Education for All in LAC Where do we stand, where do we go? ECOSOC Buenos Aires, 12 & 13 May 2011 UNESCO Santiago 1

EFA and youth transition to work EFA: specific solutions for specific challenges Diversity: 41 countries, 5 ‘administrative’ languages, many indigenous languages Most countries classified as middle income countries (MICs) except Haïti (low income); some high income countries Many countries with high or medium development as per UNDP HDI 2010; Haiti (low human development) and Barbados (very high) Characteristics: deep inequality, political changes and non continuity; violence; natural disasters 2

EFA and youth transition to work EFA: a concerted effort OEI – education goals 2021: – 11 general goals e.g. UPE and USE – 27 specific goals – 38 indicators OAS – education goals of the Summit of the Americas: – Universal primary education - UPE – Access for at least 75% of young people to secondary education – Opportunities for lifelong learning 3

EFA and youth transition to work EFA (contd.) ALAS Foundation: civic society for child development CLADE: Latin American campaign for the Right to Education Plan International: “learning without fear” a global campaign for ending violence in schools … and AECID, PREAL, IADB, CECC- SICA, CARICOM, Save the Children, WB, and others 4

EFA and youth transition to work G-1: expanding & improving ECCE Legal provisions for access to ECCE exist in most countries e.g. Caribbean Average enrolment at the pre-primary level (for countries with data), increased from 55% in 2000 to 65% in 2008 Gender parity reached in many countries However, children from the richest 20% of population enrol much more than those from the poorest 20% Furthermore, children from urban areas enroll much more than those from rural areas 5

EFA and youth transition to work Overview of enrolment in ECCE 6

EFA and youth transition to work Goal 2: UPE – primary enrolment Between 2000 & 2008 the region progressed towards UPE with enrolment rising from 93% to 95% As per Pareto principle the last 10- 5% is actually the most difficult to reach – Countries improved enrolment in 1999 –2007: Guatemala: 82 to 95%; Nicaragua: 76 to 96% – Others saw a drop in enrolment: Jamaica: 88 to 86%; Peru 98 to 96%) On the whole completion rates improved over the last decade from 86% to 90% 7

EFA and youth transition to work Goal 3: learning opportunities for all learners - secondary Enrolment at the secondary level increased by 6% from 66% to 73% in Noticeable increases in Guatemala (to 49%), DR (to 47%) When comparing secondary completion rates of those aged 20–24 with those aged 30–34 it increased by 25% 8

EFA and youth transition to work Tertiary education Enrolment rose from 22% to 38% in 2000–08 i.e. an 16% increase The greatest proportional increase worldwide; greatest regional increase after Central & Eastern Europe 9

EFA and youth transition to work Goal 4: adult literacy Adult literacy increased moderately between 2000 and 2008 from 90% to 91% This masks differences within and between countries: around 20% of people in Guatemala and Nicaragua are illiterate, in Uruguay and Cuba, illiteracy is virtually non-existent Overall, adult literacy is marginally lower among women than men in LA and higher among women than men in the Caribbean Between 2000 and 2008 growth in literacy has been slightly higher among males than females …but there is the issue of functional illiteracy… 10

EFA and youth transition to work Goal 5: gender parity 11

EFA and youth transition to work Goal 6: quality of education The UNESCO 2nd regional study (maths, reading, science for 3rd and 6th graders) shows that important tranches of learners do not achieve minimum levels of proficiency in either reading or mathematics in some countries In general, differences in learning outcomes between boys and girls are small The former tend to perform better in maths, the latter perform better in reading 12

EFA and youth transition to work The state of EFA: summary UPE is not seen any longer as a challenge with overall 95% enrolment (UIS, 2008). Is this true? Access to pre-primary level (ECCE), as well as access and completion of secondary education & TVET, remain serious concerns Goal 6 will not be met: quality of education and all its ramifications Inequity is pervasive and slows down socio- economic progress. A new definition…. Issues: school violence, natural disasters that put in danger EFA gains, ICTs in education; education to combat climate change, etc… 13

Guiding principles: Division of labour & working areas Terminology & definitions Situation analysis Programme design (coordination, collaboration, convergence) Validation process Incentives Implementation, M&E Accountability CROSS-CUTTING THEMES STRUCTURE OF THE SECTOR Others undergraduate higher secondary secondary middle primary ECE Towards Education convergence in LAC SUPPORTIVEMECHANISMSSUPPORTIVEMECHANISMS &SYSTEMS&SYSTEMS

EFA and youth transition to work 15 Education Support systems Curriculum reforms Teachers Management and planning Schools culture A social contract for education Diversity and flexibility Standard-setting Harmonisation of learning objectives Methods of delivery and pedagogy Culture of peace and ‘convivencia’ School climate Instructional & participatory leadership Inclusion & equity Decentralisation Quality assurance & school inspection Accountability Education mgmt. inf. systems (EMIS) Inter-agency partnerships & coalitions Public–private partnerships South-South cooperation Innovative financing Pre-and in-service training Certification, accreditation, minimum standards Teacher evaluation Accelerating EFA by 2015?

EFA and youth transition to work Beyond Where do we go from here? Rethinking quality of education: how do the various aspects of quality relate to each other? Teaching and pedagogical methods, assessment of and for learning, 21st century skills, etc. Equity: how do we serve the learners that do not have access to quality education today? Higher learning (academic & technical, professional): beyond basic skills to transform LAC into knowledge-based societies 16

EFA and youth transition to work Financing must remain a commitment Impact of economic downturn emphasizes the need to explore innovative modalities for financing of EFA Some countries use the self-benefiting modality as they require better technical expertise or programming capacity South-South Cooperation, endowment funding, Public Private Partnerships, Debt Swaps, private sector and foundations, etc. 17

EFA and youth transition to work Thank you 18