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Education: An Avalanche of Studies, Little Studying

Education: An Avalanche of Studies, Little Studying. Steven Fiala , Stephanie Fry, Wendy Leith , Ben Switzer.

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Education: An Avalanche of Studies, Little Studying

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  1. Education: An Avalanche of Studies, Little Studying Steven Fiala, Stephanie Fry, Wendy Leith, Ben Switzer

  2. “Placing every child in a classroom has never been more urgent than it is today. Under threat from the pandemic, children must be able to turn to schools as places of learning, inclusion, stability and life-saving information about HIV/AIDS.” UNICEF 2000

  3. Article 28, sub-1(a) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: “Make primary education compulsory and available free to all. . .” • UN Millennium General Assembly of 2000 Millennium Development Goals

  4. Background • The international community has supported primary school as a universal right since at least 1934 (International Conference on Education) • Every additional year of schooling helps: • Reduce poverty • Lead to better parenting • Support better health and nutrition • Ensure economic growth

  5. Access to Education • Secondary education – under 2% • Primary education – just over 6% • No formal education – just over 12% • User fees • The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) imposed user fees for primary education in exchange for loans throughout the ‘80s and ’90s • Made education prohibitively expensive • Fast-Track Initiatives (FTI) • Seeks to provide universal basic education • Donor governments contribute a minimum of $4 billion a year for several years (the Bank has received $300 million) • Includes a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper

  6. Access to Education (continued) • Infrastructure Requirements • Cancellation of fees in Malawi was without advanced planning • Short by 13,000 teachers and 38,000 classrooms. • Of the 1.3 million students who entered grade one in 1994, only 300,000 made it to the end of the educational cycle in 2002 (23%) • Better to scramble somewhat in the aftermath than to continue to exclude children from school on the destructive basis of class and income

  7. Challenges • School fees imposed by World Bank and IMF • Even with the abolition of school fees, there are other prohibitive costs • Books, compulsory uniforms, registration fees, examination fees, parent-teacher fees • Terms and conditions of loans hinder public sector growth • Money for education is being used to pay interest on loans • Reliance on FTIs • Disconnect between importance of education and the fight against HIV/AIDS and poverty • Media are uncritical • Commitments and obligations are expendable (UNICEF)

  8. Tanzania’S EXPERIENCE • 31,825 classrooms and 7,530 teacher’s houses were constructed • 17,851 new teachers were recruited and 14,852 were sent to upgrading courses • Pass rate in primary school went from 19% in 1999 to 40% in 2003 • Tanzania was relieved of debt and once again could afford to educate its children • Also took donor assistance and re-allocation of government’s budget

  9. Reduce family charges/fees for the minimum standard of education Increase access to secondary education Lewis closes chapter by saying that secondary education, middle school, is the next travesty and another whole generation, like WWII, will be education skipped if not fixed Recommendations Made by Lewis

  10. Infrastructure development Africa has a long way to go to build for education reform Support reform for education Get local donor delegates to recognize the importance of education Group Recommendations http://www.educationfasttrack.org/media/library/Tunis_FTIppt.pdf

  11. Absolution of debt/interest payments Remove the requirement for countries to come up with Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers and drop the Fast Track Initiative Neither program is working Group Recommendations (Continued) http://www.educationfasttrack.org/media/library/Tunis_FTIppt.pdf

  12. Education has many benefits Reduces the risk of HIV/AIDS Fights poverty, promotes economic growth Teaches children social skills, how to work with others, how to problem solve, critical thinking Fights hunger and starvation Summary

  13. Lots of posturing but no real action 1934 International Conference on Education 2000 Millennium Development Goals The Convention on the Rights of the Child 2005 Millennium Development Report Commission for Africa Report Conclusions

  14. Excuses for inaction have proven to be baseless Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and others have removed school fees successfully Conclusions (continued)

  15. Is the removal of school fees viable without infrastructure development and increases in staffing? Are the IMF and WB responsible for the problem as Lewis would lead us to believe? What will it take to generate the political will both internationally and in individual African nations to eliminate school fees? How do you address problems like access to education and health care when there is no system in place? Questions for Discussion

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