REPORT:  WORKSHOP A2

Policy Advocacy for Adult Literacy

 

Coordinators:  Nitya Rao and Maria Khan

 

Issues/tasks

This workshop discussed the role of International Literacy Support Services (ILSS) of the ICAE in advocacy with relation to policy commitments to adult literacy and NGO/civil society participation in the Education for All (EFA) process.

 

Main perspective

We felt that the adoption of a functional approach to literacy, focusing primarily on formal methods of learning, has not resulted in attaining the goals of literacy.  As a result we are having to continually revise our hopes for improving literacy levels, both to reflect current realities and respond to people’s needs for life improvement.  More of a focus on the right to literacy and education that can foster full participation in society is required.

 

Main Discussion

(Please see minutes of the meeting attached to this report.)

 

Conclusions and recommendations to the ICAE

We recommend that the agenda for ILSS in the coming years include the following:

 

1. To undertake research and information dissemination:  This would include giving visibility to innovative work in countries and regions, a focus on priority themes such as language, culture, poverty and excluded groups (indigenous, migrants and minorities, etc.). A large part of this information would be provided to ILSS by countries and regions and made available to all ICAE members through Internet postings, where possible;
2. To strengthen local and regional advocacy efforts at the global level by reasserting the criticality of adult education on the international education agenda (Within this advocacy, the ILSS will highlight issues of diversity, gender, language, quality of education, and assured access in countries facing conflict, occupation and violence.);
3. To develop strategic partnerships through building linkages between groups;
4. To develop a monitoring tool to highlight (i) educational achievements and gaps, (ii) the differences between regions, (iii) resource use by states and NGOs and (iv) community participation;
5. To agree on a common definition of literacy that reflects the citizenship roles of people apart from basic skills acquisition;
6. Represent the voice of adult learners, men and women so that they are heard and included in policy and program formation (This would include concerns regarding life skills and literacy.); and
7. To ensure dedicated rather than programmatic resources for adult education provision.

 

Main Discussion for Workshop A2:  Policy advocacy for adult literacy

 

This workshop discussed the role of International Literacy Support Service (ILSS) of the ICAE in advocacy with relation to policy commitments to adult literacy and NGO/civil society participation in the Education for All (EFA) process.

 

August 9, 2001 Morning Session

 

Dakar 2000 set goals for the next 15 years that included 6 goals:

1. Expanding and improving ECCE, especially for the most disadvantaged
2. Ensuring that by 2015 all children, especially girl children in difficult circumstances and from ethnic minorities have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality
3. Ensuring that learning needs of all young people are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life skills programs
4. Achieving a 50% improvement in the levels of adult illiteracy by 2015
5. Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and achieving gender equality by 2015
6. Improving all aspects of the quality of education to achieve recognized and measurable learning outcomes for all – especially in literacy, numeric and essential life skills.

 

On reviewing the goals of Dakar it was felt that the international community had diminished its efforts in adult basic education, e.g. willing to see only a 50% improvement in literacy levels by the year 2015.  There was also a sense from Dakar that primary education should be the major focus of education expenditures.  This was a change from the Jomtien recommendations where adult education was perceived to be of higher value.  It is unfortunate that adult basic education and primary education should be seen in competition with each other, as both are important pieces in comprehensive education policy.  Dakar produced national action plans for the goals, however many national states did not feel committed to the plans nor place importance on the outcomes expected.  The lack of focus on civil society with active involvement and participation of the public was noted and identified as a concern.

 

We discussed the value of creating stronger links between the grassroots organizations and ICAE, and among local, national and global organizations.  The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) was mentioned as an important initiative for ICAE.

