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Viewing EFA through the Lens of Gender

Viewing EFA through the Lens of Gender. Some starting points for discussion……. Overview of the GMR. Equitable access for girls the prime focus: parity goals not met and equity remains elusive Patchy progress means this emphasis must remain a high priority within EFA

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Viewing EFA through the Lens of Gender

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  1. Viewing EFA through the Lens of Gender Some starting points for discussion……

  2. Overview of the GMR • Equitable access for girls the prime focus: parity goals not met and equity remains elusive • Patchy progress means this emphasis must remain a high priority within EFA • Statistical evidence shows much variation among countries and regions: progress has been made in many places • Other policy issues also present themselves: - ensuring quality - ensuring adequate finance - decentralizing control

  3. Overview of findings • ECE - still not a priority in many countries • ECE provision mainly urban & NGO/CBO driven • Pre-primary a common focus • Opportunities tend to be for older children • Financial and logistical challenges lead to quality concerns in some countries • ECE remains a critical provision for girls’ access and retention

  4. Overview of findings continued….. • Gender parity at primary level achieved in 63% of countries with data available: another 12% close to parity • Low rates of parity at secondary and tertiary levels • Countries furthest behind have remained so • Survival rates for boys and girls are virtually the same to the end of primary: in 53 countries survival rates are better for girls • Girls tend to progress better in school although female repetition is more prevalent in SSA & Arab States • In SSA and Arab states there are roughly the same number of countries with gaps favouring boys as with girls

  5. Overview of findings continued….. • In secondary education gender disparities are greater but more complex: boys’ underachievement a growing problem • The world GPI is up from 0.91 to 0.94 but progress has been slower since Dakar compared to 1991-99 • In LA and the Caribbean very low rates of boys’ participation in secondary • Overall there has been progress towards gender parity in a majority of countries: those furthest behind remained so • At tertiary level gender disparity is the norm. Many more women than men enrolled worldwide except in SSA and S & W Asia

  6. Who has been doing what? The equity dimension • Emphasis on early childhood as a key strategy for equity • Targeted policies (gender, inclusion, poverty etc) essential • Improvements to the supply side (satellite schools, latrines etc) • Addressing geographical challenges (national picture is not uniform) • Improving financial arrangements (fee-freedom etc) • Reducing costs • Developing partnerships with civil society • Developing NFE/adult literacy • Provision of essential services to complement schooling • Improving teacher quality • Advocacy and sensitization programs • Addressing child labour challenges

  7. Who has been doing what? The quality dimension • Learning outcomes as the major proxy for quality • Broadly accepted strategies regarding textbooks, time on task, teacher quality, pupil/teacher ratios etc • Curriculum revision as a key strategy • Improved assessment and testing • Improved repetition and promotion policies • Enhanced teacher quality • Improved materials/text books • Improved management and administration (decentralization) • Enhanced non-formal provision • Provision of essential services (health/hygiene etc)

  8. Who is doing what? The financial dimension • Wide range of official development assistance devoted to education – between 2% and 24% of donor budgets • Average of 41% of education aid going to basic education • Implications for girls’ and women’s education of low levels of financing • Overall external funding for basic education decreasing • Some evidence that domestic sources are increasing • Wide variation in % of GDP going to education – 6% plus to less than 3% • Total expenditure on education is not particularly pro-poor (i.e. targeted mainly at basic education)

  9. More on finance…. • Recent decline in ODA to education contradicts earlier donor commitments • Donors concerned about the absorptive capacity of partner countries • Moves towards budget support in response to concerns about SWAPs (capacity, ownership, are they pro-poor etc) • Better tools needed to assess the effectiveness of ODA to education especially in terms of access and quality criteria (using the gender lens?)

  10. Fragile States and Neglected EFA Goals • Fragile states receive little attention in the GMR: gender issues in these countries are especially important • Neglected EFA Goals: although NERs have improved in many countries less attention paid to adult literacy (especially for females), reduction in numbers of out-of-school children, reduced in-country disparities • Life-skills education almost totally neglected

  11. Countries still lagging behind demonstrate - • Regional, ethnic and SES disparities in access • Literacy rates still low • Completion, drop-out and repetition rates still poor • Quality indicators poor • Primary NER declining • Low primary GER in many countries • Gender disparities in attainment

  12. The search for solutions….. • Gender ranks high in access policies but less so when quality is the focus; ‘rights to, rights within and rights through’ • Capturing the quality characteristics of good education and promoting them is the way ahead • Power relations a critical area

  13. The search continued….. • Gender as an organizing principle or framework likely to be the most effective strategy • Gendered approaches to equity, quality and financing of education as the building blocks for change • Essential to address the problem of fragile and lagging states through these principles • Essential to revisit the EFA goals, especially the comparatively neglected ones of adult literacy and life skills education through the same principles • Important to consider the global, regional, national and community dimensions as well as the role of DPs

  14. EFA as a sustainable project • Sustainability to be seen through four dimensions: - Political sustainability - Technical sustainability - Financial sustainability - Community sustainability

  15. The Task of the Working Groups • Using the ‘gender lens’ to examine the issue of equity, quality or financing in terms of the findings of the GMR • To identify critical areas of success and areas of challenge • To recommend workable strategies which will address the needs of countries furthest behind (including fragile states) while supporting those making more progress • To incorporate strategies to address neglected EFA goals • To consider the implications for the global, regional, national and community levels…leading to….

  16. Strategic aim • To ensure that the Working Group on EFA makes a strong commitment to Gender as an organizing principle when considering the challenges of equity, quality and adequate finance for EFA

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