levels may establish such intermediate goals, taking into account the objectives of the Declaration as well as overall national development goals and priorities.

2. Intermediate goals can usefully be formulated as specific targets within national and subnational plans for educational development. Such targets usually:

• specify expected attainments and outcomes in reference to terminal performance specifications within an appropriate time-frame,

• specify priority categories (e. g. the poor, the disabled), and • are formulated in terms such that progress toward them can be observed and

measured. These targets represent a "floor" (but not a "ceiling") for the continued develop ment of education programmes and services.

3. Set basic education efforts goals to meet the needs of specific social groups or population categories, linking targets to such priority categories of learners.

4. Mobilize additional human, organizational, and financial capacities within a cooperative commitment to human development. Countries with low literacy and school enrolment rates, and limited national resources, will establish national targets within a realistic timeframe.

5. Countries may wish to set their own targets for the 1990s in terms of the following proposed dimensions:

• Expand early childhood care and development (including family and community interventions) especially for poor, disadvantaged and disabled children;

• Attain universal access to, and completion of, primary education by year 2000;

• Improve learning achievement such that an agreed percentage of an appropriate age cohort (e. g. 80% of 14 year-olds) attains or surpasses a defined level of necessary learning achievement;

• Reduce adult illiteracy rate one-half its 1990 level by the year 2000, with sufficient emphasis on female literacy to significantly reduce the current disparity between male and female illiteracy rates;

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• Expand provisions of basic education and training in other essential skills required by youth and adults, with programme effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioural changes and impacts on health, employment and productivity;

• Increase acquisition by individuals and families of the knowledge, skills and values required for better living and sound and sustainable development, made available through all education channels including the mass media, other forms of modern and traditional communication, and social action, with effectiveness assessed in terms of behavioural change.

6. Levels of performance in the above should be established, when possible. These should be consistent with the focus of basic education both on universalization of access and on learning acquisition, as joint and inseparable concerns. In all cases, the performance targets should include equity by gender. However, setting levels of performance and of the proportions of participants who are expected to reach these levels in specific basic education programmes must be an autonomous task of individual countries.

Principles of Action

7. The first step consists in identifying, preferably through an active participatory process involving groups and the community, the traditional learning systems which exist in the society, and the actual demand for basic education services, whether expressed in terms of formal schooling or non-formal education programmes. Addressing the basic learning needs of all means: early childhood care and development opportunities; relevant, quality primary schooling or equivalent out-of- school education for children; and literacy, basic knowledge and life skills training for youth and adults. It also means capitalizing on the use of traditional and modern information media and technologies to educate the public on matters of social concern and to support basic education activities. These complementary components of basic education need to be designed to ensure equitable access, sustained participation, and effective learning achievement. Meeting basic learning needs also involves action to enhance the family and community environments for learning and to correlate basic education and the larger socio-economic context. The complementarity and synergistic effects of related human resources investments in population, health and nutrition should be recognized. 8. Because basic learning needs are complex and diverse, meeting them requires multisectoral strategies and action which are integral to overall development efforts. Many partners must join with the education authorities, teachers, and other educational personnel in developing basic education if it is to be seen, once again, as the responsibility of the entire society. This implies the active involvement of a wide range of partners:

• families, teachers, communities, private enterprises (including those involved in information and communication), government and non-governmental organizations, institutions, etc.

• in planning, managing and evaluating the many forms of basic education.

9. Current practices and institutional arrangements for delivering basic education, and the existing mechanisms for co-operation should be evaluated before new institutions or mechanisms are created. Rehabilitating dilapidated schools and improving the training and working conditions of teachers and literacy workers, building on existing learning schemes, would bring greater and more immediate returns on investment than attempts to start afresh.

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10. Great potential lies in possible joint actions with non-governmental organizations on all levels. These autonomous bodies, while advocating independent and critical public views, might play roles in monitoring, research, training and material production for the sake of non-formal and life-long educational processes.

11. The primary purpose of bilateral and multilateral co-operation should appear in a true spirit of partnership - it should not be to transplant familiar models, but to help develop the endogenous capacities of national authorities and their in-country partners to meet basic learning needs effectively. Action and resources should be used to strengthen essential features of basic education services, focussing on managerial and analytical capacities, which can stimulate further developments. International co-operation and funding can be particularly valuable in supporting major reforms or sectoral adjustments, and in helping to develop and test innovative approaches to teaching and management, where new approaches need to be tried and/or extraordinary levels of expenditure are involved and where knowledge of relevant experiences elsewhere can often be useful. 12. 12. International co-operation should give priority to the countries currently least able to meet the basic learning needs of their populations. It should also help countries redress their internal disparities in educational opportunity. Because two-thirds of illiterate adults and out-of-school children are female, wherever such inequities exist, a most urgent priority is to improve access to education for girls and women, and to remove every obstacle that hampers their active participation.