 

Some questions were shared on the subject.  How do we work more effectively with governments to have our policies heard and adopted?  Why should we stress the goals of Jomtien, Hamburg and Dakar, when we could return to the Universal Rights of Education as a base from which to argue the importance of adult basic education?  How do we decide on the kind of strategy (complementary or confrontational) to use with governments?  How do we strengthen networks and coalitions to support our aims?  How do we work more collectively?  What are the gaps in adult basic education provision that need inclusion in policy directives?  How do we help make connections between local action and global thinking?  How do we strengthen the capacities at the local level?  How do we encourage transformative results of adult literacy programs?  Should we focus on security, democracy and economic development arguments to strengthen the perceived value of adult basic education?  Should we use more economic development arguments to motivate governments to focus on adult literacy?

 

We were concerned about the issue of quantifying our work.  Monitoring and evaluation were identified as important elements to develop.

 

August 9, 2001 Afternoon Session

 

In the afternoon we heard the following regional reports.

 

1.1 The Asia-Pacific Region

 

Observations of the Asia-Pacific situation indicated that the ECCE was not extensively developed in all countries but where it was developed, it favoured urban populations.  There was a focus on formal schooling to the detriment of non-formal avenues of learning and little linking between formal and non-formal education(NFE).  There were a wide range of NFE providers, yet remote areas and rural provinces of some countries were particularly lacking in NFE and adult literacy provision.  The lack of data made it difficult to provide an accurate description of activities to assess the quality of education.  Yet there was remarkable progress in adult literacy in some countries (e.g. China) and a wide range of NFE providers across the region.

 

The NGOs gave more inclusive meaning to the word “all” in EFA and helped encourage the development of methodologies for community empowerment.  There was also progress on making links between learning organizations and other sectors (e.g. income generating, health and agriculture).

 

The challenge of NGOs was to strengthen collaboration with governments and UN agencies as well as forging solidarity and sustainable partnerships with other civil society organizations.

 

The regional goals were identified to include early childhood education (ECE), universal basic education, basic learning and skills programmers, learning achievements, education for women and girls, literacy, continuing education, life skills and values provision.

 

There were a number of strategic objectives that were also developed that included eliminating poverty, harnessing new technologies, enabling teachers and facilitators, developing education management reform, integrating development activities and encouraging the exchange of information, experience and innovations.

 

1.2 Reality in Africa: 2001

 

Adult literacy in Africa has not been prioritised, but mainstreaming has been made difficult by a number of factors:

• War and civil conflict has engulfed nearly 1/3 of the countries in Africa;
• An increased debt burden and poor governance;
• Inadequate and sometimes poorly used resources;
• The impact of HIV/AIDS and natural disasters, e.g. droughts;
• Resurgence of neo-liberal economic policies; and
• Lack of effective regional NGO activity and coordination.

 

We were reminded that the goal of EFA is to enable all to become full and active participants in the world of the 21^st century.  Africa views education as the strategic instrument for the African renaissance in this century.  Yet, it was identified at the mid-term review of Jomtien that there was a need for a concrete action plan and strategies to meet these goals.

 

The Hamburg Declaration in 1997 included a commitment to linking literacy to social, cultural and economic development aspirations of learners.  The Paulo Freire African Decade on Literacy for All was established in 1998.  There has been the Nairobi 1999 gathering under the title Civicus Africa, which noted the high number of women who were illiterate vis a vis men and the desire to mainstream gender concerns.

 

The Johannesburg Declaration 1999, which articulated a new vision of African Renaissance, was grounded in a well-functioning education system that would enable people to take control of their own destiny.  The collective activities of the government, civil society and development partners were seen as crucial for effective social, economic and cultural development.

