The
SEAMEO INNOTECH Regional Seminar on "Policies
and Objectives Toward Achieving Education for
All (EFA) Objectives in Southeast Asia"
was held last July 7-9,1992 at the SEAMEO INNOTECH
Building in Quezon City, Philippines.
The
objectives of the Regional Seminar were:
a.
To exchange information on current policies and
approaches to achieve EFA objectives in Southeast
Asia; and
b.
To recommend regional programs/projects/actions
which will assist Southeast Asian countries in
achieving EFA objectives.
Eight
SEAMEO Member Countries participated in the seminar:
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,
Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. There was also participation
from two associate member countries: Australia
and France; and three international organizations:
UNESCO, UNICEF and SEAMEO.
H.E.
Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Wijaya Dato Seri Setia
Awang Haji Abdul Aziz Umar, Minister of Education,
Brunei Darussalam and SEAMEC President, gave the
keynote address of the seminar. In his speech,
he cited the need to take stock of what has been
done to the EFA programs which were launched after
the Jomtien conference. He said that the stock-taking
would provide the opportunity for reinforcing,
renewing, or renovating country policies and approaches
that were adopted, and to initiate remedial or
facilitative action.
The
presentation of eight country papers followed
the keynote address. There was an open forum after
each presentation to allow for questions and clarifications.
Among
the current EFA policies reported, as well as
the approaches and programs undertaken to implement
them were:
•
Current Policies
Common
among the current EFA policies in the member countries
were those which dealt with universal access to
education, eradication of illiteracy, early childhood
care and development, alternative learning systems
and continuing education. Bilingualism and concern
for the ethnic minority groups were also considered
as part of the policy provisions for EFA.
•
Approaches/Programs
A
wide range of approaches and programs for EFA
have already been implemented in the member countries.
Such approaches and programs were geared towards
reducing illiteracy rates, universalizing access
to primary education, achieving qualitative improvements
in the format school system, providing alternative
delivery systems, developing vocational skills,
and addressing special needs.
•
Achievements
An
achievement which was cited by all the country
papers was the increase in enrolment in primary/secondary
schools. Seven countries cited lower dropout rates,
increased literacy rates and gaining priority
from governments as their achievements. Six countries
reported that they had improved pupil performance
in national examinations, reduced repetition rates
and gained public commitment for EFA.
•
Problems/Issues/Concerns
The
problems/issues/concerns cited by the member countries
varied. The most common was the shortage of qualified
teachers, which was mentioned by seven countries.
Disparities between urban and rural sectors was
cited by six countries. Among the other problems/issues/concerns
were: relevance of the kind of education provided,
lack of funds, low
motivation among target clientele and inadequate
management skills of EFA personnel.
International
perspectives were provided through a panel discussion
which was participated in by representatives of
UNESCO, UNICEF, SEAMES, Australia, and the IIEP
in Paris, France.
Recommendations
were arrived at through a process which began
with a brainstorming session. The ideas generated
in the brainstorming session provided the bases
for determining national and regional possibilities
for further achieving EFA objectives in the region.
The
final session of the seminar was devoted to recommendations
addressed to INNOTECH. Seven specific recommendations
were made:
•
to conduct in-country training for EFA project
managers in project development, implementation,
monitoring and evaluation;
• to conduct training on andragogy;
• to conduct joint research projects on
designing instruments for measuring illiteracy;
• to continue to develop and install alternative
learning systems for out-of-school youths and
adults;
• to develop distance education systems
to meet that specific needs of target groups of
EFA;
• to create information system in EFA that
can asses progress and evaluate quality; and
• to use Project REIN to create a database
on EFA. |
