Education for All

1
Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment reaching
the un-reached
Badra Withanage Sri Lanka
2
Objectives of MDA

• to measure progress towards Education for All as
  stipulated in Action Plan 2004 2008
• to identify priorities, strategies for overcoming
  obstacles and accelerating progress
• to revise national plan of action based on
  findings
• an opportunity to refocus attention on the goals
  and targets of EFA and reinvigorate efforts to
  provide life-long learning opportunities of good
  quality for all

3
Participants of MDA

• Ministry of Education (Lead agency in Sri Lanka)
• Ministry of Womens Empowerment and Child
  Development
• Ministry of Health and Nutrition
• Ministry of Skills Development
• Department of Census and Statistics

4
Participants of MDA

• National Institute of Education
• National Child Protection Authority
• Faculties of Education of Universities
• Provincial Departments of Education
• Zonal Education Office
• Schools

5
Financial and Technical Assistance

• UNESCO Bangkok
• UNESCO New Delhi
• UNICEF
• GTZ
• Plan International

6
MDA Process

• Workshop held on 24-28 April 2006
• EFA MDA Steering Committee and Thematic Working
  Groups established
• Series of discussions were held with Working
  Groups, and work plans and time-frames developed
• Working Groups identified studies, surveys and
  capacity building activities that need to be
  implemented as part of the EFA MDA. They also
  identified areas requiring financial and
  technical assistance

7
MDA Process

• Based on the work plans the involvement of donors
  and international NGOs were discussed at the
  workshop on 26-27 October 2006. They responded
  positively to support this exercise.
• EFA unit established under the Planning Division
  of Ministry of Education.

8
Methodology of MDA

• Goal based working groups
• Awareness programmes
• Sample surveys
• In-depth studies of specific samples
• Group discussions
• Extracting data from assessment reports
• Analysis of data from secondary sources
• Analysis of School Census data

9
How the assessment was carried out

• Use existing information
• policy documents
• school census data
• Department of Census data
• relevant studies and report
• DHS data
• Initiate studies to fill gaps in essential data

10
Who carried out the MDA

• EFA unit (main coordinator)
• Experts from relevant government agencies in
  thematic working groups to work with officers of
  relevant units of the MoE
• Researchers
• Statisticians

11
Why local experts?

• Advantages
• Knowledge about current situation
• Capacity of the officers enhanced
• Sustainability of the process ensured
• System improves
• Feeling of ownership
• Easy to implement recommendations through their
  plans

• Disadvantages
• Lack of knowledge of some key officers about
  systematic assessment
• policy analysis
• disparity analysis
• data analysis

12
Problems faced

• Difficult to convene all the members of EFA
  steering committee
• Lack of guidance for technical work
• Lack of assessment capacity of the technical
  working group members
• No systematic monitoring mechanism for programme
  monitoring and quality monitoring
• Lack of capacity for data collection, analysis,
  reporting

13
Specific Problems faced

• Lack of Data
• Data for core EFA indicators ECCE, Life skills,
  expenditure
• Non-school data for 6 EFA goals population data
• No data for actual literacy
• Lack of disaggregated data for disparity analysis

14
Good practises

• Established EFA Unit under the Planning Division
  of MoE
• Encouragement from officers for the MDA process
• Non-interference from political leaders
• EFA Thematic Working Groups formed
• Support from relevant Institutions and officers
• Support from UNICEF and other international
  INGOs

15
EFA MDA Report Structure

• Consists of eight parts
• 0. Introduction
• ECCD
• UPE
• Life Skills
• Literacy
• Gender
• Quality
• Conclusion

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Challenges Issues emanating in most areas

• Issue of Disadvantaged and need for Affirmative
  Action - communities, locations, schools and
  families, children with special needs, IDPs
• Inadequacy and inequitable distribution of
  resources finance, infrastructure human
• Lack quality of inputs, processes and outcomes
• Quality commitment of teachers/care givers,
  facilitators mainly linked to training
  remuneration
• Attitudes towards disadvantaged groups
  illiterates, non-school going children,
  drop-outs, and girls women

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Main policy recommendations

• National ECCE policy encompasses children aged
  between 0-8 years
• Establishment of policy framework for Out of
  School Children in Compulsory Education Cycle (6
  - 14 age)
• Mainstreaming Inclusive approach based on the
  recognition of the rights of all children to
  receive quality education
• Ensure increased and rational allocation of
  financial resources for the un-reached groups and
  under-served on vertical equity basis
• Restructuring teacher development programs
  addressing inclusive education concept

18
Impact of MDA Process

• More attention drawn for systematic EFA
  monitoring
• Process of data collection, preparation of
  indicators and data analysis is being improved
• Continuous dialogues take place with relevant
  partners
• New studies are being introduced
• Inclusive education study,
• Mapping study for out-of-school children
• Literacy assessment procedures improved

19
Impact of MDA Process

• New policy and strategies are being introduced
• e.g. Inclusive education policy framework and
  medium term action plan
• Statistical capacity building programme for
  provincial level, Zonal level officers

20
Improvement of the system

• Accept the importance of incorporation of ECCE
  programme into the primary education system
• Coordination has improved
• - within education system
• - with other sectors eg. Health, Social
  Welfare,
• Child
  Development
• - with UNICEF and other UN agencies
• - with development partners and NGOs

21
Improvement of the system

• New concepts and techniques are being
  introduced
• Eg. Screening of disabled children
• Identify children with learning
  difficulties
• Early Learning Development Standards
• Awareness about importance of measuring actual
  literacy accepted
• Provisions of alternative education programmes
  accepted

22
Needs of the system

• Strengthen capacity at country level,
  particularly in analysis of data and providing
  useful information for policy makers and planners
• Improve skills and capacity at the national level
  needed in relation to
• Analysis and interpretation of education
  statistics for policy and programme planning
  (ECCE, UBE, Literacy)
• use of education and literacy data from surveys

23
Needs of the system

• Improve linkage and interaction between planners
  and statisticians
• Develop monitoring systems to address issues on
  quality of education
• Capacity building at the grassroots level (Zonal,
  etc.)

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Challenges

• Data availability / Quality
• Human resources Staff availability and capacity
• Financial resources Adequate funding for
  continuous monitoring
• Inter-agency collaboration (population data)
• Transforming data into information and to use it
  in policy and decision making

25
Type of support need

• Proper Technical Support for filling data gaps
• EFA /MDG and WEI data collection mechanisms need
  to be coordinated to collect non-school data,
  actual literacy, non-formal programmes data,
  gender equality, life skills and ECCE data, etc.
• Proper technical experts for ECCE, life
  skills, Literacy for preparation of standards
  and tools

26
Way forward

• Recommendations to be considered by relevant
  stakeholders (Ministries, Provincial authorities,
  ECCD centres schools, Development partners
  Civil society organisations)
• Develop an Action Plan with goals, objectives,
  strategies, activities, required funding time
  frames
• Identify roles responsibilities of each (for
  policymaking, funding, implementation of policies
  procedures, coordination, and supervision
  monitoring)
• Identify a reporting mechanism for continuous
  monitoring, and
• Evaluation of achievement of expected targets to
  achieve EFA by 2015

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Thank you!