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Progress and Barriers :


Major steps toward improving education worldwide have been taken in recent years.
 
At the World Conference on Education, attended by most of the world's countries and major NGOs in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990, the Education for All movement (EFA) was born. EFA articulated a series of six keys education goals focused on:
  • Early childhood care and education
  • Universal access to primary education
  • Youth and adult learning
  • Literacy
  • Gender parity
  • Improving educational quality
In 2000 the international community met again at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal. Seeing that many countries were far from reaching these six goals, the group reaffirmed there commitment to achieving Education for All by the year 2015.
 
Similarly, the Global Campaign for Education was launched in 1999, giving leadership and voice to civil society advocating for education, and the Millennium Development Goals, adopted by some 200 member states of the United Nations in 2000, listed universal primary education as their #2 goal (second only to the elimination of extreme poverty and hunger).
 
Despite this vital progress, providing quality education in developing countries raises many issues. AEA has identified the following as some of the most important barriers to overcome in the near future:
  • Economic circumstances and social unrest lead to high drop out rates: Large numbers of children are forced to drop out of school before they can complete the primary school cycle and acquire basic skills.
  • Pupil/teacher ratios remain high and schools lack basic teaching tools: In some instances, up to 45% of students do not have a place to sit, and as many as 24 pupils must share a single text book.
  • Teacher absenteeism is widespread: Whether it is due to poor training and support, little or no pay, or lax professional standards and supervision, the teaching profession has little respect in many communities. Some teachers are deeply demoralized; many are forced to take a second job just to make a living, further contributing to absenteeism.
  • Teaching methods are often inappropriate: In many schools, instruction is not culturally appropriate. Classes are often taught in a language other than the child's first language, and the subject matter being taught frequently has no relevance to the child's culture.
  • Inappropriate educational systems: Education systems continue to suffer serious malfunctioning and problems such as: an increased demand for education, weakening public services, an inequitable distribution of resources, low internal efficiency and difficulties managing financial, material and human resources.
Without a doubt, these barriers are not easy to overcome. AEA realizes, however, that they are well within our reach, thanks to increasing international cooperation, commitment and funding.