EF 100: PRINCIPLES OF

EDUCATION

MODULE 5: PRINCIPLES BEHIND EDUCATION FOR ALL

By
Osiah, Moyo
Principles behind Education For
All (EFA)
 Education For All (EFA) simply means
ensuring equal education opportunity
for everyone. i.e ensuring exposure to
quality education for every individual
without distinction of any kind.
Cont
 The movement towards Education For All
(EFA) is closely linked to the concept of
Human Rights.
 Thus, to understand better the principles

behind EFA, lets first have a look at Human

rights concept.
The concept of Human Rights
What are human rights?

 Human rights are those rights which are

inherent to the human being.
 They are norms that help to protect all

people everywhere from severe political,

legal, and social abuses.
Cont
 They include the right to freedom of religion, the
right to a fair trial when charged with a crime, the
right not to be tortured, and the right to engage in
political activity.

 These rights are not a reward for good behaviour,

but rather are inherent entitlements which come
to every person as a consequence of being human
without distinction as to race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other
status.
Features of Human rights
Here are some of the key characteristics of human
rights:
 human rights are founded on respect for the

dignity and worth of each person.

 Human rights are universal, meaning that All

living humans have human rights. These rights
are applied equally and without discrimination to
all people; therefore, one does not have to be a
particular kind of person or a member of some
specific nation or religion to have human rights.
Cont
 Human rights have high-priority.
Human rights are matters of “paramount
importance” and their violation is
considered “a grave affront to justice”. They
have the ability to compete with other
powerful considerations such as national
stability and security, individual and
national self-determination, and national
and global prosperity.
cont
 Human rights are indivisible, interrelated
and interdependent, for the reason that it
is insufficient to respect some human rights
and not others.
In practice, the violation of one right will
often affect the respect of several other
rights. Thus, all human rights are important
and equally essential to respect for the
dignity and worth of every person.
Cont
 Human rights are inalienable, in that no
one can have his or her human rights taken
away other than in specific situations.
Categories of human rights
 civil and political rights
 Social and economic rights
 Cultural rights
 Civil and political rights
 civiland political rights have been
considered fundamental human rights for
which all nation states have a duty and
responsibility to uphold. They have also
been seen as so-called ‘negative’ rights
since they merely require the absence of
their violation in order to be upheld.
 Personal (civil) rights
 Civilrights include such rights as the right
to life, liberty, and personal security; the
right to equality before the law; the right of
protection from arbitrary arrest; the right to
the due process of law; the right to a fair
trial; and the right to religious freedom and
worship.
When protected, civil rights guarantee one's
'personhood' and freedom from state-
sanctioned interference or violence.
 Political rights
 Politicalrights include such rights as the
right to speech and expression; the rights to
assembly and association; and the right to
vote and political participation. Therefore,
political rights guarantee individual rights to
involvement in public affairs and the affairs
of state.
Social and economic rights
 Social and economic rights include such
rights as the right to a family; the right to
education; the right to health and well
being; the right to work and fair
remuneration; the right to form trade unions
and free associations; the right to leisure
time; and the right to social security.
 When protected, these rights help promote

individual flourishing, social and economic

development, and self-esteem.
 Cultural rights
 Cultural rights, include such rights as the
right to the benefits of culture; the right to
indigenous land, rituals, and shared cultural
practices; and the right to speak one's own
language and ‘mother tongue’ education.
Cont
Cultural rights are meant to maintain and
promote sub-national cultural affiliations
and collective identities, and protect
minority communities against the incursions
of national assimilationist and nation-
building projects.
Cont
 Note:
 Since social, economic and cultural rights

are aspirational and programmatic in

nature; they are considered (by some) to be
less fundamental than the first set of rights
and are seen as ‘positive’ rights whose
realisation depends heavily on the fiscal
capacity of states.
 Human rights philosophy
 The philosophy of human rights addresses
questions about the existence, content,
nature, universality, justification, and legal
status of human rights.
 So why human rights? What are the

(philosophical) imperatives?
 Why human rights?
 Enactment/ judicial decisions
 Moral reasons
 Religious/ divine reasons
 Enactment/ judicial decisions

 Human rights exist as norms of national and

international law created by enactment and
judicial decisions.
 Nationally, they become part of a country's

law through legislative enactment, judicial

decision, or custom.
 At the international level, human rights

norms exist because of treaties that have

turned them into international law.
 Moral explanations
 Human rights can be seen as basic moral
norms shared by all or almost all accepted
human moralities. E.g. norms prohibiting
murder could constitute the human right to
life.
 Note: however, worldwide moral unanimity

about human rights does not exist. Thus,

human rights declarations and treaties are
intended to change existing norms, not just
describe the existing moral consensus.
 Religious/divine reasons
 Rights are plausibly attributed to divine
decree i.e. people are born with rights.
 The explanations for this is that human

rights are God-given. For example, the U.S.

