(b) Provision of family-life education in the curriculum ofprimary secondary and tertiary institu
VI. BASIC EDUCATION FOR ALL BY THE YEAR 2000 A. The state of education in Africa
159. Education is a further major component of human development. The state of education in Africa, however, measured by any of the conventional indicators, compares unfavourably with the situation anywhere else in the world. The countries of the region have some of the lowest literacy rates in the world.
For Africa as a whole, the unweighted average literacy rate in 1992 was about 51 per cent; and in 10 coun tries, less than one-third of the population was literate.
160. Even worse is that, in absolute terms, the number of illiterate adults is on the increase. For example, between 1980 and 1990, the absolute number of illiterates increased in at least 32 African coun tries.1 The total number of illiterates in sub-Saharan Africa, which was about 132 million in 1980, is pro jected to increase to about 147 million by the end of the century.2 This stands in stark contrast to the situa tion in other regions of the world, where the number of illiterates is expected to decline dramatically.
161. It must also be noted that there are great disparities between literacy rates for men and women, and for urban and rural areas. The illiteracy rate is higher for men than for women in every African country for which statistics are available. Even more telling, however, is the magnitude of disparities. Thus, in 1990, in 39 countries out of 41 for which data were provided, the average illiteracy rate for women was higher than that of men by at least 10 per cent. In 28 of them, it was higher by at least 20 per cent.3 There are also substantial differences between urban and rural areas.
162. This discouraging picture repeats itself with respect to school enrolment as well. Gross enrolment ratios are steadily declining and attrition rates continue to rise. Thus, "the gross enrolment ratio at the first level of education is currently 70.6 per cent, compared to 80.9 per cent a decade ago".4 And the enrolment ratio for all levels declined from 39 per cent in 1980 to 35 per cent in 1990.5 The regional average for mean years of schooling is less than two, with the figure being less than one in 16 countries.
163. The gender disparities are glaring in the area of enrolment too, and they tend to be even more so as one moves up the educational ladder. A review of a recent World Bank study on female participation in sub-Saharan Africa came out with some revealing statistics in this regard.6 Using the concept of gender ratio (GR), i.e., female participation expressed as a percentage of male participation, for 18 indicators per taining to educational access (the decision to enter girls in school), attainment (the length of time girls remain in school and the level of education to which they progress) and accomplishment (their success once they leave school), the report reaches the conclusion that, although differences are not very great at the primary level,
Severe disparities exist in girls' access to secondary school, however, as indicated by the gross secondary enrolment gender ratio ofO, 50, despite a primary completion gender ratio ofO. 81... and the secondary completion gender ratio of 0.64 indicates that substantially fewer girls than boys complete secondary school.!
164. Low participation of female teachers in the education system is also evident. Female teachers constitute less than 40 per cent of teachers in primary education, less than 25 per cent in secondary education and less than 20 per cent in tertiary education (see annex). As the age of the enrolled girl student increases, the importance of the sex of the teacher, including as a role model, increases.
165. Added to this is the decline in the quality of education and the frequent closure of educational estab lishments, which is in part due to the low share of public expenditure devoted to education. Thus, "between
1980 and 1985, sub-Saharan African spending on education, as a proportion of GNP, actually decreased from 4.5 to 3.5 per cent. For many African countries, this spending was still hovering around 3.5 per cent
in 199o — far short of the figure of 5 per cent of GNP deemed necessary for a sustainable education
system" .8
B. The World Conference on Education for AH
166 Viewed globally, an important landmark in the sphere of education was the World Conference on Education for All held in Jomtien, Thailand, in March 1990. This Conference, which was attended by representatives of governments, NGOs, donors and international organizations, adopted a World Declaration on Education for All as well as a Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs.9
167. Based on the premise that "education is a fundamental right of all people" and on the conviction that, for the first time in history, basic education for all is an attainable goal, the Declaration set out the purpose of education for all and articulated "an expanded vision and a renewed commitment" to this goal. The expanded vision was to encompass universalizing access to and promoting equity in basic education; focusing on learning, with a view to enabling people to incorporate useful knowledge, reasoning ability, skills and values; broadening and constantly redefining the means and scope of basic education; enhancing the environ ment for learning, by ensuring that "all learners receive the nutrition, health care and general physical and emotional support they need in order to participate actively in and benefit from their education"; and strengthening partnerships at all levels — local, national, regional, international — in view of the enormity
of the task involved.
168. The Declaration further stipulated the requirements for attaining the goal of Education for All as being developing a supporting policy context in the social, cultural and economic sectors; mobilizing resources for the task — financial and human, public and private; and strengthening international solidarity because "meeting basic learning needs constitutes a common and universal human responsibility".
169. In order to help make the Declaration operational, the Conference also adopted a Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs. The Framework was intended as a reference for all those committed to the goal of education for all in formulating their own plans of action for implementing the World Declara
tion.
170. The Framework recognized that, although the ultimate goal was that of meeting the basic learning needs of all, the best way of attaining this goal was for countries to formulate intermediate goals by taking into account the objectives of the Declaration and their overall national development goals and priorities, and to monitor progress towards the ultimate goal. In the words of the Framework,
Intermediate goals can usefully be formulated as specific targets within national and sub-nationalplansfor educational development. Such targets usually (i) specify expected attain ments and outcomes in reference to terminal performance specifications within an appro priate time-frame, (ii) specify priority categories (e.g., the poor, the disabled) and (iii) are formulated in terms such that progress toward them can be observed and measured. These targets represent a "floor" (but not a "ceiling ")for the continued development of education programmes and services.
Box 11
INADEQUATE ACCESS OF WOMEN TO EDUCATION TRAINING, SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY:
PROPOSED REMEDIAL ACTIONS
"Provide gender sensitive occupational and educational guidance and counselling services to girls at all levels of the education system in respect of career choices and personal development;
Ensure that data collection on education is based on recognition and analysis of the issue of gender by appropriate desegregation of all eduction statistics;
Enact and ensure effective implementation of legislation to enforce a minimum basic education of at least nine years;
Give incentives to families to minimize the opportunity cost of girls' education through provision of scholarships/bursars for the education of girls and the establishment of child-care facilities for young
siblings;
Adopt gender appropriate curricula, teaching of human rights and the integration of gender-awareness in all aspects of training programmes in order to eliminate negative stereotyping;
Enact legislation for, and give financial incentives to employers to provide functional literacy and train ing for unskilled women employees;
Take positive action to promote women's interest in, and benefits from, scientific and technical educa tion, thus encouraging women to enter non-traditional field;
Encourage cooperation among African women with a view to promoting the sharing of experience in new and traditional technology;
Promote the training and recruitment of female teaching, administrative and technical staff to achieve gender equity using innovations such as special financial incentives; and adopt favourable administra tive measures and incentives to encourage them to work in rural areas;
Improve access to schools and provide appropriate and community-based facilities, particularly in rural
areas;
Make available basic, civic and functional literacy and life-skill programmes for women and girls;
Promote rural industrialization scheme thus reducing rural-urban migration through the involvement of rural women in agro-based industries;..."
ECA, African Platformfor Action 1994, pp. 26-27.
171. The Framework also identified priority actions at national, regional and world levels. At the national level, it defined the major tasks as assessing needs and planning action; developing a supportive policy environment; designing policies to improve basic education; improving managerial, analytical and