Reaching the Unreached: Meeting of Southeast Asian Countries to Meet the EFA Goals by 2015 2-4 Sept. 2008 Bangkok, Thailand

Why focus on the unreached and the under-served target groups for EFA? UIS-AIMS Unit, UNESCO Bangkok UNESCO INSTITUTE for STATISTICS Pprepared by Ko-Chih Tung

Education for All Goals 1. Expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children. 2. Ensure that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality. 3. Ensure that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programmes. 4. Achieve a 50% improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults. 5. Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005, and achieve gender equality in education by 2015. 6. Improve all aspects of the quality of education and ensure excellence of all so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills. Education as a basic human right is recognized in Article 26 of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights The Education for All (EFA) initiative was first launched in Jomtien, Thailand in March 1990 at the World Conference on Education for All (EFA): Meeting Basic Learning Needs The current six EFA goals were agreed to in Dakar, Senegal in April 2000 at the World Education Forum

EFA Mid-Decade Assessment Objectives Build national capacity to undertake M&E, MDA & Mid- Term Policy Reviews Assess progress and gaps in the achievement of the national and global targets of EFA Identify and locate the remaining gaps in terms of quality and equity sub-nationally, with a focus on the disadvantaged and excluded populations Review, identify and locate problems, issues, policies, strategies, actions and critical factors of success/failure Use results of the assessment to sharpen the focus and update policies and strategies for attaining the EFA goals and the MDGs by 2015

EFA Mid-Decade Assessment Framework Framework for the Assessment: Inclusive Education in a Lifelong Perspective a focus on the diversity of learning needs of sub-populations (e.g., the disabled, linguistic and ethnic minorities, girls and women, disadvantaged groups) provision of quality education for all learners The MDA aims to answer: Which children are not in school/learning centres? What inhibits their full participation? Who should be targeted as a priority? How can we improve quality and equality? How do we cost, budget and finance EFA? Countries are encouraged to tap alternative sources of data on un-reached groups

Who are the “unreached”? the lowest range on indicators of education participation (e.g., enrolment rate) and performance (e.g., completion rate, level of education) may be in school, but their learning achievement scores are significantly lower than the average for the nation, e.g. the bottom quartile greatest distance to reach the EFA Goals and Targets The “unreached” groups are those who occupy the lowest range on indicators of education participation (e.g., enrolment rate) and performance (e.g., completion rate, level of education). Their average scores are significantly lower than the average for the nation as a whole, say below the bottom quartile, on the standard indicators of learning achievement. Therefore, the “unreached” have the greatest distance to reach the EFA Goals and Targets.   The term “underserved” refers to the groups’ relative lack of educational opportunities and access to educational services, materials and facilities. For whatever reasons -- geographical, financial, political, linguistic, legal, socio-cultural, etc. -- the underserved are those who have the least access to the distributed educational resources, as compared to the national average, as measured by such indicators as budgetary allocation, number of schools, qualified teachers, textbooks, etc. relative to the school-age population.

Who are the “under-served”? The “underserved” groups are those who Lack educational opportunities and access to educational services, materials and facilities. Lack access to the distributed educational resources, as compared to the national average, e.g.., budgetary allocation, number of schools, qualified teachers, textbooks, etc. relative to the school-age population For reasons of geographical, financial, political, linguistic, legal, socio-cultural, etc. The “unreached” groups are those who occupy the lowest range on indicators of education participation (e.g., enrolment rate) and performance (e.g., completion rate, level of education). Their average scores are significantly lower than the average for the nation as a whole, say below the bottom quartile, on the standard indicators of learning achievement. Therefore, the “unreached” have the greatest distance to reach the EFA Goals and Targets.   The term “underserved” refers to the groups’ relative lack of educational opportunities and access to educational services, materials and facilities. For whatever reasons -- geographical, financial, political, linguistic, legal, socio-cultural, etc. -- the underserved are those who have the least access to the distributed educational resources, as compared to the national average, as measured by such indicators as budgetary allocation, number of schools, qualified teachers, textbooks, etc. relative to the school-age population.

Who are the unreached and underserved Who are the unreached and underserved? How shall we effectively include them in EFA? Learners from remote and rural communities, including isolated Learners from linguistic and ethnic minorities/indigenous peoples, minority religious groups, etc. Girls and women, especially from rural, ethnic minorities (pregnant girls) Underperforming boys, boys at risk of dropping out, male dropouts Children from migrant families, refugees, stateless children Learners with disabilities/special needs Children in difficult circumstances (affected by armed conflict, disaster, children in prison or who are with their parent(s) in prison) Learners from very poor families (urban poor, poor families in remote areas) Child labourers/ street children/ trafficked children/abused children Children affected or infected by HIV and AIDS Orphans and abandoned children Learners from remote and rural communities, including isolated Learners from linguistic and ethnic minorities/indigenous peoples, minority religious groups, etc. Girls and women, especially from rural, ethnic minorities (pregnant girls) Underperforming boys, boys at risk of dropping out, male dropouts Children from migrant families, refugees, stateless children Learners with disabilities/special needs Children in difficult circumstances (affected by armed conflict, disaster, children in prison or who are with their parent(s) in prison) Learners from very poor families (urban poor, poor families in remote areas) Child labourers/ street children/ trafficked children/abused children Children affected or infected by HIV and AIDS Orphans and abandoned children

