Oficina Regional de Educación

para América Latina y el Caribe

UNESCO Santiago

OREALC/2001/PI/H/14

Girls' education: action now!

The 10-year UN girls' education initiative Presentation: Key themes for follow-up of World Forum of Dakar

(Education For All).

2001

Seventh Meeting of theIntergovernmental Regional Committeeof the Major Project in the Fieldof Education inLatin America and the Caribbean2001

ED-01/ PROMEDLAC VII/

Presentation:Key themes for follow-up of WorldForum of Dakar (Education For All).

Girls' education:action now!The 10-year UN girls'education initiative

UNESCO

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GIRLS’ EDUCATION: ACTION NOW!THE 10-YEAR UN GIRLS’ EDUCATION INITIATIVE

GOAL

The goal of this 10-year UN Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) is to mount a sustained campaign toimprove the quality and level of girls’ education.1

Girls’ education is a fundamental human right and an essential element of sustainable humandevelopment. The Girls’ Education Initiative is envisaged as an integral and essential element in theglobal effort to reduce poverty. The international poverty reduction goals will not be reached withoutconcerted effort to eliminate discrimination against women and girls and to achieve gender equality,especially in education.

RATIONALE

The right to education is established in many binding international human rights instruments, includingthe Convention on Social, Economic, and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child(CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women(CEDAW). The majority of children (almost two-thirds) who are denied their right to an education arefemale. In addition to the social and cultural benefits, girls’ education is also extensively documentedas an investment that, overall, has the largest returns for economic development.

Unfortunately, resource allocations and other actions are often not directed in ways that facilitate theeducation of all girls. Of the 52 countries with a gender gap in the primary Net Enrolment Rate (NER)of 5% or more, 47 have a gender gap that disadvantages girls2. Where girls do complete a primaryeducation, there is often a large gender gap in the transition rate to secondary school. Female literacyrates continue to lag behind those of males. When combined with structural inequities and otherfactors, such as poverty (especially in rural areas and shanty towns), disability, minority status,violence against girls and women, malnutrition, rapidly changing social systems, or HIV/AIDS risk,girls are systematically more disadvantaged than their male counterparts solely on the basis ofdiscrimination by gender. Until all girls are fully enrolled and achieving a quality education, alongwith boys, their fundamental human rights are denied and the pre-conditions for poverty reduction andsustainable human development are unfulfilled. Furthermore, problems such as recent financial andhumanitarian crises threaten to reverse the few hard-won gains in girls’ education. All these factorsmake it an imperative to act in support of the ongoing Education for All movement which started withthe World Conference on Education for All (EFA) in Jomtien in 1990 and continued in Dakar in April2000 with a particular emphasis on girls.

World leaders have emphasised in the recent International Conferences (Beijing, Copenhagen, Cairo,Rome, Vienna, ICPD+5, for example) and in other fora that without girls’ education the goal of genderequality will never be reached and progress in human and economic development will be restricted. Inreality, poverty alleviation, which forms the overarching goal of the UN system, will never occurwithout specific, immediate, and sustained attention to girls’ education. The broad social benefits ofgirls’ education include increased family incomes; later marriages and reduced fertility rates; reducedinfant and maternal mortality rates; better nourished and healthier children and families; bettereducated children; lower childbirth-related death rates; greater opportunities and life choices for morewomen (including better chances to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS); and greater participation ofwomen in development, and in political and economic decision-making. Because of these multiplebenefits, which are synergistic, it is widely recognized that devoting priority and resources to qualityeducation for girls is among the best investments that any society can make.

1 This is described in more detail in Attachment 1, the Concept Paper describing the Initiative.2 UNICEF, State of the World’s Children Report, 1999

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While encompassing a large agenda and a global target group, this Initiative is quite focused withregard to the poverty reduction agenda. It addresses girls between the ages of 5-15 years who are poorand denied their education. It recognises that, in many cases, families have difficult economic choicesto make that often involve choosing which children in a family will go to school and which ones willnot. This choice is forced on them because the families are poor and/or because school is so expensive.Very often, the additional opportunity cost of sending a girl to school means the decision is weighed infavour of boy children. In recognition of the intergenerational benefits of girls’ education, activities insupport of basic education of young women and adolescents who missed primary schooling, or “secondchance” education, may also be investment targets in this Initiative under certain circumstances. Formore detail on the substantive nature of the Initiative readers are referred to the Concept Paper: The 10-YearUN Girls’ Education Initiative (See Attachment 1).

