Assessing Progress Made in Basic Education Since 1990
In 1990, delegates from 155 countries and representatives from 150 organizations agreed at the World Conference on Education for All (EFA) to universalize primary education and massively reduce illiteracy before the end of the decade. How well have countries delivered on their commitment to provide basic education to their people? To answer this question, the EFA Forum launched a global assessment of the progress made during the 1990s towards the goal of Education for All. The purpose of this exercise was not just to measure success and failure but also to reinforce the dialogue on basic learning needs in order to develop strategies for the twenty-first century.
In December 1999, delegates of 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa met in Johannesburg to assess progress made toward the goals of the Jomtien Declaration on Education for All (EFA) and to set the agenda for the twenty-first century. The EFA 2000 Assessment was intended to find out what has been achieved and analyze what has enabled and obstructed progress toward the goals of Jomtien.
Virtually all 47 countries of sub-Saharan Africa participated in the assessment. The data and information presented in this article are based on the national assessment reports encompassing 18 statistical indicators and policy reviews of basic learning needs at the ages of early childhood, primary school, youth, and adulthood.
Early childhood education
Although early childhood education is recognized as playing an important role in education, governments have neither the financial nor administrative capacity to engage in this form of education on a large scale. In many cases childcare systems are privately run and limited to those who can afford it. Data on early childhood education are rare and difficult to access, therefore making it difficult to analyze trends and patterns.
At the end of the decade, the numbers of children reported to be participating in an institutionalized form of early childhood education and care vary greatly among countries, and gross enrolments range from universal access in a very few countries to below 10 percent in many countries. The quality of pre-schooling also differs, contributing to large disparities in how the programs benefit those who do attend. Successful approaches that build on local communities or traditional frameworks were reported in Gabon, Gambia, Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Senegal, Uganda and Zanzibar.
Primary education
Access to primary education is often measured by the Net Intake Rate (NIR), which measures new entrants in primary grade (1) of official school-entrance age as a percentage of the total population of children of the official entry age into grade one. As a result of many more countries adopting EFA goals and observing the official admission age, NIR during the decade has increased about 10 percent among the sub-Saharan countries. This is remarkable, considering the high population growth during the same period. Nevertheless, towards the end of the decade, almost 60 percent of eligible children were not starting grade one at the official age.
Enrolment of primary-school-age children in school, measured as net enrolment, also increased during the decade, though around 40 percent of the official school-age population are still out of school. The net enrolment of boys rose from around 60 percent to 68 percent and of girls from around 50 percent to 54 percent. The increase was more rapid for boys than for girls, and, at the end of the decade, the gender gap was around 13,5 percent. The fact that gender disparities have remained high implies that policies to promote girls' education have not had an impact on global figures.
There are, of course, considerable differences among the countries in the region, with net enrolments ranging from 30 percent to 100 percent (attainment of universal primary education). Among the countries that have reached or are very near to reaching their net enrolment targets for the last decade are Botswana, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Uganda. Those which are far from reaching their targets, have, in most cases, experienced serious economic and political disruptions.
Attrition rates among primary school pupils in sub-Saharan Africa vary enormously. Many drop out of school before they complete their first four years, which is considered to be the minimum number of years needed to acquire basic literacy. Among those most likely to reach grade five are the children in relatively peaceful and prosperous countries.
Adult education and literacy
Ten years after Jomtien, the rates of illiteracy in sub-Saharan Africa have remained generally very high compared to rates in other regions. Women make up the greater part of those who are illiterate, with rates as high as 80 to 90 percent in some countries. Yet estimates show an increase in literacy rates in all the countries for which data are available. In the majority of countries reporting data, the increase in rates among women was greater than that among men. Out of 39 countries reporting, one-third have literacy rates over 75 percent, another third have literacy rates of 46 percent or lower.
Opportunities and constraints
The attainment of EFA objectives has been facilitated and hindered by a number of factors. The enabling factors are often related to political will, through long-term planning, decentralization, integration and targeting of specific groups such as women and girls. Important innovations, such as evaluation of basic education, integration of different forms of education, use of non-conventional staff, creation of community schools, and experimental approaches to curriculum, have been the starting point for important developments in the management of education and its effects.