Article VII Strengthening Partnerships

National, regional, and local educational authorities have a unique obligation to provide basic education for all, but they cannot be expected to supply every human, financial or organizational requirement for this task. New and revitalized partnerships at all levels will be necessary: partnerships among all sub-sectors and forms of education, recognizing the special role of teachers and that of administrators and other educational personnel; partnerships between education and other government departments, including planning, finance, labour, communications, and other social sectors; partnerships between government and non-governmental organizations, the private sector, local communities, religious groups, and families. The recognition of the vital role of both families and teachers is particularly important. In this context, the terms and conditions of service of teachers and their status, which constitute a determining factor in the implementation of education for all, must be urgently improved in all countries in line with the joint ILO/ UNESCO Recommendation Concerning the Status of Teachers (1966). Genuine partnerships contribute to the planning, implementing, managing and evaluating of basic education programmes. When we speak of "an expanded vision and a renewed commitment", partnerships are at the heart of it.

SUMMARY OF THE DAKAR FRAMEWORK

Jomtien did not anticipate the developments that would affect the rolling out of the EFA agenda. The 1990s were seasoned with sporadic social, economic and technological upheavals that spurred the growth of poverty, debt crises and ethnic strife in many parts of the world. World Bank President James D. Wolfensohn, in his address at the Dakar World Education Forum reported:

We underestimated how difficult and expensive the process of achieving EFA is, how long it takes to bring about change. And then we had a series of unexpected challenges that arose during the Nineties – economic crises, political and economic

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transitions, the devastation of HIV / AIDS, the widening of the digital divide, civil conflicts and natural disasters. In addition, rapid population growth made the achievement of the EFA goals more difficult.

The World Education Forum took stock of the gains made in the decade that had lapsed. It was noted that despite the increase in population over the period, the absolute number of illiterates did decrease. With the growth of the formal education infrastructures in many regions of the world, the absolute numbers of illiterates are even projected to decrease further. According to estimates, the world’s illiterate population was 895 million in 1990, decreasing to 875 million in 2000; and with the current education infrastructure, that number is expected to decline to 830 million by 2010.

But for all the optimism about the eventual victory of EFA, the World Education Forum now took a more realistic outlook on attaining EOI. The target date for EOI was extended, not by a mere few years, but, in fact, for a period longer than the decade it was assumed such an achievement could be done. EOI was not set for the year 2015.

The Dakar Forum was held to assess the progress of the EFA movement and the progress of governments in their obligation to achieve EFA goals in basic education after ten years. The important outcome of the Dakar World Education Forum was the Dakar Framework of Action, which was adopted by the country representatives.

GOALS OF THE DAKAR FRAMEWORK

1. Expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education,

especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children

• More structured programmes promoting the survival, growth, development and learning potential of children, and focusing on all of the child's needs and encompassing health, nutrition and hygiene as well as cognitive and psycho-social development.

• Should be provided in the child's mother tongue and help to identify and enrich the care and education of children with special needs.

• Partnerships between governments, NGOs, communities and families can help ensure the provision of good care and education for children, especially for those most disadvantaged, through activities centred on the child, focused on the family, based within the community and supported by national, multi-sectoral policies and adequate resources.

• Governments, across relevant ministries, have the primary responsibility of formulating early childhood care and education policies within the context of national EFA plans, mobilizing political and popular support, and promoting flexible, adaptable programmes for young children.

2. Ensure 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

• All states must fulfill their obligation to offer free and compulsory primary education in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international commitments.

• Wider social policies, interventions and incentives should be used to mitigate indirect opportunity costs of attending school. No one should be denied the opportunity to complete a good quality primary education because it is unaffordable.

• Child labour must not stand in the way of education. The inclusion of children

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with special needs, from disadvantaged ethnic minorities and migrant populations, from remote and isolated communities and from urban slums, and others excluded from education.

3. Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes

• All young people and adults must be given the opportunity to gain the knowledge and develop the values, attitudes and skills which will enable them to develop their capacities to work, to participate fully in their society, to take control of their own lives, and to continue learning.

