1. Education for All by 2015: Will we make it?
South-East Asia EFA Mid-Term Policy Conference and
Launch of the 2008 Global Monitoring Report
Jomtien, Thailand; 18 February 2008

2. The big questions in 2008
Gender goal
2000
2005
2008
2015
Midpoint
Dakar
Have national governments followed up on their commitment to EFA?
Where are the greatest challenges?
Are donors providing adequate support?
What requires top policy attention?
6th edition of the GMR since 2002 (There was only one report for ). The 2008 report focuses on an assessment of how close countries are to meeting the EFA goals set in Dakar in 2000 since this year is the midpoint to the 2015 target. The report mostly uses 2005 data. To track progress, comparisons are made usually using 1999 and 2005 data. (Thailand uses data for school-year ending 2006)

3. Global trends influence EFA
Sustained economic growth
Increasing inequalities
Rapid urbanization
Health concerns
Growth of knowledge economies
The global prospect of achieving EFA is also influenced by trends in demography, urbanization, migration, health and economic and political systems. By 2008, for example, more than half of the world’s population (about 3.3 billion people) will live in urban areas, nearly one-third of whom will live in slums.
Real per capita incomes remain high in East Asia and the Pacific, but there is also rising inequality between rich and poor. Unless policies targeting poor and disadvantaged children are introduced, existing socio-economic inequality may be worsened through poor education and differentiated schools systems.

4. Major advances since Dakar
This presentation focuses on progress in East Asia in comparison to other regions in the world. EAST ASIA covers 14 countries and one SAR: Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Macao (China), Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Rep. of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.
Major advances since Dakar

5. Progress in primary education
Sub-Saharan Africa
Primary school enrolment up:
36% in sub-Saharan Africa
22% in South and West Asia
11% in Arab States
10% drop in East Asia
Worldwide 688M children are enrolled in primary education as of 2005 from 647 in 1999
Arab States
South/West Asia
Central Asia
Central/Eastern
Europe
East Asia/Pacific
Latin America
Caribbean
Total enrolment in East Asia declined to million in 2005 from million in 1999 largely due to a decline in the corresponding school age population in China. Average NER stands at 94% as of 2005 from 96% in 1999.
1991
1999
2005
North America
Western Europe 50 60 70 80 90
100
Net enrolment ratios
in primary education (%)

6. Overall progress in primary net enrolment ratios
In East Asia, Myanmar and Cambodia are among the 25 countries around the world (with data) with the highest NER increase. The others are mostly African countries.
Rapid expansion in NER may reflect the impact of public policies designed to facilitate enrolment of the most disadvantaged such as the abolition of school fees (in African countries and in Cambodia).
According to the GMR, Viet Nam’s NER dropped to 88% in 2005 from 96% in However, the national data may differ since Viet Nam is using the latest population figures from the 1999 census while UIS is still using population figures from an older census.

7. Gender parity index in primary GER
More girls in primary school
Afghanistan
Gender parity line
In total 63% of countries have achieved gender parity at the primary level
Chad
Niger
Yemen
Côte
Mali
Benin
Burkina
Djibouti
Guinea
Specific policies to encourage girls’ schooling have included:
- Community mobilization
- Targeting disadvantaged areas
- Free learning materials
- Sanitation in schools
Mozambique
Togo
Burundi
Ethiopia
Morocco
Guatemala
Cambodia
118 countries out of 188 have achieved gender parity at the primary level
India
Nepal
Senegal
Ghana
Uganda
1999
Mauritania
2005
Malawi
Gambia
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
Gender parity index in primary GER

8. Out-of-school children declining
Sub-Saharan Africa
1999: 96 million
South/West Asia
East Asia/Pacific
2005: 72 million
Arab States
1999
2005
Latin America
Caribbean
Central/Eastern
Europe
In East Asia, an estimated 9.2 million children of primary school age were not enrolled in either primary or secondary school in 2005, 2.8 million more than the 6.4 million out-of-school children in 1999.
The East Asia figure does not include data on out-of-school children in CHINA, largely because there is yet no internationally agreed figure for its primary NER.
Worldwide, the biggest reduction in the number of out-of-school children was seen in South and West Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.
North America
Western Europe
60% girls in Arab States
66% in South and West Asia
Central Asia 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
Out-of school children, million

