B2 - Education and Training

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Margery Hines
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1 B2 - Education and Training Contents 0. Introduction 1. Definition, extent and causes 2. National and international actors and action programmes 3. terre des hommes advocacy and project activity 4. Social, political and economic demands 5. Links 6. Current state of approval 0. Introduction (1) No one can completely integrate into a culture in which they have not grown up, but they can recognise other cultures as having the same importance for their members as their own. (Ruth Benedict, Urformen der Kultur p.33, Hamburg 1955) (2) Education concerns the bringing-up and socialisation of children, worldwide. While upbringing is that part of education that entails the direct learning of social skills and essential knowledge for life, in line with the gifts and potential of children, socialisation as part of education takes account of the cultural conditions in children s surroundings that have an influence on their development. (3) Basic education and vocational training are directed to forms of knowledge that have been institutionalised by western culture. Broad-based educational systems have brought forth kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, universities and centres for vocational training and continuing education. They, in turn, have buildings, teachers, curricula, children s assessment and disciplinary prescriptions in conflict situations. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are geared to education in the sense of basic education and vocational training. The orientation to western culture and its standards is unmistakable. (4) If we look at other cultures to see where and how learnable skills are passed on to the next generation we will find many unconventional approaches that are not considered in the syllabus used. They can be regarded as a strong point and included in the educational approach of our partners and of tdh. (5) Our project partners can report on how the establishment of mines, industries or the Green Revolution has destroyed the cultural conditions developed over time; they have forced people into poverty, and deprived them of the skills needed to live and survive together in a manner that they determine themselves. The socialising conditions of culturally determined education systems have been destroyed in this process, and they cannot simply be compensated for by the mere provision of basic education. 1

2 (6) When we ask what is appropriate education we find a conflict between educational content that are global and universal, on the one hand, and local, diverse, on the other (7) Education is in crisis worldwide. Schools need a new ideal for a participation of all children and adolescents based on cultural equality and equal rights, regardless of their social and ethnic origin. 1. Definition, extent and causes (8) In the context of development policy, education is regarded as a key to worldwide poverty reduction, a sustainable use of resources and the dismantling of genderspecific and cultural disadvantages or individual disabilities. Through the prevention of violence and conflict management, education seeks to contribute to development and the preservation of peace. 1 (9) Education is the comprehensive process of developing and unfolding those abilities (knowledge, skill, values) that enable people to learn, to develop their potential, to take action, to solve problems and to shape relationships. Education is a lifelong process and largely institutionalised in modern societies. 2 However, education means more than going to school. Besides basic and specialist knowledge, education must be in a position to convey key competences. 3 A successful life and social integration build, above all, on non-school educational processes. 4 Formal (institutionalised) education is supplemented by out-of-school conveyers of knowledge and values (family, friends, peer-groups, role models), youth work, training and further training, practical learning opportunities (in the neighbourhood, village, workplace) and practising life skills in projects and programmes. (10) In view of this importance it is understandable that most of the projects supported by terre des hommes in Germany and abroad have education as a focal point or at least as an important component. 5 In all 7 project regions there are educational and training projects for disadvantaged children and adolescents. Global learning is the goal and field of action of tdh s educational activity in Germany. For years terre des hommes has been calling for more public funding for the education and training of boys and girls. 1 See also For an Earth of Humanity, Development. Policy Positions of terre des hommes (2004). 2 In the form of schools (formal education) and continuing education, e.g. evening classes, adult education, literacy work (non-formal education). 4 Key competences are skills deriving from both the cognitive and the emotional sphere. 5 Studies show that over 60% of education takes place out of school. This applies even more in the global South. See KLJB Bayern: Bildung ist mehr!, Pappenheim In absolute figures there were over 72 million children, much fewer than in 1999 (96m). 5 On average, it takes top priority in about 25% cases, and is a major factor in 30%. 2

3 (11) In respect to the implementation of the universal right to education, two points are particularly relevant: access to education and educational quality. Access to education has clearly improved in the last 10 years. In % of children worldwide attended primary school at the appropriate age, compared to 83% in1999. In Latin America, East Asia and the Arab countries the figures are above average while in some Asian countries (e.g. India and Vietnam) the schooling rate is still under 90% and in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa (e.g. Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger) it is even below 70%. 6 Half of all governments had to admit, as late as in 2003, that education in their countries was neither free of charge nor accessible to all. (12) The result is even more problematic with respect to the quality of education. Public school education is poor and not very sustainable. Inadequate quality and efficiency of teaching are the reason for the high numbers dropping out and having to repeat. Only 63% of a given year reach 5th grade. 7 The causes are the opportunity costs of going to school (children work, school fees have to be paid), the remoteness from everyday life and poor quality of lessons (monocultural content, un-motivating teaching methods, poor training and working conditions of teachers) and the lack of equal opportunity (between rich and poor, boys and girls, urban and rural areas) National and international actors and action programmes (13) Everyone has the right to education according to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles 28 and 29 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. No one seriously questions the necessity and point of education. Every society builds its future on the basis of its education and the passing on of this knowledge. (14) Basic education is a funding priority of international development policy. Almost all world conferences in the last 10 years have mentioned education as an essential basis for social, economic and democratic development. The action plan of the World Education Forum on Education for All (Dakar 2000) 9, the two MDGs 10 with a direct relation to basic education, the obligation to allocate funds for education at the national and international level (Monterrey 2002) are all means of more closely coordinating the different anti-poverty programmes and development policies. The current UN Literacy Decade and education for sustainable development underline the importance of basic education. In its discussions and documents UNESCO has recently stressed the importance of inclusive education, i.e. an educational policy whose focus is on the transformation of education systems and schools so that they can cater for the diversity of students 7 In Germany 18% of young people with a migrant background have no school leaving certificate. 8 Comprehensive figures and evaluations in: Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission, Weltbericht Bildung für alle, Bonn At the world education forum in 2000 in Dakar 164 countries committed themselves to achieving six educational goals by Education for all is UNESCO s biggest educational programme. 10 MDG 2: achieving universal primary education for all boys and girls; and MDG 3: promoting gender equality and empowering women. All gender-based difference in treatment is to be eliminated in primary and secondary education by 2005 and at all other levels of education by

