Breakingthe Poverty Cycle for Children

Ministry of Education, UgandaUgandan National Commission for UNESCO

Poverty Eradication through Education

Breaking the PovertyCycle for Children

Ministry of Education, UgandaUgandan National Commission for UNESCO

Poverty Eradication through Education

Foreword 5Acknowledgements 7

Chapter IThe Context 9

I.1 Global Perspectives 9I.2 The International Workshop –

Setting the Stage 11I.3 Organization of the Workshop 11I.4 Recognizing the Need

for Change and Progress 12

Chapter IIWhat We Know about the Poorest Children 15

II.1 The Gifts of the Poorest Children 15

II.2 The Needs of the Poorest Children 16

II.3 Characteristics of Successful Interventions 17

II.4 Barriers to Change in Education Systems 18

Chapter IIIBreaking the Inter-Generational Cycle of Poverty 19

III.1 What Shape should Pro-Poor Policies Take? 19

III.2 Appropriate Strategies 20III.3 Examples of Success Stories 22

Chapter IVMeeting the Challenges of Poverty Eradication 27

IV.1 The HIV/AIDS Pandemic 27

IV.2 Wars, Civil Disturbances and Natural Disasters 29

IV.3 Girls and Education 31IV.4 The School as a Source

of Essential Information 32IV.5 Linkages and Coordination 33

Chapter VCultural Traditions and Practices:Increasing the Potential for Poverty Eradication 34

V.1 What is Culture? 34V.2 Options Including Cultural

Traditions and Practices in Education 34

Chapter VIMonitoring Interventions 36

VI.1 Monitoring Investments 36VI.2 Who Should be Involved? 37VI.3 Country Examples 37

Chapter VIIFrom Short- to Long-termDevelopment: Improving the Effectiveness of Education in Poverty eradication 39

VII.1 Looking Ahead 39VII.2 Education as a Catalyst

for Breaking the Poverty Cyclefor Children 39

VII.3 Lessons Learned 41VII.4 Linkages with Financing

Partners for Education 41

Conclusions 43

Table of contents

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Published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural OrganizationDivision of Basic EducationPrimary Education SectionUNESCO7, Place de Fontenoy75352 Paris 07 SP - France.

Coordination: Winsome GordonEditor: John AllenDesign: Monika JostPrinter: Ag2i communication, Paris

© UNESCO, 2003Printed in France

Foreword

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ABJECt poverty is evidence of the failure of modern societies to adopt social and economic strategies that benefit all people. It deprives individuals of their dignity, and denies them the opportunity to be participating citizens, with

a sense of self-respect and a feeling of well-being. By 1995, it was estimated that 1.3 billion people were living on less than one dollar per day, and the situation was beingaggravated by wars, civil unrest, and the loss of employment through economic restruc-turing and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

As a worldwide endeavour to eradicate abject poverty, the United Nations declaredthe years 1997 to 2006 to be the decade for poverty eradication. Many international andnational initiatives followed this declaration, and they identified education as a key topoverty eradication. The UNDP carried out research on the poor in 30 countries, whileThe World Bank developed a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), that wouldserve as an operational framework for directing resources to the poorest. UNESCO, inorder to launch its programme, organized an interagency meeting, and produced a document ‘Education and Poverty Eradication – Cooperation for Action.’ This documentrecognized that the role of education in poverty eradication must go beyond literacy skillsand school enrolment, to empowering people to take charge of their lives, and be activeparticipants in social and economic development. Since then UNESCO has madepoverty eradication an important part of its programme. The organization demonstratedby its participation in The World Summit on Sustainable Development, held from 26 August to 4 September 2002, in Johannesburg. South Africa, that it will spare noeffort to ensure that education and poverty eradication remain on the global agenda.

In April 2000, education specialists met in Dakar, Senegal, to renew their commit-ment to education for all for another fifteen years. Aware that poverty and social exclu-sion are a huge barrier to education for all, the Forum participants pledged themselvesto ‘promote EFA policies within a sustainable and well integrated sector framework,clearly linked to poverty elimination and development strategies.’ Important inputs topoverty eradication will be made through efforts to achieve the goals of EFA – earlychildhood education, good quality primary education for all children, meeting the learn-ing needs of youth and adults, improving adult literacy, the elimination of gender disparities, and improving all aspects of the quality of education.

Many families have lived in abject poverty for generations. Children, particularlygirls, continue to inherit family poverty. This cycle must be broken. At a time when coun-tries were preparing their PRSPs, it was opportune for UNESCO, jointly with ISESCOand the Government of Uganda, to organize an international workshop on ‘Creating an

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Enabling Environment for Poverty Eradication’, in Uganda from 30 July to 2 August2002. The workshop provided a forum for educators, and representatives from varioussectors from 24 countries, 10 UN agencies, and international and national NGOs, toshare their experiences in education and poverty eradication. The underlying messageof the meeting was ‘Breaking the Poverty Cycle for Children.’ Among other areas coveredwere: pro-poor policies, the challenges of poverty eradication, cultural traditions andpractices, increasing the potential for poverty eradication, and monitoring interventionsneeded to benefit poor people. The workshop concluded with a session on how to progressfrom short-term to long-term development.

Since the government of Uganda had resolved to make poverty eradication a prior-ity in its national agenda, the level of its participation in the meeting was exceptional.There were public officials representing the 16 poorest districts of the country. The Min-ister of Education opened the workshop, and shared the closing ceremony with the Min-ister of Health, and the cabinet representative of the Ministry of Finance.

In the closing session of the meeting, participants made personal commitments totake follow-up measures. It was also agreed that the draft document would be submit-ted for discussions and inputs over a few months before the final version was prepared.The present document has been shared with all the participants, and reflects their con-solidated inputs. The emphasis in the document is on actions taken, and to be taken. Itadvocates a move away from the ‘snatch them out’ approach, to interventions for sus-tained change in the situations of the poorest children. It recognizes education as a cat-alyst for breaking the poverty cycle for children, and offers some common characteristicsof successful experiences.

Following the international workshop, UNESCO entered into a contractualarrangement with Uganda to prepare a data bank, with basic information on childrenin abject poverty in Kampala, and two poor rural districts. The task has been made eas-ier as the government now houses the children who lived on the streets in a special insti-tution. This also facilitates greater visibility of the assistance given to poor children fromagencies and NGOs. A network of the participants was established to continue the dia-logue. UNESCO plans to send people to the institution to obtain first-hand experienceof the progress being made to assist the children, and to ensure their education.

Poverty is a complex matter, and its eradication is just as complex. Education is akey but not a panacea. Appropriate legislation must be put in place, and enforced, to protect the poor, and to enhance their economic opportunities. The rights of children mustbe respected, and no child should be denied basic health, nutrition, shelter, and theopportunity to complete at least its primary education. There is no excuse for failing to dothis. Global efforts must be consolidated towards this end.

John Daniel Assistant Director-General for Education UNESCO

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TH E international workshop marked another step forward in UNESCO’s contribution to poverty eradication through education. Participants left the workshop with a sense of

purpose and renewed commitment, because of the combined effortsof the National Commission for UNESCO in Uganda, The Pri-mary Education Section in the Basic Education Division ofUNESCO, and the education staff of ISESCO. I am, indeed, grate-ful to Ms Ulla Kalha who, despite advanced pregnancy, organizedthe meeting, and later took the report through its final stages. Spe-cial thanks are due to Ms Theophania Chavatzia for assisting withthe organization and preparations for the meeting.

My sincere appreciation goes to Ms Anastasia Nakkazi, theSecretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO inUganda and her team, who ensured the smooth running of theworkshop, and ensured the comfort of the participants.

We are indebted to Jessica Storey who prepared the officialdraft report, to Ms Carmela Salzano, and Mr John Allen, whoedited the report, and from whom little escaped his notice.

The experience of the meeting left me with a greater resolve topursue, without compromise, those measures and investmentswhich will provide the poorest children with the assistance they sobadly need, and which will change their lives.

Winsome Gordon Chief,Primary Education Section Basic Education Division UNESCO

Acknowledgements

I.1 Global Perspectives

TH E global community has long recognized the need to eradicate extreme poverty. The question is

how best to do it. At the World Summitfor Social Development held in Copen-hagen in March 1995, where abjectpoverty was considered a severe injus-tice, and an abuse of human rights, one of the most important outcomes was acommitment to poverty eradication. TheProgramme of Action suggested, andincluded, proposals to identify, and buildon, livelihood systems and survivalstrategies used by the poor, and to ensuretheir participation in programmesdesigned in their name.

In December 1995, the UnitedNations General Assembly declared theperiod 1997-2006 the first UnitedNations Decade for the Eradication ofPoverty. The theme, which recognizesthat “eradicating poverty is an ethical,social, political and economic imperativeof humankind,” is intended to influencenational and international development.

The need to eradicate extremepoverty was again stressed during theWorld Education Forum held in Dakar in April 2000. At that time, the inter-national community agreed to worktowards poverty reduction through education. Convinced that Universal Primary Education (UPE) is central inthe fight against poverty, the Forum set

2015 as the target year by which over one billion children are to: ■ receive free, good quality, primary

education;■ complete primary education without

repetition;■ be given equal opportunities to suc-

ceed.These goals have implications for thepoorest children. Shelter, nutritious diet,health care, clothing, and free, compul-sory, holistic, good quality primary edu-cation, are among their most urgentneeds.

The international community recognizesthe importance of Education For All inthe fight against poverty. The responsesof individual countries have been charac-terized by: ■ the establishment of national

poverty eradication units anddepartments;

■ the preparation of national povertyeradication and preparation plans;

■ the refocusing of official develop-ment cooperation programmes, andnon-governmental organizations, onpoverty eradication;

■ the preparation of Poverty Reduc-tion Strategy Papers, (PRSPs).

The most dramatic initiative towardspoverty eradication to date was launchedat the G7 Summit in Berlin, (1999). It isnow conditional for Highly IndebtedCountries (HIPCs) to work within a

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Chapter IThe Context

poverty reduction framework, indicatingpolicies, actions and budgets, in order tobenefit from debt relief. This move hasunderlined the significance of the PRSPs,or other poverty reduction strategicplans. The summit further highlightedthe need for stronger and more transpar-ent linkages between debt relief andpoverty reduction, in order to ensure thatdebt relief will make a real difference tothe lives of the world’s poor. The WorldBank and the International MonetaryFund are now supporting an approachrequiring countries to demonstrate clearprogress, in order to receive their fullpackage of debt relief.

Under the terms of the HIPC initia-tive, The World Bank expects that abouttwo-thirds of total relief will go towardseducation and health, and that other pri-ority areas will include HIV/AIDS, ruraldevelopment and water supply. Niger, forexample, plans to commit 40 per cent ofits debt relief funds to education. Thereare about 36 other countries that mayeventually qualify for HIPC assistance. Anumber of these are currently conflict-affected or have governance problems,which preclude the possibility of effectivedebt relief. It is important to note, how-ever, that HIPC relief can contribute toprogress towards human developmentunder the right conditions.

By January 2002, only eight coun-tries (Burkina Faso, Uganda, Mauri-tania, Tanzania, Bolivia, Mozambique,Nicaragua, and Honduras) had finalizedtheir PRSPs and about twelve otherswere nearing completion.1 Uganda is aleader in PRSP implementation. It hasalready implemented reforms in healthand education, and has completedprogress reports on these reforms andtheir outcomes.

Some countries have establishednational offices for planning and moni-toring poverty reduction policies and pro-grammes. Senegal has developed, and isin the process of launching, a National

Plan for the Development of Education.This plan includes action to achieve theobjectives of universal primary educa-tion, the improved quality of primaryeducation, and the improved manage-ment of the education system in the context of decentralization.2 Malawi hasestablished a Poverty Monitoring Unit,and has set up a committee linking theMinistry of Education with sectoral ministries and NGOs. Lesotho, in itsInterim Poverty Reduction StrategyPaper (I-PRSP), has proposed the estab-lishment of a poverty monitoring unit tofill information gaps, to set standards formeasuring poverty, to establish targetsfor monitoring activities, and to keepstakeholders informed.

It is too early to reach any conclu-sions on the overall effectiveness of thePRSP approach. There is little informa-tion available on the effectiveness of con-crete implementation strategies, andhow they will have an impact on the poor.Even so, PRSPs are still in their infancyin many countries. However, there isbroad agreement among countries thatsuch a country-driven approach “holdspromise for improving efforts at reducingpoverty, and enhancing the effectivenessof external assistance.”3

Universal primary education is crit-ical for social and economic progress. Atthe level of individual human develop-ment, however, the needs of the poorestchildren go beyond UPE, and this shouldbe transparent in the PRSP. Such chil-dren need shelter, clothing, food andemotional support along with a wealth-oriented education. While the potentialmacro-impact of PRSPs can be deducedfrom the framework, their likely contri-bution to improving the situation of the

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1. International Monetary Fund, World Bank Issues Paper, 2002.

2. International Monetary Fund, Senegal Policy Framework Paper, 1998-2000.

3. International Monetary Fund, World Bank Issues Paper, 2002.

world’s poorest children was not evidentin the 34 draft PRSPs reviewed byUNESCO.

This paper presents the issuesraised, and options proposed, at theInternational Workshop on Educationand Poverty Eradication: Creating anEnabling Environment for Poverty Erad-ication, held in Uganda in July 2000. Theemphasis of the paper is on:(a) breaking the poverty cycle for the

poorest children, especially girls; (b) how to meet challenges posed by the

HIV/AIDS pandemic, and by natu-ral and man-made (wars, civil con-flict) disasters; and

(c) improving the effectiveness of education in poverty eradicationthrough teacher training, culturalawareness and the development ofpro-poor programmes; and

(d) establishing monitoring and evalua-tion systems.

I.2 The International Workshop – Setting the Stage

AS part of their contribution to poverty reduction strategies, and in their bid to assist their

Member States to propose strategies toattain the 2015 EFA targets for the poor-est children, UNESCO and ISESCOorganized the International Workshop on Education and Poverty Eradication,held in Uganda from 30 July to 3 August2001.

The objective of this InternationalWorkshop was to provide a forum foragencies, educators, and various secto-rial representatives in twenty-four coun-tries, ten UN agencies, international andnational NGOs, to exchange experiencesin education and poverty eradication,and suggest a set of core actions neededto break the cycle of intergenerationalpoverty. Specifically the meeting would:

(a) bring together educators workingtogether in poverty eradication policy, plans and programmes, and representatives of other sectors,including health and social welfare;

(b) facilitate the exchange of ideas, andexplore options for giving the poor-est children good quality education;

(c) identify a common core of strategiesto be shared among countries, towhich they can refer, when prepar-ing or implementing their povertyeradication programmes;

(d) identify the steps and change pro-cesses needed at the primary level,to make it more responsive to theneeds of the poor;

(e) help countries define more clearlyand explicitly the role of education,and the needs of children, in theirnational efforts to eradicate poverty.

The workshop focused on evolving astrategic framework for breaking thepoverty cycle for the poorest childrenthrough:■ Pro-poor policies;■ Wealth-generated approaches to

education;■ Linkages of pro-poor programmes;■ Strategic monitoring and tracking

systems for the poorest children.Many of the participants were alreadydirectly, or indirectly, involved in thepreparation of PRSPs or other nationalpoverty eradication initiatives in theirrespective countries. As part of the follow-up to the workshop, the participants were,therefore, expected to feed the resultsdirectly into their day-to-day involvement.

I.3 Organization of the Workshop

The workshop was organized into:a) Plenary presentations and discus-

sions;b) Two round-table discussions:

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i) “Breaking the Poverty Cycle forChildren, Particularly Girls;”

ii) “From Short to Long Term Develop-ments – Improving the Effectivenessof Education in Poverty Eradica-tion.”

c) Four working groups: i) The Role of Education in Poverty

Eradication;ii) Pro-poor Policies in Education;iii) Linkages to Assist the Poorest Chil-

dren;iv) Monitoring and Tracking the Poor-

est Children.

The working groups’ deliberationsfocused on the following areas:a) Critical issues in education and

poverty eradication;b) Options to address such issues;c) Advantages and disadvantages of

each option, i.e. strengths and weak-nesses;

d) Major cost areas;e) Step-by-step processes required to

transform different options intopractice.

I.4 Recognizing the Need for Change and Progress

APA R T from the technical discus-sions at the workshop, state-ments were made that demon-

strated political will, a knowledge of theissues, and a commitment to change.

The workshop was formally openedby the Hon. Minister of Education andSports for Uganda, Khiddu Makubuya,under the chairmanship of ChrisMuhakanizi, the Director, EconomicAffairs, the Ministry of Finance, Plan-ning and Economic Development. In hisaddress the Minister noted that no coun-try can succeed without educating itspeople, and informed the participants ofthe Uganda Government’s efforts in thisregard. He also pointed out that the

Government of Uganda is committed toeradicating poverty and, in 1997 intro-duced the Poverty Eradication Actionplan to achieve this objective. A PovertyAction Fund (PAF) to finance priorityareas has also been established. Heinformed the workshop that in Uganda,the policy objectives of Universal Pri-mary Education (UPE) focus on Access,Equity, Relevance, Affordability andEquality.

He further noted that close coopera-tion between the Ministry of Educationand other sectors is a critical require-ment for poverty eradication pro-grammes. It is, he stated, a fact thateducation contributes to poverty eradica-tion by increasing people’s income,improving health and empowering allindividuals, including girls, the disabled,and other marginalized or “hard-to-reach” communities and groups.

The cooperation of the Ministry ofEducation with other sectors was evidentduring the closing ceremony, when theHonourable Minister of Education wasjoined by the Honourable Minister ofHealth, Brigadier Jim Muhwezi, and the Cabinet representative of the Hon-ourable Minister of Finance, GeneralSendaula. Brigadier Muhwezi under-lined the role of education in realizingthe goals of health for all people in Uganda. He pointed out that the Ministry of Health was restructuring its departments and programmes, “toachieve the cohesion necessary in theimprovement in the performance of thesector.” He noted the new emphasis on school health, and baseline studiesare being carried out in primary and secondary schools, with a view to improv-ing the health of all children and youngpeople.

“The Ugandan Government resolvedto prioritize poverty eradication as themajor focus of its sustained growth anddevelopment strategy...” This was themessage of the Hon. Minister of Finance.

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For him the workshop was an opportu-nity for Uganda to compare notes withother countries, and draw lessons fromshared experiences. He assured theworkshop that its recommendationswould be integrated within the NationalPoverty Eradication Action Plans(PEAP), and other government policiesto create an enabling environment forpoverty eradication. Already in Ugandatargeted interventions included the edu-cation of girls, people with disabilities,and orphans.

Ms Anastasia Nakkazi, the Secre-tary General of the Ugandan NationalCommission for UNESCO, welcomed theparticipants, and urged them to exchangeideas and evolve strategies for combatingpoverty in all its manifestations.

The ISESCO Representative,Mariama Niang, in her address, stressedthe need for education to be at the serviceof society in order to eradicate poverty.She informed the participants thatISESCO had made a number of interven-tions, using education based on Islamicprinciples, in its member countries. Ithad addressed the plight of girls, women,refugees, urban poverty, child labour,street children, and beggars among oth-ers. She urged participants to mobilizeopinion against childslavery, which is aconsequence of poverty.

Christopher Liundi, the UNESCORepresentative in Rwanda, addressedthe opening session, on behalf ofUNESCO. He highlighted the fact thatpoverty eradication is at the top ofUNESCO’s agenda in this millennium.He observed that, in spite of the fact thatwe are approaching five years in theDecade of Poverty Eradication, manycountries have yet to collect facts and fig-ures on the status of their poverty eradi-cation efforts. He raised questions aboutthe tools that should be used, and howthey should be used to eradicate poverty.Finally, he pointed out that education isan important part of the poverty eradica-

tion process, and urged the workshop tofocus its discussions on the eradication ofpoverty for the poorest children agedfrom 0-13.

The UNICEF Representative empha-sized the importance of girls’ and women’seducation in the eradication of povertyand, therefore, urged the workshop to payparticular attention to the issues faced bygirls. She also advised of the need to lis-ten, and be guided by the children’s viewsand positions on poverty eradication, andthe HIV/AIDS pandemic. She stressedthat girls’ education is the best invest-ment the African continent can make.