• Young people, especially adolescent girls, face risks and threats that limit learning opportunities and challenge education systems (including exploitative labour, the lack of employment, conflict and violence, drug abuse, school-age pregnancy and HIV/AIDS).

• For those who drop out of school or complete school without acquiring the literacy, numeracy and life skills they need, there must be a range of options for continuing their learning.

4. Achieve a 50 per cent improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults

• Adult and continuing education must be greatly expanded and diversified, and integrated into the mainstream of national education and poverty reduction strategies. Closer linkages among formal, non-formal and informal approaches to learning must be fostered to respond to the diverse needs and circumstances of adults.

5. Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls' full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality

• International agreements to eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education should be accomplished by 2005, and gender issues mainstreamed throughout the education system, supported by adequate resources and strong political commitment. Comprehensive efforts need to be made at all levels and in all areas to eliminate gender discrimination and to promote mutual respect between girls and boys, women and men.

6. Improve all aspects of the quality of education, and ensuring excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills

• Governments and all other EFA partners must to work together to ensure basic education of quality for all, regardless of gender, wealth, location, language or ethnic origin. Successful education programmes require:

a. healthy, well-nourished and motivated students;

b. well-trained teachers and active learning techniques;

c. adequate facilities and learning materials;

d. a relevant curriculum taught and learned in a local language, and built upon the knowledge and experience of teachers and learners;

e. an environment that not only encourages learning but is welcoming, gender-

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sensitive, healthy and safe;

f. a clear definition and accurate assessment of learning outcomes, including knowledge, skills, attitudes and, values;

g. participatory governance and management; and

h. respect for and engagement with local communities and cultures.

STRATEGIES Education for All is a basic human right at the heart of development. It must be a national and international priority that requires a strong and sustained political commitment, enhanced financial allocations and the participation of all EFA partners in the processes of policy design, strategic planning and the implementation of programmes. Achieving the six goals outlined above necessitates a broad-based approach that extends beyond the confines of formal education systems. Building on the lessons of the last decade, the implementation of the following strategies will be critical in achieving EFA. 1. Mobilize strong national and international political commitment for

Education for All, develop national action plans and enhance significantly investment in basic education

• Governments must make firm political commitments and allocate sufficient resources to all components of basic education - an absolutely essential step to meeting the state's obligation to all of its citizens. Resources have to be used with much greater efficiency and integrity, and governments should set goals for more equitable spending across education sub-sectors. Corruption, a major drain on the effective use of resources, should be drastically curbed. Structures are needed to enable civil society to be part of transparent and accountable budgeting and financing systems. The Government should involve more creative and sustained mobilisation of resources from other parts of society, including different levels of government, the private sector and non-governmental organizations.

• Funding agencies should allocate a larger share of their resources to support primary and other forms of basic education. Funding agencies should co-ordinate efforts to provide flexible development assistance within the framework of sector-wide reforms and support sector priorities within sound and coherent government-owned poverty reduction programmes. High priority should be given to providing earlier, deeper and broader debt relief and/or debt cancellation for poverty reduction, with a strong commitment to basic education. Debt relief should not be a substitute for aid.

2. Promote EFA policies within a sustainable and well-integrated sector framework clearly linked to poverty elimination and development strategies

• There are evident synergies between strategies for promoting education and reducing poverty that must be exploited both in programme planning and implementation.

• A multi-sectoral approach to poverty elimination requires that education strategies complement those of the productive sectors as well as of health, population, social welfare, labour, the environment and finance. Specific actions in this regard include:

a. integrating basic education strategies into broader national and international poverty alleviation measures such as United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (UNDAFs), Comprehensive Development Frameworks and Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers; and

b. developing 'inclusive' education systems which identify, target and respond

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flexibly to the needs and circumstances of the poorest and most marginalized. 3. Ensure the engagement and participation of civil society in the formulation,

implementation and monitoring of strategies for educational development

• Learners, teachers, parents, communities, non-governmental organizations and other bodies representing civil society must be granted new and expanded political and social scope to engage governments in dialogue, decision-making and innovation around the goals for basic education.

• Participation should not be limited to endorsing decisions of, or financing programmes designed by, the State. Rather, at all levels of decision-making, governments must include mechanisms for involving citizens and civil society organizations in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of basic education. This is essential in order to foster the development of accountable, comprehensive and flexible educational management frameworks.

4. Develop responsive, participatory and accountable systems of educational governance and management

• Reform of educational management is urgently needed - to move from highly centralised, standardised and command-driven forms of management to more decentralised and participatory decision-making, implementation and monitoring at lower levels of accountability. These processes must be buttressed by a management information system using technologies and community participation.