4 learning needs resulting from their social and cultural background and their individual characteristics. 11 In the existing integration model students have to adapt to the existing system, and now it is desired that the system will adapt to the origin and needs of the students. (15) On the basis of the high political status attributed to basic education it comes as no surprise that almost all major international donors (UN organisations; World Bank; regional development banks) are getting involved. Apart from UNESCO (educational statistics, sectoral and financial planning, curriculum development, expert advice to national education ministries, non-material cultural heritage) the body most active in promoting basic education is UNICEF. UNICEF is currently financing preschool education, better access to education for girls and basic education in crisis and emergency situations. As part of its campaign to combat child labour, the ILO is concentrating on expanding school capacities and getting more working children to go to school. (16) Against the background of the Millennium Declaration, a trend is shaping up to promote basic education in bilateral funding by OECD countries and the EU. Allocations for this have doubled compared to the 1990s. (17) Basic education is one of the eleven funding priorities in German development cooperation (EZ). 12 Even if the funding has risen since 2002 to 120m (budgeted for 2008), it does not yet reflect this priority-setting in contrast to other priorities. 13 The funding organisations commissioned by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) 14 are concentrating their projects on expanding infrastructure (building, equipment, sanitary facilities, teaching and learning materials) and supporting the reform processes (policy advice, monitoring, in-service training for teachers, curriculum development) and individual educational projects for disadvantaged groups (girls/women, refugees, migrants, disabled persons). The state development policy expects the developing countries to show appropriate political will and allocate appropriate staff and financial resources of their own. On the basis of the international development goals and the Monterrey consensus, the basic education funding of German EZ in government negotiations with the developing countries is to increasingly concentrate on improving structural conditions, promoting sectoral approaches and new financial instruments (e.g. budget-financing, debt rescheduling for educational programmes). 15 The Global Campaign for Education calculates, however, that 91% of German EZ funding is spent on advisory and review activities. 16 (18) The German non-governmental and church organisations concentrate on educational projects in the school and non-school area with particularly disadvantaged groups such as street children, working children and adolescents, child soldiers, slave children and non-adult prostitutes. These projects mostly take place at the community level and under difficult conditions. Church-related 11 UNESCO: Inclusive Education: The Way of the Future, p. 7, reference paper of the International Conference on Education, 48 th session, Geneva, See BMZ position paper on basic education (Grundbildung), August terre des hommes/deutsche Welthungerhilfe: Die Wirklichkeit der Entwicklungshilfe, 15th report. 14 gtz, KfW, InWEnt, DED, CIM. 15 See BMZ position paper on basic education, August Global Campaign for Education: Klassenziel verfehlt!, April

5 organisations focus on infrastructural programmes with the emphasis on remote, crisis-ridden regions. Frequently elementary education is linked to training in manual crafts and trades. (19) The largest advocacy and outreach activity by German NGOs is the global educational campaign Education for all. 17 Its prime aim is to guarantee free, good-quality basic education for every child in the world by the year Since its founding in 1999, the Global Campaign for Education has been supported by organisation from civil society, associations and educational trade unions in over 150 countries. Through advocacy, actions and information events it has drawn attention to the negative social impact of a lack of schooling in developing countries. It mobilises the public to lobby governments and the international community to keep their promises of guaranteeing cost-free, good-quality basic education for all. (20) In its working paper on Education, VENRO, the network of German NGOs, makes ten proposals for education policy advocacy 19 and it has set up a working group on Global Learning. tdh s desk officer for Global Educ 5

8 and funding options examined. It should be an objective of terre des hommes to join national and international networks. (33) terre des hommes should get involved in the activities of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. It has plenty of experience on this issue and a good project base. (34) More attention and support should be dedicated to the aspect of advocacy by tdh partners in the project countries. Long-term goals, like raising the education budget, better teacher training, reforming curricula etc. can only be advanced with active support from national networks and campaigns. 5. Links (35) Bildung Berufliche Grundqualifikation Bildungskampagne UNESCO : Immaterielles Kulturerbe: UNESCO : Kulturelle Bildung: Osnabrück, , Albert Recknagel 8

Dakar Framework for Action. Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments. World Education Forum Dakar, Senegal, April 2000

Dakar Framework for Action. Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments. World Education Forum Dakar, Senegal, April 2000 Dakar Framework for Action Education for All: Meeting our Collective Commitments Text adopted by the World Education Forum Dakar, Senegal, 26-28 April 2000 Dakar Framework for Action Education for All: