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The ‘Global learning crisis’: 250 million children not learning

‘Learning crisis’: Working with partners, UNICEF will continue efforts to

strengthen learning metrics and assessments globally. At country level, although

ongoing work has already contributed to learning gains, there needs to be more

explicit attention paid to monitoring learning outcomes in UNICEF-supported

programmes and in engagements with Governments and other partners.

Persistent disparities: the poorest, marginalized, disabled, still out of

school

Efforts must continue to expand education systems, simply doing more of what has

been done in the past will continue to leave behind millions of children, particularly

the poorest, marginalized and excluded.

Stalled Progress: 57 and 69 million children still out of school

Given the stalled progress in the sector towards reaching all children, UNICEF will

continue to focus on equity in education.

� 57 million children out of primary school and 69 million out of lower

secondary school, it is the poorest, most vulnerable, excluded children

who are still left out.

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� Many children with disabilities are excluded from school. The estimated number of

children with disabilities ranges between 93 million and 150 million.

Dearth of cost-effective, field tested and scalable approaches

• Identifying cost-effective, scalable approaches to provide ‘access and learning’,

particularly for disadvantaged children, . UNICEF has a role to:

� play in scaling up field-tested education innovations

� strengthen its use of evidence to monitor programmes

� more rigorously evaluate promising approaches it has supported and tested

around the world

� strengthen its evidence base to better understand the overall impact of its work

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Transition: MTSP 2006-2013 to SP 2014-2017

• End of the MTSP cycle…..

Significant global leadership, partnership, and advocacy roles

• Post-2015 agenda; LMTF; GPE; UNGEI; UN Special Envoy

• Country level, UNICEF:

• continued to work with key partners to drive an evidence-based equity focus in

education systems analysis and policymaking.

• continued efforts to expand coverage of basic education for the marginalized and

to improve the quality of education.

• worked with partners to strengthen learning assessments and identify promising,

innovative programmes that could be scaled up.

Education presence in 142 countries

• well poised to make a significant contribution in the years ahead.

• far-reaching field presence in education in over 142 countries, UNICEF has

unique capacity to deliver concrete and practical support

• generate evidence and contribute to a global knowledge base for 'what works' in

education.

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• > 600 education staff on the ground, works closely with Governments, building local and

national capacities for sustainable educational advances.

• Broad technical expertise facilitates intersectoral approaches within UNICEF and in

Governments towards maximizing results for children.

Important building blocks in place: data, frameworks, tools, partnerships

Education outcomes and results-focus: Access plus Learning

Thematic Funding: Flexibility to address priorities in education

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Advancing girls’ education and gender equality around the world

Main achievements: stronger policy environment and more girls in schools.

� 'Pro-girl' policies and plans.

� By 2013, 68% of countries reported that their ESPs addressed gender disparities,

up from 49% in 2005.

� Targeted strategies in the plans included recruitment of female teachers and use

of gender- disaggregated data.

� Greater protection and safer, healthier schools for girls.

� In 2013, UNICEF advocacy led to the inclusion of policies to address suspected

abuse, sexual harassment, violence and bulling in 77 national ESPs; 64 ESPs

have actionable measures in place to address GBV in schools.

� 94 out of 157 programme countries adopted quality standards for primary

education based on the CFS model. Made schools more girl-friendly, adequate

water and sanitation, health and hygiene, HIV/AIDS curricula, training of female

teachers.

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� Better transition rates from primary to lower secondary- through in-school and

out-of-school initiatives.

� In Zambia, a peer-to-peer education programme ensured that 90% of the girls in the

programme moved to the next level of education, either to grade 7 or grade 9.

� In Madagascar, providing residential dormitories, scholarships and means of transport

(bicycles and canoes) resulted in 66,814 girls enrolling in lower secondary school.

� More gender-responsive programming.

� Measured by the gender equality marker (GEM), it monitors expenditures which have an

impact on gender equality.

� Majority of expenditures under KRA 2 (expanding access and reducing social and gender

disparity) and KRA 3 (improving quality education) are categorized as having a 'principal'

[91%] and 'significant' [70%] impact on gender equality.

� Expanded UNGEI partnerships.

� UNICEF continues to host the UNGEI secretariat and 4 regional focal points to broker a

dynamic partnership of actors at the global, regional and country levels.

� At all levels, UNGEI has expanded over the MTSP period including partnerships for girls’

education in 53 countries.

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� Created a better policy environment for school readiness and ECD.

� In partnership with Governments, UNICEF made a significant

contribution to the growing number of school readiness and early learning

policies worldwide.