The UNDP Representative, Dr. NgilaMwase, the Officer-in-Charge, observedthat illiteracy is still a major challenge topoverty reduction strategies and that,therefore, education issues should be dis-cussed in PRSPs. He noted that Ugandahas lessons to offer on what works, andwhat does not. The global target for theeradication of poverty is 2015, while thatof Uganda is reducing poverty to 10 percent by 2017. Between 1993 and 1998Uganda reduced poverty from 52 per centto 35 per cent. He also stated that thereis a need to reorient the school curricu-lum to the needs of society. The UNDPRepresentative further stated that theeradication of absolute poverty wasdependent on education for all. “Primaryeducation for all is essential”, he contin-ued, [as]... it develops some of the mostbasic capabilities for human develop-ment, and creates a base of numeracyand literacy that enables people to bemore innovative and productive.” Hesuggested that development should focuson the following six areas:i) The privatization of economies in

ways that promote the participationof the poor.

ii) Planning to guide career develop-ment and curriculum development.

iii) Emphasis on rational populationpolicies.

iv) Regional cooperation and integra-13

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tion.v) Infusion of global goals and targets

in national policies.vi) Monitoring of poverty reduction

activities.The Representative of the Civil SocietyOrganizations, drawing on the experi-ence of the poorest districts of Kotido andMoroto, observed that despite free educa-tion and books, parents were still unableto meet the indirect costs of education,resulting in high dropout rates. Heobserved that girls are worse off, andtherefore stressed the need to focus ongirls’ education, and advocated incen-tives for girls to go to school. He further

advised that the curriculum shouldaccommodate the needs of the commu-nity, and enable the poorest children tolearn to protect themselves from dis-eases, in particular HIV/AIDS. In theseprocesses, the teacher’s role must be thatof a facilitator.

The Chairman of the opening ses-sion posed provoking questions, aimed atgetting the participants to think abouthow to escape from poverty through edu-cation, given their own experiences, andthe experiences of many Asian countriesthat were able to address the poorestgroups, in spite of low per capita incomes.

“To persist and not deviate from the path towards breakingthe poverty cycle”

Gandhi

Acommon problem in efforts to deal with the symptoms of poverty is related to the identification of

the target group. A programme thatexpects any degree of success, must beable to locate and identify the relevanttarget groups, and design suitable strate-gies for addressing their needs.

The following is a list of those groups con-sidered to be among the poorest children:■ Street children ■ Orphans■ Children affected by HIV/AIDS –

this includes children who have thedisease themselves, or who live withits effects. Millions of school-agechildren have become orphans,and/or have become the primary car-ers of younger siblings, or infectedfamily members, so they drop out ofschool.

■ Children living in post crisis situa-tions – this includes children in conflict zones, in refugee camps,children who have been displacedfollowing the destruction of theirphysical environment.

■ Children that work – poor childrenmay have to work to help supporttheir families and themselves.

■ Children who live in urban slums.■ Ethnic minorities and indigenous

peoples.■ Children in rural, remote, nomadic

or migrant communities – these chil-dren often lack physical access toeducation.

■ Physically challenged children –there is often a lack of suitableresources and facilities; teachers arenot trained to deal with the specialneeds of these children; when thenecessary physical, emotional orintellectual support is not provided,these children are kept out of theeducation system.

■ Children from households that can-not afford to provide their basicneeds.

■ Children in prisons and asylums

II.1 The Gifts of the PoorestChildren

IT is important to identify the talents and skills of children within the target group, so that appropriate

interventions can be designed. Of themany assets identified, it was agreedthat children:■ Are resourceful and resilient, and

have learned how to survive on verylittle.

■ Are streetwise and without realizingit, have learned how to learn. Mis-

Chapter IIWhat We Know about the Poorest Children

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takes can have serious conse-quences, so they learn the rules ofsurvival quickly.

■ Have acquired foreign languagevocabularies comprising essentialwords. For example, many childrenwho beg for money from touristshave learned the language of thetourists and, furthermore, know howto play on their sympathies by indi-cating that they are hungry.

■ Have learned that persistence paysoff.

■ Have mastered basic curriculumconcepts, in arithmetic, science andsocial studies, through their lifeexperiences.

■ Have livelihood experiences, at ayounger age, than their richer coun-terparts. Some of them have to takeon adult responsibilities, such ascaring for other family members.Some may have been involved ininformal trade before they are ofschool age, selling fruit or sweets fortheir parents.

■ Have acquired traditional skills -even very young children mayalready have learned some tradi-tional skills from their parents, orfrom other community members.

II.2 The Needs of the PoorestChildren

All children have needs that go beyondlearning standard curriculum concepts,such as reading, writing and numeracy.For the poorest, however, meeting theseother needs is critical if they are tosucceed in the school system. Theseinclude:

Physical needs

The basic needs of food, health care, shel-ter and clothing, should be dealt withfirst. Education is hampered by health

issues such as malnutrition, sanitation,illness and, the lack of proper healthcare. Poor children are often malnour-ished, either because they simply do notget enough food, or because their diet isnot varied enough to provide all theessential nutrients. Hungry, malnour-ished children cannot concentrate, andare more prone to different diseases.Malaria, which is particularly prevalentin Africa, contributes to reduced schoolattendance, and ultimately poor achieve-ment. The poorest children may also lackappropriate shelter and clothing. Theymay be homeless, or there may be nospace, or time, at home for homework.

Cognitive needs

Lacking cognitive stimulation in theearly years, poor children often lagbehind their peers in academic achieve-ment, and particularly with regard tolanguage development. The language ofthe school is likely to be different fromthat of the mother tongue, which onlyserves to compound the problem.

Most children learn more by beingactively involved in the teaching andlearning processes. But, this is particu-larly important for the poorest children,who must grapple with a variety of newexperiences and concepts in school. Edu-cation programmes that are intended tocreate equal opportunities for all chil-dren must draw on the life experiences ofall children. That is, concrete experi-ences should be drawn from the lifestyleof children with different backgrounds.The poorest child might not have a tele-vision at home, but she, or he, is likely tobe familiar with traditional stories. She,or he, may not have piped water whereshe, or he, lives but she or he would knowthe difference between “clean and dirtywater.” Remedial work and the achieve-ment of competences in all areas of thecurriculum, must be an integral part ofthe education process.

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Social and emotional needs

The poorest children need to build theirconfidence, to feel that they can achievein school, and in the wider world. If theydo not believe they can do well at school,they might not try. They need to learn: a) how to develop and maintain social

relationships, and how to manageconflicts and differences. Some ofthese children have grown up in anenvironment where aggression isnecessary for survival,

b) how to channel this aggression intoappropriate activities like music orsports. They also need to learn posi-tive attitudes and values, and

c) positive attitudes and values fos-tered in a caring and secure learningenvironment. With the increasingincidence of social problems and civilunrest, it has become imperativethat children learn positive valuesand attitudes, such as cooperation,responsibility, pride in a job welldone, and love of success. The poor-est children often do not receive thekind of emotional support they needfrom their homes. In many cases,there is too little parental (or otheradult) support and guidance. Hence,the education system should takegreater responsibility for theirupbringing, if they are to learn howto function well in society.

School attendance needs

School attendance needs include schoolfees, books, uniforms and transportation.It is important to note that even whenschool fees are abolished, there are otherrelated costs such as those for books, uni-forms, transportation and lunch, whichpoor children can ill afford. Free educa-tion for the poorest children requires thatall these needs be met within the provi-sion of education.

II.3 Characteristics of Successful Interventions

VA R I O U S countries and organiza-tions have responded to the need to develop strategies in education

for poverty eradication. These effortshave, however, shown few substantiveresults. In many cases, a number ofcauses can be identified, including poortargeting, lack of sustainability, irrele-vance of the programme, a lack of com-mitment to the poor, and initiatives thatare too small to make a difference. How-ever, in spite of general inadequacies,there have been some successes.

Countries need to look at what hasworked for others, and learn from theseexamples. A review of successful povertyeradication initiatives showed some com-mon characteristics.

Successful pro-poor programmes:■ identify the poorest children and

understand their needs – there iscoherence between the education pro-grammes and the children’s needs.

■ are holistic – they consider allaspects of education.

■ are developed and implemented atthe local level with community par-ticipation.

■ have committed managers andteachers, often NGOs or religiousgroups.

■ take the affective domain intoaccount – providing a caring and sup-portive environment is important.

■ teach and value traditional tradesand skills – programme content isadapted to the local environment,while maintaining national curricu-lum standards.

■ acknowledge and build on the skillsand knowledge of the children them-selves.

■ are appropriately evaluated, and arecharacterized by indicators thatassess the programme’s success inreaching the poorest children

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II.4 Barriers to Change in Education Systems

WE are now in the year 2002,a n dit is becoming increasingly

obvious that at the current rate ofprogress, many countries will not be ableto meet the 2015 UPE targets. Oxfamblames this lack of progress on govern-ments, on states that invest more inarms than in education and health, orfail to control corruption. It also blamesrich countries that do not look beyondtheir own short-term interests.

Among the barriers that hinderprogress within education systems, thefollowing are the most important:■ Rigidity of systems. Certain people

benefit from the status quo, and are

resistant to change. Others areunable to see the possibilities forchange, or lack the commitment,courage or energy needed.

■ Governments, or local leaders, whoare generally not held accountablefor how much money is spent, andhow education systems are man-aged.

■ Sufficiency attitude – what is pro-vided for the poor is good enough.

■ Inadequate pro-poor infrastructureor support systems – this makes itdifficult to implement successfulpoverty eradication interventions.

■ A lack of systematic tracking of pro-poor interventions – in this way it isextremely difficult to know if theactivities and programmes imple-mented have had any impact at all.

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“Poverty begets poverty. The world’s poorest people arethose who, while they werechildren, were excluded fromopportunities to break out of the cycle of poverty. Similarly,children who are today deniedthe opportunity to break out of poverty will be tomorrow’svictims of the vicious cycle.”

Patrick Sikana, OXFAM

III.1 What shape should pro-poor policies take?

ED U C AT I O N policies that address issues for all children do not reach the poorest children, pri-

marily because they are not in school, orrarely attend school. Policies, therefore,extend their reach into society as awhole, and facilitate the meeting of themost urgent needs at the micro level.However, successful policies will dependon harnessing all resources and capaci-ties to find the poorest children, includ-ing religious bodies, private sectorcompanies, NGOs, the police force, andthe military.

Education should be seen as a pow-erful catalyst for change, as a tool forpoverty eradication. It provides thevision to see clearly what is involved inpoverty eradication, the voice to say what

is required, and the skills and energy totake action.

Assisting the poorest children is aninterministerial concern, and the plan-ning, programming and implementationof appropriate programmes should becoordinated at the national level, andconverge at the level of the children.Responsible parenthood must be an inte-gral part of policies to address the needsof the poorest children. There should besanctions for parents who continue tohave children, but cannot take care ofthem. This is a hard choice for the stateto make.

There should be clear, reinforcedregulatory policies that address resourceallocation for the poorest children, publicaccountability, measurable access tohealth, education and social services,and opportunities for communicationwith the public. In crises, the welfare ofthe poorest children should be a priority.The pressing example is the HIV/AIDSpandemic that exacerbates the plight ofthe poorest children.