Declaration of Independence (1776) claims
that people are “endowed by their Creator”
with natural rights to life, liberty, and the
pursuit of happiness.
Cont
 Attributing human rights to God'
commands may give them a sec
at the metaphysical level, but in
diverse world it does not make th
practically secure. For instance, i
difficulty to convince ‘atheist’ ….
believe in God at all, to accept ex
rights on religious grounds.
Universality of Human rights

 The Universality of Human rights entails

that All living humans, without
discrimination of any kind, have human
rights.

 The universality of Human rights can be

best understood by looking at the concept
of Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
1948.
 The Universal Declaration of
Human Rights

 The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

consists of a Preamble and 30 articles,
setting out the human rights and
fundamental freedoms to which all men and
women are entitled, without distinction of
any kind.
 The Universal Declaration recognizes that the
inherent dignity of all members of the human
family is the foundation of freedom, justice
and peace in the world
Cont
 It recognizes fundamental rights which are
the inherent rights of every human being
including, inter alia, the right to life, liberty
and security of person; the right to an
adequate standard of living; the right to
seek and enjoy asylum from persecution in
other countries; the right to freedom of
opinion and expression; the right to
education, freedom of thought, conscience
and religion; and the right to freedom from
torture and degrading treatment.
Cont
 These inherent rights are to be enjoyed by
every man, woman and child throughout
the world, as well as by all groups in society.
 The Universal Declaration promises to all

the economic, social, political, cultural and

civic rights that underpin a life free from
want and fear.
Cont
 Human Rights are not a reward for good
behaviour.
 They are not country-specific, or particular

to a certain era or social group. They are

the inalienable entitlements of all people, at
all times, and in all places — people of
every colour, from every race and ethnic
group; whether or not they are disabled;
citizens or migrants; no matter their sex,
their class, their caste, their creed or their
age.
Education as a Human
Right
 In 1948, the nations of the world,
speaking
 through the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights (UDHR), asserted

 that ‘everyone has a right to

education’. This is clearly articulated in

the article 26 of the UDHR as follows
Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights

 1. Everyone has the right to education.

Education shall be free, at least in the
elementary and fundamental stages.
Elementary education shall be compulsory.
Technical and professional education shall
be made generally available and higher
education shall be equally accessible to all
on the basis of merit.
Cont
 2. Education shall be directed to the full
development of the human personality and
to the strengthening of respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall
promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations, racial or
religious groups, and shall further the
activities of the United Nations for the
maintenance of peace.
Cont
 3. Parents have a prior right to choose the
kind of education that shall be given to their
children.
 This article (26) therefore establishes the

relationship between the UDHR and EFA

Education For All (EFA)
 The Education for All (EFA) movement is a global
commitment to provide quality basic education for
all children, youth and adults. The movement was
launched at the
World Conference on Education for All held in
Jomtien, Thailand from 5 to 9 March, 1990 by
UNESCO, UNDP, UNICEF and the World Bank.

 Participants endorsed an 'expanded vision of

learning' and pledged to universalize primary
education and massively reduce illiteracy by the end
of the decade.
Cont
 Ten years later (1990-2000), 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.
Dakar World Forum on Education for All, 2000

 At the World Education Forum in Dakar,

Senegal, in 2000, governments from 164
countries, together with representatives of
regional groups, international organizations,
donor agencies, non-government
organizations (NGOs) and civil society,
adopted a Framework for Action to deliver
Education for All (EFA) commitments.
Goals and strategies set at
Dakar Education Forum
 The Dakar Framework for Action comprised
6 goals and their associated targets to be
achieved by 2015, and 12 strategies to
which all stakeholders would contribute.
 The following 6 goals were set to be

achieved by 2015
Goal 1 – Early childhood care and
education

Expanding and improving comprehensive early

childhood care and education, especially for
the most vulnerable and disadvantaged
children
 efforts made:

-Understanding of Early childhood needs e.g.

culturally sensitive educational models, Safe
spaces, learning toys, books
-different methods to increase access e.g.
abolishing school fees, making school
compulsory.
Cont
 Success:

-Decline of child mortality rate by 39%

between 2000 and 2015.
Note: Despite a drop in child mortality rates
of nearly 50%, 6.3 million children under
the age of 5 died in 2013 from causes that
are mostly preventable.
Cont
-Progress in improving child nutrition has been
considerable. Yet globally, one in four
children are still short for their age – which is
a sign of chronic deficiency in essential
nutrients.
-Increased preprimary enrollment e.g. In 2012,
184 million children were enrolled in pre-
primary education worldwide, an increase of
nearly two-thirds since 1999.
-similarly, there was compulsory pre-primary
education in 40 countries by 2014.
Challenges:

-Low quality education (more trained

teachers and child carers are needed)
-In one fifth of countries, fewer than 30% of
children will be enrolled by 2015
-Continuing child mortality; 6.3 million
children died before age 5 in 2013. In Sub-
Saharan Africa, a child is said to be15 times
more likely to die before their 5th birthday
than a child in a developed world.
-uneven rural vs urban/rich vs poor progress
 Goal 2 – Universal primary education

Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly

girls, children in difficult circumstances and
those belonging to ethnic minorities, have
access to and complete free and compulsory
primary education of good quality
 The primary school net enrolment ratio was

84% in 1999 and is estimated to reach 93% in

2015.
 Net enrolment ratios improved significantly,

rising at least 20 percentage points from 1999 to

2012 in 17 countries, 11 of which were in sub-
Saharan Africa.
Cont
 While some increases in enrolment ratios
are evident, nearly 58 million children were
out of school in 2012, and progress in
reducing this number has stalled.
 Despite progress in access, dropout remains

an issue: in 32 countries, mostly in sub-

Saharan Africa, at least 20% of children
enrolled are not expected to reach the last
grade.
Cont
 By the 2015 deadline, one in six children in
low and middle income countries – or
almost 100 million – will not have
completed primary school.
Goal 3 – Youth and adult skills

Ensuring that the learning needs of all young

people and adults are met through equitable
access to appropriate learning and life skills
programmes
 Reflecting improved transition rates and higher

retention rates, the lower secondary gross

enrolment ratio increased from 71% in 1999 to
85% in 2012. Participation in lower secondary
education has increased quickly since 1999. In
Afghanistan, China, Ecuador, Mali and Morocco,
the lower secondary gross enrolment ratio has
increased by at least 25 percentage points.
Cont

 Inequality persists in the transition from

primary to secondary school. For example,
in the Philippines, just 69% of primary
school graduates from the poorest families
continued into lower secondary, compared
with 94% from the richest households.
Cont
 A majority of the 94 low and middle income
countries with information have legislated
free lower secondary education since 1999.
Of these, 66 have constitutional guarantees
and 28 enacted other legal measures. As of
2015, only a few nations charge lower
secondary school fees, including Botswana,
Guinea, Papua New Guinea, South Africa
and the United Republic of Tanzania.
Goal 4 – Adult literacy

Achieving a 50 per cent improvement in

levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially
for women, and equitable access to basic
and continuing education for all adults
 There are about 781 million illiterate adults.

The rate of illiteracy dropped slightly, from

18% in 2000 to an estimated 14% in 2015,
which means the Dakar target of halving
illiteracy was not achieved.
Cont
 Only 17 out of the 73 countries with a
literacy rate below 95% in 2000 had halved
their illiteracy rate by 2015.
 Progress has been made towards gender

parity in literacy but is not sufficient. All 43

countries where fewer than 90 women for
every 100 men were literate in 2000 have
moved towards parity, but none of them will
have reached it by 2015.
Goal 5 – Gender equality

Eliminating gender disparities in primary and

secondary education by 2005, and
achieving gender equality in education by
2015, with a focus on ensuring girls’ full and
equal access to and achievement in basic
education of good quality.
 At the primary level, 69% of the countries

with data are expected to have reached

gender parity by 2015. Progress is slower in
secondary education, with 48% projected to
be at gender parity in 2015.
Cont
Progress in tackling severe gender disparity
has been made. Between 1999 and 2012,
the number of countries with fewer than 90
girls enrolled in primary school for every
100 boys fell from 33 to 16.
 In sub-Saharan Africa, the poorest girls

remain the most likely to never attend

primary school. In Guinea and Niger in
2010, over 70% of the poorest girls had
never attended primary school, compared
with less than 20% of the richest boys.
Goal 6 – Quality of education

Improving all aspects of the quality of

education and ensuring excellence of all so
that recognized and measurable learning
outcomes are achieved by all, especially in
literacy, numeracy and essential life skills
 Pupil/teacher ratios declined in 83% of the