� 37 out of 82 countries reported they are engaged in efforts to develop and

improve policies and standards to promote universal readiness for primary

school.

� Increased coverage of ECD services.

� In collaboration with Governments and other local partners, UNICEF

supported the expansion of early learning services globally.

� 38 out of 82 countries reported having service delivery interventions on

ECD.

� Ensured that ECE is on the global and national policy agendas in years

ahead.

� To keep ECE on the policy agenda, the work of UNICEF as global

advocate, policy partner and leading service provider spans many years.

� Efforts in 2013 in particular helped to ensure that equitable, quality early

childhood policies and programming are now part of national education

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plans,

that these plans are financed and that ECE will continue beyond 2015.

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• In partnership with the leading NGO BRAC, UNICEF supported the expansion

of pre-primary education centres in Satkhira, a south-western district of

Bangladesh with some of the country's most disadvantaged children.

• A 2012 survey found that over 18,000 children aged five years or older in

Satkhira were not enrolled in any pre-primary education programmes. The

findings prompted UNICEF to quickly expand pre-primary education centres,

increasing the number of centres receiving UNICEF support from 138 in 2012 to

468 in 2013.

• A management committee center - parents and community members was formed

to support each centre.

• Teachers selected by the communities were trained on activity-based teaching

and learning approaches, with monthly refresher trainings, and were provided

with basic materials to deliver pre-primary education in Bengali (the national

language).

• To boost enrolment rates across the district, UNICEF also supported social

mobilization campaigns to raise community and family awareness on the

importance of early learning and targeted children with special needs, lower

socioeconomic status and those from remote communities. Through these

efforts, the district saw a dramatic increase in pre-primary education enrolment

rates, from 54% in 2012 to 85.5% in 2013.

• The partnership with BRAC, local education authorities and other ECE providers

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contributed to this success by leveraging existing mechanisms to rapidly expand services

and raise awareness about the importance of early learning. With government support and

solid NGO partnerships, the emergent 'Satkhira model' holds significant potential to help

the Government implement the policy of universal coverage of early learning in

Bangladesh.

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� Countries removed cost barriers in their policies.

� The biggest barriers to children having an education. Through support for

ongoing campaigns and engaging in the policy arena, UNICEF continued

efforts to abolish school fees and remove cost barriers.

�In 2013, 73 countries reported having in place legislation on policies

and/or guidance and a budget to address the family-level cost barriers to

primary education.

� More equity-focused data are available and being used in the policy process.

�UNICEF –develop & roll out OOSCI to 26 countries, with an additional

30 countries joining in 2013.

�Strengthen equity monitoring, UNICEF expanded the application of

MoRES in education from 30 to over 80 countries.

� Enhance education systems analysis guidelines and the SEE model and

promote real-time monitoring, particularly in GPE countries.

� Increased effectiveness of the GPE in expanding basic education and

reaching strategic goals.

� UNICEF contributed to GPE - from the development of the strategic plan

to leading the implementation of the strategy and participating in overall

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governance.

� The Deputy Executive Director (Programmes) represents UNICEF on the Board of

Directors.

� Out of 59 GPE partner countries: ME role in 8 countries; SE role in 1 country; CA

role in 35 countries.

� More inclusive education in sector plans.

� 70 countries reported programmes on inclusive education including disability

screening and assessment; development of inclusive education policies and sector

plans; strengthening data on children with disabilities; capacity development for

teachers, education administrators, children and parents on inclusive education and

public awareness campaigns.

� In 2013, 19 countries reported work specifically on policies around inclusive

education, and 37 of 70 countries reported work on capacity development on inclusive

education including teacher preparation and training of education managers, officials

and inspectors and children.

� Increased coverage of basic education.

� 31 UNICEF country offices directly provided education services to children who

were out of school or at risk of dropping out.

� Support - non-formal education; 'second chance' schooling; provide education

materials, desks, classrooms and water and sanitation facilities.

� In Sudan, 44,821 previously out-of-school children, 48% of them girls, were

enrolled in basic education and alternative learning classes.

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� In Bhutan, UNICEF support to the MOE has been instrumental in galvanizing

comprehensive, multipronged efforts to provide educational opportunities to

children with disabilities.

� Based on a groundbreaking study that provided critical prevalence data on

children with disabilities, UNICEF supported the Ministry in drafting a policy on

special needs education.

� At the same time, UNICEF worked with the Government to raise awareness of

how to meet the education needs of and improve schooling for children with

disabilities. This included supporting pre-service teacher training programs on

special education and conducting training on the Convention on the Rights of

Persons with Disabilities and other topics for teachers and education officials.