 

1.3 The Arab Network for Literacy and Adult Education (ANLAE)

 

The overall goal of this region is to achieve the Dakar objectives through reaching the seven objectives as set in the “Arab Framework for Action, renewing the Commitment 2001-2010.”  Among the seven objectives, there are two related to literacy and adult education:

• Extended opportunities for basic education and training programs to acquire life and vocational skills for all youth and adults; and
• Universalizing literacy among adolescents, and decreasing illiteracy rates among adults

 

The main components of the Regional Action Plan include:

• Advocacy and Fund Raising;
• Media Strategy;
• Capacity Building;
• Follow-up Committees;
• Flagship Projects and Workshop Meetings

 

The Arab Network for Literacy and Adult Education was established in 1999 in Egypt to support NGOs and public associations in the Arab region to enable them to play an active role in literacy and adult education issues.  The two main objectives include:

• To encourage establishment of new associations at the grassroots level, that includes the concerned persons from the target group; and
• To connect the Network’s activities at the local, national and regional levels with similar activities at the regional and international level.

 

The main priorities of ANLAE are to activate the NGOs and Associations through the following:

• Set a strategy to escalate the work in the field of literacy and adult education in the framework of continuous education;
• Coordinate among the NGOs, associations, Arab agencies and official institutions to include the concept of partnership in planning, implementing and follow up;
• Give special attention to the problem of girl drop outs from basic education; and
• Create an interactive mechanism among NGOs associations/institutions that work in training and education and mass media.

 

Issues and Challenges

 

In spite of the efforts, the illiteracy problem in the Arab region is still considerable.  The main concerns are listed below:

 

• Illiteracy rates continue to be high, especially among women, as 2/3 of illiterates are women.  More attention is needed, as well as the provision of more education techniques including distance education;
• The drop out percentage is still considered a main source of illiteracy in the Arab region.
• NGOs and associations continue to face a challenge in urging concerned parties to contribute more effectively to eradicating the illiteracy in the Arab region.
• Technical and financial support for literacy campaigns from public and private economic sectors and international organizations continues to be a serious challenge;
• The impact of globalization represents a real danger in the field of education, culture and social issues, especially as it is related to the rights of the poor and marginalized people; and
• The political realities in the region add other complications to the effective work of literacy agencies.

 

1.4               Latin American Process

 

This region includes 21 countries with 198 members who have developed strategic initiatives based on common frameworks of Hamburg and Dakar.  The main thematic areas include:

• Literacy and basic education;
• Local community development;
• Gender issues;
• Human rights and citizenship;
• Working issues; and
• Youth people and education.

 

There were 4 challenges identified as follows:

1. To build a system with categories and indicators for the monitoring of work;
2. To synthesize an alternative conceptual and methodological framework to improve the quality of education;
3. To strengthen the visibility of the local development and educational processes as basement for public policies; and
4. To create a good partnership between civil society institutions like journalists, teachers, universities, unions with governments and UN agencies.

 

1.5 North America and Europe

 

Although there was no official report requested from these areas, the following issues were raised from our discussion:

• Many countries reported that the funding process and resources for NGOs in the literacy field are time consuming and limited, respectively.  Many agencies must spend considerable energy creating and submitting proposals to funding sources, which takes valuable energy away from the actual literacy provision.  The funding amounts are limited and short term, which reinforces an unstable environment in which to provide this crucial service to our communities;
• An example of student organizing was mentioned.  Some student in Toronto, Canada have formed an organization (TASA) that will strategize on behalf of literacy concerns.  Their activities include lobbying efforts in literacy programs and facing closure;
• The U.K. has a different kind of problem, as there has been a massive increase in the amount of financial support for adult basic education.  This has created its own unique problems, including the lack of an effective infrastructure to manage the increase in resources; and
• Societal shame, that there are illiterates in our community, seems to be an argument that resonates with some politicians in the region.
• There is a clear difference in the interpretation of children’s and adults’ rights to education.  Adult provision is seen as a secondary component to overall education policy, instead of acknowledged as an integral part of the life long learning process.
• Students, who speak languages other than the main language of a country, require special support to gain literacy skills.

 

1.5              Caribbean Report

 

This report reminded us that illiteracy has been at the basis of the ABE movement in the region and that most perceive ABE as synonymous with literacy training.