• Country EFA reports and regional action frameworks stemming from the EFA 2000 Assessment recommend the following:

a. establish better regulatory frameworks and administrative mechanisms for managing formal and non-formal primary education, early childhood, youth and adult education programmes;

b. delineate responsibilities among different levels of government;

c. ensure that decentralization does not lead to inequitable distribution of resources;

d. make more efficient use of existing human and financial resources;

e. improve capacities for managing diversity, disparity and change;

f. integrate programmes within education and strengthen their convergence with those of other sectors, especially health, labour and social welfare; and

g. provide training for school leaders and other education personnel.

5. Meet the needs of education systems affected by conflict, natural calamities and instability and conduct educational programmes in ways that promote mutual understanding, peace and tolerance, and that help to prevent violence and conflict

• The capacity of governments and civil society should be enhanced to rapidly assess educational needs in contexts of crisis and post-conflict situations for children and adults, to restore learning opportunities in secure and friendly environments, and to re - construct destroyed or damaged education systems.

• Education programmes should be designed to promote the full development of the human personality and strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Art. 26). Such programmes should promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, and all ethnic and religious groups; should be sensitive to cultural and linguistic identities, and respectful of diversity; and

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reinforce a culture of peace. Education should promote not only skills such as the prevention and peaceful resolution of conflict but also social and ethical values.

6. Implement integrated strategies for gender equality in education that recognize the need for changes in attitudes, values and practices

• Efforts in support of gender equality must include specific actions to address discrimination resulting from social attitudes and practices, economic status and culture.

• The education system must develop attitudes and behaviours that incorporate gender awareness and analysis, and explicitly remove gender bias.

• The learning environment's content, processes and context of education must be free of gender bias, and encourage and support equality and respect. This includes teachers' behaviours and attitudes, curriculum and textbooks, and student interactions. Efforts must be made to ensure girls are not vulnerable to abuse and harassment on the journey to and from school and at school.

7. Implement as a matter of urgency education programmes and actions to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic

• The HIV/AIDS pandemic is seriously affecting educational demand, supply and quality. Education systems must prioritize significant changes with strong, sustained political commitment; mainstreaming HIV/AIDS perspectives in all aspects of policy; redesigning teacher training and curricula; and significantly enhancing resources to these efforts.

• Stigma and poverty brought about by HIV/AIDS are creating new social castes of children, particularly girls, excluded from education and adults with reduced livelihood opportunities. A rights-based response to HIV/AIDS mitigation and ongoing monitoring of the pandemic's impact on EFA goals are essential.

• Education institutions and structures should create a safe and supportive environment for children and young people in a world with HIV/AIDS, and strengthen their protection from sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation. Flexible non-formal approaches should be adopted to reach children and adults infected and affected by HIV/AIDS, with particular attention to AIDS orphans. Curricula based on life skills approaches should include all aspects of HIV/AIDS care and prevention. Parents and communities should also benefit from HIV/AIDS related programmes. Teachers must be adequately trained both in-service and pre-service in providing HIV/AIDS education, and teachers affected by the pandemic should be supported at all levels.

8. Create safe, healthy, inclusive and equitably resourced educational environments conducive to excellence in learning, with clearly defined levels of achievement for all

• All stakeholders (teachers and students, parents and community members, health workers and local government officials) should work together to develop environments that are conducive to learning, environmentally friendly and easily accessible; with well motivated and professionally competent teachers; and books, other learning materials and technologies that are context specific, cost effective and available to all learners.

• Learning environments should also be healthy, safe and protective. This should include: (1) adequate water and sanitation facilities, (2) access to or linkages with health and nutrition services, (3) policies and codes of conducts that enhance physical, psycho-social and emotional health of teachers and learners, and (4) education content and practices leading to knowledge, attitudes, values, and life skills needed for self-esteem, good health, and personal safety.

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• There is an urgent need to adopt effective strategies to identify and include the socially, culturally and economically excluded. This requires participatory analysis of exclusion at household, community and schools levels, and the development of diverse, flexible, and innovative approaches to learning and an environment that fosters mutual respect and trust.

• Learning outcomes must be well-defined in both cognitive and non-cognitive domains, and be continually assessed as an integral part of the teaching and learning process.

• Teachers should be involved in education reform. Teachers should be respected and adequately remunerated; have access to training and ongoing professional development and support, including through open and distance learning; and be able to participate, locally and nationally, in decisions affecting their professional lives and teaching environments. Teachers must also accept their professional responsibilities and be accountable to both learners and communities.