Four caveats are essential to understanding this Initiative. First, while a best investment, girls’education will not and cannot solve all poverty and inequality concerns. Second, for girls’ education tobe close to maximally effective it must operate within a supportive environment that fosters overalleconomic gorwth and general reforms in support of human development. Third, this Initiative hasselected a sub-set of actions within education—it cannot do everything and have little focus, if it is tohave any measurable impact over the decade. Fourth, the results of this Initiative will not beimmediate.

APPROACH: MOVING FROM LESSONS LEARNED TO PRACTICE

The lesson is clear—girls’ education is essential as a means to ensure their fullenjoyment of human rights, in particular, social, economic, and cultural rights.Unfortunately, progress toward the clear goals set at Jomtien for girls’ education, and reaffirmed atsubsequent conferences, has been disappointingly slow. What is critical now, is to take what we havelearned over the last decade and generation with regard to girls’ education so that those experiences areproperly integrated into our renewed efforts and resources are used more efficiently and effectively.

As noted above, since 1990 the world has acknowledged the importance of girls’ education. Inaddition, international conferences, Member States, the UN system, and international and bilateralagencies have all set goals and targets for girls’ education. (See Attachment 2) This Initiativerecognizes, supports, and is complementary to the goals that have been set through such processes asEFA, Bejing and the other conferences already mentioned. It also acknowledges that 2000 and 2001are particularly important years as follow-up meetings are taking place to review the progress achievedsince Jomtien, Beijing, and Copenhagen, and that processes are already in motion to refine existinggoals and targets.

Key lessons that we are learning, based on the experience of the last decade include:

� A strong and identifiable emphasis on girls’ education is required as a means to eliminate genderdiscrimination

� Girls’ education has a large impact on sustained poverty reduction across generations� It is essential to focus efforts—this Initiative concentrates on five areas where it is known that

sustained action can make a difference

As a result, this Initiative is a part of the Secretary General’s Millennium Assembly commitments.

This Initiative puts into place a set of five strategic objectives, based on experienceand lessons learned, that will facilitate meeting the already agreed-upon globaleducation goals and targets within the set timeframes. These strategic objectives willassist nations in setting and measuring benchmarks against which they can measure progress. Particularattention will be taken to use existing mechanisms, to the extent possible, for measuring and reportingon indicators. In its implementation, this Initiative will be closely linked with the ongoing UN reformprocess, where instruments such as CCA and UNDAF, which build strategic coherence, are now inplace. In recognition of the importance of education, and girls’ education in particular, this Initiativewas launched by the Secretary General at the World Education Forum,in Dakar, Senegal in April 2000.

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This is the commitment of the UN system for the next decade—to help make it possible for the worldto attain the goal of Education for All, starting with girls who are usually the largest disadvantagedgroup. It will do this by translating the overall goal of the Initiative into clear objectives and byfacilitating a comprehensive approach at the country level whereby the various critical obstacles togirls’ education are attacked simultaneously and in a coordinated manner through comprehensivemobilization of the range of required resources.

The Initiative recognises that Member States are eager to achieve Education for All and that theresponsibility of achieving these objectives lies with the international community as a whole. Allpartners must be held accountable. The UN and other multilateral bodies can be vehicles forfacilitating and implementing efforts while Member States are the ones that can take political and otherdecisions, allocate resources, and monitor progress.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

The five strategic objectives cover the main areas where intervention has been shown to be successfulin terms of girls’ education and the long-term integration of girls and women into society as equalswith their male counterparts. These objectives go beyond what is conventionally thought of as an“educational response”. They address political context, the complex “urgency factor” where gendergaps are large or growing, the systemic bias within education systems themselves, conflict and postconflict situations, and system-wide gender bias that discourages the demand for girls’ education.These five have been selected because experience has shown that concerted and, in most cases,coordinated effort in these areas are necessary for progress. While specific support from the UNsystem will vary according to individual country context, there are general principles to approachingthe strategic objectives that will be adhered to. These are given in later in this paper.

To facilitate achieving the global goals on girls’ education requires two strands of UN action--at (1)global and (2) country levels. These two inextricably linked strands serve to join bottom-up and top-down processes. Instituting change is only possible when there is a conducive political environmentcombined with the means to implement the change. The first strand (at the global level) under theGirls’ Education Initiative will be accomplished through an agreement between the Member States andthe UN reached at the highest levels. In this agreement, or compact, the Member State makes itscommitment and its general plans to allocate resources to fulfill it, and the UN takes on theresponsibility of working with the Member State and all other partners to develop a coherent andrealistic approach to solving the problem. This first strand is addressed under the first strategicobjective.