These efforts are yielding results:

� A plan to provide education for the deaf has been developed and approved for

implementation.

� A steering group (including teachers, education officials and members of civil

society organizations) has been established to promote the rights of persons with

disabilities.

� 2 special units and 8 schools are now officially recognized as inclusive schools,

offering education for 424 children with disabilities across the country.

� Better monitoring tools have been developed. Rapid neurodevelopment

assessment and the rapid functional assessment have been integrated in the

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monitoring practices of education and health personnel and early childhood programme

facilitators.

� The impressive momentum in Bhutan has been recognized as a model in the South Asia

region and beyond. In 2013, UNICEF Bhutan, the UNICEF Regional Office for South Asia

and the Ministry of Education organized a seminar on inclusive education, focusing on

children with disabilities. This regional seminar provided a platform for sharing

knowledge and good practices from Bhutan and across the region.

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� Most countries around the world have adopted the CFS framework with

CFS learning environment.

� 51 additional countries adopting quality standards based on CFS, raising

the number of countries with such standards from 43 in 2005 to 94 in 2013.

� Between 2010 and 2013, an additional 216,555 schools received direct

support through the CFS initiative.

� More schools have a safer, healthier environment.

� Between 2008 and 2013, the number of countries reporting at least 50%

of primary schools with adequate sanitation facilities for girls rose sharply

from 47 to 87; and those reporting at least 50% of primary schools with

adequate water supply coverage for girls and boys increased from 62 to 102.

� More policies against corporal punishment and improvements in life skills.

� Between 2008 and 2013, the number of countries increased from 94 to

129.

� There was a 40% increase in the number of countries reported ESPs that

address children affected by HIV and AIDS.

� 31 countries developed or improved life-skills.

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� More equity-focused and gender-responsive sector planning.

� Between 2005 and 2013, the percentage of countries reporting sector plans that

address gender disparities increased from 49% to 68%;

� The number of countries reporting that they had undertaken a gender audit of the

ESP in the last five years increased from 22 to 34.

� Increased access to 'second chance' education.

� In Bhutan, Ghana, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania and Somalia, UNICEF

supported 60,025 learners (59% of them – 35,147 – girls or women).

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�25% of students make the transition from primary to junior secondary education,

< half of them girls.

�The many reasons for such low enrolment include rural poverty, discriminatory

beliefs, sexual exploitation and early pregnancy and marriage. The girls who are

permitted and can afford to go to school still face challenges of long distances (often

the closest junior secondary school can be 30–50 kilometres away) and

overcrowded classrooms.

� UNICEF supports several approaches to help these disadvantaged girls attend and

succeed in junior secondary school. To improve access, UNICEF provided

scholarships, direct cash transfers and transportation such as bicycles and canoes,

and supported the construction of dormitories. To help these girls succeed, UNICEF

engaged in: (a) teacher development by providing teachers additional training and

by creating teachers’ networks; (b) development and distribution of gender-neutral

teaching and learning materials; and (c) enhancement of school environments (e.g.,

adding libraries, constructing toilets, school enclosures, sports fields and vegetable

gardens). With this support, more than 6,000 girls received scholarships and

transportation assistance and more than 1,500 teachers strengthened their teaching

methods, including learning gender-sensitive practices. A review of the programme

showed a high demand for scholarships; that the bicycles helped increase

motivation and on-time arrival at school; and that overall, 70% of the scholarship

recipients passed their junior secondary school exams and finished the cycle.

�Real Success Story: The target districts showed a narrowing of the gender parity

gap and higher completion rates for girls in junior secondary schools. By working

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with regional and local education authorities, UNICEF contributed to their regional

workplans and also noted a significant government effort to improve junior secondary

schools, especially the experience of girls.

�UNICEF continues to advocate with the Government to accelerate efforts for girls’

secondary education to try to bring this type of success to more girls in Madagascar.

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� Greater accessibility to schools during emergencies.

� Close to 16 million children, from early childhood to adolescence,

accessed schools in the times of emergencies and conflicts.

�In 2013, UNICEF responded to 4 large-scale humanitarian emergencies in

CAR, Mali, the Philippines and Syrian Arab Republic and neighbouring

countries.

� Supported 48 smaller-scale emergencies. More countries have plans and

systems in place to respond to emergencies.

� More visibility in education in emergencies (EiE) through global platforms.

� UNICEF worked with key partners such as the Inter-Agency Network for

Education in Emergencies (INEE) in the global campaigns to provide

unprecedented visibility to EiE and, in 2013 particularly to the Syrian crisis.

� General Assembly l resolution adopted.

