Critical Education Issues Pertinent for C4D

UNICEF BRAC WorkshopDhaka, 25-28 May 2015

The Paramount Challenge

The Paramount Challenge

• How can the trajectory change?• Is there a way for education systems to

"leapfrog" some steps into the future, in the way that some developing countries skipped to using mobile phones without first investing in large landline infrastructure ?

• Can we envision a future for developing countries that would not take 50 or another 100 years to catch up?

• What are the roles, functions, approaches, and priority actions for of communication, awareness raising, and advocacy in changing the course of progress in education (C4D in education)?

Key Education Concerns

UNICEF and BRAC International have identified for its collaborative project on enhancing the role of communication for development in the education field three education objectives: a) access and inclusion in education, b) quality of education, and c) the education system accountability and

capacity which enable the system to achieve the goals in education.

Key conceptsAccess: educational institutions and policies must ensure that all students take full advantage of their education regardless of group characteristics (gender, ethnicity, religion, economic status etc.) and personal attributes (disability, special needs). Closely linked to inclusion – marginalised and disadvantaged receive special attention; and equity - the principle of fairness in education policy, provision, and outcome.

Quality: It has multiple dimensions - - Learners who are ready and able to learn; Learning environments that offer conducive conditions and facilities; Learning content that are relevant and appropriate; Learning processes with appropriate pedagogy and capable teachers; & Learning outcomes that encompass knowledge, skills and attitudes, and which

are assessed to ensure their achievement.

System Governance, Capacity and Accountability: The Means of achieving the education objectives - How the system performs in achieving the key objectives of access, equity and quality;In addition, a wide range of issues , mechanisms, processes, inputs and personnel and organizational capacities, and degree of decentralization of planning and management need attention under this broad category.

Current Status of EFA 2015 Agenda

The EFA agenda since 2000 with its six goals has helped to drive remarkable progress, but critical areas remain unaddressed, progress has slowed in recent years and EFA remains an unfinished agendaECD: About half attend pre-primary, 40% countries implementing 1 yr compulsory preschool, but quality is not assured and Sub-Saharan Africa lags particularly.UPE: Initial access over 90%, but one in 6 don’t complete it, even completers are not all literate; 121 million children/adolescents still out–of-school.Skills for youth and adults: No target was set; about half not attending secondary education, a step towards vocational skill – youth unemployment rampant.Adult literacy: Literacy increased, reaching 84%, but over 781 million remain illiterate, 2/3 women; no change in gender imbalance since 2000.Gender equality: Parity in primary in 60% countries and for secondary in 38% countries by 2011; enrollment parity is not necessarily equality; patriarchic culture strong.Quality for all: Specific targets not set; 250 million children are not able to read, write or count even after having spent four years in school: shortage of qualified teachers and absence of credible assessment of learning outcomes are also common problems.

Inadequacy of financial resources has seriously undermined progress in quality education . Some of the poorest countries have increased their domestic spending , but international assistance has stagnated.

Research-Based Action PointsA pragmatic set of program objectives for inclusive access and quality-with-equity based on CREATE research findings -- All children in the target population should:• Enrol in the year in which they become six years old• Progress over the next six years with no more than one repetition and remain

within one year of the nominal age for the grade• Attend for at least 90% of the teaching days available• Transit to lower secondary school and complete nine years of schooling• Learn in classes of no more than 40 in schools with clean water, sanitation,

basic services, light, heat and ventilation, and adequate learning materials• Be taught by trained teachers who are present in class at least 95% of the

teaching days available with pupil teacher ratios of 40:1 or less• Achieve at levels within two years of the norm for their grade.• Have equitable access to affordable schools located within 30 minutes travel of

households at primary level and 60 minutes at secondary levelThese practical and common-sense practices are lacking far too often in national systems and should be key parts of education communication and advocacy agenda.GMR 2015 offers similar and additional recommendations – basis for C4D strategies.

Focus on Results and Outcomes Combined concerns for equity and quality of education directed focus to

results/outcomes of the educational process (knowledge, skills, competencies and values) and their social distribution.

The focus on what is actually learned is also prompted by the limits of traditional proxy indicators (such as pupil/teacher ratios, share of qualified teachers, and mean years of schooling) in gauging the quality of learning and the contribution of education to inclusive and equitable development.

The Learning Metrics Task Force, led by UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the Center for Universal Education at Brookings seek to :

a) Catalyze a shift in the global education conversation from access to access plus learning; and b) Build a consensus on global learning indicators and actions to improve the measurement of learning in all countries. LMTF has proposed 7 domains of skills and competencies which can be taken as the

benchmark for designing learning programs for preschool, primary school and lower-secondary education for children and assessing learning outcomes:

a) Literacy & communication, b) Learning approaches & cognition, c) Culture & the arts, d) Numeracy & mathematics, e) Social & emotional domain, f) Science

& technology and g) Physical well-being

Looking ahead: Education 2030 & SDG 2030 The world is set to adopt new goals and targets for the

period 2015 to 2030. This new agenda called Education 2030 forms Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), succeeding the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The new education agenda is a shared, comprehensive vision, expressed in an overarching Education Goal, proposed goal 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

Slogan – “Transforming Lives through Education”Key Themes – 1Right to Education, 2 Equity in Education, 3 Inclusive Education, 4 Quality Education, 5 Lifelong Learning

A Framework of Action and Education 2030 TargetsThe Framework presents targets of Education 2030, developed through a consultative process, spell out a global level of ambition that would encourage countries to strive for accelerated progress:Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.Target 4.2: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and pre-primary education so that they are ready for primary education.Target 4.3: By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university. Target 4.4: By 2030, increase by x% the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.Target 4.5: By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.Target 4.6: By 2030, ensure that all youth and at least x% of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure all learners acquire knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including ….education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.

Means of Achieving TargetsIn addition to the targets, there are three “means of implementation.”Target 4.a: By 2030, build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.Target 4.b: By 2020, expand by x% globally the number of scholarships for developing countries in particular LDCs, SIDS and African countries to enrol in higher education, including vocational training, ICT, technical, engineering and scientific programs in developed countries and other developing countries.Target 4.c: By 2030, increase by x% the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially LDCs and SIDS

The targets and means of implementation do not include specific governance, accountability and partnerships actions or measures about mobilizing financial resources at national and international levels for achieving.

The Framework mention of governance and accountability and on financing is in an add-on section -- more as exhortation, rather than commitment in the list of targets or the means of implementation..

Education Communication Pointers SDG4 and Education 2030 agenda arguably represent the most ambitious

global commitment to education in history, covering universal completion of quality primary and secondary education for all girls and boys, universal access to pre-primary education, and increases in access to quality vocational education – transcending EFA 2015.

SDG and WEF are not international treaties, the commitments are not binding. Their strength lies in a shared sense of moral obligation, ethical imperatives, human solidarity, the larger self-interest about the survival of the planet and human civilisation.

There is a major task ahead for all stakeholders - the education and the development community - to raise a strong collective voice, generate awareness and mobilise support, reaching all actors, participants and beneficiaries, in each country and each community, and supporting each other across countries; so that each takes the responsibility seriously and contribute to the collective global effort