Initiative Africa

“to Teach, Inspire and Support”

SUPPORT TO QUALITY EDUCATION FOR ALL

The Education for ALL is a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and adults. The movement was launched at the world confederation on Education for all in 1990 by UNESCO, UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF, the World Bank and civil society partners from around the world. Participants endorsed an “expanded vision of learning” and pledged to universalize primary education and massively reduce illiteracy by the end of the decade. Ten years later, with many countries far from having reached this goal, the international community met again in Dakar, Senegal, and affirmed their commitment to achieving Education for All by the year 2015. They identified six key education goals which aim to meet the learning needs of all children, youth and adults by 2015.

Background to the Development of the MDGS

• The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the result of numerous UN development   conferences from the 1960s to 1990s.

   These all UN development conferences (First, Second, Third and Fourth Development conferences) focused largely on economic growth.

• The world leaders, researchers and NGOs planed to bring new change for the new millennium that focus more on development than growth which takes into account the prevailing circumstances in developing countries.

• As a result, the MDGs reflect the importance of social human rights in the international community.

•  Rights to food, education, health care, and decent standard of living.

In September 2000 the United Nations General Assembly, representing 189 countries, unanimously adopted the Millennium Declaration. The Millennium declaration has;

•  Eight goals

•  Eighteen targets

•  Forty five indicators.

• The MDGs are a set of time-bound and measurable goals and targets designed to decrease poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental devastation and discrimination against women.

Mission Statement

The mission of SIDA /Initiative Africa   Education for All (EFA) is to promote expanded, equitable access to quality basic education so that all children have the chance to learn.

SIDA/ IA   believes that basic education – literacy, numeracy, critical thinking and life skills – offers children the best hope of escaping a life of poverty and despair. A quality basic education directly impacts all aspects of human development and well-being, including economic growth, health, nutrition, agricultural productivity, democracy and governance, women and girls’ empowerment, and human rights and security.

SIDA/IA works with government policymakers, partner organizations, and the public to increase support for quality basic education in Ethiopia. Our objective is to accelerate progress toward the Education for All (EFA) goals, and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) relating to education. These international efforts aim to ensure that by 2015, every boy and girl around the world has access to a quality basic education.  IA’s Quality Education for All initiative works to develop, encourage and support the education sectors. role as a leader in these efforts.

Education for All (EFA) Goals:

• Expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education
• Provide free and compulsory primary education of good quality to all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances, and ethnic minorities
• Promote learning and life skills for young people and adults
• Increase adult literacy by 50%, especially for women
• Achieve gender parity by 2005, and gender equality by 2015, with a focus on girls’ access to good quality basic education
• Improve the quality of education and achievement of learning outcomes, especially literacy, numeracy and life skills.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – (relating to education):

• Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary schooling by 2015 (Goal 2)
• Eliminate gender disparities in primary education by 2005, and at all levels by 2015 (Goal 3)

Key Issues

Today, thousands of children remain out of school in Ethiopia, and thousands more drop out each year because the education they do receive is of such poor quality.  By failing to gain basic literacy, numeracy, and life skills, these children miss out on the opportunity to fulfil their potential. The majority of them live in poor and live in rural areas.   In order to change this situation, we are focusing on the following key issues:

• Ensuring Access & Quality
• Girls’ Education
• Teacher Training
• Improving Health & Well-Being
• Enhancing Economic Growth

Specific Objectives   of   SIDA/Initiative Africa’s Work

 Initiative Africa and its partner’s organizations of   Quality Education for All are working to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning in Ethiopia by:

• Developing and implementing tools to assess learning
• Teachers  Capacity Building
• Working with parent and community groups
• Collaborating with Ministries of Education
• Rehabilitating schools
• Providing resources and technology
• Increasing girls’ access to education by reducing cultural and economic barriers
• Focusing on vulnerable groups, including children in conflict, disabled children
  and the severely poor
• Striving to achieve the goals of Education for All

Ten things you need to know about Education for All

1. EFA is a right
2. EFA is everyone’s concern
3. EFA is a development imperative
4. EFA really is FOR ALL
5. EFA is for all ages and in all setting
6. EFA means inclusive quality learning
7. EFA is making remarkable progress
8. EFA still faces many challenge
9. EFA needs support from everyone
10. EFA has a multiplier effect