Thematic Consultation on Education in the post-2015 Development Agenda Donor Consultation

1. Thematic Consultation on Education in the post-2015 Development Agenda Donor Consultation February 28, 2013

2. Thematic Consultation on Education in the post-2015 Development Agenda • Co-Leads and Sponsors • Post-2015 Overall Process • Process for the education consultation • Regional meetings • Consultations – online and offline • Briefing to Member States • Global Meeting

3. Gaps in education progress Slow progress in many goals - most of the EFA goals are unlikely to be met by 2015 – ‘unfinished business ‘. Poor ECCE progress Failure to Link education, learning and employability Lack of attention to Adult Literacy Gender parity at the expense of equality Lack of focus on learning and quality teachers and teaching One size does not fit all Equity and equality ignored Failure to link educational goals with other MDGs Aid decline

4. Strengths of the MDG framework Brevity of goals and targets. Imparted a focus about poverty and deprivation Galvanized support for poverty as a priority Stipulated time horizon More aid Harmonised and coordinated action Improve national level accountability system - improved data collection.

5. Weaknesses of the MDG framework Lacking participation Poor accountability systems Lacking attention to inequality and failing to identify the root causes of poverty, as well as ignoring power relations -targeting the near poor Limited unifying theory on the structural causes of poverty Lacking ambition (for example, halving rather eradicating hunger and poverty) Narrow in focus, and reductionist in approach. Progress on MDGs is measured predominantly through quantitative data. Measurement of the goals has been criticised for relying on aggregate data. Lacking initiatives to mobilise governments and develop political will poor implementation and insufficient attention to the difficulties of implementation at the country level Privilege the destination, ignoring the means of getting there Ignore key issues such as climate change, conflicts, security, disability From a gender perspective, the MDG framework is widely critiqued - the target is limited to gender parity in education. Inability to capture or tackle inequalities Lack of a link between EFA and MDGs

6. Principles Strong commitment to a Human Rights/RBA with a focus on: Equality and Equity – tackling inequality (historic and structural) in and through education as a priority Good governance including participation, accountability, transparency Sustainability The post 2015 agenda: integrated and holistic view of development Goals universally applicable, both rich and poor countries, cover rich and poor within countries.

7. Coherent education frameworks: EFA and MDGs The education sector has had a set of global goals (six) prior to the adoption of the MDGs MDGs more narrow on education goals, targets and indicators than EFA goals Need to link the two sets of global education goals Post-2015 agenda: should there be a goal plus a more developed and explicit global education agenda

8. Access to more than primary The focus in education should be expanded beyond the primary school level to become more holistic and comprehensive encompassing: all levels all forms of education, including a concerted focus on meeting the education needs of youth and adults, especially young women. Specifically: Secondary education: With the near achievement of the goal of universal primary education, secondary education becomes a priority. Post-secondary education: For countries to compete effectively in the global economy, it is increasingly necessary to achieve a workforce educated to tertiary or higher levels. ECCE: ECCE brings a wide variety of social and economic benefits. Adult Literacy: Focus on reduction of adult literacy and expansion of lifelong learning opportunities

9. Education quality A focus on education quality emerges as a key thematic priority for the post 2015 agenda. Learning environment: An expanded vision of good quality education includes attention to all aspects of the learning environment. Learning: the focus on education quality placed emphasis on learning which has emerged as a key goal in almost all discussions on post 2015 education goals. Teachers emerge as crucial to education quality and learning (conditions of service, professional development, participation in policy formulation) Debate about what counts as learning and how it should be measured Different agencies and organisations propose different suggestions and goals of learning for the post 2015 framework.