9. EFA Progress in Countries (EDI, 2005)
EFA Progress as measured by the EDI:
Out of 129 countries:
51 are high achievers
53 are in intermediate position (Index pulled down by low education quality or low adult literacy levels)
25 far from achieving EFA of which:
16 in sub-Saharan Africa
4 Arab States
4 in South and West Asia
1 in East Asia / Pacific (Lao PDR)
Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Viet Nam are all in the intermediate position

10. Aid to education: substantial increases
Aid to basic education doubled between 2000 and 2004, benefiting low-income countries, but declined in 2005
Total aid to education
Total aid to basic education
10.7
9.2
8.2
8.3
7.3
6.5
6.9
5.1
Constant 2005 US$ billions
4.0
Constant 2005 US$ billions
3.7
2.8
2.7
2.9
2.9
6.3
This refers to total aid to education that includes budget support and aid to level unspecified.
Total aid to education: 20% budget support
Basic education: 10% of budget support and 50% level unspecified
Share of education in total aid to education has fallen from 40% in 2004 to 32% in 2005
The 68 poorest countries are the low-income countries
3.3
3.6
3.7
4.0
4.5
4.3
4.0
1.6
1.9
1.9
1.9
2.6
2.3
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
Low income countries
All recipient countries
Low income countries
All recipient countries
Total aid includes allocations from budget support and aid to level unspecified 10

11. Major concerns and prospects
Despite the progress, many issues must be addressed urgently if Education for All is to be met by 2015
Major concerns and prospects

12. Early childhood care and education: acting on the benefits
ECCE programmes improve child well-being and prepare children for school but:
Sub-Saharan
1999
Provision of pre-primary education remains scarce across sub-Saharan Africa and Arab States
Africa
2005
Arab States
Central Asia
South/West Asia
There is a lack of policies for under 3s
Programmes are not reaching the poorest and most disadvantaged children
East Asia/Pacific
East Asia has insufficient programmes addressing the urgent health, care and educational needs of children under 3
While enrolment rates in pre-primary education have increased, many countries lag behind in providing access to vulnerable and disadvantaged children
Central/Eastern
Europe
Latin America
Caribbean
North America
Western Europe 20 40 60 80
100
GER in pre-primary education (%)

13. Progress in pre-primary GERs (1999-2005)
Brunei D.
Rep. of Korea
China
Cambodia
Indonesia
Philippines
Viet Nam
Thailand
Macao, China
Malaysia
Total number of children enrolled in pre-primary education (GER) in EAST ASIA decreased by nearly 4% since 1999 to 35 million in 2005, reflecting the shrinking of the relevant age group in China. But the average pre-primary GER increased from 40% to 43% during the period. Increases of more than 10 percentage points in pre-primary GERs were seen in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea and Viet Nam. Thailand’s GER in pre-primary education dropped slightly to 82% in 1006, from 88% in 1999.
The challenge of expanding pre-primary education remains especially great in Cambodia and Lao PDR, where GER is less than 10%
Lao PDR
Japan 13 13

14. Inequities in education: addressing geographic disparities
Progress in enrolment has rarely been uniform within countries. Geographic disparities in NER have increased in some countries 80 70
pre-Dakar 60 50
post-Dakar
Geographical disparity 40 30 20
Progress in enrolment since Dakar has rarely been uniform across all sub-national divisions(e.g. provinces) within countries. Achieving UPE, by definition, implies addressing such inequities. This is why the national Mid-Decade Assessment of EFA focusing on disparities at the sub-national level is important and that its results should be analyzed for use in policy making and decision making. 10
Mali
India
Nigeria
Kenya
Eritrea
Guinea
Benin
Gambia
Nepal
Egypt
Niger
Bolivia
Peru
Ghana
Mexico
Brazil
Ethiopia
Senegal
Zambia
Burkina
Zimbabwe
Colombia
Mauritania
Cambodia
Morocco
Bangladesh
Philippines
Indonesia
Argentina
Mozambique
South Africa
U. R. Tanzania

