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| Gordon Brown in Maputo/David Fish/ActionAid | Nelson Mandela greets GCE campaigners/David Fish/ActionAid | Paul Weinberg / Oxfam / South Africa |
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Past Issues - February 2006 Note: Most hyperlinks will open in a new window. Please close the new window in order to be automatically returned to the GCE site. GCE Office Opening On the 2 nd February GCE, six years after its inception, the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) celebrated the opening of the first ever international secretariat office. GCE's president, Kailash Satyarthi, welcomed the new office alongside speeches from fellow board member Solly Mabusela and Lucia Fry, Global Coordinator. Read Article in South Africa newspaper Business Day: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/article.aspx?ID=BD4A148472 Your views wanted on the future plans for GCAP As you know GCE worked closed with GCAP last year, many of your increased your campaigning efforts to reach out further than ever by joining forces with GCAP. Now is your chance to have your say. It will only take you a few minutes to fill out their survey. Please download the attached consultation questionnaire (English, French or Spanish) and email it to info@whiteband.org UPCOMING EVENTS For full calendar visit: www.campaignforeducation.org/news/news_events.html
GLOBAL NEWS UPDATE MOZAMBIQUE: NEW MEASURES NEEDED TO TACKLE EDUCATION CRISIS Despite years of interventions designed to turn around Mozambique's historically poor education system, the 2006 school year has kicked off to a dismal start, sparking debate about proposed plans to solve the countries chronic teacher shortages. According to Naima Saú, Deputy Director of Teacher Training at the Ministry of Education, teacher-pupil ratios were a major cause for concern: "on average, there are 50 pupils in each class, and some teachers even have as many as 70 pupils in a class". http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=51689 AFGHANISTAN: Education crisis in the south with 200 schools closed KANDAHAR, 8 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - Sitting in her windowless, smoke-blackened classroom, Zubaida, 15, a ninth grade student, is happy to attend school again after an arson attack destroyed her secondary school in southern Kandahar two weeks ago. Full report AFRICA: CONSORTIUM FOR MONITORING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring the Quality of Education (SACMEQ) started ten years ago as an experimental research project of the UNESCO International Institute for Educational Planning (IIEP). Today, it has grown into a respected inter-governmental agency that designs and implements research and training programmes across 14 counties reports the latest edition of IIEP's newsletter. http://www.unesco.org/iiep/eng/newsletter/2006/jane06.pdf ERITREA: TEACHERS TO GET INTERACTIVE PEDAGOGY TRAINING UNESCO is supporting an innovative teacher training initiative that is expected to improve the quality of instruction and learning in schools across Eritrea by training teachers on learner-centred interactive pedagogy. Teachers will learn new methodologies and how to apply them in classroom settings, even where class sizes are large. http://tinyurl.com/9y9um KENYA: FREE PRIMARY EDUCATION HAVING NEGATIVE IMPACT ON EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT Free Primary Education was introduced in Kenya in 2003, enabling 1.3 million poor children to obtain schooling for the first time. However, a UNESCO/OECD Early Childhood Policy Review Mission note that the policy had a negative impact on early childhood development centres serving poor children. The main reason for this phenomenon is that poor parents are now keeping their children at home until they reach the age of primary school. They refuse to pay for early childhood education on the grounds that this, like primary education, should also be free. http://tinyurl.com/ako3e SOUTH AFRICA: SCHOOL FEES COSTING MANY AN EDUCATION South African families say school fees often are unaffordable and are robbing their children of an education, even though national laws there expressly guarantee free schooling for impoverished youths. UNICEF, the World Bank and other rights groups are encouraging officials there and in other African countries to provide universal free education, denied most frequently to girls. http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0202/p13s01-legn.html TANZANIA: ZANZIBAR PARLIAMENT ENDORSES NEW EDUCATION POLICY Members of the House of Representatives of the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar have endorsed a new education policy intended to make major reforms, including allowing students who fall pregnant to resume their studies after giving birth. For more than 20 years, pregnant Zanzibari girls were forced to leave school permanently. Until the repeal of a law in 2005, they could even be imprisoned. Teachers beheaded for teaching girls in Afghanistan Education International, which represents over 29 million teachers and education workers in the world, a thousand of whom are in Afghanistan, has asked the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, and the international community to redouble their efforts to guarantee girls' education in Afghanistan and the safety of teachers who educate girls. In the last few weeks, reprisals have been taken against girls who attended classes, or teachers who teach girls in their classrooms, leading to terror in Afghanistan's schools. On 15 December, a teacher was beheaded at the school gate after he ignored Taliban guerrillas' orders to stop teaching girls. On 4 January, Malim Abdul Habib, headmaster of a school in Qalat, suffered the same fate. Malim had also received threatening letters, but had continued teaching, without any special protection. According to the