Investments to help the poor mustmove away from the current approach,which is based on a principle of “snatchthem out”, which does not pay attentionto how to sustain people out of poverty(OXFAM). The poor should be seen asassets who can contribute to develop-ment, and not as objects of charity.

Chapter IIIBreakingthe intergenerational cycle of poverty

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III.2 Appropriate Strategies

Identifying and locating the targetgroups■ The names, period and date of birth,

and addresses of all the childrenmust be in a national data bank,linked to data centres at all adminis-trative levels. Communities, localgovernments and councils musthave a roster of the poorest childrenin their respective areas.

■ A physical map of the location of thechildren should be prepared, accom-panied by a booklet that providesbaseline information about the chil-dren.

■ Along with the identification of thechildren should be efforts to ensurethe physical welfare of the children.This can take a multiplicity of formsaccording to the children’s situation.

■ Homeless children. Shelter has to beprovided for them. The interim stepshould be to clear space, and con-struct places for them, where theycan sleep in safety, and where theycan have at least two warm mealsper day. These buildings should beconstructed by the communities,with the help of the local govern-ment. They need full support to go toschool, and the “home” needs amother and a father.

■ Households headed by children. Alltheir addresses must be known, thesize of each family, and the numberof school-age children. The childrenshould be assisted to attend schoollike other children. They should begiven additional assistance to pro-duce their own food, if they have theavailable land. In short they shouldbe assisted to maintain their inde-pendence.

■ Children in care or in orphanages.All these children should be givenuniforms, books, fares, etc., to go toschool. The orphanages should be

required to provide records of atten-dance, and the performance of allschool-age children. The Ministry ofHealth should ensure at least anannual visit to the orphanages, andseek assistance to give the childrenvitamins and minerals. Sports,games and skills training should be an integral part of their upbring-ing. The country should recognizeits role in giving succour to suchchildren.

■ Children with their parents or sub-stitute families – negotiations anddiscussions with parents to enrol thechildren in the nearest school. Thesechildren should be given uniforms,soft shoes (so that they do not lookdifferent in school from the otherchildren), books, and breakfast and lunch at school. The schooling of children who are gainfullyemployed, should be planned withthe schools, and with those whoemploy them. It should be manda-tory for them to go to school. In situ-ations where the girls are householdmaids, they should be removed andput in orphanages.

Advocacy

The government of the country must takea leading role. This means that the Headof State must lead national advocacyefforts in support of the poorest children.The entertainment industry should useits potential for reaching the hearts ofthe people. Religious groups would needto reinforce the awareness campaignwith messages of love, care, and respon-sibility.

Free education

Education must remain free for thesechildren throughout their school lives,and this must be made very clear to headteachers of the schools that they attend.

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Quality of education

The poorest children are likely to needteaching for longer hours, yet these arethe children who in reality will have lesstime for education. A trade-off will beneeded if they are to achieve as well astheir counterparts. Guidance and coun-selling will be imperative for them, asthey need emotional support to buildtheir self-confidence, and to feel a senseof security in school.

The content of the curriculum has tobe delivered in a learning environmentthat is meaningful for the children. Theyneed to cover the common curriculum intheir geographical area, as they need tocompete with other children in society.Yet the lessons must be interpreted, andmade relevant to their life experiences,in order to enhance their learning oppor-tunities. This will not happen by chance,teachers will need training to help thesechildren.

Teacher orientation and training to teach the poorest children

Teachers must act as agents of socialchange, and should be led to understandthis role in their training. Teachers needto know and accept them, and their dif-ferences, and be committed to makeschool experiences beneficial for them.Their confidence and belief in the chil-dren can go a long way towards improv-ing their achievement.

Partnerships

Children themselves should be the mainpartners in any plans to help them. Thisapproach has the advantage of bringingassistance closer to them, and ensuringthat their priorities are met. It alsoraises the opportunities for communitymembers to participate actively in thecare of children.

Resources

The government cannot manage thishuge task by itself. It is the responsibilityof every citizen. The example should beset by the national budget, through theallocation of sufficient resources to tacklethe main issues affecting youth.

At government level, all external aidshould provide two per cent for the poor-est children. This money should be uti-lized for direct assistance activities.

Institutionalizing assistance for the poorest children

Another challenge for the government isthe management of this assistance.While a department for the poorest chil-dren should be established in the Officeof the Head of State, the local govern-ment authority, and the members of par-liament, should be held responsible forthe children in their designated areas.

NGOs, interest groups, and reli-gious bodies wishing to participate in theprogramme, should be duly registered,have an approved programme, and pro-vide quarterly reports on their progresswith the children, identifying each childby name, age and address.

Formative evaluation should be anintegral part of programme developmentand implementation. Feedback into theprocesses will help to focus programmeson priority areas.

For the poverty cycle to be broken:■ Issues must dealt with such as the

inability to identify, access and useavailable resources, and the factthat poverty will be passed on fromone generation to the next, if it is notaddressed appropriately, effectivelyand efficiently.

■ There must be a move away from thecurrent style of interventions, basedon the principle of “snatch them out”,which does not pay attention to how

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to sustain people out of poverty. Thepoor should be seen as assets whocan contribute to development, andnot as objects of charity, or as peoplewho need to be “snatched out” ofpoverty. Such initiatives usually donot have the desired impact, becausethe requisite policy environment hasnot been adequately created.

■ Education must be seen as a power-ful catalyst for change, as a tool forpoverty eradication. It provides thevision to see clearly what is involvedin poverty eradication, the voice tosay what is required, and the skillsand energy to take appropriateaction. It should be seen as a meansof building awareness and positivemind-sets, and as a tool for capacitybuilding. Girls’ capacity in self-assertion needs to be built, for exam-ple, so that they are empowered todemand, and to use, services.

■ There must be a focus on changingeducation policies, particularlythose pertaining to girls. Policiesand practices that require changeinclude those that inhibit access toeducation, such as school fees anduniform requirements, and thosethat discriminate on the basis ofgender, such as the permanentexclusion of girls from school whenthey become pregnant. Zambia andBurkina Faso, for example, nowallow young mothers to remain atschool.

Strategies proposed for breaking thepoverty cycle include:■ Positive policy and practice changes.

Currently, policy changes are notalways followed by changes in prac-tice. For instance, in Zambia, feeswere abolished, but six months latersome schools were still charging fees.

■ Awareness building, and a shifttowards the belief that the poor canchange their situation.

■ Capacity building for action. Exist-ing curricula should be adapted, soas to equip learners to fight povertymore effectively. They should pro-vide not only the basic literacy,numeracy and problem-solving com-petencies, but also a realistic foun-dation in economically relevantskills – wealth oriented concepts,values and skills.

If strategies that respond to the needs ofthe poorest children are to be developed,a number of themes must be considered:■ The structure of the system.

National education systems mustinclude all providers of education,for example, Koranic schools.

■ The approach of the system: the lan-guages used, gender equity, etc.There must be a balance betweenthe education of boys and girls.

■ Support of the system: school-feed-ing programme, guidance, coun-selling, etc., are all vital for meetingthe needs of the poorest children.

■ Partnerships.■ Focus on the poorest children.■ Monitoring of the system’s perfor-

mance.■ The impact of HIV/AIDS on child

poverty.

III.3 Examples of success stories

DU R I N G the workshop, partici-pants shared their experiences of various pro-poor initiatives.

These were discussed in small groups,and during the plenary sessions. Partici-pants welcomed the experiences shared,but held reservations about their trans-ferability. It was felt that the financialgrant programmes could make a differ-ence, but would not be sustainable inAfrican countries. The community devel-opment approach was seen as one that

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could be more responsive to the growingnumbers of poor children, particularly inthe wake of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Niger

Niger has put in place a three-year edu-cational development plan to address theplight of the poorest children, encourag-ing them to attend school, and to improvetheir learning achievements. Niger alsointends to commit 40 per cent of its HIPCdebt relief funds to education, and to dou-ble the enrolment of girls from about 37per cent to 68 per cent. However, thequestion still remains: how to make pro-

grammes aimed at addressing the prob-lem of the poorest children sustainable?

Nigeria • Kano State School Feeding

The state government decided to intro-duce afternoon meals for primary schoolpupils in April 2001. This decision wastaken in response to low enrolment andattendance, and poor academic achieve-ment among the poorest populationgroups. Nearly one million meals are pro-vided every day. The programme isjointly financed by the state and localgovernments and the community, on a2:2:1 basis. According to reports, the

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Burkina Faso • MATTE Centre

THE success of the MATTE Centre in Burkina Faso exemplifies the results of a village-based approach to combat poverty through education. The provincial authorities gave one hectare of land to the Matte women for the

construction of a learning and resource centre. The women identified their needs,and UNESCO contributed to the training of village trainers in reproductivehealth, sanitary and nutritional hygiene, participatory and community approachtechniques, stimulating and managing income activities, the utilization of learn-ing circles, integrating literacy and post literacy, and the promotion of literacy inMoore, the local language. UNESCO also assisted the community with the con-struction of a mill unit, and a production workshop with two separate work areasand one shed, a multi-purpose training room, a primary health centre and strawhouse, used as a space for childcare and meetings. The Centre is a meeting placefor women and girls. Through an integrated and participatory approach, the Centre has provided training for women, and has increased girls’ access to educa-tion. Women learn how to use local and traditional medicine to improve health carefor their families. A grinding mill was provided to save women walking long distances. A significant feature is that each woman taking part in the non-formaleducation programme at the Centre, is encouraged to bring three girls, thus accel-erating the education of girls in the community.

The Centre addresses the following areas in the education of girls and women:(a) understanding one’s environment, (b) transforming and improving one’s envi-ronment, (c) how to be autonomous, and (d) learning to foresee the future. Afterone year of operation, the production of the Centre included: soumbala (mimosagrains), shea butter, shea based soap, peanut cream, millet flour, maize flour, andvegetables. With the assistance of the men in the village, they have been able tomarket their goods. The Matte experience could be transferred to many otherAfrican villages.

feeding programme has already con-tributed to improved enrolment andattendance rates.

Lesotho • Free Primary Education

Lesotho commissioned a Poverty Assess-ment Survey in 1999, following consis-tently declining net enrolment andintake rates, to levels of 29.8 per cent and51.4 per cent respectively. The surveyrevealed that the lowered access to pri-mary education was a result of parents’inability to meet the school needs of theirchildren. The government responded byintroducing free primary education, to bephased in one grade per year, in combi-nation with efforts to meet other teach-ing and learning needs. For example,new schools are being built where needed(46 were built in 2000/2001), and teachertraining and school feeding programmesexpanded.