15. Gender inequalities prevail
63% of countries have achieved gender parity in primary education; 37% in secondary education
59 countries have achieved gender parity at both primary and secondary levels
Gender disparities in secondary education are greater than in primary; they favour girls as often as boys
Prim.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sec.
Prim.
Arab States
Sec.
Prim.
South and West
Asia
Sec.
Latin America
Caribbean
Prim.
Sec.
Central and Eastern
Europe
Prim.
Sec.
Prim.
Worldwide, 118 countries out of the 188 with data had achieved gender parity in primary education by In East Asia, the only countries to have achieved the gender parity goal at both primary and secondary level were China, Indonesia, Japan, Myanmar, the Republic of Korea and Singapore.
Within countries, gender disparities tend to be wider among poorer people than among the more affluent, in rural than in urban areas, and within the latter, in slum than in non-slum areas.
East Asia
and Pacific
Sec.
Prim.
Central Asia
Sec.
Prim.
North America
Western Europe
Sec.
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
1.10
Gender Parity Index in GER

16. Gender Gaps in Secondary Education
Gender disparities are more prevalent and wider in secondary and higher education that at primary level, but follow more complex patterns.
Beyond gender parity, gender equality is more challenging to achieve. Contextual analysis of textbooks points to gender bias against girls and women regardless of level of education, subject matter, country or region.

17. Minimal attention to adult literacy
774 million adult illiterates
South/West Asia
Number of illiterate adults increased in sub-Saharan Africa and Arab States
75% adult illiterates live in 15 countries
64% are women
Direct assessments of literacy skills suggest even greater challenge
Sub-Saharan Africa
East Asia/Pacific
Arab States
Latin
America/Caribbean
Central/Eastern
Based on data (various national censuses, etc.), an estimated 774 million adult illiterates worldwide, down from 864 million in the period. The global adult literacy rate has also improved to 82% from 76%.
Eight high population countries included in the 15: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and Pakistan.
India has 35% of world’s illiterates. Literacy rates under 50% in 12 sub-Saharan African countries, Afghanistan and Bangladesh
The decline in the number of illietrates in East Asia is largely due to the rapid improvements of adult literacy levels in China (where 98 million became literate). Progress in China is largely from increased primary school participation, highly targeted adult literacy programmes and wider reach of literate environments.
Despite the overall decline in the number of illiterates in East Asia, the need to facilitate the acquisition and improvement of adult literacy and numeracy skills remains a key challenge in the region.
The average adult literacy rate in East Asia increased to 92% (in ) from 82% (in ). However, based on conventional assessment methods, 124 million adults, 71% of them women still lack basic literacy and numeracy skills in the region.
Europe
North America/
Western Europe
Central Asia
100
200
300
400
500
Adult illiterates, million

18. Gender gaps in literacy prevail
Countries in the region that still face big challenges include Lao PPR (with a literacy rate of 69%), Cambodia (74%) and Malaysia (89%).
Improving girl’s and women’s literacy is important for gender equality. There are huge gender gaps in adult literacy rates in Cambodia and Lao PDR in favour of men.
Other than gender, other factors that affect literacy levels are poverty, place of residence and other individual characteristics. In general, illiteracy rates are highest in the countries with the greatest poverty… Throughout the region, literate environments need to be improve and monitored.