146 countries with data at the primary

education level. In one-third of the countries
with data, however, less than 75% of
primary school teachers are trained up to
national standards.
Cont
At the lower secondary education level, 87
of the 105 countries with data have a
pupil/teacher ratio below 30:1.
 In 1990, 12 learning assessments were

conducted according to national standards,

but by 2013 the number had increased to
101.
Strategies to achieve the set
goals
 There were12 strategies proposed in
the Dakar Framework for achieving EFA
goals
Strategy 1: Significant investment in basic
education

 Low and lower middle income countries

have allocated a higher percentage of GNP
to education since 1999, and aid to
education has more than doubled in real
terms. But there is little evidence that EFA
interventions at the global level – such as
the EFA FastTrack Initiative, later renamed
the Global Partnership for Education – led to
higher levels of national expenditure on
public education or aid to education.
Strategy 2: EFA policies within well-integrated
sector frameworks linked to poverty elimination

 The Dakar Framework specified that

national EFA plans were to be the main tool
for turning commitment into action. A
comparison of two waves of national plans
from 30 low and middle income countries
showed that their quality improved. Plans
that look good on paper, however, may bear
limited relation to the realities of countries’
political processes and education systems.
 Strategy 3: Engagement of civil society in
strategies for educational development

 An increase in civil society engagement has

been a major characteristic of the education
sector since 2000. This support, however,
has sometimes had only limited success in
creating strong national education coalitions
that are capable of bringing about
significant change.
Strategy 4: Accountability in governance and
management

 Local participation and decentralization were

considered key ways to improve education
governance. Overall, promoting local
participation and making schools responsive to
the needs of students, parents and
communities remain challenging, particularly
for poor households with limited time for such
engagement. In poorer countries with weak
capacity, decentralization and school autonomy
have been found to have either a detrimental
or no impact on the performance of students
and education systems.
Strategy 5: Meeting the needs of education systems affected
by conflict and instability

 Overall, the challenges of delivering

education in emergencies have received far
more attention since 2000. Violations of
human rights in conflict situations are
receiving increased notice. Advocacy has
helped keep the issue of education in
conflict and emergency situations on the
agenda. This can be credited to partners
fulfilling relevant commitments made in
Dakar.
Strategy 6: Integrated strategies for gender
equality

 The most visible global mechanism associated

with gender equality has been the United
Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI). An
evaluation acknowledged its contribution in
global policy dialogue and advocacy, though
less at the regional level.
 At the country level, UNGEI has positioned itself
as a strong, valuable player through robust
national partnerships. Overall, EFA partners
have put enough attention on gender equality to
contribute to progress towards this goal.
Strategy 7: Actions to combat HIV and AIDS

 In 2000, the AIDS epidemic was threatening

the very foundations of education systems
in southern and eastern Africa. In 2015,
while the battle is not yet won, the worst
has been prevented. Education initiatives
responded to the challenge of HIV with a
strong sense of urgency and developed
comprehensive sexuality education. Many
countries have taken steps to adopt this
broader approach, which should be credited
to global post-Dakar efforts.
Strategy 8: Safe, healthy, inclusive and equitably resourced
educational environments

 The Dakar Framework stressed how the

quality of the learning environment
contributed to the achievement of goals
relating to gender equality and an
education of good quality. But the strategy’s
grouping of a disparate set of issues, from
pedagogy to social protection to
infrastructure, meant it lacked focus. Work
at the global level has contributed little to
help countries establish healthy learning
environments.
Strategy 9: Teacher status, morale and
professionalism

 The International Task Force on Teachers for EFA

was established in 2008 to coordinate
international efforts to fill the teacher gap. An
evaluation suggested that the task force was
relevant, but that its objectives should be more
closely related to country needs. The Joint ILO-
UNESCO Committee of Experts on the
Application of the Recommendations Concerning
Teaching Personnel has not proved to be a
strong mechanism for change. Since 2000, there
has been no progress in monitoring the status of
teachers.
Strategy 10: Harnessing information and communication
technology

 The Dakar Framework emphasized the

potential of information and communication
technology (ICT) to deliver EFA. This
ambition has been challenged by sluggish
progress in developing infrastructure in
poorer countries, the slow diffusion of
technology and the absence of major global
coordination of ICT related to education.
Strategy 11: Systematic monitoring of
progress

 The Dakar Framework called for robust and reliable

education statistics. An evaluation recognized the work
of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) as
instrumental in this regard. Since 2000, a major
increase in the availability of household survey data
has enabled inequality to be monitored. Data on public
education expenditure continue to be incomplete, but
there has been important improvement in how donors
report expenditure. The most recent evaluation found
the GMR to be ‘widely perceived to be a high quality
report, based on robust research and analysis’. Overall,
there has been clear improvement since 2000 in the
way EFA goals are monitored and progress is reported.
Strategy 12: Building on existing mechanisms

 The final strategy stressed that activities should

be ‘based on existing organizations, networks
and initiatives’. An important question was
whether existing mechanisms could hold the
international community to account. The global
EFA coordination mechanisms clearly could not
play such a role, though the Universal Periodic
Review, established in 2006, could have been
used to review EFA progress. Accountability was
a missing link in the EFA cycle and remains an
issue to be tackled after 2015.
Assignment (individual)

 Evaluate the implementation of Education

For All in Tanzania.
Education For All Beyond 2015: Making it a
reality.