Lesotho adopted strategies that ben-efit the local community. For example,the school feeding programme employsunemployed women in the community,who are paid by the Ministry of Educa-tion, to supply, prepare, and serve food tostudents in their own communities. Atargeted equity-based programme, whichgives scholarships to the poorest chil-dren, was also introduced. Despite anumber of problems, including low effi-ciency and inadequate monitoring,access to education increased in the firstyear (2000), with net enrolment risingfrom 51 to 69 per cent.

Ghana • Special Programmes

Ghana has adopted a strategy of decen-tralization to the district level. The poorest children, who are more easilyidentified in this way, are given uniformsand school bags. Ghana has also set upcamps for girls, to increase their love ofmathematics, science and technology,and to teach them to succeed in non-tra-

ditional roles. Girls are encouraged toapply their knowledge to change the waythings are done. Together with ActionAid, the government of Ghana has alsointroduced a programme that takes edu-cation to where the children are.

Bangladesh • Girls’ ScholarshipProgramme

To reach girls, Bangladesh established ascholarship programme in which moneywas given to the girls themselves,through commercial banks, to pay fortheir education. This programme suc-ceeded in reaching over one million girls.

India • Bodh Shiksha Samiti

This is an example of a community-basedprogramme designed to increase thevalue placed on education, and encour-age further study within the formal sys-tem. Based in a slum area of Jaipur, theprogramme was created in the late1980s, to provide “affordable, flexible,welcoming” access to schools, where pre-viously none was available. The stu-dents, parents, teachers and programmeorganizers worked together to deal withmany of the barriers to the inclusion ofsocially marginalized children. It is holis-tic, including early childhood education,and adult literacy programmes, and theprimary curriculum includes coverage ofbasic issues, such as hygiene and nutri-tion, as well as general skills training inmathematics, languages, reasoning andattitude development (independence,cooperation, etc.). Teachers are continu-ally trained in participatory teachingmethods. Aspects of formal schooling areeventually introduced, such as textbooksand written examinations, so that stu-dents are prepared to enter the formalschool system if they wish.1

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1. UNESCO: Education for All and Children Who are Excluded, 2001, p. 24).

Malawi • Girls’ Education

In 1991, Malawi introduced the Girls’Attainment in Basic Literacy and Educa-tion (GABLE) project. Funded by theUnited States Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID), the projectwaived school fees for girls (but not for

boys at the beginning), who managed notto repeat classes in primary school. Theproject also involved the creation of anew “gender sensitive” curriculum, thebuilding of new classrooms, the recruit-ment and training of more teachers, theintroduction of new policies allowingchildren to attend school without uni-

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TH I S programme was introduced by the Federal Government of Brazil, as a result of the experience of the mayor of Campinas, a city 120 km from Sao Paulo. He started a Minimum Income Guarantee Programme, that pro-

vided a monthly allowance for mothers in exchange for them keeping their children in school. The programme was instituted by law 10219 in April 2001, andnow reaches about 44,382 children in 22,493 families.

The programme:■ raises the likelihood of children completing school, and reducing the possibil-

ity of future poverty■ reduces child-labour, the number of children on the street, so that poor chil-

dren are less vulnerable to drugs, prostitution and criminal activities■ improves the economic conditions, and hence the quality of life of the poorest

children, and protects the poorest families from further degradation as aresult of social, physical, and economic disorder

The government plans to invest US$730 million annually to reach 5.8 million families living below the poverty line. The grant is US$6 for each child, with a max-imum of US$18 per family. Regulations require that each child is registered in pri-mary school, and attends 85 per cent of the time. The card for withdrawing moneyis given to the mothers, because the results of a socio-economic opinion poll showedthat mothers were more effective than fathers in optimizing the benefits of sup-port.

The results of an evaluation of the programme undertaken with the support ofUNESCO, UNICEF and The World Bank showed:

a) reduction in repetition and dropout ratesb) more stimulated and motivated childrenc) reduction in child labourd) improved quality of life and the esteem of the familye) improved value for the role of women in the familyf) reduction in migrationg) reduction of violenceh) improved understanding of citizenship and solidarity

Brazil aims at making the programme the world’s greatest in helping poor childrento receive an education.

forms, and allowing pregnant girls toreturn to school after giving birth, and asocial mobilization campaign encourag-ing parents to send their girls to school.The project has achieved a large measureof success. Girls’ enrolments in primaryeducation almost doubled, from 772,000to over 1.5 million between 1991 and1996, and the number of girls, as an over-all percentage of enrolments, rose from45 per cent to 47 per cent. The sharpincrease in demand overwhelmed theeducation system, and improvements inquality lagged behind those in quantity.The government will continue to work onstrategies to improve the quality and effi-ciency of primary education.1

Uganda • Universal Primary Education

The government of Uganda introducedUniversal Primary Education (UPE) in1997, in recognition of the role of educa-tion in poverty eradication. This pro-gramme abolished school fees for fourchildren in every family, includingorphaned and disabled children. The

resulting increase in students enrolled inprimary education has been dramatic –the figures rose from 2.3 million in 1997,to 6.5 million in 2000.2 The challengenow is to ensure quality. The suddenexpansion of the system resulted in muchlarger classes, and although there was anincrease in the number of teachers, itwas not enough to meet the needs.Uganda is trying to improve the qualityof its teachers through in-service work-shops.

ISESCO

ISESCO provided another example ofusing different strategies to meet differ-ent needs. They operate literacy classesusing the harmonized Arabic alphabet,which has resulted in the patronage ofschools, and linkages between produc-tion and the new-literates.

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1. Source: Oxfam website, taken from USAIDPromoting Primary Education for Girls in Malawi, Impact Evaluation, Washington, January, 1999.

2. World Education Forum, 2000.

IV.1 The HIV/AIDS Pandemic

TH E HIV/AIDS pandemic is caus-ing extreme difficulties for coun-tries in their attempts to meet

their poverty reduction targets anddevelopment goals, and is underminingeducation systems in developing coun-tries, particularly in Africa. Because ofthe time lag between HIV infection andfull-blown AIDS, the impact of the virusis likely to be even more severe in thecoming decade than in previous years.High levels of HIV infection in the 1990sin many countries, for example Zambia,Zimbabwe and Malawi, will lead to highrates of AIDS-related diseases and mor-tality.

It is crucial that the impact of thepandemic on child poverty be taken intoconsideration. How can countries hope toreduce the incidence of poverty, when upto a quarter of households are living withAIDS? How can they expect to educatetheir children when AIDS is puttingincreasing strains on the education sys-tem, and on families? How can theyexpect to maintain labour productivity,and supply and economic growth, whenHIV/AIDS is depriving families, commu-nities, and entire nations, of their youngand most productive members?

Some countries, such as Uganda,have made great strides in reducing theprevalence of HIV/AIDS. The rate hasbeen falling steadily for years, and is now

at about 8 per cent, with the declinebeing most noticeable in the 15-29 agegroup. Such success was due in part to anaggressive public health campaign,emphasizing the ways in which HIV canbe transmitted, its fatal consequences,ways to prevent infection, and supportand care for AIDS victims. The Ministryof Education recognizes the scope in theeducation system for informing and pro-moting positive responses to HIV/AIDSin young people, and is looking for waysto strengthen the education sector’sfuture role in addressing the problem.Unfortunately, Uganda is an exception.In many more countries HIV continuesto spread rapidly, and its impact is dev-astating.

Effects on the Demand for Education

Households affected by AIDS have fewerresources available for schooling. Whenbreadwinners die, new poor are created.Often children can no longer affordschool fees, uniforms, books, lunch, andother related schooling costs. A study inZambia showed that in families wherethe father died, monthly disposableincome fell by more than 80 per cent.1

Children may be taken out of school towork in order to make up for lost income.Girls, in particular, may have to stay athome to care for sick family members or

Chapter IVMeeting the challenges of poverty eradication

271. UNDP paper, p. 10.

younger siblings. Children who have lostone, or both parents, but are still inschool, are likely to reduce school atten-dance and achievement. They often lackadult guidance, and the material andpsychological support needed, to achieveacademically. Children who are them-selves HIV positive are prone to frequentillnesses, which cause them to be absentfrom school for much of the year.

Effects on the Supply of Education

The HIV/AIDS pandemic has a negativeimpact on the production sector, andleads to a shortage of both trained anduntrained (volunteer) teachers, adminis-trators and education management per-sonnel. Death rates in Botswana amongprimary school teachers rose from 0.7 per1,000 in 1994 to 7.1 in 1999. It takes timeto replace such losses. In Zambia forexample, there are not enough teachersin the training colleges to replace thoselost to AIDS. The private sector maycompound this problem by “stealing”teachers to replace their own losses(UNDP). HIV/AIDS affected employeesare absent more often due to illness, andwhen they are present, they tend to beless productive than they would other-wise have been.

Effects on Programmes

The high prevalence of HIV/AIDSdemands its inclusion in the school cur-riculum. HIV/AIDS education needs tobe integrated throughout the curriculum,beginning at the primary level. Primaryschool is not too early to start AIDSawareness training, if the information istailored to the age of the children. Chil-dren must be exposed to HIV/AIDS pre-vention education before they start toengage in high-risk behaviour. It mayalso be necessary to incorporate morevocational and income-generating train-ing into the curriculum, to help the

increased number of children who haveto leave school before completion. High-prevalence countries need increased support for the education sector. In devel-oping countries, the response to theHIV/AIDS epidemic by donors, govern-ments, communities, parents and civilsociety organizations, has been inade-quate to date.

Effects on Education Planning

HIV/AIDS also has implications for edu-cation planning. New knowledge andskills are needed to understand the fullimpact of the epidemic on the educationsector, and to respond appropriately. Cre-ative measures will have to be taken tomaintain the number and skills of educa-tion staff. Retired teachers can bebrought back into service, more focus canbe put on in-service training, and com-munity knowledge and skills can bedrawn upon more extensively. Compre-hensive measures must be taken to sus-tain access to education for children inhouseholds affected by AIDS. Schoolingcosts should be reduced or eliminated,and support of all kinds, including psy-chological and social support, should beprovided to such children.

The education sector can be used tocombat the HIV/AIDS epidemic, limit itsspread, and mitigate its effects. The inci-dence of HIV is often very low among 5-14 year olds, but much higher among15-19 year olds, and even higher forthose in their twenties and thirties. Theeducation sector can be used to dissemi-nate information about the disease, andthe consequences of high-risk activitiessuch as unprotected sex, in the hope thatthe up-and-coming generation willchange its behaviour, and the incidenceof HIV/AIDS will decline.