� With cross-regional efforts of about 30 country sponsors, UNESCO,

UNICEF and relevant NGOs, in July 2010 the General Assembly adopted

resolution 64/290 of 9 July 2010 on the right to education in emergency

situations.

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� Developed an innovative design of cross-sectoral peacebuilding programme.

� Through peacebuilding education and advocacy, 14 countries now place greater

emphasis on conflict-sensitive education and peacebuilding efforts in crisis and post-

crisis contexts.

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� A good example of the complexity of EiE and how UNICEF builds on synergies

in programming across the continuum from emergency to transition and into

development comes from the work with Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

� The work of UNICEF in Lebanon is designed to support both Syrian refugees

and vulnerable Lebanese children in host communities. The programme

combines a humanitarian response with longer-term strategic policy work to

adapt the existing ESP to better reflect the needs of affected populations.

� The majority of Syrian refugees have settled in the traditionally deprived

Northern and Bekaa regions of Lebanon, exerting additional pressure on an

already overburdened public sector and contributing to potential tension between

children in refugee and host communities.

� UNICEF is working to address the challenges around language of instruction,

curricula and certification issues, for example, and relies on the contributions of

partners to further support children and adolescents with non-formal education

activities and psychosocial support.

� Key activities of a 3-year programme proposal, led by the Government of

Lebanon, include supporting double shifts in public schools, non-formal

education opportunities and system strengthening.

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NEW STRATEGIC PLAN, 2014-2017

The Strategic Plan, 2014-2017 - contributes to shaping a future vision for education-

more sharply focused on:

� Early learning- essential foundations for the future;

� Equity- with a focus on girls’ education and

inclusive education;

� Learning- child-friendly schools and improving

learning outcomes;� EiE -emergency and disaster preparedness and building resilience.

Key implementation strategies will include:

Sector analysis, planning and monitoring: UNICEF will support:

� upstream work with Governments and in coordination with other development

partners, so that government education plans are based on evidence and data.

� undertake risk assessments and put in place mitigation measures that contribute

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to conflict prevention, natural and man-made disasters.

� In GPE partner countries- will play an active role in LEGs, support processes to improve

the effectiveness, efficiency and equity of education sector funding to achieve maximum

results for children.

Partnerships: An essential strategy for the UNICEF education programme.

� Critical partnerships include -GPE, Educate A Child, UNGEI, Global Education First,

Global Partnership for Children with Disabilities, the Global Education Cluster and the

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

� Continue to work with the wider UN system to shape the post-2015 development agenda

for education.

Strengthening data and evidence:

� Seek to strengthen the relationship between interventions and results, through generating

and using more robust evidence of what works in education, having strong baselines and

improving the monitoring/tracking of programmes in order to report on achievements in

both development and humanitarian contexts.

� Lessons from critical programmes such as the PBEA work will inform future

programming.

Intersectoral approaches:

- include ECD, Gender Action Plan, and C4D- to increase demand for and utilization of

education services.

Innovation – including but not only technology:

� Have the potential to accelerate education outcomes for children, strengthen education

systems, create efficiencies and transform experiences for learners.

� Central to this approach will be the need to design interventions so results can be

accurately measured.

Service delivery:

� In targeted areas, and humanitarian situations, UNICEF will work with local partners to

deliver education services to vulnerable and excluded groups.

� include the provision of essential materials, training of teachers and day-to- day support

for formal and non-formal education settings.

Technical capacity:

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� UNICEF has- 600 staff working on education programmes- technical expertise, knowledge

and experience of staff to advise Governments, work with partners, manage programmes

and report on results.

� New challenges within the education programme – particularly around use of data and

evidence, sector analysis and monitoring learning outcomes, and the increased demand for

EiE – will require new and existing staff to invest in professional development.

� Strategies will include developing and rolling out a small number of ‘flagship’

development courses; technical guidance, face-to-face and web-based training; peer

reviews and knowledge exchange; and new knowledge management tools.

� There will be up-front investment in increasing the talent pool of qualified candidates

available for posting across UNICEF education programmes.

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� Appreciation to all resource partners

� UNICEF expresses its sincere appreciation to all resource partners which

contributed to the work on basic education and gender equality

throughout the 2006-2013 MTSP period through this thematic funding

window.

� It is because of thematic funding that UNICEF has been able to provide

technical, operational and programming support to countries in all

regions both for upstream work and the more targeted and strategic

interventions that help to deliver quality services to marginalized children

and communities.

� Thematic funding provides greater flexibility, longer-term planning and

sustainability of programmes.

� Special thanks go to the Government for Norway

� for its partnership and consistent and generous contributions to achieve

results in BEGE.

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