19. Improving the quality of education
On the average, only 85% of students reach the last grade of primary education in East Asia. Not all pupils who reach the last grade complete it.
International and national learning assessments point to low learning outcomes in some countries in the region.
There are still countries with high primary pupil-teacher ratios, particularly in public schools.
Low levels of learning achievement are related to :
Although increasing access to, and completion of, primary education is a crucial step towards achieving UPE, countries also need to address quality issues in education.
PTRs: Cambodia (53:1), Philippines (35:1), Lao PDR and Myanmar (31:1)
socio-economic background
rural residence
lack of access to books
insufficient instructional time
inadequate of physical and material resources

20. Financial commitment to Education
34 out of 84 countries decreased the share of GNP to education since 1999, including some of those countries furthest from the EFA goals.
Half of the countries in East Asia devoted less than 3% of GNP to public spending on education.
Since 1999, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Republic of Korea have increased education’s share of GNP, while in Thailand the share has declined from 5.1% to 4.3%

21. Strong variations in how much donors allocate to the basic level
Luxembourg
0.03
Greece
Total aid to
The three largest bilateral donors to education allocate less than one-third to the basic level
The share for East Asia of total aid to education dropped to 14% in 2005 from 16% in 1999
0.03
Switzerland
basic education
0.04
New Zealand
0.1
Portugal
0.1
Total aid to
Ireland
0.1
education
Finland
0.1
Italy
0.1
Austria
0.1
Australia
0.1
Sweden
0.1
Denmark
0.1
Belgium
0.2
Spain
0.2
Norway
0.2
Canada
0.2
Netherlands
0.6
United Kingdom
0.6
United States
0.7
Germany
0.8
Indonesia, the Philippines and Viet Nam were among the 23 highest recipients of aid to basic education among low-income countries over 2004 and 2005.
Japan
1.0
France
1.5
IDB
0.0
FTI
0.0
UNICEF
0.1
AfDF
0.1
AsDF
0.3
European Commission
0.8
IDA
1.4
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
1.6
Constant 2005 US$ billion

22. The Way Forward 22

23. Promoting access
To offset the cost of schooling for poor households, countries are:
Targeting poorer regions and population groups
Setting up education cash-transfer programmes
Providing scholarships for girls
Governments are also encouraging access through:
Flexible models for working children and enforced child labour legislation (218 million children still employed)
Inclusive education for the disabled
Bilingual education for children from indigenous communities

24. Four broad policy areas
Improving learning
Four broad policy areas
Trained and motivated teachers
Training models, professional development, incentives to work in underserved areas, policy frameworks for contract teachers
Effective teaching and learning strategies
Active learning, relevant curricula, HIV/AIDS education, importance of acquiring basic skills, better assessments
Learning time, materials and textbooks
Textbook production, unbiased learning content, free distribution to priority areas
Healthy and safe learning environments
Nutrition and health programmes, physical and psycho-social safety

25. Attention to early childhood and literacy programmes for youth and adults
Good ECCE programmes offset disadvantage, improve children’s well-being and prepare them for primary school. Need for:
Programmes for children under age 3
Multi-sectoral policies
Expansion of pre-primary education
Raising qualifications, better training
Substantial scaling up of learning opportunities for youth and adults:
Setting of targets in national plans
Funding arrangements
Partnerships with the non-state sector
Strengthening of the status of non-formal education
Development of literate environments

26. Summing up Dakar’s impact
1. Effective national policies
2. Domestic spending
3. External aid
Educational
development
Rapid increase in the number of children enrolled in primary school in regions farthest from UPE
Rise in the number of countries conducting national learning assessments
National policies targeting disadvantaged groups and areas
Measures to expand early childhood care and education
Increase in national spending on basic education in regions farthest from EFA
Increase in aid to basic education in low-income countries
Emergence of the Fast Track Initiative
More aid to basic education channelled through programmes rather than project support

27. Five policy priorities
Inclusion
Quality
Literacy
Capacity Development
Financing
National commitment to increase education spending
Donor focus on:
low-income countries and fragile states
ongoing support to countries making progress towards EFA

28. efa@unescobkk.org & aims@unescobkk.org
Contact information
AIMS-UIS Unit,
UNESCO Bangkok
& 28