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IV.2 Wars, Civil Disturbances andNatural Disasters

IN planning, implementing or review-ing education policies, the impact ofwars, civil disturbances and natural

disasters cannot be ignored. Poverty isgenerated every day as a result of suchevents. There were numerous wars andcivil conflicts throughout the 1990s,including the Gulf War, the genocide inRwanda, civil conflicts in the formerYugoslavia, Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudanand Angola, and the violence in manyareas has not yet come to an end. Manycountries have suffered horrendous nat-ural disasters, such as Hurricane Mitchin Central America, and earthquakes inTurkey. Wars and civil conflicts can ham-per or disable education systems, andnatural disasters often destroy a local-ity’s infrastructure, buildings, etc. Theseare facts of life for people who live inearthquake, hurricane or tornado zonesfor example. Education planning mustinclude contingencies for these emer-gency situations. What would happen ifdisaster struck? How will the countrydeal with the destruction of educationsystems, infrastructure and programmes,and the trauma suffered by children,teachers and families in an emergencysituation?

Education must be a priority inemergency situations, and should beincluded in the first wave of humanitar-ian assistance. Many “emergency” situa-tions last for years, and this should be theassumption at the outset in educationalplanning. Attending school is one of thefirst ways in which traumatized childrencan regain a sense of normalcy and stabil-ity in their lives. School gives shape andcontinuity to the daily lives of children,and can be a “haven of security” for them.It can be used to help maintain culturalidentities, as well as give hope to children.

Informal education and recreationalactivities are as important as academic

learning. They can provide a structureand daily routine for children’s lives,before the educational infrastructure hasbeen rehabilitated. Information aboutlife skills, health, safety, HIV/AIDS, etc.,can be disseminated through informaleducation. In addition, the integration ofchildren affected by conflict, for exampleex-child combatants, children who havelost limbs, and victims of sexual violence,may help them to recover from the effectsof the conflict.

Refugees

It is impossible to have an idea of actualnumbers, but estimates put the numberof IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons)and refugees at about 50 million, whichis close to one per cent of the world’s pop-ulation.

Governments in asylum countriesare required by international law to pro-mote access to education for refugee chil-dren in the country of asylum. In refugeecamps, people often do not wait for inter-national aid, and may begin to improviseschooling within a few weeks of arrival.This is followed, in most cases, by inter-vention on the part of NGOs or the gov-ernment of the asylum country, whichtypically provide materials, and take onleadership roles in the community-basedschools, or in the operation of educationsystems for refugees.1 In Guinea, forexample, teachers from within therefugee populations from Liberia andSierra Leone developed a curriculum andstarted a school programme themselves.After receiving aid from UNHCR and theInternational Rescue Committee, thenumber of students rose to over 75,000.2

In spite of the availability of educa-tion in the camps, many children inrefugee camps do not have access to it.Some may actually be closer to schools

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1. UNESCO: Education in Situations of Emergency and Crisis, 2001.

2. Machel Report, ch. 8.

than they were in their homes, but thereare many barriers that limit access, someof which are the same as those faced bychildren in their homes: ■ There may be cultural practices that

limit girls’ enrolment. At home andin the refugee camps, girls may beexpected to take on responsibility foryounger siblings, or help out at homein other ways.

■ The schooling itself is potentially ofpoor quality, and may only be avail-able for the youngest children.

■ The host government may be reluc-tant to allow the immediate estab-lishment of education programmes,for fear that refugee families maythus be encouraged to remain in thecountry.

Curriculum, certification, and the use of“refugee” teachers, pose specific prob-lems. If the curriculum is not that of thehome country, it may not be relevant forthe children, and they may have troublefitting back into their own education sys-tem later on. “Education for repatriation”means that the curriculum is the homecountry curriculum. In cases where the“emergency” is expected to continue foryears, as is often the case, education sys-tems may be set up to “face both ways”by, for example, including the languageof the host country in its curriculum, sostudents may continue beyond the basicschooling provided in refugee camps, andby attending public host country schools.The certification of studies is problematicas well. Will the child be certificated bythe home or the host country? The issueof teachers can pose problems as well.Many camps use refugee teachers,whereby educated refugees take onteaching roles. This calls for intensive in-service training, as many were nottrained as teachers, and they need to besensitized to the psycho-social aspects ofteaching traumatized children.

In emergency situations, the issue ofgirls’ education requires special atten-

tion. Many of the barriers that existed athome exist in emergencies as well – homeduties, no money, withdrawal from schoolat puberty, etc. Strategies must be devel-oped to encourage girls’ participation inschooling in refugee camps, (thoughthese can also be applied in home countrysituations).

Internally Displaced Persons

Children in crisis areas in their own coun-tries face different barriers to education.In such cases, responsibility for schoolingremains with national and local educationauthorities, which may be functioningpoorly, or not at all. The children maylack proper identification documents toenrol in government schools, may beunable to afford the costs of attending, ormay not be considered residents of thearea. For countries or regions in chronicconflict, the problem is compounded.

There have been efforts by govern-ments and the international communityto maintain children’s access to schoolingin conflict situations. In Sudan, Opera-tion Lifeline Sudan, in southern Sudan,supported by various agencies, under theleadership of UNICEF, tried to ensure asupply of educational materials, pre-pared teachers’ guides, and assisted inteacher training. The World Food Pro-gramme (WFP) has helped to maintaineducation systems in emergency situa-tions. In Mozambique, for example, aschool-feeding programme, mostly inboarding schools, ensured that at least aminimum of education was maintainedduring the period of emergency and conflict. In the Sudan, the WFP has provided communities, especially thewomen, with emergency food aid duringthe rehabilitation of schools damaged by floods.

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Early Childhood DevelopmentProgrammes in Emergency Situations

When young children have been dis-placed and traumatized, either by natu-ral or man-made disasters, they needspecial support to deal with their trau-mas, either endured or witnessed. Par-ents in such situations are usuallyunable to provide the care, emotionalsupport, and attention that would other-wise be given. Children do better inschool when they have received appropri-ate stimulation to their cognitive andpsychosocial development. Early child-hood development programmes tend tobenefit older girls, by freeing them fromchildcare duties so they can go to school.This is true in non-emergency situationsas well, but it is even more critical whenconflict, and/or displacement, have dis-rupted extended family structures. Suchprogrammes also allow nutrition andhealth programmes to reach the veryyoung child, and can promote tolerance,cooperation and an understanding ofpeace.

Communities have tended torespond favourably to early childhoodinitiatives made by NGOs, but needtraining and start-up materials, so thatparents can organize and sustain earlychildhood programmes, when externalsupport is withdrawn or reduced.

Adolescents

In many conflict situations young girlsand boys have been used as soldiers, orcarry out various tasks related to theconflict. Others have been physically ormentally maimed by conflict or disasters.These young people would have lostopportunities for education and training,and therefore the potential to earn a rea-sonable livelihood. In such situationsyoung people are vulnerable, becomingprime targets for prostitution, or greaterexposure to the risks of HIV/AIDS. For

drug dealers, these young victims mayalso see the drug trade as a way out ofpoverty, despite the risk of being caughtand sent to prison.

A programme for poverty eradica-tion must quickly identify these children,and organize support groups for themamong the community members in theirrespective communities. The objectivewould be to reorient their minds towardsworking to help themselves, and to rec-oncile the injustices that they might haveexperienced. In this context the Min-istries of Agriculture, Education, Youthand Sports and Social Welfare, shouldidentify the respective communities, andprovide a convergence of services for providing support for the affected youngpeople.

IV.3 Girls’ Education

PROMOTING the education of girls can make a significant contribu-tion to the eradication of poverty.

Two thirds of the poorest people arewomen and their children, and twothirds of children not in school are girls.Increasing the participation of girls ineducation systems can bring gains in eco-nomic development, community health,and national welfare. The more educa-tion a girl receives, the more productiveshe is, the better her health, and the bet-ter equipped she is to participate in theeconomy and in society. Girls who are noteducated grow up to be women who lackthe skills and education to break out ofthe poverty cycle.

Girls are denied access to educationbecause of discriminatory policies, cul-tural suppression, and family situations.To increase the number of girls going toschool:■ Education policies need to be

designed to be more sensitive to theneeds of girls.

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■ Laws must be enacted to protectgirl’s rights to education, e.g. lawsstating that girls cannot be expelledfrom school if they become pregnant,or that they cannot be forced intomarriage.

■ There is a need to create awarenessin teachers and teacher trainersabout policies concerning girls’ edu-cation. The awareness programmescould take the form of seminars,workshops, or refresher courses.

■ Teachers who abuse their authority,and engage in sexual relations withstudents, must be disciplined. Thiscannot be allowed.

■ In many families, girls are expectedto help their mothers in the home,running errands or caring foryounger siblings. The creation ofmore early childhood education pro-grammes would free girls, youngmothers and young carers, to attendschool.

■ There are sometimes cultural prac-tices that keep girls out of school, orthat place less value on their educa-tion than on that of boys. Awarenesscampaigns and advocacy pro-grammes, such as those started byFAWE (The Forum for AfricanWomen Educationalists), targeted atpolicy makers, communities, and themedia, can help increase the partici-pation rates of girls.

■ Financial aid policies need to targetwomen, or even the girls themselves,as, for example, in Bangladesh. Thisis the best way to ensure that themoney actually gets to the girlsthemselves. Education can reachmore girls if the education sector col-laborates with women. If a woman iseducated herself, she is more likelyto value education for her daughters.

Girls must be given priority in aware-ness-raising campaigns. There is a needto change the perceptions of girls

towards sciences, technology and mathe-matics. Ghana has established pro-grammes that expose girls to technology,and encourage them to opt for sciencecourses in higher education. Those whodo not make it to university attendcamps, where they learn about these sub-jects.

IV.4 The school as a source of essential information

SC H O O L S can become the hub of a community. They can be used as centres of essential information

for the community as a whole, and notjust for children. There should be inter-action between the education system andthe community. Education systems needan enabling environment if they are to besustained. The introduction of librariesor reading kiosks, which can be used bystudents as well as other communitymembers, help to create such a learningenvironment. The school can be used as acommunity centre, to be used not only foracademic learning, but also as a place forcommunity activities and meetings, andextra-curricular activities for children. Itcould take on specific projects concerningrelevant issues such as health, nutritionor childcare. Primary school education,as well as that of adults and literacyclasses, should explore these basic issuesso as to make the content relevant andimmediately useful for learners.

There is a need to develop effectivecommunication strategies if informationis to reach its target audience. For exam-ple, it is usually the men who attendmeetings, while the women stay at home.If the purpose of the meeting is to explainthe importance of boiling drinking water,and this is a task carried out by women,telling the men might be to address thewrong audience.