The second strand is action at the country level and it follows on from the commitment. At this level,the UN system and its partners will work with the Member State to develop a functional and realisticplan to address the specific objective(s), selected from the second four strategic objectives that areappropriate to the particular country context. It will do this through existing mechanisms to the extentpossible, especially activities such as CCF, UNDAF, and PRSP, in-country “working groups” thatfocus on girls’ education, and reorientation and reinforcement of existing activities in support ofeducational improvement and reform, including those of bilaterals and NGOs.

Consistent with the set of PRSP global goals and targets to which countries have committed, thisInitiative is designed to facilitate universal achievement of Education for All, by focussing on thelargest single group of children that is not receiving an education. In this regard, the UN will workwith all countries. It is recognised, however, that the concept of a compact to ensure an appropriatepolitical environment in which to implement activities under the strategic objectives will mean that UNefforts will necessarily begin with countries that are prepared to move ahead. Thus, it will be anapproach that builds to universality.

Strategic objective 1: Led by the Secretary General, the UN will help to build “compacts” that consistof political and resource commitments at the highest levels on a country by country basis to endgender inequality in education.

Rationale: Without political will gender disparities in education cannot be eliminated. Good anddetermined leadership at the highest levels must be accompanied by resource and other commitments,thus requiring coordinated action across sectors and partners in a given country. In consultation with

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individual Heads of State, the SG will identify those countries where the UN system will work to assistcountries to reallocate and/or find the resources they need to meet the commitment of equal access toand achievement of girls in education through a compact approach and consistent with the Dakar EFAFramework. In this regard the UN will assist the nations in such things as the HIPC initiative (HighlyIndebted Poor Countries); debt relief; the 20/20 Initiative; facilitation of development cooperation,policy formulation, and education reform; and support of mechanisms for accountability, monitoring,and reporting. The articulations at and implementation of a clear policy at the highest level will lead tothe mobilization of the full range of activities that facilitate gender equality in education and will besupported so that broad and deep changes can be instituted in a short period of time. This initialadvocacy and political commitment is a sine qua non to accelerating girls’ education and without it theoutcomes of the other four strategies will be necessarily limited.

Action: Starting immediately, countries will identify themselves or be approached by the UNregarding their willingness to take advantage of the Girls’ Education Initiative to achieve Education forAll. Meetings at the highest levels will set the parameters for how each Member State will go aboutthis, how the UN system can assist with careful and considerate articulation of the plan, and how theUN can facilitate its implementation with the full range of partners at the country level, both throughinteragency coordination and through its own programming. Further detail on this is provided later inthis paper.

Strategic objective 2: In the 52 countries with a gender gap of 5% or more3 at primary level (in 47 ofwhich girls are disadvantaged) a plan of action to end the gender gap, with measurable indicators,will be in place by 2001, and there will be demonstrable progress toward closing the gap by 2005.

Rationale: Using simple, national enrolment averages is insufficient because it obscures disparities inmany ways. The EFA process, in particular, is making strides to improve disaggregated datacollection. A critical lesson that has been learned is that it is essential to pay attention to the gendergap—the “urgency factor”, and even when the gap is narrowing to understand how this is happening. Inan alarming number of countries efforts in support of girls’ education have resulted in increasedenrolments generally and a simultaneous increase in the gender gap disfavouring girls. In others, thegender gap has narrowed as a result of a disturbing decrease in boys’ enrolment and participation rates.It is only through attention to, and an understanding of, the gender gap that effective and strategicactions can be put in place on the ground in support of girls’ education. And, it is in this important andnuanced area where the UN system will continue to work very hard with its partners.

Action: In countries that have made the commitment to gender equality in education and where there isa gender gap, this strategic objective will be the first issue addressed by the UN system at the countrylevel. The action will be two fold: coordination of all partners at the country level (inlcuding bilaterals,NGOs, and the private sector), which is described later in this paper, and the setting in motion ofactions to address the gender gap in the country. To the extent possible, existing analyses will be used;where they do not exist, or are insufficient, rapid assessment using established techniques will beconducted. This will be followed by serious analysis of what needs to be done and a sharing ofresponsibilities and accountabilities, and resource reallocation and programme reorientation, wherenecessary. Monitoring of progress will start at the local level with data being available up to thenational level. While some indicators may be very specific at the local level, at the national level thesewill be the internationally agreed-upon indicators measured through existing mechanisms.

