literacy for life
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Literacy for life. UNGEI Technical Meeting. Beijing, 26 November 2005. Women and literacy. Literacy is a right Self-esteem and empowermen t : widening choices, access to other rights - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Literacy for life
UNGEI Technical Meeting
Beijing, 26 November 2005
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Women and literacy Literacy is a right Self-esteem and empowerment: widening
choices, access to other rights Political benefits: increased civic participation in
community activities, trade unions and local politics
Social benefits: better knowledge of healthcare, family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention
Educational benefits: higher chance of educating children, especially girls
Economic benefits: Returns on investment in adult literacy programmes are comparable to those in primary level education Literacy is a right still denied to some 771 million adults
64% of them are women
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Patterns of literacy from 1970 to 2000 show an increase in adult literacy rates. Among the 15-24 age group, these rates are
consistently higher
Literacy: big trends
0
20
40
60
80
100
Sub-Saharan Africa Arab States East Asia/P acific South/West Asia LatinAmerica/Caribbean
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0Adult literacy rate Youth literacy rate Gender parity in literacy
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Women and literacy: a long-term perspective
Literate women per 100 literate men: 88 in the world, 66 in South and West Asia,
69 in the Arab States and 76 in sub-Saharan Africa
Gender disparities have decreased but too many women are still denied their right to
literacy
0.88
0.78 0.76
0.49
0.69
0.34
0.92
0.62
0.40
0.66
0.98
0.90
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
1970 1980 1990 2000-2004
Adul
t lite
racy
GP
I
Latin America/Caribbean
WorldEast Asia/Pacific
South/West Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
Arab States
5
-5.3
-94.3
10.6
6.2
-1.5
-3.0
-5.4
-0.2
-2.5
-1.0
1.0
-1.3
Three-quarters of the world’s illiterate adults live in 12 countries
Change from 1990 to
2000-2004 (millions)
Literacy: countries in the spotlight
6.8%
34.6%
11.3%
6.2%
2.9%
2.8%
2.4%
2.2%
1.9%
1.4%
1.3%
1.2%
India
China
Bangladesh
Pakistan
Nigeria
Ethiopia
Indonesia
Egypt
Brazil
Iran, Isl. Rep. of
Morocco
D. R. Congo
Male
Female
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Measuring literacy: towards greater accuracy
Conventional measures
Based on national censusesRely on:
self declaration report by household head years of schooling
Define a person as literate/illiterate
Improved measures
Based on direct testing
Literacy skills in several domains are tested on scales
Provide more accurate knowledge about literacy
The gap between indirect and direct assessment is highest among least educated and where school
quality is weakestAmong Ethiopian women with one year of schooling, 59% were considered literate by household assessments, yet only 27% passed a simple reading test
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Girls’ schooling key to women’s literacy
Countries with high gender disparities in literacy are often those where girls’ access to education is limited
R2 = 0.63450.60
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
0.90
0.95
1.00
1.05
0.20 0.40 0.60 0.80 1.00 1.20
GPI in primary education
GP
I in
adul
t lite
racy
rate
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Progress in gender parity
0.50
0.60
0.70
0.80
0.90
1.00
1.10
Cha
dE
thio
pia
Gui
nea
Ben
inN
iger
Bur
kina
Mal
iM
ozam
biqu
Côt
e d'
Ivoi
reTo
goN
iger
iaB
urun
diC
amer
oon
Erit
rea
Com
oros
Gam
bia
Sen
egal
Gha
naU
gand
aE
quat
.Za
mbi
aS
waz
iland
Mal
awi
Con
goC
ape
Ver
deM
adag
asca
rS
outh
Afri
caK
enya
Leso
tho
Yem
enD
jibou
tiM
oroc
co Iraq
Sud
anE
gypt
Syr
ian
A. R
.A
lger
iaM
aurit
ania
Tuni
sia
Leba
non
U. A
.O
man
Sau
di
Nep
alIn
dia
Iran,
Isl.
Ban
glad
esh
GER GPI 1998
GER GPI 2001
Some countries, particularly those with the highest gender disparities in primary education, have significantly improved girls’ access to school
Gender parity
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Girls’ participation in school is increasing, but not fast
enough
Discrimination against girls at every level of schooling is still pervasive in many developing countries
Gender parity
Gender Parity Index (F/M), 2002
0.20.40.60.81.01.2
SouthWestAsia
SubSaharanAfrica
ArabStates
Centr.East.
EuropeLatin
AmericaCaribbean
CentralAsia
East Asia
Pacific
N.America/W. Europe
primarysecondary
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Gender parity: the prospects at both levels
Achieved in 2002
Likely to be achieved in 2005
Likely to be achieved in 2015
At risk of not achieving by 2015
3199
79
106
54100
Primary education
Secondary educationOverall
86
86
49
The 2005 gender parity goal has been missed by 94 countries
Disparities at primary level in over 60 countries are nearly always at the expense of girls.