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IV.5 Linkages and coordination

PO V E R T Y eradication involves many sectors, including agricul-ture, health, youth services and

child welfare, in addition to education.Development and poverty eradicationrequire coordinated action among thevarious sector ministries, and NGOs,religious groups, the private sector,regional and national governments, andthe poor themselves. Coordinationamong such a large number of differentgroups is an enormous task, but is essen-tial for the efficient use of resources andsustainable development.

Cooperation among relevant min-istries within countries is needed. TheMinistry of Education must work along-side other ministries in the fight againstpoverty. Efficiency is greatly improved ifthere is a central route for information toget to a community. Rather than settingup different programmes and methods ofdissemination, information from otherministries, such as Agriculture, Cultureor Health, can be disseminated throughthe education system. For example, newfarming techniques could be included inthe curriculum in a farming community.Local musicians, traditional craftsmenand women, or storytellers, can come toschools and promote the local culture.

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CU LT U R A L traditions and prac-tices are significant to all people,but particularly to the poor, as

their abilities are largely sociocultural,and they must rely on their own humancapital as a means of escaping poverty.The poor do have positive values, experi-ences and talents, but these are notalways those that are recognized, andpromoted, in the education system orwider society. They are often theguardians of traditional skills and cul-tural practices, which have been passedfrom generation to generation, and per-fected along the way. Yet they have hadfew opportunities to make these skillseconomically viable.

Education should be a proactiveforce for change, and should prepare poorchildren for the world at large, while atthe same time improving their lives intheir communities. How can the educa-tion system do this? How can it becomemore effective in reaching the poorestchildren, and promoting their success?Part of the solution is to take culturaltraditions into account when designingeducation policies. Studies by the Inter-American Foundation, Cultural Sur-vival, and other organizations haveshown that legitimizing, and supportingthe culture and heritage of poor andmarginalized groups, can lead toimprovements in self-esteem, and inhelping communities to reorganize them-

selves to improve their livelihoods. V.1 What is culture?

FI R S T , we must decide what we mean by cultural traditions and practices. Culture, as defined by

UNESCO and the World Commission onCulture and Development in its 1995report, Our Creative Diversity, is: thewhole complex of distinctive spiritual,material, intellectual, and emotional fea-tures that characterize a society or socialgroup. It includes creative expression(e.g. oral history, language, literature,performing arts, fine arts and crafts),community practices (e.g. traditionalhealing methods, traditional medicines,traditional natural resource manage-ment, celebrations, and patterns of socialinteraction that contribute to group andindividual welfare and identity), andmaterial or constructed forms, such assites, buildings, historic city centres,landscapes, art,and objects.

V.2 Options including culturaltraditions and practices in education

PA R T I C I PA N T S in the Interna-tional Workshop on Poverty Eradication suggested that coun-

tries should address the needs of society,in general, while reaching the poor. Theynoted that reaching the poorest groupsrequires greater flexibility in the provi-

Chapter VCultural traditions and practices: increasing the potential for poverty eradication

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sion of education. The solidarity of thecommunity should be emphasized, andeducation should help community mem-bers learn to identify problems in theircommunities and find possible solutions.They should be equipped to worktogether to bring about change.

Participants highlighted the advan-tages of such methods, and also identi-fied the disadvantages and challenges toimplementation. More activities are opento pupils who are actively involved in thetraditional crafts of villages, for examplepaper making in India, fabric dyeing inNigeria, or fabric weaving in Ghana.Such skills can form an integral part ofthe education programme, with commu-nity members providing much of theskills training. The school’s programmecan be oriented towards traditional skillstraining and wealth generation. The rel-evance of education can be increased bydiversifying the contents of the curricu-lum, to include more relevant culturaland economic issues, and by making it more flexible, perhaps by using the community language. More informalmethods of learning also permit the integration of education, training andpractice, as the Mali experience demon-strates.

One challenge is that of capturingthe political will of national and commu-nity leaders, to make the changes that would benefit the poorest children.Another is that of mobilizing com-munities. Poverty may have becomeentrenched in their mind-sets. Maintain-ing production standards, and being ableto market the products, are always chal-lenges for poor communities.

The participants listed the steps theyconsidered necessary for poor people tobenefit from their cultural skills:1. Undertake feasibility studies and

action research on community skillsthat could be integrated in the provi-sion of education.

2. Review and analyse appropriateexperiences.

3. Prioritize the needs of the poorestchildren, and identify strategies forhelping to meet those needs.

4. Develop an overall national plan ofaction.

5. Develop short, medium, and long-term strategies.

6. Evaluate the cost of proposedactions, and identify sources of fund-ing and other resources in the envi-ronment – local, national, NGOs,etc.

7. Consider the different implementa-tion strategies, and make a choice.

8. Monitor, evaluate and give feedbackto the programme design, to ensurethat the poorest children are pro-vided with an education that willimprove their lives.

New curriculum trends leave a portion ofthe curriculum to be developed locally,which opens avenues for local potentialto be incorporated into the school pro-gramme. Hence, in a village where theeconomic activity is fabric weaving, theschool can include designing, colour com-binations, making the loom, origin of thematerials, costing, investment and mar-keting, as part of the school programme.Such an approach on the part of theschool could strengthen the participationof the community, particularly in ensur-ing that all girls and boys go to school.

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MO N I T O R I N G can be thought ofas “tracking progress and fol-lowing up on plans, goals and

activities based on agreed upon indica-tors and benchmarks.” Until recentlyhowever, there has not been a strongfocus on monitoring interventions. Weoften do not know the level of success of aprogramme, or even if it is reaching theright population groups. It is thus diffi-cult to know if money has been used effi-ciently, or if the intervention producedthe desired results, or any result at all.

A number of factors should be con-sidered throughout the monitoring pro-cess - including identification of thetarget population, identification of abaseline from which to compare results,how the programme is managed, theresources used, and who should beinvolved in monitoring, and at what level.

VI.1 Monitoring investments

IN order to know if an interventionhas produced results, there must bea baseline from which to make com-

parisons. Participants at the Interna-tional Workshop on Education andPoverty Eradication included a baselinesurvey, as a strategy option for countrieswishing to create an effective monitoringsystem for poverty eradication pro-grammes. They indicated that such a

survey should: ■ be participatory;■ identify existing structures and

opportunities at country, region orcommunity level, e.g. number ofschools, location, geographic disper-sion and coverage among poor communities, and the number ofchildren enrolled;

■ provide information on the number,location and distribution of healthfacilities;

■ look at the availability of cleanwater and food sources for the poor-est children;

■ consider the environment and sani-tary conditions in the places wherethe poorest children live.

The participants next raised a number ofissues to consider in the monitoring pro-cess, including1. Where are these children? Are they

urban or rural? Where in the coun-try are they located? What are theirnames?

2. How is the children’s programme/intervention being managed?

3. Who is responsible for children’s pro-grammes in this area?

4. Are the programmes sustainable?What are some of the sustainabilitymechanisms?

5. What progress or achievements hasthe programme made so far? Hasthere been a positive or negative

Chapter VIMonitoring interventions

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impact?6. What challenges are being faced in

the implementation process, or bythe children themselves, as they tryto access the programme?

7. How relevant is the programme tochildren’s needs?

8. Are there adequate resources avail-able in the communities where thepoorest children live?

9. Is there a public commitment toassist the children?

These are all important considerations.Any programme aimed at poor communi-ties must be accessible to them, or it willfail in its purpose. If there is a problemrelated to implementation or access, theprogramme manager must be flexibleand allow for changes to be made. Rele-vance is also of key importance, as chil-dren and families will choose not toparticipate if they cannot see how theprogramme will benefit them. And even ifa programme is well designed, relevantand accessible, if there are insufficientresources available to sustain it (as isoften the case), it will fall apart and thebenefits will be lost.

VI.2 Who should be involved?

PARENTS , teachers, and leaders inthe community itself, must beparticipants in the monitoring

process. They know the situation best,and are well placed to assess any results.This may be complemented by involvingNGOs, other groups and organizations,regional or county councils, and otheradministrative units. In Uganda, forexample, monitoring starts at what isknown as LC1, the Village Council andcontinues with LC2, the Parish Council,LC3, the sub-County Council, and whennecessary, LC4, the County Council.Independent monitors or interest groups,which may not be providing any support

for the exercise, but who wish to beinvolved, may also be a part of the pro-cess. Professionals and experts who haveexperience working with children, and/orwith surveys and monitoring strategies,should be involved as well.

VI.3 Country Examples

i) Malawi

The government of Malawi has set up aPoverty Monitoring Unit, to track andfollow up on poverty trends. It set up asteering committee to link the Ministryof Education with sectorial ministries,for example, Agriculture and Health andNGOs. Various poverty studies were car-ried out in the year 2000, which high-lighted a number of problems in themonitoring process, including:■ Poor coordination■ Lack of sustainability, especially for

the school feeding programme■ Poor focus ■ Limited impact■ Exclusion of marginalized groups■ Lack of a basic definition of who the

poor are

The government, in an effort to provideclearer, more accurate monitoring mech-anisms, and to empower the districts,has decentralized the monitoring processto the district level. A monitoring exer-cise based on sample districts, withhouseholds as units, was carried out. Atfirst, only the national team was givenresponsibility. In the spirit of decentral-ization, however, the district teams werethen integrated, and the national team’srole confined to logistics, supervision,and the coordination of activities.

To encourage more children to stayin school, the government has also begunto identify the poorest children at thehousehold level, and provide incentivesfor them to stay in school for at least 18

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days a month. With respect to monitoring, the fol-

lowing questions were raised by theworkshop:■ At what place/level is monitoring

ideal: district, regional, national, vil-lage level?

■ When, and how often, should moni-toring exercises be carried out? InMalawi, monitoring is undertakenevery six months, although thereports are often late.

■ How to develop a tool that the peoplethemselves would use to monitor?

■ What areas should the monitoringexercise cover? It should be anembracing approach, involving thebeneficiaries and should cover allaspects of the programme.

■ Stakeholders’ assessments are nec-essary

ii) Uganda: A Grading Matrix

P. K. Kayiso, a consultant, developed agrading matrix to help monitor povertylevels in Uganda. The Poverty GradingMatrix can be a useful tool in rankinghouseholds, administrative regions andregional areas with respect to povertylevels. It was developed using an array ofweighted variables: ■ illiteracy rate■ lack of access to safe water■ lack of access to health care■ per capita GDP expenditure■ Human Poverty Index (HPI)■ household size (at district level)■ dependency ratio (at district level).

Each variable was assigned a distinctscore out of ten, and the total score wasthen compared to a “cut-off” value, belowwhich a district is classified as poor. This

poverty line may be set lower to deter-mine the core poor, or the poorest of thepoor.

