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THE
Philippines is at risk of not achieving the adult
literacy and gender parity targets in the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, according to a report
recently released by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco).
In its
6th edition of the Education for All Global Monitoring
Report, the UN agency said the Philippines is moving too
slowly in achieving adult literacy by 2015 and gender
parity in secondary education.
It also
says, however, that adult illiteracy persists worldwide
despite increased spending for education by national
governments. The Unesco said this is partly because of
the high cost of education in some countries and the
poor quality of schooling in much of the world.
“As many
as 774 million adults, or almost one in five of the
global population, lack basic literacy skills—and almost
three-quarters of this category live in just 15
different nations.”
Countries with a high chance of not achieving the adult
literacy target include Bahrain, Botswana, Brazil,
Brunei Darussalam, Cape Verde, the Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, the Honduras,
the Islamic Republic of Iran, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Mauritius, Mexico, Myanmar, Namibia, Oman, Panama,
Paraguay, the Philippines, Qatar, Sáo Tomé and Principe,
Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic
Turkey and Vietnam.
The
report said projections of gender parity in primary and
secondary education are possible for only 172 countries
with sufficient data available for both levels. Of this
number, 59 achieved gender parity at both primary and
secondary level by 2005.
Central
and Eastern Europe (15 countries), North America and
Western Europe (14 countries) and Latin America and the
Caribbean (12 countries) together account for nearly 70
percent of the countries in the group.
“The
remaining 113 countries missed the 2005 gender-parity
goal, although a number of them are likely to reach it
by 2015 or 2025,” the report stated. Among the countries
that share the Philippines’ chances of achieving gender
parity in secondary education are Argentina, Australia,
Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bermuda, Bulgaria,
Colombia, Ireland, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lebanon,
Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mexico,Namibia,
Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Oman, Panama,
Rwanda, Samoa, Senegal, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago,
Tunisia, Ukraine, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.
Unesco
said in a statement the cost of schooling in the world
continues to be among the main reasons why millions of
children have limited access to education. Assistant
Director General for Education Nicholas Burnett said the
goal of education for all remains elusive for many
countries.
“We are
steering the right course, but as education systems
expand, they face more complex and more specific
challenges. The latest report clearly identifies these
challenges: reaching the most vulnerable and
disadvantaged, improving learning conditions, and
increasing aid,” said Unesco Director General Koïchiro
Matsuura in a statement.
The
report said that while national governments have
increased public spending for education and
basic-learning needs, financial challenges still abound.
The low public spending in education when compared with
other spending areas reflects the governments’ weak
commitment to education.
Data
from the report showed the Philippines is among a group
of 24 countries whose public spending on education is
only 3 percent or less of gross national product.
“Education’s share of total government expenditure is a
more direct measure of governments’ relative commitment
to education, at least as compared with other sectors
and areas of expenditure,” said the report.
It also
said that in the case of some countries, low spending is
a result of low economic growth. In this light, Burnett
urged wealthy nations to increase their spending for
education and to target their spending more at the
primary-school level rather than postsecondary
education.
The
report also said poor countries, especially in
sub-Saharan Africa, should upgrade and professionalize
their system for employing and training teachers so that
the quality of education is improved and there are
enough new teachers to meet the growing demand due to
rising enrolment rates.
Burnett
said in a statement that at least 11 of the 25 countries
posting the most rapid enrollment gains had abolished
school fees. Solid national policies and higher domestic
spending were combining to drive primary school
enrolment, he said, particularly in Ethiopia, Yemen,
Mozambique and Tanzania.
In
total, an estimated 72 million children of primary
school age—or about 10 percent of the world’s children
of that age group—do not attend any school at all, down
from 96 million almost a decade ago. |
