Education for All (EFA) (15 doucments)

BENNELL, P. (2002) Hitting the Target: Doubling Primary School Enrollments in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2015. World Development, 30, 1179-1194.
This paper estimates the number of children who will need to attend and complete primary school in sub-Saharan Africa in order for the current international development target of universal primary education (UPE) by 2015 to be attained. In addition, a variety of demand constraints that will also affect the attainment of UPE are identified and assessed. The main conclusion of this analysis is that target enrollment growth for the region as a whole between 2000 and 2015 is not much greater than enrollment growth during the 1990s. For at least half of all countries in the region, however, this will require very high levels of sustained enrollment growth during the next 15 years. There are also major concerns about the overall level of demand for primary education by individuals and households. In particular, formal sector employment contracted in many countries during the 1990s and returns to education in the smallholder agriculture and informal sectors continue to remain low. But, with sufficient commitment from governments and donor agencies to increase educational capacity and improve the quality of schooling, the UPE target can be attained as part of a comprehensive strategy for poverty reduction in each country.  (Abstract by author/s)
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BIRDSHALL, N., LEVINE, R. & IBRAHIM, A. (2005) Towards Universal Primary Education: investments, incentives and institutions. European Journal of Education, 40, 337-349.
This report suggests several potential levers for transforming (rather than just expanding) education systems. Systematic consultation with expert groups, civil society representatives, policymakers, and other stakeholders may reveal other, better levers. The point is not to define a closed and universal list—all genuine solutions must come from locally defined processes—but to be clear about the need to identify specific actions that induce a fundamental reorientation in failing education systems. (Abstract an extract from the executive summary)

DAUN, H. (2000) Primary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa-A Moral Issue, an Economic Matter, or Both? Comparative Education, 36, 37-53.
Generally, it is argued that economic factors explain changes in literacy and enrolment rates in sub-Saharan Africa. This article demonstrates that educational indicators vary as much with religious factors, i.e. degree of Islamisation and Christianisation, as with economic factors. Forty years ago, strongly Christianised countries had higher rates of literacy and primary school enrolment than strongly Islamised countries, regardless of economic level, type of state and colonial background, and they still have. The article ends with a number of assumptions which can serve as an agenda for research on educational development in sub-Saharan Africa. (Abstract by author)

DESTEFANO, J., HARTWELL, A., SCHUH-MOORE, A. & BALWANZ, D. (2006) Meeting EFA: Reaching the underserved through complementary models of effective schooling. USAID.
The is EQUIP2 Working Paper synthesizes the findings from the nine case studies of successful complementary education programs in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Mali, and Zambia. The research demonstrated that the programs are more cost-effective than government schools in delivering education services and that they achieve higher learning outcomes through adjustments in school size and location, curriculum and language of instruction, school management and governance arrangements, and teaching staff and instructional support services. (Extract from paper)

JANSEN, J. D. (2005) Targeting education: The politics of performance and the prospects of `Education For All'. International Journal of Educational Development, 25, 368-380.
This article offers a critical examination of the public claims about the potential, reach and impact of "target setting in education" within the context of developing countries. The argument is made that the target-setting enterprise is undermined by three fallacies--conceptual, methodological and organizational--with negative consequences for the achievement of education quality in poor countries. While acknowledging the logic of targets on the part of international development agencies, the article nevertheless suggests that target setting could be seen as a transnational system of surveillance that takes measures of control, measurement and accountability beyond the confines of national borders.

KING, K. & ROSE, P. (2005) Transparency or tyranny? Achieving international development targets in education and training. International Journal of Educational Development, 25, 362-367. Document available online

LEWIN, K. M. (2007) Diversity in convergence: access to education for all. Compare: a journal of comparative education, 37, 577 - 599. Document available online