Strategic objective 3: In all countries, a plan of action will be in place by 2002 at the latest andoperational by 2005 ensuring gender equality and sensitivity in all aspects of education. Thisincludes enrolment policies and practices, curriculum, teacher behaviour and attitudes, equity in theteaching force, learning environments, pupils’ safety, access to information and skills that enable

3 NER was not available for seven countries and Gross Enrolment Rate was used instead for Coted’Ivoire, Guatemala, India, Liberia, Pakistan, Sudan, and Yemen. Source of data was UNICEF, Stateof the World’s Children Report, 1999 with the exception of seven countries where the source was the1998 volume of the same publication. The seven countries where 1998 data are used are Angola,Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Cambodia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, and Vietnam.

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girls to make positive life choices in areas such as, reproductive health and HIV/AIDS prevention,and access to use of new technologies.4

Rationale: At the core is the education system itself—these systems must become much more effectiveand gender sensitive. Data are showing that investments in developing gender equitable and gendersensitive education systems benefit boys at least as much as girls. Thus, development of genderequitable and gender-sensitive systems contributes to the much-needed educational reform globally.Over the past decade, there has been a lot of innovation and hard work throughout education systems.The successes need to be adapted so they can be taken to scale, and future practice needs to beinformed by less than successful attempts. Furthermore, education systems must do more than respondto the new challenges facing humankind—they must anticipate them and equip young girls, especiallythe most vulnerable, to respond and be proactive in positive ways.

Action: Every country will accelerate its ongoing work or, where this has not been initiated, start toassess the extent to which its education system and processes are gender sensitive and what changesneed to be instituted. Those countries that also have a gender gap of 5% or more will conduct thesetasks concurrently with the analysis of the reasons for the gender gap. Once again, the role of the UNwill be to facilitate and support the assessment and subsequent planning and implementation ofstrategic actions as was described under Strategic objective 2, above.

Strategic objective 4: Countries affected by, or recovering from, armed conflict or natural disaster orexternal shock will put in place short-term (by 2000-2001) and medium-term (by 2005) measurableactions that guarantee access to and completion of quality education for girls and boys.

Rationale: More than 40 countries in the world are either in or emerging from conflict or some otherform of massive instability due to economic fluctuations or natural disaster. The human price of theseis enormous. Children, who have no decision-making powers in these matters, often suffer the most—and girls even more than boys do. The unusual and often unplanned human movement in and afterthese situations frequently leaves children without education, or if they receive it, with unrelated kindsof low quality education. Yet, experience has shown that good education is one of the most powerfulforces in reconstructing new societies and, indeed, in preventing conflict.

Action: Each crisis or unstable situation has its own context, often with unique relationships amonggovernments, UN entities, and civil society. Within each country, the UN will be committed toworking toward combining efforts in a situation so that they result in actions in education that supportthe best interests of children, especially girls. In particular, reconstruction can provide an opportunityfor building new societies—societies built on gender equality and where peace is a goal, with educationserving as a leading institution for this reconstruction.

Strategic objective 5: All countries, especially those reporting gender parity and NERs of 90% ormore, are encouraged to sustain or improve that level of equality in education and should eliminateall discrimination against girls, as established through the international norms and standards of theConvention on the Rights of the Child and on Convention on the Elimination of all Forms ofDiscrimination against Women.

Rationale: There are many countries in the world where there is gender parity in education, especiallybasic education, but where these gains stand the chance of being lost. This is because systemic genderbias results in the education of girls’ being undervalued because it does not have the same short-termfamily-level economic benefits as boys’ education. This results in enormous losses (short-, mid-, andlong-term) at personal, family, community, national, and global levels in terms of economic, social, andpolitical outcomes. Thus, in terms of human development, it is essential to recognise that for thosecountries with gender parity this may only be a temporary condition. Furthermore, in order forinvestments in education to pay off at all levels, it is essential that “invisible ceilings and barriers” tofemale participation throughout society be swiftly and completely removed.

4 It must be emphasised that these are examples and that gender equality and sensitivity must becomprehensive. Examples of other areas that must be included are ensuring equitable pathways forgirls to opportunities beyond schooling and to critically reframe the content of education to includewomen’s conception of such topics as history, art, science, and culture.

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Action: At the country level, action under this Initiative will be limited to advocacy and to encouragingindividual agencies working in these areas to focus their relevant activities in a strategic andcomplementary manner. The key is for countries to achieve and maintain gender balance.

