Regional Report for South Asia

Global Advisory Committee Meeting, Kampala, 7-11 May, 2012

  1. Introduction

This report covers the activities of 2011, and aligns itself with the UNGEI Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. Three key outcomes are addressed in the Framework: (a) Policy Frameworks; (b) Best Practices, and (c) Effective Partnerships. The report summarizes the achievements and challenges at the country/regional level organized and framed according to the outcomes, outputs and indicators contained in the framework as relevant. Given space restrictions, contents of the report are summarized and often presented in bullet point. Further details are available upon request.

  1. Regional Overview

South Asia continues to be challenged by rising conflict, natural disaster, security issues, and political instability. At the same time, there is progress in all countries in enrollment and attendance in basic education.An estimated 46 million children who should be in primary and lower secondary schools are out of school in the region(draft South Asia regional report, Out of School Children Initiative, UNICEF-UIS). Over half of them are girls. Disparities based on family income, geographic location and gender keep children out of school throughout the region. The gender parity index favours girls over boys in most primary and lower secondary schools, except in Bangladesh and Bhutans.

  1. Achievements and challenges around the key outcomes at regional level

Outcome 1: National level policy frameworks promote girls’ education and gender equality

Progress

  • Afghanistan: The curriculum framework was revised. This activity was preceded by a gender assessment of the present curriculum
  • India: A draft Framework for Girl’s Educationfilled a key knowledge gap. The government of India was supported to develop the Framework that was launchedat a national convention on girls’ education
  • Pakistan: Article 25A was passed into legislation, making schooling free and compulsory for children between 5 and 16 years
  • A trend towards greater inter-ministerial convergence is noted between education and ministries/departments that work in school water and sanitation, in an effort to increase girls’ attendance particularly during menstruation through separate, safe and appropriate facilities in schools.

Challenges

  • Delay in passing the Education Act in Nepal, as attention is focused on the constitution writing process and the Act is not seen as a national priority
  • Escalating conflict, rising insecurity and political instability have a direct, negative impact on girls’ enrollment and attendance in schools, and result in delays and postponement of programmes and partnership meetings

Output 1.1 Policy change/New initiatives delivered by UNGEI advocacy efforts at national, regional and international levels:

  • Afghanistan: The country partnership contributed to a more gender-sensitive education interim plan and design of the global partnership for education (GPE).
  • South-South cooperation: A high level regional meeting involving parliamentarians from 7 out of 8 countries was organized by the regional UNGEI and hosted by the government of Nepal. The theme of the meeting was equity and girls education. The consultation concluded with the Kathmandu statement (attached). It is hoped that additional countries will introduce the model, which is currently under implementation in Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan

Output 1.2 Knowledge and information about girls’ education and gender equality in education strengthened by UNGEI related communication strategies:

  • Afghanistan: Thematic radio spots and television dramas based on such as girls’ education, literacy and the role of female teachers were broadcast
  • Bangladesh: The regional training Manual was adapted for nation-wide use
  • Pakistan: Documentation and dissemination of a large number of studies, including gender reviews of textbooks and studies on disparities in education
  • Regional: Study on public private partnerships in Education was completed and disseminated

Output 1.3 Monitoring and evidence-based policy making:

  • All countries use sex-disaggregated data for planning and reporting
  • Gender equality in education seen as a priorityin countries with active partnerships and reflected in national policy documents
  • Afghanistan: Research was conducted on menstrual hygiene management (MHM) and findings presented to partners and MOE.
  • The Nepal partnership participated in the global UNGEI evaluation. Recommendations are under review and in the process of incorporation in the 2012 workplan.
  • Afghanistan and Pakistan: Case studies of good practices in girls’ education were documented
  • Several countries have begun to incorporate data on water and sanitation in schools into education management information systems (EMIS)
  • Pakistan: Parliamentarians in Punjab, through successful advocacy, managed to bring about an increase in the education budget

Outcome 2: Best practices in facilitating girls’ education and gender equality are known and institutionalized

  • A regional consultation of parliamentarians as a follow up to the 2011 consultation is planned for 2012 in Pakistan, at the invitation of parliamentarians who attended the consultation.
  • Separate toilets and sanitation facilities as a strategy to increase attendance particularly for adolescent girls is now recognised in the region. For example, countries like Nepal have invested heavily in girls’ toilets. Separate toilets are a requirement under the right to education act of India. Girls’ education was highlighted by stakeholders in education and water and sanitation in a recent regional meeting held in India from 24-27 April
  • Afghanistan: A scholarship project for girls was introduced in 24 out of 34 provinces

Output 2.1 Good practices are documented and disseminated by UNGEI

  • A South Asia newsletter was produced and disseminated by the regional secretariat and will be a bi-annual feature
  • The process of partnership formation in India will be documented with support from the regional office