 Although there is a considerable progress

made in getting more children into school
and cutting down the number of non-literate
adults since the Jomtien World Conference
in 1990, we are yet to achieve EFA.
 There are 131 million children (pre-primary,

primary and lower secondary school age)

who are still out of school.
 Also there are 755 million non-literate

adults
Cont
 Some important questions need to be
asked.

 Is schooling leading to education? Or does

schooling translate into learning?

 Is there a political will to address key issues

in achieving EFA?
The right to education in the
context of EFA
 Interpretation of the Right to education of
UDHR 1948 in relation to the
implementation of EFA brings up 4 key
areas/aspects, namely;
 Availability,
 Accessibility,
 Acceptability and
 Adaptability.
Cont
 Thus to enhance everyone’s right to
education that education should be
available, accessible, acceptable and
adaptable.
Available

 Educational institutions and programs must

be available in sufficient numbers and free
of charge; this includes the availability of
trained teachers and adequate
infrastructure including buildings (schools,
colleges, universities) and sanitation.
Accessible
 Educational institutions and programs have
to be accessible to everyone, in safety,
without discrimination on any grounds.
 This includes physical, economic and social

accessibility with no direct or indirect costs;

positive measures must be taken to
guarantee equitable and equal access for
all. Again, this requires full commitment
both by the government and other
educational stakeholders.
Acceptable
 The form and content of education,
curricula and teaching methods, has to be
relevant, culturally appropriate, of good
quality and in accordance with the best
interests of every child; this includes a safe
and healthy school environment and
professional, trained and supported
teachers.
Adaptable

 Education has to be flexible, so that it can

adapt to the needs of changing societies
and communities, and respond to the needs
of different learners within their specific
social and cultural context, including the
evolving capacities of the child.
As it stands
 There are still crises in terms of access and
quality.
 How do we measure access; quality?
Access
 Enrolment
 Completion
 Transition
 Inclusion
 Equity
Enrolment

 Enrolment often considers the number of

student who enroll in schools at the
beginning of the year. Enrolment is often
measured once at the beginning of the
year/school term, thus could mask low
attendance and drop-out rates. There fore it
is important to take into consideration other
aspects such as attendance and completion.
So how about aspects such
as
 Completion (attendance and completion)

 Transition (how many students successfully join

the next/higher level)

 Inclusion (Are classrooms/schools inclusive-

accommodating marginalized/disadvantaged
learners).

 Equity (what efforts are made to ensure equity

and equality).
Quality
 Sufficient and well-trained teachers
 Quality learning environment
 Relevant curricula
Sufficient and well-trained teachers

 Research indicates that no education system

can rise above the quality of its teachers.
Therefore, the quality of education is chiefly
determined by the quality of teachers.

 There should be sufficient number of

teachers who are well-trained in their subject
areas and pedagogy who can meet the
rapidly increasing and changing needs of
schools.
Cont
 To enhance quality teachers also need to be well
supported and properly motivated to update their
knowledge and skills.

 Many countries have put more efforts in

increasing student enrolment while neglecting
training of teachers.

 In Africa, it is reported that half of all teachers

either have low or no qualifications to teach, thus
compromising the quality of the education
offered.
Quality learning environment

 Conducive learning environment for all learners

in school including those learners identified as
having disabilities is an essential element of
quality education.
 Safe and learner-friendly learning environment
not only help teachers and students to work
better but also enhances love for learning
amongst children.
 Good and well-resourced classrooms increases
teachers’ efficiency in teaching and reassures
meeting the needs of disabled children who are
present in the classroom.
Relevant curricula

 Relevance of the curriculum similarly

determines the quality of education for that
particular level.

 Generally, education that is of poor quality

or of little relevance undermines universal
provision, since it discourages parents and
children, leading to low enrolment, low
attendance rates and high drop--‐out rates.
Reflections
 Differentiate equity from equality. Give
examples from educational context.
 To what extent are principles of Education

For All (EFA) reflected in the Tanzania

Education and Training Policy of1995?