HOW WILL THE UN SUPPORT THESE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES?

While much is being done to ensure girls’ right to education, and there is a growing body of evidenceand knowledge on successful strategies in relation to particular kinds of contexts, there remains a lackof consolidated effort, of strategic approaches that are consistently applied, and of learning from theexperiences of others. Through this Initiative, the UN system is committed to overcoming thisweakness and to ensuring coherence, collaboration, and consolidated efforts in support of all seriousefforts to address gender discrimination in education.

To ensure coherence, the participating entities5 have agreed to work under the following principles forgirls’ education:

� working within national education systems, making them challenge and eliminate gender bias anddiscrimination through sound policy formulation, and emphasis on capacity development andsustainability;

� developing education systems in which girls are full and equal participants and beneficiariescompared to boys and a gender perspective is mainstreamed;

� working toward unified education systems that accommodate diversity - systems that include allforms of school options (formal and nonformal), where the state plays a normative role to ensureequivalency among all approaches and pathways for learners to move from one type of educationto another;

� removing gender discrimination (qualitative as well as quantitative) from all aspects of education,while developing a learning environment that respects the human rights of all children, andenhances persistence, completion, and achievement of all children;

� broadening involvement in education, with a particular emphasis on family, community, civilsociety and NGO participation, strengthening social mobilisation, and expanding partnershipsbetween and among UN entities and other organizations;

� developing partnerships that embody the concepts of inclusive and appropriate involvement andresponsibility on the part of the all stakeholders;

� paying special attention to the most vulnerable children, including working children, childrenaffected by emergencies within and out of country, children affected by HIV/AIDS, rural children,slum children, malnourished children, children with disabilities, and pregnant girls;

� identifying, monitoring, and reporting on measurable indicators that can serve as “markers’ ofprogress;

� advocating and mobilising resources for girls’ education; and� Facilitating complementary activities in the areas of Early Childhood Development, and adolescent

and women’s education as these are important aspects of a life-cycle approach that can facilitategirls’ achievement in education.

The time is now right for more strategic action on girls’ education in a collaborativeand concerted effort that builds on known mechanisms and established practices.This action will bring to bear specific organisational strengths and experiencesthrough a variety of partnerships and operational modalities.

The UN system is uniquely placed to lead and guide this concerted effort. It contributes a wealth ofknowledge and experience that comes directly from the Member States, and on a set of universallyaccepted principles. Respective agencies bring their own strengths, and the combined resources of thesystem are unmatched. The work of the UN system is field-based and increasingly well co-ordinated,including joint programming in some countries. Finally, it is through the UN that global statistics arecollected and analysed.

5 To date, participating entities are DAW/DESA/UN, DGO, OCHA, UNAIDS, UNDF, UNDP,UNESCO, UNFPA, UNHCR, UNICEF, UNIFEM, WFP, WHO, and the World Bank. This is viewedas an open partnership and others interested in and able to contribute are welcome.

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The Girls’ Education Initiative will be under the leadership of the SG and the ACC, and will beoverseen by the UNDG Support Group. In this regard:

� UNDG will oversee the Initiative with UNICEF as the entity that serves as its overall Coordinatorat the global level. UN Resident Coordinators (or their designee) will be key partners in thisInitiative, serving as the focal point in each country, being sure to reach beyond government andmultilaterals to the full range of partners;

� The Initiative will be open to all agencies and organisations, including NGOs that are functional inand contributing to girls’ education. Participation in the Initiative will be based on willingness,and ability to contribute to and/or build on existing activities;

� At the country level, under the Resident Coordinator system, existing initiatives will be broughttogether under common action plans to reach shared targets, and reporting will be on a common setof indicators to assist countries to attain EFA;

� Partners will be encouraged to direct their girls’ education programmes strategically, to co-ordinatewith other partners in-country for a coherent approach based on the agreed-upon principles, and tolink into sub-partnerships that focus on particular themes or avenues; and

� Support from the Initiative will include guidance to UN country teams, advocacy, and knowledgenetworking.

This is an important and exciting opportunity. The world knows that a breakthrough in girls’ educationis an avenue to many other desirable human development outcomes. The world possesses theknowledge. It also has the resources. What remains is to bring these together with the will to make thedifference.

For more information please contact:

Mary Joy PigozziUNICEF Phone: (1) 212-824-66183 United Nations Plaza Fax: (1) 212-824-6481New York, NY 10017, USA Email:mjpigozzi@unicef.org