At secondary level, boys are under represented in 56 countries
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National coordination
Partnerships
Literacy educators
Good curricula
Language policy
Public spending
Literacy: a three-pronged approach
1. Universal quality basic education for girls and boys
2. Scale up youth and adult literacy programmes
3. Develop rich literate environments
Reducing fees
Teachers
Gender
Inclusion and language
Health and nutrition
Public spending
School textbooks
Local languagenewspapers
Book publishing
Public broadcasting
Libraries
Access to information
Strong political commitment is the starting point
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Getting girls to school: the need for an integrated strategy
Inside the classroom Outside the classroomComponent 1: Ensure a girl-friendly environment at all levels of society
Reduce wage and job sex-discrimination in the labour marketCommitment at the highest level to promote women’s rights to education.
Component 2: Make schools girl-friendly
Provide school with basic sanitation and separate toiletsEnsure that schools respect girls’ safety and privacyFacilitate the return to school of pregnant girlsProtect girls against violence at school
Encourage community participation and parental supportBuild schools closer to girls’ homes and in areas belonging to the same community
Component 3: Make schooling gender-sensitive
Eliminate gender bias in teacher attitudes against girls via trainingEmploy more adequately educated and trained female teachers Ensure that educational materials are gender sensitive and eliminate gender stereotypesProvide curricula that are sensitive to present and future needs of girlsComponent 4: Make school more affordable
Remove direct costs as fees, but also indirect cost incurred by uniforms or booksProvide free or cheap transportation to schoolProvide breakfast or meals at schools
Reduce student domestic workload Provide targeted scholarships to girls, particularly for secondary education
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The imperative to abolish primary school fees
Legal fees(52)
Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Benin, Bhutan, Bosnia/Herzeg., Bulgaria, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominica, Dominican Rep., Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Isl. Rep. Iran, J ordan, Lebanon, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Romania, Russian Fed., Rwanda, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Thailand, TFYR Macedonia, Timor- Leste, Togo, Trinidad/Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay
Illegal fees(18)
Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, Lao PDR, Lesotho, Liberia, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Panama, Tonga, Uganda, Ukraine, Viet Nam
Both type of fees(19)
Burkina Faso, China, D. R. Congo, Djibouti, Ecuador, Georgia, Indonesia, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Mali, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Palestinian A. T., Rep. Moldova, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Yemen
Primary fees still exist in a great number of countries.
The reduction of direct and indirect costs of education is imperative to attract and keep girls in
school
Countries applying fees in primary education
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More female teachers are essential
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Sub-SaharanAfrica
ArabStates
CentralAsia
East AsiaPacific
SouthWest Asia
LatinAmerica
Caribbean
NorthAmericaWesternEurope
CentralEasternEurope
Sha
re o
f fem
ale
teac
hers
(%)
Preprimary Primary Secondary
The low proportion of trained female primary teachers impedes girls’ enrolment
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Effective adult literacy programmes
Relevant curricula Participatory teaching Sufficient teaching hours Appropriate and sensitive
learning groups Sufficient and well-
designed teaching materials
Programmes available in mother tongue languages
Sufficient teaching hours
Appropriate programme
s
Better status for educators
Defining the appropriate length of training
Accreditation and on-the-job support
Increased pay Use of ICTs and
distance learning Better professional
development is imperative
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Enriching the literate
environment
Contribute to the spread of literacy
Help individuals sustain their newly acquired skills
Positive impact of literacy materials in the home
Literate environments encompass a range of lifelong learning opportunities. Importance of:
Print and broadcast media Publishing and information policies Special publications for newly literate School textbook investment strategy Public reading rooms and libraries
The influence of print materials, mass media and ICTs
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Costing literacy programmes
Estimated average per learner: US$47 in Africa, US$30 in Asia and US$61 in Latin
America Cost parameters are difficult to standardize: start-up costs, training
of educators, production of learning materials, operating costs
Preliminary work on cost of providing a 400-hour literacy programme to 550 million people: at least US$2.5 billion per year to 2015
Adult literacy: 1% of national education budgets typically allocated to literacy
A survey of bilateral donors and development banks shows that few explicitly refer to literacy in their aid policies
The average cost of literacy programmes is on a par with primary education
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The EFA gender balance sheet:
ten years left, major challenges remain
Fastest girls’ enrolment in primary school occurring in countries with the greatest need
Accelerate efforts towards universal primary education, with a special focus on measures to favour gender equality
Massive scaling up of literacy programmes, especially for women
Political commitment is paramount
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Contact Information
EFA Global Monitoring Report Teamc/o UNESCO
7, place de Fontenoy75352 Paris 07
France