The importance of universal quality basic education in achieving a myriad of economic and social benefits, from greater earning potential to individual empowerment, has long been vocalised by education advocates and reinforced in UN conventions, development goals and program policies. This has resulted in some promising progress towards achieving the ‘Education for All’ (EFA) and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) especially in terms of primary school access.

 

However, while some progress has been achieved in getting more kids into school, the path ahead is complex and filled with challenges. This is especially true when focusing on education for marginalised groups such as women and girls and those with disabilities, as the obstacles impacting their attainment of quality education are numerous. As the report indicates some progress has been made in reducing the number of out of school children, with girls now making up just 53% of the children out of school, as opposed to 60% in 2000. Yet, this progress in average enrolment rates fails to provide a comprehensive picture of girl’s education throughout the schooling system, with girls experiencing high drop-out rates, difficulties transitioning to secondary school, low quality education and other cultural challenges often mitigating educational progress. Disabled students face similar challenges with the combination of poverty and cultural isolation placing high entry barriers for many of these individuals.

 

Given the patchy progress towards EFA and the difficulties in reaching these marginalised groups it is imperative that multilateral institutions such as the World Bank (WB and also referred to as the Bank in this report), the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and government agencies such as the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) maximise the impact of their investments in education to specifically target vulnerable populations.

 

This report examines the extent to which issues of gender and disability are considered in the design, development and monitoring of education programs undertaken by AusAID, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines. This is examined through a dual analytical approach involving assessment of institutional education policy and design documents to determine gender and disability policies and priorities. This analysis was coupled with a review of operational documents ie; planning documents, evaluation reports and independent evaluation documents to determine how these priorities are reflected ‘on-the-ground’ in country level education development programs.


Click here to view the full report