Outcome 3: UNGEI facilitates a good partnership for girls’ education

  • Bangladesh:The young champions’ regional training manual was reviewed and adapted for local use. This will form the basis for training additional champions in Bangladesh. A group of young champions will also receive training in managing a successful community radio initiative (chatting with my best friend), under successful implementation in Nepal
  • Pakistan:The young champions’ model is in the process of going to scale through an MOU with girl guides and boy scouts in three provinces
  • Nepal: An MOU with scouts is also planned for national level scalling up in 2012the yioung champion’s model is also India
  • The parliamentarians’ initiative, currently active in three countries of the region, has been described above

Raka Rashid, UNGEI Regional Focal Point for South Asia; Kathmandu, 01 May, 2012

Consultation of Parliamentarians for Equity and Girls’ Education

20-21 September, 2011

Kathmandu Statement

Countries in South Asia have made good progress in the achievement of Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for education. At the same time, this progress has highlighted some of the disparities that continue to exist within countries. Both girls and boys who are out of school are disadvantaged by multiple forms of discrimination and exclusion associated with gender, religion and social status; economic status; geographic location; migration and displacement; stigma including those related to HIV/AIDS; disability, language, race, ethnicity; birth registration status; civil strife, conflict and natural disaster. These inequities in opportunities in quality education need our urgent attention.

We have taken into account some of the challenges and opportunities in basic education of marginalised children, especially girls, which were raised at recent meetings such as: A Collective Commitment on Girls’ Education and Gender Equality (Constituent Assembly Members, Nepal 2008), Dhaka Declaration on EFA (Bangladesh 2009), Dhaka meeting of Parliamentarians (Bangladesh 2010), UNGEI Dakar Declaration (Senegal 2010), the Addis Ababa Declaration (Ethiopia 2010) and the Jomtien Statement (Thailand 2011).

Based on the above, and on our Government’s commitment towards implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Convention on Ending All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), we call for urgent action in the following areas:

  1. Greater Equity in Education

-Collection and analysis of data disaggregated beyond sex to include other forms of exclusion such as income level of families, geographic location, language, HIV status, disability and ethnicity and the sharing of evidence based knowledge in the region

-Innovative practices (e.g. incentives schemes,) involving various sectors, ministries and a diverse set of partners ensuring that these innovations reach and benefit marginalized groups

-Policies and practices that provide a protective environment in schools and ensure education as an integral part of humanitarian response

-Encourage gender sensitive quality education based on activity based, child centric and joyful learning in pre-primary, primary and secondary education that leads to equal opportunities including employment

-Flexible schooling modalities to ensure a second opportunity for out of school children, including girls

-Eliminate discriminative practices such as exclusion of married girls and young mothers in the education system and children without birth certificates

  1. Empowerment of Girls and Women

-Promote and support attitudes among young boys and men regarding gender equality in girls in family setting, community and society at large

-Integration of gender responsive budgeting into overall planning processes and gender audits of curricula, textbooks and school facilities (separate functioning toilets)

-“Zero tolerance” for acts that have a negative effect on education of girls, such as violence, abuse, harassment and “teasing”

-Elimination of traditional harmful practices including child marriage and practices related to menstruation

-Promote technical education for both women and men to ensure inclusive economic development of our countries

  1. Resources

-Enhanced education budgets as per the recommendation of Education for All (EFA) meetings, of 6% of GNP and/or 20% of public expenditure to education[1]

-Monitoring that the trend of public-private partnerships with the civil society and private sector is promoting equity and ensuring increasing opportunities for disadvantaged groups

  1. Supportive Policies

-Enactment of legislation to make basic education free and compulsory for all children

-Review of policies, processes and practices from an equity and gender perspective to maximise benefits and minimise negative impacts on marginalised children during decentralisation/devolution/de-concentration processes

  1. Partnerships at Community, National and Regional Levels – South-South Cooperation

-Working with young people and civil society organisations to help bring about societies based on tolerance, peace, moderation, respect for diversity and non-discrimination

-Greater South-South Cooperation through forming and strengthening country initiatives of Parliamentarians for Equity and Girls’ Education involving governments, civil society and young people

-Involve the media to launch an advocacy campaign and to bring change in our society as well as in behaviour and mind set

-Working with religious leaders to make a positive change for girls throughout society.

We, parliamentarians, representatives from governments, regional bodies, inter-governmental and UN agencies, civil society organisations and young people from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal and Pakistan express our appreciation to the government of Nepal for hosting this high-level Consultation to promote greater equity in education for all children, with a focus on marginalised children and girls.

Kathmandu, 21 September 2011

[1]2010 Addis Ababa Declaration, 2011 Jomtien Statement