Individual attributes What inhibits their full participation? E.g. Low enrolment rate among children of migrant workers Conditioning factors: policy affected Legal requirement Compulsory/noncompulsory primary education Budgetary allocation for migrant workers/ non-citizens Availability of schools, teachers and places Absence of clear authoritative directive language of instruction Laws on citizenship, registration, work permit, resident permit Immediate factors Individual attributes Birth certification Citizenship Residence permit Work permit (parents) Legal ID card Poverty – household income Fear of deportation Language barrier

MDA: Where do we stand now? National EFA MDA reports finalised: Indonesia and Myanmar National EFA MDA reports being finalised: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam Sub-Regional EFA MDA reports now being printed Insular Southeast Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines Mekong: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Viet Nam

EFA MDA and Policy Review Results of national and sub-regional EFA MDA and the 2008 Global Monitoring Report used for policy reviews Recommendations for adjustments in terms of: Target-setting, with specific references to priority target groups Strategies for attaining the unattained and reaching the un-reached A schedule of milestones to be attained over the remaining period Sub-Regional EFA Mid-Term Policy Reviews to be conducted in Asia-Pacific (the first held in Southeast Asia in February)

Policy and Strategy Recommendations: South-East Asia EFA Policy Review Identified specific target groups; in particular, unreached and disadvantaged populations Defined “Inclusive Education” and “Quality” of education Identified critical issues / major challenges using a lifelong learning approach Recommended policies and strategies on how to address these issues Identified good practices and innovative ideas Participants from SEAMEO Member countries, except Timor Leste, were represented at the Conference held from 18-21 February in Jomtien, Thailand Working Groups on: Inclusive Education and Access Gender and social equity Quality of Education Literacy, mother tongue and language policies EFA Monitoring and Evaluation Financing and Governance Youth’s role in achieving EFA (the youth both as a target group but also as playing a key role in achieving EFA)

Going to scale: develop capacity for implementation and sustainability source: FTI CD Guidelines

Challenges in getting information on un-reached groups in Southeast Asia UIS-AIMS Unit, UNESCO Bangkok UNESCO INSTITUTE for STATISTICS Pprepared by Nyi Nyi THAUNG

Availability of data on unreached groups Reaching the unreached: the major theme for EFAMDA Findings from the EFA MDA Most country reports tried to present the situation of unreached groups in relation to the provision and quality of education and other relevant aspects. Reports have sections on: Identifying the unreached groups Relevant policies and interventions Implementation of programmes, activities Difficulties and challenges in implementing the programmes Results and achievements Initially attached at Paris HQ She used to be a Director General of Statistics Office at UK

Data Collection and Reporting Not all countries disaggregate the data into rural/remote Focus is on gender disaggregation Best-practice: Lao divided regions into poorest, poor, non-poor and provides data on ethnic groups Time series provide the means of observing narrowing or widening of gaps (applied in some countries as Cambodia, Viet Nam, Philippines and others) Efforts are made in collecting data on pupils with disabilities Data on Children in difficult circumstances, child labourers/ street children/ trafficked children/abused children, children affected or infected by HIV and AIDS, orphans and abandoned children is rare Myanmar and the Philippines provide some information on these groups

Examples of data mentioned in MDA reports Indonesia has very low participation of children with disabilities in ECCE (2% GER in 2005) The number of working children has declined from 670,000 in 2004 to 516,000 in 2005 (Indonesia) Significant differences in transition rate from primary to secondary exist across the provinces, varying from 77% in Sulawesi Utara to 43% in Kalimantan Tengah. (Indonesia) Participation of children from indigenous groups in ECCE almost tripled from 2000 to 2005, from 10,726 to 29,723 (Malaysia) 71.2% of children from rural areas and disadvantaged students exhibit lower literacy skills (Malaysia) NER in rural areas improved from 78% in 2002 to 87.1% in 2005 while that for urban areas decreased from 85.7% to 77.6% during the same period (Philippines) Initially attached at Paris HQ She used to be a Director General of Statistics Office at UK

Examples from the MDA reports In the past half-decade, the number of students from the main ethnic group declined by 8%, while the number of students from other ethnic groups rose considerably (Lao PDR) In 2002/03, 12.9% of children enrolled in ECCE were ethnic minorities; by 2005/06, the figure rose to 13.8%,: Initially attached at Paris HQ She used to be a Director General of Statistics Office at UK

Examples of data use in the MDA reports Initially attached at Paris HQ She used to be a Director General of Statistics Office at UK

Challenges Limited availability of data: only partial or incomplete Data are never collected Data are collected but not as part of the routine channels Ad-hoc, one-time, case specific Data exists but there is no information on where and how to get the data Quality of data is beyond the acceptable, publishable level Initially attached at Paris HQ She used to be a Director General of Statistics Office at UK

Challenges Organization of available data Capacity Information is available from various institutions (difficulty in compilation) in various forms, formats, medias (difficulty in transforming into interpretable format) based on different concepts, definitions and methodologies (difficulty in consolidating and comparing) Capacity Lack of skills, capacity and interest Lack of financial resources Lack of institutional mandate to collect, compile and analyze the information Initially attached at Paris HQ She used to be a Director General of Statistics Office at UK

Discussion points Getting information for the reaching the un-reached group What to collect In which detail – disaggregation How to collect Who should collect Who should consolidate, maintain, distribute How to coordinate How to build the capacity to do the above Initially attached at Paris HQ She used to be a Director General of Statistics Office at UK

Next Steps One proposed action for the countries is to consider a Mapping Study on availability of data on reaching the unreached Who are collecting the data, who are the data users How are data collected What are the data-related issues Where can data be accessed/collected Initially attached at Paris HQ She used to be a Director General of Statistics Office at UK