1. Rural Education in Developing Countries Wanna Leka Addis Ababa University

2. Objective The major objective of this presentation is to outline briefly about rural education in developing countries

3. 1. Introduction Demographic trends indicate that by the year 2030 the World Population will reach 8.4 billion. When this figure is further disaggregated, the developing countries will contribute about 86% of the population growth of the year 2030. The majority of the world population by the year 2030 will also be still rural (55% of the total population) mainly in developing countries. However, except for Africa and Oceania, the rural population is expected to decline in all areas between 2000 and 2030.

4. Introduction (contd.) Table 1: Rural Population Trends by Region and Development Group 1950- 2030 Ru. Pop(bill.) 1950 2030 World 1.77 3.90 Developed regions 0.37 0.21 Less developed 1.40 3.08

5. 2. Defining Rural Areas In an effort to better capture the concept of rurality some authors used a multi-criteria approach, defining rural areas as: A space where human settlement and infrastructure occupy only a small share of the landscape; Natural environment dominated by pastures, forests, mountains and deserts;

6. Definition (Contd.) Settlements of low density (about 5-10,000 persons); Places where most people work on farms; Prevalence of poverty; The availability of land at a relatively low cost; and a place where activities are affected by a high transaction cost, associated with long distance from cities and poor infrastructures.

7. Fig.1. Who are the poor? Small farmers Pastoralists Artisan/fishermen Landless people Castes/tribes Female headed households Displaced people

8. 3. Educational Objectives of Most Developing Countries To provide universal primary education; To develop manpower to promote economic growth and To provide some measure of equal opportunity for those groups previously disadvantaged economically and educationally.

9. 4. Suggested Education for Rural Population 1.Basic general education embracing: Literacy and Numeracy 2. Family improvement education 3. Civic, community/improvement education 4. Occupational/Vocational education

10. 5. Millennium Development Goals 1. Reduce by half the proportion of people living in extreme poverty between 1990 and 2015 and reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger; 2. Enroll all children in primary school by 2015; 3. Make progress towards gender equality and empowering women by eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005; 4. Reduce infant and child mortality rates by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015;

11. Millennium Development Goals (Contd) 5. Reduce maternal mortality ratios by three- quarters between 1990 and 2015; 6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; 7.Implement national strategies for sustainable development by 2005 so as to reverse the loss of environmental resources by 2015. 8.Develop a global partnership for development.

12. 6. EFA GOALS 1.Expand early childhood care and education 2.Free and compulsory education of good quality 3.Promote the acquisition of life skills by adolescents and youth 4.Expand adult literacy 5.Eliminate gender disparity 6.Enhance educational quality

13. 7. Barriers to Universalize Primary Education 1.task complexity 2.economic determinants 3.socio-cultural barrier 4.Demographic and geographic determinants 5.school inefficiency 6.legitimacy gap

14. 8. Recommendations Effective policies and practices of governments; Community mobilization Diversify funding sources; Alternative approaches to the delivery of education; Integrate primary education with other development activities; Bring more rural girls to school; Evaluate programs periodically.