 

The efforts in the region include the adoption of the profile of the “ideal Caribbean person” as one who respects human life, is emotionally secure, values difference, is environmentally aware, is responsible and accountable to family and community, has a strong work ethic, is creative and entrepreneurial and has an informed respect for cultural heritage.

 

Education is seen as critical for this profile to be actualised.  In recent years there has been significant positive developments in ECE, primary and secondary education.

 

The Education for All in the Caribbean 2000-2015 Plan of Action includes the goal:  To ensure a 100% functionally literate population and opportunities for continuous learning for all throughout life.

 

The initial targets for 2002 are as follows:

• To develop common definitions of youths and adults;
• To develop common linguistically and culturally sensitive definitions of literacy;
• To develop valid measures of functional literacy;
• To conduct a Caribbean survey of functional literacy; and
• To implement in all countries programmers for continuing education of the functionally literate to meet the changing needs of society.

 

Although there has been the development of literacy programmes in most countries, there continues to be a need for a strong, dynamic national focus to support ABE that targets those children who get eliminated before attaining a functional level of literacy competencies for satisfactory social engagement.

 

Issues and challenges have been identified that include the following:

• A focus on clarifying terms used, modes of delivery implemented and standardized methods of measurements accepted across the region;
• A desire to strengthen the perceived value of adult literacy and adult education as an important element within policy statements; and
• A need to acknowledge the variety of languages used.

 

Other issues and challenges included:

• Strengthening political value;
• Expanding funding schemes that involve percentages of international project development funding;
• Reducing the stigma associated with adult literacy;
• Developing the argument of the economic value of a literate person;
• Supporting the training of adult literacy facilitators;
• Increasing the involvement of universities;
• Re-evaluating the dependence on volunteers;
• Identifying special groups of illiterates for inclusion in provision; and
• Acknowledging that there are other “literacies” that need to be developed, e.g. family, computer, social, scientific and social.

 

August 10, 2001 Morning Session

 

1. We summarized the main themes from the regional reports as follows:

 

Asia-Pacific

• Resources mobilization
• Monitoring
• Participation
• Priority Groups

 

Africa

• Debt/SAPs
• Concept of Literacy that includes decision making and confidence building
• Language
• Partnership:  Best Practices

 

Caribbean

• Monitoring for functional education (tools/indicators)
• Language
• Funding
• Other Literacies
• Gender issues including low male participation in some areas

 

Arab

• Gender Gap
• Global linkages
• Focus Areas

 

Latin America

• Monitoring indicators
• Alternative framework to improved quality
• Visibility to local initiative
• Partnership

 

North America/Europe

• Widening gap
• Budgets/resources
• Different standards for children and adults with regard to right to education
• Language

 

Conclusions and Recommendations to the ICAE

 

We recommend that the agenda for ILSS in the coming years include the following:

 

1.      To undertake research and information dissemination:  This would include giving visibility to innovative work in countries and regions, a focus on priority themes such as language, culture, poverty and excluded groups (indigenous, migrants and minorities, etc.). A large part of this information would be provided to ILSS by countries and regions and made available to all ICAE members through Internet postings, where possible;

2.      To strengthen local and regional advocacy efforts at the global level by reasserting the criticality of adult education on the international education agenda (Within this advocacy, the ILSS will highlight issues of diversity, gender, language, quality of education, and assured access in countries facing conflict, occupation and violence.);

3.      To develop strategic partnerships through building linkages between groups;

4.      To develop a monitoring tool to highlight (i) educational achievements and gaps, (ii) the differences between regions, (iii) resource use by states and NGOs and (iv) community participation;

5.      To agree on a common definition of literacy that reflects the citizenship roles of people apart from basic skills acquisition;

6.      Represent the voice of adult learners, men and women so that they are heard and included in policy and program formation (This would include concerns regarding life skills and literacy.); and

7.      To ensure dedicated rather than programmatic resources for adult education provision.

 

Quotes from the workshop:

 

“A goat can’t fight with a mountain.”

 

“The north is in the south, and the south is in the north.”