MUNDY, K. (2007) Education for All: Paradoxes and Prospects of a Global Promise. In BAKER, D. P. & WISEMAN, A. W. (Eds.) International Perspectives on Education and Society. JAI.
Education for all has become a rallying call among heads of states, international organizations, corporate leaders and transnational advocacy groups. Implementation of EFA goals has also expanded, and today enjoys both new volumes of aid spending and new modes of aid delivery. This chapter considers why the global promise of EFA has moved beyond international rhetoric to action, and explores what the current EFA movement can tell us about the prospects of rights-based and redistributive forms of global governance. (Abstract by author/s)
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ROSE, P. (2005) Is there a `fast-track' to achieving education for all? International Journal of Educational Development, 25, 381-394.
The Education for All Fast Track Initiative (FTI) has evolved since the 2000 World Forum on Education for All at Dakar in recognition that, without support, some countries would not achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of Universal Primary Completion by 2015. A key question that emerges is whether the FTI can help the achievement of the goal. While it is evident that some progress has been made, the analysis suggests that problems remain. These include the omission from the FTI process of those countries most off-track; inappropriate choice of benchmarks used to allocate resources; and inadequate analysis of key demand-side issues. Importantly, despite considerable momentum surrounding the FTI, it is not yet evident that donors have met their side of the bargain of coordinating their activities and providing additional funds to ensure that no country will not be thwarted in the achievement of the MDG due to insufficient resources.
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SEMALI, L. M. (2007) Challenges of Rebuilding Education in Crisis: Access to Universal Primary Education in Africa. In BAKER, D., P. & WISEMAN, A. W. (Eds.) International Perspectives on Education and Society. JAI.
This chapter outlines the enormity of the task of achieving universal primary education in Africa with over 40 million children currently out of school in sub-Saharan Africa. Several questions are addressed with reference to global trends and using World Bank and national enrollment data. For example: Why does Africa seem unable to secure "education for all" for school-age children? Is it simply the relative poverty levels of African countries, or are there grounds for thinking that other factors might be at work? And, what challenges do these countries face in the wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic? This chapter also notes that some countries are at higher risk of not achieving universal primary completion and gender equality by 2015. What must politicians and policy-makers do to reverse these trends? As observed by Blair's Commission for Africa, the challenges are immense and if Africa continues on its current path then the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for halving poverty, universal primary education and the elimination of avoidable infant deaths in sub-Saharan Africa will not be delivered in 2015 but instead between 100 and 150 years late. The challenge is to find short- and long- term policies and solutions to address this global policy.

TORRES, R. M. (2000) One decade of education for all: The challenge ahead.Buenos Aires, IIEP-UNESCO.
In this book, Torres focuses on Education for All, as articulated at the Jomtien World Conference on Education for All in March 1990. As she explains, this conference provided a broad framework for the design and implementation of educational policies around the world, especially basic education, during the 1990s. Torres looks at the proposals that were made at the conference, the responses by countries over the ten years, and the way forward. She argues that "Jomtien was not only an attempt to ensure basic education-the satisfaction of basic learning needs- for the worlds population, but to redefine the vision and scope of basic education" (Torres, 2000:6).

UNESCO (2004) EFA Global Monitoring Report 2005: The quality imperative. Document available online

UNESCO (2006) EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007: strong foundations, early childhood care and education, Paris, UNESCO. Document available online

UNESCO (2007) EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008: Education for All by 2015. Will we make it? Paris, UNESCO Publishing. Document available online

WOLHUTER, C. C. (2007) Education for All in Sub-Saharan Africa: Prospects and Challenges. In BAKER, D. P. & WISEMAN, A. W. (Eds.) International Perspectives on Education and Society. JAI.
This paper presents a state-of-the-field review of progress toward the ideal of Education for All in the Sub-Saharan Africa region. First, the significance of Education for All in Sub-Saharan Africa is clarified. Then, the beginnings of formal education in Sub-Saharan Africa (i.e., nineteenth century missionary education) are discussed, followed by colonial education. This is followed by an overview of post-independence strategies and initiatives aimed at the expansion of education. The Outline of a Plan for African Educational Development, drafted by a meeting of Ministers of Education of African states (MINEDAF) immediately after independence, 1961, is discussed, followed by the resolutions taken at the seven MINEDAF conferences held since 1961 till the present day. The resulting strategies and initiatives aimed at bringing education to all are discussed and evaluated. The impact of structural adjustment programs signed in recent years by most governments of African countries with the World Bank is also addressed. In conclusion, the present state of education in Sub-Saharan Africa and the prospects and challenges of Education for All are summarized.
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