authorities of the province of Zabul, in Southern Afghanistan, 100 of 170 registered schools have been closed down in the past two years because of poor security. EI therefore urges the Afghan Government, as well as the international community, to ensure the safety of teachers and education workers who firmly commit themselves to providing schooling and, especially to teaching girls. At a time when the representatives of 60 countries are meeting, under the aegis of the United Nations, in London, on 31 January and 1 February, in order to develop an assistance plan for Afghanistan (Afghanistan Compact), EI recalls that girls' education is a sine qua non for development. The promotion of gender equality is one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and is part of the Education For All action plan, which was adopted by 185 States in 2000. EI asks the international community's leaders to consider girls' education as a priority of the Afghanistan Compact, which will serve as the cooperation framework with Afghanistan in the next five years. For further information on EI's commitment to education, please consult the EI website http://www.ei-ie.org GLOBAL: FEEDING HUNGRY SCHOOL CHILDREN Of the 300 million chronically hungry children in the world, a third mostly girls - do not attend school. On empty stomachs, children are easily distracted and cannot concentrate properly. Hunger impedes a child's ability to learn and achieve. School feeding programmes offer nutritional food as well as a platform for addressing the poverty, war and disease that can affect a child's health and education. http://www.id21.org/education/e5wfp1g1.html MOZAMBIQUE: EDUCATION BOOSTS INCOME AND HOUSEHOLD WELL-BEING The educational level of adults is one of the most important indicators of poverty in Mozambique. More than a decade after the agreement that ended the 16-year civil war, educational levels remain extremely low. Getting more children, and particularly girls, into primary school is a major challenge. And the challenge does not end with getting children into school: it is also important to reduce drop-out rates and ensure that more children complete primary school. http://www.id21.org/education/e1sh1g1.html BURUNDI: UN OPERATION SPONSORS NEW EDUCATION PROJECTS The United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) is funding nearly a dozen new initiatives aimed at boosting education and health across eight provinces in the country, which is stabilizing despite continued rebel activities. Known as "Quick Impact Projects," these small-scale endeavours serve to build peace at the grass-roots level. The new projects recently announced by ONUB involve rehabilitating primary schools, constructing new classrooms and sanitation systems, refurbishing college facilities, stocking libraries, and the installation of a water supply system at the Nyakabugu Health Centre. http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=17066&Cr=Burundi&Cr1= GLOBAL: TAKE EDUCATION OUT OF GATS, TEACHERS URGE The global federation of teacher unions, Education International (EI) representing more than 29 million teachers and education workers has called on member countries to remove education services from the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). "Because there are so many unanswered questions about the impact of GATS on education, and because there is so much at stake, we believe all members must adopt a precautionary approach. They must neither make nor seek any commitments that constrain the rights of government to regulate education as they see fit, including research, audio-visual services, and libraries," stated Thulas Nxesi, president of EI. http://www.ei-ie.org/en/news/20051214.htm PAKISTAN: USAID to build 60 schools in quake area As part of its reconstruction efforts, the United States Agency for International Development will construct over 60 schools and 20 health units in quake-affected areas of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and Pakistani-administered Kashmir. IRIN - 24 th Jan Islamabad ZIMBABWE: END THE ABUSE, UNICEF SAYS In the wake of a worsening orphan crisis and accusations against a headmaster who allegedly raped six primary school pupils, the United Nations Children's Fund has repeated its call for communities to speak out against all forms of child abuse. UNICEF said it was horrified at the continued sexual abuse of children, most of them primary school pupils, and by those in trusted positions. Anecdotal evidence from local NGOs and clinics around Harare show child sexual abuse is rampant. http://www.hrea.org AFRICA: CLOSE TO 50 MILLION CHILDREN LACK ACCESS TO SCHOOL http://allafrica.com/stories/200601160157.html About 50 million African children are currently denied school due to lack of investment on education by governments in the continent according to African Education Ministers. The Ministers said this at a gathering of the first extra-ordinary conference on Education in Addis Ababa, to evaluate the First Decade of Education For All (EFA)-1997 to 2006.They observed that a number of countries in Africa spend, on average, only less than 3 per cent of their GNP on education and less than 12 per cent of their budgets. SUDAN: PUSH TO RECONSTRUCT SCHOOL SYSTEM http://tinyurl.com/agoaf The Federal Minister of Education and the Minister of Education, Science and Technology of Southern Sudan visited UNESCO on 5 January 2006 with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the Organization and this war-torn country. Reconstruction in Sudan has been possible since peace accords were signed in January 2005 between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) and the Government of Sudan. Nevertheless, the country still faces many educational challenges with a literacy rate of less than 40% and the number of children enrolled in school dropping, according to UNESCO. PUBLICATIONS AND RESOURCES GLOBAL: EDUCATION FOR NOMADIC AND PASTORALIST GIRLS AND BOYS This paper illustrates the challenges involved in providing good-quality gender-equitable education for children of nomadic and pastoralist households who are beyond the reach of mainstream, formal education. Some of the key issues highlighted in the paper include the limited, and failed, provision of static schooling, or projects which have focused on getting nomadic boys and girls to adapt to the formal system. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20862 EFA GLOBAL MONITORING REPORT SEARCH TOOL Extensive data on Education for All is now easily accessible with the new search tool on the Global Monitoring Report website. This tool, developed by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics in partnership with the EFA Global Monitoring Report team, is based on the data contained in the 2006 statistical annex tables. It enables you to search by table, theme, indicator, country and region, and to export results into an Excel format. http://gmr.uis.unesco.org/ OXFAM'S CATALOGUE FOR SCHOOLS 2006 The catalogue contains more than 400 specially selected education resources all supporting a global approach to teaching and learning. NB The Oxfam Catalogue is in English and contains resources in English. http://www.oxfam.org.uk/publications . Out of school and (probably) in work: child labour and capability deprivation in India Authors: Jayaraj, D.; Subramanian, S. Produced by: World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER) (2005) This paper explores the hypothesis that the phenomenon of child labour is explicable in terms of poverty that compels a household to keep its children out of school and put them to work in the cause of the household's survival. Specifically, the authors examine the link between child labour and poverty in the Indian context. Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20361 Teacher motivation in India Authors: Ramachandran, V.; Pal, M.; Jain, S.; Shekar, S.; Sharma, J.; Educational Resource Unit Produced by: Azim Premji Foundation (2005) This is a study of teacher motivation in India and explores national trends in the context of Rajasthan. The study aimed to find out the factors that determine the overall motivation levels of teachers, their job satisfaction and measures that could be taken to improve motivation levels. The findings show that a school with good infrastructure and connectivity could hold back more teachers for more hours. Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20873 Ensuring a Gender Perspective in Education in Emergencies, (Inter-Agency Network on Education in Emergencies (INEE), International Rescue Committee (IRC) and Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children) The document is a chapter from a forthcoming handbook on gender mainstreaming in humanitarian action. It is a resource for policy-makers and practitioners demonstrating how to ensure gender concerns are integrated into all protection and assistance programs in humanitarian emergencies. Available online at: www.campaignforeducation.org/resources AFRICA: FACTSHEET ON SECONDARY EDUCATION In one out of four African countries, half of the children enrolled at the end of primary school do not continue to the secondary level in the following year, according to the most recent factsheet produced by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). This percentage is far lower than the 85% of primary pupils who make the transition in most countries of Europe, Asia, North and South America. The factsheet "How many children in Africa reach secondary education?" gives a breakdown of the dire situation of secondary education in Africa. http://tinyurl.com/df5qw ETHIOPIA: EDUCATION CHOICES The organisation "Young Lives" investigates the external factors associated with child enrolment in Ethiopia's schools, such as lack of income, child labour, economic shocks, social capital and education of adults in the household. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20720 GLOBAL: DIRECTORY OF HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATORS This is a resource for individuals, communities and organisations that are looking for assistance with their activities or want to exchange information. Almost 600 educators in 50 countries are currently registered in the directory. http://www.hrea.org/erc/Databases/educators.php TANZANIA: TRANSACTION COSTS AND AID IN EDUCATION SECTOR This UNDP paper explores transaction costs (TCs) in the Tanzanian education sector. It looks at the different kinds of transaction costs, including administrative, tying and fiscal, to see how they play out through different funding instruments such as projects, pooled fund support to the education sector, sector support, and examines their likely implications in the context of moves towards increased budget support. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20721 Human Rights, Obligations in Education: The 4-A Scheme Katarina Tomasevski, Published January 2006 This book describes how human rights safeguards should be applied in education. Its point of departure is the fact that education can - and does - violate human rights, notably when it is imposed upon the indigenous or minorities so as to obliterate their identity. Human rights are defined as safeguards against abuse of power, whose counterpart are governmental human rights obligations. These are to make education available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable, hence the 4-A scheme. www.right-to-education.org Capacity building for decentralised education service delivery in Ethiopia and Pakistan: a comparative analysis Authors: Watson, D. (2005) This paper is a comparative analysis of capacity building for decentralised education service delivery between Ethiopia and Pakistan. The aim of the study is to examine how organisations and systems in both countries have succeeded in building their capacity and improving performance. The study focuses on the endogenous process of capacity development - the process of change from the perspective of those undergoing the change. The study examines the factors that encourage it, how it differs from one context to another, and why efforts to develop capacity have been more successful in some contexts than in others. Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20631 Stealing the future: corruption in the classroom Authors: Meier, B. (Ed.); Griffin, M. (Ed.) Transparency International (TI) (2005) This report presents ten studies carried out in Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Georgia, Mexico, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Sierra Leone and Zambia. The studies assess the forms and extent of corruption at schools, universities and in education administration and provides practical examples of how civil society can help curb corrupt practice to ensure that children get quality education. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20551 The MDGs and sustainable rural development in sub-Saharan Africa. Challenges and implications for Education for Rural People (ERP) Authors: Avila, M.; Gasperini, L. (2005) This paper emphasises the need for a strong specific focus on rural people and argues that education is the most effective way to empower the rural poor to get out of poverty and to ensure that the MDG targets are met in sub-Saharan Africa. Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20627 Gender equality and basic adult education Authors: Oxfam (2005) This paper argues that the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) do not directly address the issue of adult basic education and literacy, in spite of these being essential for achieving the Millennium targets. It explores the potential of adult basic education with gender equality to be transformatory for individuals, and for groups working to address key issues, such as gender-based violence, and HIV and AIDS. The role of governments and other key agencies in relation to gender equality and adult basic education is also explored. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20610 Economic shocks and changes in school attendance levels and education expenditure in Peru Authors: Escobal, J.; Saavedra, J.; Suárez , P Produced by: Young Lives (2005) This paper studies the effect of economic shocks on household human capital investment patterns using a sample of 6 to 14 year-old children going through the Peruvian education system. While other studies have analysed the impact of shocks on the accumulation of human capital, based chiefly on an analysis of scholl attendance, this study employs a more comprehensive analysis of the various mechanisms through which spending on education can be affected by short-term economic shocks. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20620 Learning from listening: a policy report on Maldivian teachers attitudes to their own profession Authors: Wheatcroft, L. (Voluntary Service Overseas) (2005) This research explores the factors that affect teacher motivation in the Maldives, based on what teachers themselves identify. The teachers identified the following factors that affect their motivation both positively and negatively: school leadership and management; training and professional development; availability of teaching and learning materials (TLMs); links with the community; teacher workload and conditions; student behaviour and student profile; and school buildings and facilities. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20550 Private and public schooling: the Indian experience Authors: Kingdon, G.G. The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the Indian experience with private and public schooling. It shows how the enrolment share of different school-types has changed over time; illustrates from Indian literature on the relative effectiveness and costs of government, aided and private schools; discusses the experience of public-private partnerships in education in India; and summarises issues relating to the school-choice debate in India in light of recent/current educational legislation. Available online at: http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20545 AFRICA: CHALLENGES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR EDUCATION FOR RURAL PEOPLE http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20627 This paper from the Sustainable Development Department, FAO, emphasises the need for a strong specific focus on rural people and argues that education is the most effective way to empower the rural poor to get out of poverty and to ensure that the MDG targets are met in sub-Saharan Africa. The paper provides empirical data on the human development situation and trends for rural peoples of the region, explains the critical roles of agriculture, food security and nutrition for the achievement of the MDGs, identifies key potentials and strategic challenges of sustainable agriculture and rural development, and highlights the important contribution of education for rural people (ERP) to sustainable rural development and to achieve the MDGs. AFRICA: DO ICTS ENHANCE TEACHING AND LEARNING IN SOUTH AFRICA AND EGYPT? http://www.id21.org/education/e4jl1g1.html The Digital Education Enhancement Project (DEEP) is exploring how information and communications technologies (ICTs) can improve the quality of teacher education and learning. Research looks at primary schools in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province and in Cairo, Egypt. BOTSWANA: STUDY OF LITERACY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION IN BOTSWANA http://tinyurl.com/bww5r "Improving the Quality of Literacy Learning in the Content Areas: Situational Analysis of Secondary Level Education in Botswana" underscores the importance of continuous literacy development in order to maximize secondary school students' learning opportunities. The study sheds light on the critical issue of transitional challenges between primary and secondary levels of education. It argues that solid competencies in literacy are required for a truly participatory and student-centred approach to learning at the secondary level. ETHIOPIA: CAPACITY BUILDING FOR DECENTRALISED EDUCATION SERVICE DELIVERY http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20644 This report from the European Centre for Development Policy Management examines capacity building for decentralised education service delivery in Ethiopia. Main key findings on devolution and education services in Ethiopia include: the devolution of service delivery was included in the 1995 Constitution, which provides an unusual degree of autonomy to Ethiopia's 11 regional states. However, the administration appears to be more aligned to deconcentration below the regional level. GLOBAL: CAN ICTS HELP INCREASE LITERACY? http://www.id21.org/education/e4gf1g2.html There is growing awareness that it is not the learning of literacy skills that brings about social and economic benefits but the ability to use literacy in specific instances. Literacy learning must encourage the use of skills in real life situations and promote the transfer of literacy skills from the adult classroom into the external world. Can new technologies be used to develop learning materials to assist with this? The cost of poverty: transaction costs and the struggle to make aid work in the education sector in Tanzania Authors: Dyer, K. UNDP (2005) This paper explores transaction costs (TCs) in the Tanzanian education sector. It looks at the different kinds of transaction costs, including administrative, tying and fiscal, to see how they play out through different funding instruments such as projects, pooled fund support to the education sector, sector support, and examines their likely implications in the context of moves towards increased budget support. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20721 Education choices in Ethiopia: what determines whether poor households send their children to school? Authors: Woldehanna, T. et al. Produced by: Young Lives (2004) The aim of this paper is to establish a link between micro-level outcomes and macro-level policy initiatives with respect to eight-year-old children's primary school enrolment in Ethiopia. The study investigated external factors associated with child enrolment in school, such as lack of income, child labour, economic shocks, social capital and education of adults in the household. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20720 HIV/AIDS in Asia: human rights and the education sector Authors: Wijngaarden, J.; Sheldon, S. Produced by: UNESCO Bangkok: Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (2005) This paper examines the impact of HIV/AIDS on education from a human rights perspective. It offers a conceptual framework to assess the impact of HIV/AIDS on human rights and the education sector, and discusses directions for future response. Human rights is discussed both in relation to access and demand for education by children affected by HIV/AIDS, and also in relation to supply, quality of education, the role of schools and management issues. The final part of this paper identifies the inter-related dynamics of human rights, HIV/AIDS and the education sector, and outlines how the education sector can be mobilised to protect human rights in the context of HIV/AIDS. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20719 Implementing minimum standards for education in emergencies: lessons from Aceh Authors: Anderson, A.; Brooks, D. Produced by: Humanitarian Practice Network (HPN), ODI (2005) In December 2004, the Inter-Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) launched a handbook entitled Minimum Standards for Education in Emergencies, Chronic Crises and Early Reconstruction. This article describes the use of the standards to develop education and child protection responses in the immediate aftermath of the tsunami in Aceh. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20689 Reviewing ten years of the School Nutrition Programme Authors: Wildeman, R.A.; Mbebetho, N. Produced by: Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) (2005) The South African School Nutrition Programme was established in 1994 to address the food needs of impoverished school children. However, researchers are divided about the policy value of the school nutrition programme, with one group wishing to expand the programme whilst the other advocates limiting its scope. This paper argues that the lack of balance between school feeding and other nutritional considerations de-legitimises the programme's narrow targeting and strengthens arguments for the expansion of the school nutrition programme. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20662 Stop violence against us!: summary report: a preliminary national research study into the prevalence and perceptions of Cambodian children to violence against children in Cambodia Authors: Miles, G.; Varin, S. Produced by: Tearfund (2005) Little research has been done to explore how violence affects children in Cambodia from their perspective or even the prevalence of the problem. This report is an attempt to get information about the prevalence of three aspects of the problem of violence against children - sexual abuse, domestic violence and corporal punishment. It is also an attempt to listen to children's own perceptions and to continue to explore ways to address violence that include those not yet considered. http://www.eldis.org/cf/rdr/rdr.cfm?doc=DOC20697 ©2006 GCE You are welcome to reproduce items from the GCE E-News for any non-profit use, as long as you credit GCE together with any original source mentioned in the article. |
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