Financing for Gender Equality in Education: Implications for Policy, Planning and Practice

1. Financing for Gender Equality in Education: Implications for Policy, Planning and Practice Jyotsna Jha Commonwealth Secretariat New York 25th Feb 2008

2. Gender Disparity in Education: The Context • Gender Disparity in favour of boys continues to exist at primary stage in Arab states, South and West Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa despite significant improvements over recent years. • The situation is more complex at secondary level.

3. Gender Parity Index (f/m) in GER and NER at Primary Level

4. Gender inequality exists even when there is parity • Gender parity is a limited concept. It is a numerical construct. It tells us nothing about equality for girls in terms of the educational environment, infrastructure, attitudes or attainment. Nor does it necessarily mean high enrolment, either for boys or girls. Still it is a step along the long road to gender equality. • Gender Equality in education refers to equality of (and ensuring the desired level of) Entitlements, Opportunities, Experiences and Outcomes in education for both boys and girls. • Gender equality in education critical for elimination of other forms of gender inequalities.

5. Financing for Gender equality in Education: Multi - pronged approach necessary • Some general measures have greater impact on girls education (e.g., noon meal schemes, fee abolition..) • Some specific measures directed to girls’ education critical (e.g., female teachers, scholarships, etc.) • Important to have measures that impact gender related practices in schools Gender Responsive Budgeting (GRB) provides an important framework for the purpose

6. Gender Responsive Budgeting in Education: How to go about it? Critical to apply the ‘Gender lens’ at all stages of - situation analyses (Analyse the situation of women and men, girls and boys in the sector to identify gender issues & gaps) • Policies and Programmes (Analyse the programmes & policies to asses if they address the issues & gaps identified), • Budget (Analyse the budget allocations to assess if they are adequate to implement the gender-responsive aspects of policies & programmes ) • Practice / implementation (Analyse expenditure & delivery to see: whether allocated amounts spent as planned and whether it reached the intended) • Monitoring and Outcomes (Assess impact of funded programmes & policies to see whether gender issues & gaps addressed) THIS IS WHAT GENDER RESPONSIVE BUDGETING IS!

7. Missing Links….Example A: Female Teachers

8. Missing Links….Example B: Provision for Single Sex Secondary schools • Based on a research in Uttar Pradesh (UP) in India (illustrative) • Public subsidy for opening Single Sex fee paying secondary schools for Muslim concentrated areas • An executive order to allow boys to enter – but not reflected in the statistics • Mathematics teacher issue in UP schools

9. Missing LinksExample C: School as Change Institution? • Classroom processes usually reinforce gender stereotypes rather than questioning them • School curriculum seldom addresses equality and diversity issues • School management practices also often reinforce gender divides and strengthen existing gender stereotypes • Gender training for teachers and other functionaries often a minor ‘appendix’ to the ‘main’ training programme with no follow up and engagement with an aim to bring real change; other equity and diversity issues rarely discussed • Gender related efforts often do not directed to boys / men but equality for girls cannot be changed without changing the attitudes among boys /men; Also important to include boys for their own sake

10. Let us then remember that… • Commitment to gender equality in education needs to be reflected at all levels in resource provisions as well as the direction of the resources • A well-resourced, well-functioning, effective school is as good for girls as for boys • What is good for girls’ education is really good for education for all!!

11. THANK YOU