A number of constraints, however, have hindered progress. High rates of demographic growth have made it difficult for the supply of education resources to meet demand for schooling. In 1999 the population of primary and secondary school-goers reached 220 million, which is 90 million higher than in 1984. This puts greater pressure on governments and education budgets. Other issues, such as the inefficient use of allocated resources, problems inherent to management, institutional instability, and political crises, all weigh against the capacity of education systems to produce positive results. Inadequacy of resources, inadequate integration of the formal and non-formal sectors, and continuing prejudice against the education of girls and women have also exacerbated the problem. The rapid spread of the AIDS pandemic, not predicted in 1990, has also stalled the progress made in the provision of basic education.
Lessons learned
Progress is often made through learning from past errors and successes. The EFA Assessment provided useful lessons from the past ten years. It also pointed to where progress can or has been achieved. Some of these lessons are the following:
- Improve the management of complex programs: Jomtien goals have proven to be complex to implement, particularly those aimed at improving institutional management, quality and effectiveness of learning processes, and organizing partnerships between agencies.
- Concentrate on activities that have a good chance of being successful: Programs that have realistic goals, based on earlier successes and failures, should be emphasized to avoid wastage of time, energy and resources.
- Avoid fragmentation of activities: The holistic aspect of basic education in a lifelong learning perspective needs to be kept intact while distinctive elements are simultaneously defined.
- Reinforce partnerships: The diversity of those involved in improving basic education is an unprecedented asset in Africa. It is essential, however, that support to basic education be efficiently consolidated and managed in order to ensure participation of all major stakeholders at various levels of society.
- Take into account technical, economic and institutional capacities: Social, technical, political, and economic environments have had a profound impact on basic education achievements. Education systems need to adapt to changing conditions so that they continue to function as well as possible and to teach children skills and knowledge that are directly relevant to developments in these areas.
- Develop policies on illiteracy, poverty, and population: Correlation analyses have shown a significant relationship between illiteracy, poverty, population growth and educational achievements.
- Develop policy-relevant information systems: Relevant and efficient information systems based on statistics, research, and analysis are essential for sound policy and management of the entire education sector.
Future prospects
Sub-Saharan African countries have made important progress in basic education. Some have already realized the goal of universal primary education. Some are getting close to it. But many others are still far from reaching it. All need to address quality and relevance issues. Beyond the progress achieved, future prospects for basic education in sub-Saharan Africa will depend on the capacity of policy and management functions of the education systems. The demand for and supply of education will vary from country to country according to the diverse needs of this region. Consequently, the content, delivery, quality, and relevance of a country's education program must be adapted to the diverse needs of its population. In adapting and applying programs, the most important lesson is to focus on the needs of the learners, their communities, and national developmental goals.
Based on "An Assessment of Basic Education in Sub-Saharan Africa, 1990-1999",
EFA Regional Technical Advisory Group, UNESCO
1. Differences in these data and those presented in the UNESCO Institute of Statistics Yearbook or the World Education Report are mainly due to different sources of demographic data. Whereas the UIS Yearbook relies on UN demographic estimations, the EFA reports are based on the countries' own estimation.
Three questions to Denise Lievesley,
Director, UNESCO Institute of Statistics
What are the role, mission and objectives of the UIS?
UIS was established to coordinate the statistical activities of UNESCO and to raise the relevance and the timeliness of the data that is collected by governments relating to all areas of interests of UNESCO: education, science, technology, communication, arts, culture and heritage. Our mission is to help UNESCO collect higher quality statistical information and to work with countries to ensure that they are able to collect statistics that are relevant to their policy needs. UIS has four main activities. One area is the collection of international data relating to UNESCO's areas of interest. A second is capacity building to help countries collect the data they need. The third area is methodological technical development in order to improve the range and quality of the data. The fourth area is related to the use of the data. We work with policy analysts in order to provide focused statistical material that targets particular areas and to produce policy relevant reports.
