Worldwide education out of reach

Worldwide education out of reach

JAKARTA (JP): Education is the true essence of human development.
Without education, development can be neither broad-based nor
sustained.

But as the 21st century draws near, nearly a billion people
remain unable to read a book or sign their names.

At the same time, over 130 million children of school age in
the developing world -- 73 million of whom are girls -- are
growing up without access to basic education, while millions of
others languish in sub-standard learning situations.

To advance into the third millennium with a quarter of the
world's children denied the right to basic education is
disheartening.

Depressing facts concerning world education are unveiled in
the most recent report of the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF).

Prepared by UNICEF executive director Carol Bellamy, the
report titled The State of the World 's Children l999:
Education.tells of the efforts of the international community to
ensure the world's children enjoy the human right of a high
quality education. The goal of this worldwide movement: Education
for All.

The report explores three important factors in education: The
Right to Education, The Education Revolution and Investing in
Human Rights.

The first section, The Right to Education, investigates the
historical context in which children's right to education has
been repeatedly affirmed.

The l948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the
beginning of a broad effort by the United Nations to promote
social, economic, cultural and political rights.

The 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the l990 World
Summit for Children and the 1990 World Conference on Education
for All aim ensure that every child has the right and access to
quality education that is relevant to her or his individual life
and development.

Progress toward Education for All, however, has been slow. The
report says the goals are hard to achieve, especially in the
least developed countries and developing countries in Asia-
Pacific, Africa and Latin America.

Developing countries tend to plead poverty as an excuse for
failing to allocate sufficient resources for Education for All.

For tens of millions of children, living in disadvantaged
regions means that education is beyond reach, because they are
full-time workers -- around 250 million children are trapped in
child labor. For others, there may simply be no school for them
to attend. There may be too few qualified teachers, or a child's
family may not be able to afford the fees. The school may be too
far from home. Or it may lack books and supplies.

In Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, about eight
million elementary and junior high school students may have been
forced to drop out of schools since the crisis began in the
middle of l997.

But the report discloses that the most crucial problem is the
lack of governments' political will.

Despite this absence of commitment, world governments have
started to pay more attention to education issues, even though
they may appear insignificant.

This can be seen from the rising percentage of average world
rates of net primary school enrollments. In East Asia and the
Pacific region, including South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand,
96 percent of school-age children are enrolled in primary
schools.

Nevertheless, people should not be too happy with this fact.
Over 150 million children in developing countries start school
but do not reach grade five.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child, ratified by all
United Nations' member countries, except the United States and
Somalia, focuses on quality education that encompasses not only
children's cognitive needs but also their physical, social,
moral, emotional and spiritual development.

On the brink of the 21st century, the world community is
enforcing educational revolution, one of the second foci of the
UNICEF report. Education Revolution describes the meaning of
education and the ways in which learning can be enhanced.

Past and present education systems must be totally reformed,
the report implies. Education systems must move toward a more-
child centered teaching and learning environment in which
students participate actively.

Conventional education systems in many countries are too rigid
to reach the children who, because of physical disabilities,
gender, ethnicity or poverty, have least access to school.

Now the philosophy is "learning through play", the new way of
teaching is expected to help children become happy, healthy and
creative.

Investment

Many countries are spending less on education purposes. As an
example, most East-Asia Pacific countries, including Indonesia,
spend on average 1.2 percent of their Gross National Product on
annual education expenditure.

International aid contributions generally account for less
than 2 percent of a recipient country's education budget. Aid
donations continue to drop to record low levels.

In l998, the World Bank allocated 8.6 percent of the total
lending to education. Between l991 and l997, 45 percent of
education loans by the World Bank went to basic education
programs.

It should be noted, however, that much World Bank money for
education remains unspent, because the institution lends money
rather than providing grants, with the majority of its loans made
to middle-income countries carrying commercial interest rates.

Many cash-strapped governments are unwilling to take on debt
with such high interest rates to advance the cause of basic
education.

According to the report, the world would only need an
additional US$7 billion per year for the next 10 years, on
average, to educate all children. This is spent on cosmetics in
the United States or on ice cream in Europe annually.

The report also disclosed that allocations of global
financial resources are made when the economic stability and
well-being of developed countries is threatened.

The economic crisis in Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia
proved such a shock to the global financial system OECD countries
mobilized more than $100 billion to help the suffering "tigers".

In contrast, leading industrial nations, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and other powerful
institutions have been less accommodating for the poorest
countries.

It would appear the calls for investment in human development
and human rights remains rhetoric only. It has taken 50 years for
the global community to accept the principle of education rights
for all children, but violations continue.

Secretary General of the United Nations Kofi Anan says in the
foreword: "There is no instant solution to the violations of that
right, but it begins with a simple proposition that on the eve of
the 21st century, there is no higher priority, no mission more
important, than that of Education For All".

When the right to education is assured, the whole world gains.
(raw)