• Clearly defined and more imaginative strategies to identify, attract, train and retain good teachers must be put in place. These strategies should address the new role of teachers in preparing students for an emerging knowledge-based and technology-driven economy. Teachers must be able to understand diversity in learning styles and in the physical and intellectual development of students, and to create stimulating, participatory learning environments.

9. Harness new information and communication technologies to help achieve EFA goals

• Information and communication technologies (ICT) must be harnessed to support EFA goals at an affordable cost. To be effective, especially in developing countries, ICTs should be combined with more traditional technologies, and be extensively applied to train teachers.

• The swiftness of ICT developments, their increasing spread and availability, the nature of their content and their declining prices are having major implications for learning. Governments will therefore need to establish clearer policies in regard to science and technology, undertake critical assessments of ICT experiences and options, bridge the 'digital divide', increase access and quality, and reduce inequity.

• Education systems should tap ICT to enhance data collection and analysis, and to strengthen management systems, from central ministries through sub-national levels to the school; to improve access to education by remote and disadvantaged communities; to support initial and continuing professional development of teachers; and to provide opportunities to communicate across classrooms and cultures.

• News media should also be engaged to create and strengthen partnerships with education systems.

10. Systematically monitor progress towards EFA goals and strategies at the national, regional, and international levels

• The accountability of partners must be assessed in the achievement of EFA goals. Robust and reliable education statistics, disaggregated and based on accurate census data, are essential if progress is to be properly measured, experience shared and lessons learned. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of EFA, with the full participation of civil society, should be encouraged.

• The EFA 2000 Assessment identified the existence of important data gaps. Capacity should be increased to fill these gaps, and to produce accurate and timely data, qualitative and quantitative, for analysis and feedback to policy-makers and practitioners. Attention to collecting disaggregated data at lower levels of the system, both to identify areas of greatest inequity and to provide

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data for local-level planning, management and evaluation, is essential. • Progress towards meeting EFA goals and targets must be assessed regularly

and systematically for meaningful comparative analyses and identification of regional, national, and sub-national levels where there is particular success or difficulty, and then to take appropriate action.

11. Build on existing mechanisms to accelerate progress towards Education for All

• To realize the six goals presented in this Framework for Action, broad-based and participatory mechanisms at international, regional and national levels must be undertaken, which should include, to varying degrees, advocacy, resource mobilization, monitoring, and knowledge generation and sharing.

• For countries with significant challenges (e.g., crises or natural disasters), special technical support will be provided by the international community.

• Regional and sub-regional activities to support national efforts will be based on existing organizations, networks and initiatives, augmented where necessary. These will work in tandem with national EFA forums.

• UNESCO will continue in co-ordinating EFA partners and maintaining their collaborative momentum. UNESCO will convene annually a high-level, small and flexible group (to comprise of leaders from governments and civil society and development agencies) to serve as a lever for political commitment and technical and financial resource mobilization. UNESCO will refocus its education programme to place the outcomes and priorities of Dakar at the heart of its work.

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Attachment D

Implementing the Convergence Model in Ilog, Negros Occidental

From 1989 to 1993, IRRI conducted a program to implement the Convergence Model in Ilog, Negros Occidental. The Ilog project was titled "Making Convergence Work to Reduce Child Malnutrition", and was funded by the UNICEF. The Convergence Model brought together various sectors and organizations (both line agencies and non-government) to pool limited resources and enable coordinated multiple efforts to tackle problems (in this case, health and malnutrition) from different yet simultaneous approaches. In mid-1980s, the economy of Ilog, with the entire province of Negros Occidental, suffered as the global sugar industry collapsed. Thousands workers, farmers and their families fell into poverty, children and adults alike starved and became malnourished. UNICEF and IIRR developed a multi-level and multi-sectorial approach to alleviate the problems in Ilog. An Overall Program Management Board, headed by the Mayor, was established and comprised department heads of provincial government agencies and barangay eladers. The Board identified priorities, and appropriate activities were designed: child survival, immunization, feeding and rehabilitation, education, day-care centers, bio-gardening, training, extension services, formation of community organizations. Funds to finance these activities were sourced from different sources. The Mayor of Ilog was committed to the program and chaired meetings and discussions, and made decisions on budget allocation and enforcement. He coordinated actions with various departments. Planning was participatory, and involved community members, NGOs and CBOs, and their inputs were heeded by the local government. Bio-Intensive Gardening (BIG) was promoted: community organizations were tapped as channels to promote BIG cultivation and techniques among farming households and unemployed sugar workers. The UNICEF-IIRR approach also utilized schools to be change agents: agriculture experts trained teachers in cultivation techniques, who passed the knowledge to students, who shared the practices with their parents and applied these techniques in backyard gardens. In many instances, plantation owners were involved to lend farmers plots of land for vegetable and small cash crop cultivation. The bio-intensive gardening allowed poor families to grow food, which alleviated hunger and malnutrition. As their health improved, the malnourished children were able to return to school, and malnourished adults nurtured strength to be able to work. Some households produced a surplus, whose sale generated income. The families' participation in multiple projects under the program gained them access to maternal and child health care services (such as supplementary feeding and day care). Learning Community Program in the Diwata Watershed (Masbate) In the past two decades, natural resource management and agriculture experts have been sending alarm signals about the effects of environmental degradation, flooding, soil erosion and deforestation on declining productivity of farm-based livelihoods, food security and health. Poor families and communities are often been unaware of the causal links between natural resource management and their own lives. The IIRR conducted a multi-level and multi-sectorial program to alleviate poverty and strengthen the capabilities of communities for sustained environmental management of the Diwata Watershed. The Institute conducted an initial needs assessment of seven communities, utilizing the "village immersion" regimen of establishing rapport with the communities to understand peoples' lives and issues of poverty. Meetings and workshops

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were organized with community people, local officials and informal leaders at village, municipal, provincial and regional levels, and NGO representatives. Secondary data were collected, participatory needs assessment and mapping exercises conducted with community groups and their stakeholders, and problem trees were drawn to understand cause and effect relationships between the community environment and peoples' issues of health, nutrition, food security, farm and fish production, livelihood options, water resource management, access to potable drinking water, health services and education. Community representatives had opportunities to share their assessment of their own needs and problems with officials of local government agencies, local university and research groups and NGOs to begin to find practical solutions in a consultative manner. Project planners organized a "transect walk" for members of the communities, which took participants on a three-day hike along the watershed, starting at the lowland level and making their way to the uplands. The transect walk generated an awareness among participants of the cause-and-effect chain: that the agriculture, soil erosion, pollution, irrigation, of the upland and up-river communities affects the downriver communities. Thus, community members developed a full understanding of the need to improve their resource usage and management practices, as these impact not only their immediate areas, but also of the larger ecological system around the watershed. With health and nutrition as an entry point, IIRR involved stakeholders from many sectors and concern areas: while the local government (through the Mayor) and schools (in through the person of the School Principal) were the program's focal points, the effort also brought in the Masbate Provincial Planning and Development Office, Provincial Departments of Health (DOH), Education (DepEd) and Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and UNICEF and Plan International. Each stakeholder contributed human, financial and institutional resources to strengthen capacities of village communities and local government units to improve the health and nutritional conditions of children and women. IIRR plans to work with similar networks in these areas to develop multi-sectoral projects on family food production, water resource management, and improving livelihoods for resource-poor families. The initial needs assessment studies indicated that the communities' immediate problems were:

• Widespread food shortage & hunger; • High rates of malnutrition among children (in Buenasuerte 57% of children were

malnourished); • Small household incomes; • Vegetables & fruits in local markets being imported from other provinces; • Limited or no health or agriculture services; and • Local politics & violence.

The community was mobilized for action, and community members were organized into action groups. The leaders were involved in identification of needs and solutions, planning, and implementation. Villagers were briefed in meetings and they understood the interlinkages in the watershed. A community-based organization, SALUD, was formed, which became the implementing unit of all action plans. A cornerstone of the program was Bio-Intensive Gardening (BIG), which encouraged households to cultivate backyard vegetable gardens. The training of villagers in BIG techniques started in August 2002, and the practice has since propagated in the seven participating barangays. The BIG practice allowed households self-sufficiency in food production (addressing the hunger and malnourishment problems), and income-generation, as surplus produce was sold to markets (daily sales for homes reached as much as P500 a day). The poorest of the seven baragays (Buenasuerte) has 40 gardens, triple the average number for among these barangays. The barangay school also built vegetable gardens (idle land was cleared and students each brought in a small bag of garden soil). The school garden is tended by the fifth and sixth

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grade students, and yields seven harvests in four months. The harvest is used for the free feeding of hungry students (which numbered 74 children in one community). The community now pitches in to help malnourished children, through the provision of lunches and snacks. The community now plans to make a collective effort to dig a well for the school, so that the school would have running water and improved sanitation.