What will UIS's role in the EFA follow-up be?
Our role in the lead up to the World Education Forum was important and we will continue to play a major role in post-Dakar follow up activities. Looking at the impact we've had in terms of getting data for the World Education Forum, we're reasonably pleased with what was achieved and much of that is due to the networks that have been built regionally of which Africa is an excellent model. UIS will be the "observatory" of the follow up. A regular monitoring system is needed, we don't want to wait another 10-15 years before we ask ourselves "Did we meet the goals that we established in Dakar?". We have responsibility in ensuring that the data needed internationally and within countries to monitor the goals re-confirmed in Dakar are available. We also have a role to play in monitoring in order to highlight areas where targets are not being met.
In terms of capacity building, are there plans for UIS to reinforce efforts made in Africa?
Capacity building is a major area of our work, and we shall continue to work with countries to make sure that they are collecting data that are of relevance to them, and to assist them to produce country or regional statistical reports. We want to make sure that we build on what the Working Group on Education Statistics has done and that we utilize their networks. Where a substantial piece of work has been done in relation to the building of education information management systems or other statistical work in the field of education, we will lend our support to ensure that sustainable information systems are being established.
WGES' Contribution to the EFA Assessment
The ADEA Working Group on Education Statistics (WGES), through its NESIS program, played a leading role in the organization of the EFA 2000 Assessment in Africa, providing training in the production of statistical indicators and coordinating the assessment process and the formulation of goals and strategies.
As early as 1996, in connection with the EFA mid-decade review, NESIS developed a module on statistical indicators for monitoring primary school education and applied it in ten African countries. This module was further elaborated for the EFA 2000 Assessment, in preparation for which NESIS conducted training workshops in 1998. This early initiative enabled virtually all 47 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to participate in the assessment.
Organizing RTAGs
In December 1998, the EFA Forum designated two Regional Technical Advisory Groups (RTAGs), one in Harare and the other in Dakar, to organize national assessment and regional conferences. Harare served as the secretariat for the entire region. The initial core of the RTAGs consisted of the regional education advisors of the UK, the Netherlands, France and Sweden, and UNICEF, UNESCO, UNFPA, UNDP and the World Bank. National EFA coordinators elected ten sub-regional representatives to the RTAGs to ensure African ownership of the process.
Building capacity of country teams
National assessments began directly after the EFA mid-decade review in 1996, with the introduction of NESIS indicators. In 1998, WGES supported training workshops in how to use the technical guidelines and indicators templates and how to organize an EFA Assessment Task Force.
Each country in the region carried out a national assessment. In September 1999 NESIS brought together in Harare nearly all countries for peer review of national assessments and indicators and assistance in finalizing national reports.
Documenting and sharing results
Following the September meeting, a regional synthesis report based on
the national assessments was drafted.
In December the NESIS-EFA team in Harare, in consultation with the South African Department of Education, organized and managed two conferences in Johannesburg for all major stakeholders in African education: governments, NGOs, local and international development agencies. These conferences were an opportunity for stakeholders, numbering well over 600, to identify issues and formulate recommendations on goals and strategies for the twenty-first century.
In April 2000 at the World Education Forum Conference in Dakar, Africa officially presented and delivered the results of the EFA assessment in the form of the national and regional synthesis reports and the Johannesburg Declaration and Framework for Action.
The results of the EFA 2000 assessment are documented in the following reports:
- Report on the All Sub-Saharan Conference on Education for All;
- EFA Framework of Action in Sub-Saharan Africa;
- Regional Synthesis Report of EFA 2000 Assessment in Sub-Saharan Africa;
- Statistical Indicators of Progress Toward EFA in Sub-Saharan Africa1.
1. These reports are available on the Web (http:www.unesco.org/efa) or can be ordered by mail (EFA RTAG Secretariat, UNESCO, P.O. Box HG 435, Highlands, Harare, Zimbabwe) or e-mail (creed@unesco.co.zw).
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