The consultant noted that bettervariables may be available in rankinglevels of poverty and primary education.However, given the weaknesses of vari-ables, such as primary school enrolmentrates, which may be inflated, out-of-date,or otherwise unreliable, the above vari-ables were the only ones that could beconsidered at the time. It was also notedthat heads of households are often notforthcoming with information, especiallyregarding sexually transmitted diseases.

The next step in the process involvedtransferring the information from thematrix on to a poverty incidence map. Inthis way, the results are more simply andclearly displayed.

The Poverty Grading Matrix (PGM)model can be very useful in the monitor-ing process. It does not use regressioncoefficients, is clear, and can be easilyunderstood by a layman. It providesobjective assessments of the degree ofpoverty in different districts, and couldbe used by agencies to focus interven-tions on the areas most in need. It mustbe emphasized, however, that the type ofvariables used has a strong influence onthe ranking of districts with respect topoverty levels. The PGM includes vari-ables, such as dependency ratio andhousehold size, which are not included inall models, but which researchers haveidentified as important in the determina-tion of poverty levels.

The model is the initial step towardsa monitoring of the interventions, andidentification of the children who arebeing reached with assistance from vari-ous sources of help, including govern-ment contributions.

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VII.1 Looking ahead

Aforward-looking approach to poverty eradication must recog-nize the central role of educa-

tion, while promoting the need for eco-nomic growth. Poor groups should not bethe objects of programmes, but should beactively engaged in the process of povertyeradication, so that the outcomes addresstheir real needs.1

Undoubtedly education is an impor-tant key for breaking the poverty cycle,and releasing the potential of childreneverywhere. It permits the preparationof individuals to enter the labour market,and adapt to its frequent changes. It alsohas the potential for decreasing incomeinequality, that is a constant source ofdisaffection, and sometimes conflict anddestabilization. It influences health, aseducated parents tend to take better careof their own health and that of their chil-dren, with positive influences on theircommunities, their societies and theircountries. Further, education contributesto the establishment of stable and peace-ful societies, permits people to dischargetheir responsibilities as citizens, and par-ticipate more actively and effectively inthe management of the affairs of theircountries.

In this period of global awareness,when individual development is regarded

as a human right, then there is an over-riding need for macroeconomic progressto have an impact at the microlevel. Oth-erwise the plight of the poorest childrenmay remain hidden in reports that showsignificant progress in UPE. The benefitsof education are widely recognized, butmany countries have been constrained inimplementing appropriate educationpolicies, because of limited financialresources, trained personnel, and inade-quate management capacity.

Short-term strategies should focuson taking action, so that millions of chil-dren can be helped. This will requirea national movement to mobilize all services that reach the poorest people,religious groups, NGOs, entertainers,ministries of education, youth, sports,social welfare, agriculture, health, par-liamentarians, the business communityand service clubs. In short, an effectiveprogramme for reaching the poorest chil-dren must be led by the Head of State,with a single message that all poor chil-dren must be fed, clothed, housed andeducated.

VII.2 Education as a catalyst for breaking the povertycycle for children

TH E participants at the Interna-tional Workshop concluded thatprogrammes should display the

Chapter VIIFrom short- to long-termdevelopment: improving the effectiveness of education inpoverty eradication

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1. Harriet Nanyonjo, The World Bank.

following characteristics if they are tohave any chance of success.

■ Be accessible –all children should have access to school-ing, and be prepared to learn. For thepoorest children, this means schools intheir geographic area, no school fees, freebooks and no hidden costs. At least onemeal should be provided per day.

■ Be participatory –community involvement must go beyondthe level of financial contribution, andinclude involvement in the planning,management and monitoring of pro-poorprogrammes.

■ Be judicious and expedient in the delivery of social services

■ Be holistic –programmes must cater for the cognitive,affective and the psychomotor domains.Curriculum and teaching methods mustgive consideration to the nature andexperiences of the poorest children. Theschool programme should, in addition tothe core programme, give special atten-tion to:• Cognitive needs• Language development• Wealth generation• Learning by doing• Early stimulation• Social and emotional needs• Confidence building• Social relationships• Emotional support• Managing conflicts• Managing differences• Positive attitudes and values• Preventive education• Psychomotor needs • Enriching skills• Developing new skills• Designing• Research in environmental

resources

■ Be relevant and of good quality

For a poor parent, schooling must have atangible outcome. The skills childrenlearn on the street, or at home, are nec-essary for their survival. Organized edu-cation will need to compete with therelevance of “home” education. Contraryto common beliefs, the poorest andmarginalized groups do value education,but it must make economic sense for fam-ily survival. The challenging question foreducators is “What should constitute rel-evant education for the poorest chil-dren?” The simple answer is “educationthat helps them out of poverty”. Educa-tion planners must be prepared to doresearch into the children’s background,and tailor their programmes according tosurvival needs. National curriculashould be sensitive to these needs. Asmentioned before, this can be achievedby addressing specific poverty issues,linking the content of education to theculture of the beneficiaries, and incomegenerating projects or programmes inthe geographical area. There should alsobe a greater link between schooling andthe world of work. Employers can play apositive role in helping the poorest chil-dren to enter the work place.

■ Be flexible

It seems impossible to imagine that aneducation system catering for millions ofchildren can be flexible enough to meetthe needs of small groups of childrenwithin poor population groups, but it canbe done. One of the main drawbacks ineducational planning for the poorest chil-dren is that the children are not identi-fied and, therefore, the plans do notnecessarily respond to their needs. TheNGOs set a better example by identifyingthe needs of the children, and workingwith them in their geographical areas.Nonetheless, the NGO programmes aregenerally small, and sometimes of uncer-

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tain quality. However, governments,jointly with NGOs and communities,could provide more flexibility in the edu-cation system, so that it provides rele-vant educational content.

■ Stimulate commitment among educators and teachers

Teachers should be trained to teach allchildren. At the same time, the teacherhas a social responsibility for a poorchild. Planning to reach the poorest chil-dren can be an invaluable exercise, but inreality implementation is, of course,problematic. It is unlikely that teachers,who themselves are underpaid, can beexpected to make extra efforts to ensurethat all children within their communi-ties fully exercise their right to an educa-tion. Governments must provide incen-tive schemes for teachers who are willingto work in the poorest areas, and showgood results.

Nevertheless, teachers can be trained inthe following areas, among others, inhow to:• Be perceptive of children in difficul-

ties• Provide emotional security for the

poorest children• Integrate children into the class, so

that they care for each other• Show genuine interest in the atten-

dance and participation of childrenin school

• Be resourceful and establish part-nerships within a community

• Adapt the curriculum to the experi-ences of the children

• Draw on children’s life experiencesto explain curriculum concepts

• Carry out remedial activities toensure consistent achievement

• Test and measure learning • Overcome barriers to the active par-

ticipation of the poorest child in theclass

• Assist the poorest girls to be suc-cessful in school

• Motivate children for lifelong learn-ing

• Help children to create wealth andutilize opportunities for progress

• Help children to understand themost critical health issues, and beable to protect themselves

VII.3 Lessons learned

IN all countries pilot programmes canbe found from which to draw lessons.However, there seems to be a gap in

knowledge sharing, and an even greatergap in incorporating the experiencesgained, into the national educationalreform programme. Coordination of ini-tiatives to assist poor children would con-tribute to knowledge sharing, andfacilitate wider implementation of suc-cessful experiences.

VII.4 Linkages with financingpartners for education

Agovernment is responsible for poverty eradication measures, although its financial partners

play a key role in ensuring the availabil-ity of resources. Cooperation, not compe-tition, should be a prime objective amongthe financing partners contributing topoverty eradication. No such partnerhas, on its own, the capacity to imple-ment programmes on the scale needed. Itis through the coordination of the effortsthat donors can achieve the scale ofimplementation necessary for most pro-grammes to be effective. The financingpartners also need to communicate, andwork with, local interest groups and com-munity organizations, and make use oflocal knowledge and expertise in devel-oping the policy direction for the respec-tive agencies. Communities themselves

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have a wealth of information aboutpoverty. The poor can tell us what theyneed, and how programmes can be orga-nized and implemented best to reachthem.

Decentralization

The decentralization of educational plan-ning and management to the communityis important in the poverty eradicationprocess. A single, national education pol-icy cannot be applied in every communitywith equal levels of success. Needs aredifferent in different areas, and thenational government cannot be expectedto know what is needed in each commu-nity, nor can we expect accurate identifi-cation of who, and where, the poorest

children are at a national level. This ismore accurately done locally.

Decentralization permits communi-ties to take a leading role in the basiceducation of their children. It permitsthem to be active participants in the cur-riculum planning process, giving voice tothe learning needs of all children, includ-ing the poorest. This is one of the condi-tions for success - communities must bean integral part of the education plan-ning process.

Care must be taken, however, thatcontrol is not lost on the way down. Ifauthority has been decentralized, it willbe necessary to ensure effective commu-nication and the needed capabilitiesamong the different levels of govern-ment.

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PO V E R T Y eradication has been onthe international agenda formany years now, and a number of

countries have made achievements inthis direction. Many have designed goodstrategies on paper, through such mecha-nisms as PRSPs and ESIP (EducationSector Investment Plan), and this is astep in the right direction, but societiesand governments must be willing tomake real changes. What is missing inmany cases is not the planning or theresources, but a real commitment to act.

Abject poverty can be eradicated, ifan enabling environment for learning isput in place. The poverty cycle can bebroken, and the way is through educa-tion. To break the cycle, we must provideeducation for the poorest children. It willbe necessary to generate new knowledgeabout the children - where to find them,their characteristics and their needs - sothat educational policies, plans and pro-gramme implementation can be betterinformed.

Teacher training, and considerationof local cultural practices and traditions,

can help improve the effectiveness ofeducation in poverty eradication, bymaking school more relevant to poor chil-dren. The education system needs to rec-ognize the value of traditional culture,and be flexible enough to allow teachersto adapt the curriculum to the local com-munity. Teachers need to be aware of thepower in their hands to help improve thewell-being of the poorest children.

There is a need for more focusedefforts by the donor community. Variousorganizations with the same goals mustwork together, to enable programmes tobe instituted on a sufficiently large scale.There is also a need for the improvedmonitoring of investments. Governmentsand partners must ensure that most ofthe investments intended for the poorestchildren reach them, and are notabsorbed by a large administrativeinfrastructure.

There must be a willingness on thepart of the poor to help themselves. Poorpeople, especially women and girls, mustbe empowered to recognize, and act on,the possibilities for change. They must begiven the tools necessary to help them-

Conclusions

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