10. Relevance of education Relevance implies responding to changing global, regional and national contexts and needs, including preparing learners to become active citizens, equipping learners to lead informed and economically productive lives, raising awareness and appreciation of their rights. Relevance is about improved linkages between education, life and employment, and ensuring that learning is more responsive to changing. aspect of relevance include: Skills for employability Education for Sustainable Development Global Citizenship Sexual and Reproductive Health Education Information and Communications Technologies

11. Cross cutting themes • Gender  keypost-2015 priority. • A life-cycle approach is needed to overcome the challenges that confront girls and women in gaining access to good quality education and training. • New indicators to measure gender should focus on equality in and through education as opposed to parity - privileged in the current framework. • Inclusion: the intersection of different inequalities result in the marginalization of groups and individuals. • need to promote inclusion in education provision and outcomes of all marginalised groups Disability and migrancy reach high priority • Education in emergencies:priorities for the new development framework for education should ensure that children, youth and adults have: • access to quality education in all circumstances; • An education that is appropriately funded and an essential part of humanitarian response; • An education that includes disaster risk reduction and conflict sensitivity in sector plans.

12. Emerging positions Basic Education Coalition: All children and youth should complete primary and lower secondary education which enables them to meet measurable learning standards and acquire relevant skills so they may become responsible, productive members of society” by 2030. In addition, the BEC also proposed goals for school readiness (ECCE), adult literacy strong education systems Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI): Appropriate Education and Skills for full Participation in Society under the theme of human development: Focus on inputs, throughputs and outputs. Commonwealth Ministers: 3 maingoals based on access, quality and equity with 6 sub-goals every child completes a full cycle of a minimum of 9 years of free basic education and demonstrates learning achievement consistent with national standards. Post-basic education expanded strategically to meet the needs for knowledge and skills related to employment and livelihoods Reduce and seek to eliminate differences in educational outcomes among learners associated with household wealth, gender, special needs, location, age and social group. Indicators proposed on these including learning: % of children from the bottom 20% of household income achieving x% in national learning assessments (NLAs) compared to those from the top 20%.

13. Emerging positions….Cont’d Global Campaign for Education: lower secondary education. • Focus on equality, teacher, learning. • By 2030, all children and youth are receiving a quality pre-primary, primary, and marginalised groups including children in fragile and conflict-affected areas Save the Children: By 2030, ensure all children receive a good quality education and have good learning. • Targets and indicators include a focus on equity and outcome re: employment Organization of Ibero-American States: adopted, a set of regional education goals for Latin America that run to the year 2021. • Include ECCE, improving quality through better teacher training; facilitate the transition form school to work. • Also included are: universalizing primary and lower secondary education, improving secondary graduation rates, raising learning, teaching values, and promoting civic participation Sightsavers: Agree on a minimum quality of learning standards for all students by the end date of the post-2015 global development initiative

14. Private sector • Limited comments and feedback received • Recognised as making an important contribution • Both private sector and government benefit form collaboration • Different roles of private sector • providing financial support to the state, local government and schools • providing, material and/or technical assistance, e.g. teaching and learning materials • school infrastructure • scholarship for those in need • Private school • subsidizing established private schools • need for government regulation of the private sector

15. Gaps and Questions to be addressed further… • Donor support for education has been reducing. How should financial commitments to education be balanced against other development priorities? And how can investments in education be more effective and sustainable in achieving its goals? • What improvements in the enabling environment (regulatory framework, quality assurance, etc.) are needed to catalyse greater engagement and commitment to education? • Progress in education depends on greater devolution of responsibility, stronger accountability and more local engagement, including with the private sector. How can broad partnerships at all levels be strengthened, initiated and sustained?

16. Gaps and Questions to be addressed further… • Since the year 2000, there have been two over-lapping education frameworks: Education for All (EFA) and MDGs 2&3. Should these two frameworks be combined in a post-2015 development agenda or kept separate? • A number of organisations have proposed education goals for the post-2015 development agenda: • Do these proposals respond to the thematic priorities identified? • Should education goals and targets be universal (i.e. applicable to industrialised countries as well as MICs and LICs)? • How should goals and targets be adapted to diverse national and regional contexts? • Should indicators be absolute (e.g. ‘getting to zero”) or relative (e.g. reducing the difference in learning achievement between the rich and the poor) or a combination of both?

17. Gaps and Questions to be addressed further… • Are there other roles the private sector and donor can play, other than the provision of physical infrastructure and resources? • Role in technical capacity • Management and leadership • Research • Professional development for teachers • Role in assessment  • Ensure quality and equity in low-cost private schools

18. Points for discussion Agreement with the emerging analysis of the MDGs Agreementon priorities for the future Framing of new goals Proposals for new goals