EFA Goal 1: Early childhood care and education; Asia ... - Unicef

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Issues surrounding
the EFA Goal 1 in the region
at the time of Dakar 2000:
Scope and challenges
3.1 Scope of the goal
Although no specific, measurable targets for any of the six goals were set at the global level,
the wording of Goal 1 attempts to provide three directions for ECCE policy in countries: i) the
word ‘expanding’ indicates expansion of access, number and types of services and availability of
resources for ECCE to all children, regardless of their geographical location, sex, health or nutritional
status, disabilities or any discriminatory criteria; ii) ‘improving comprehensive ECCE’ refers to the
quality of existing and new programmes and services; iii) ‘especially for the most vulnerable and
disadvantaged’ refers to the issue of equity and ensuring that all children, including and especially
those children who are living in disadvantaged circumstances, are specifically addressed.
In many countries in the Asia-Pacific region as well as beyond, there is a misconception that ECCE
refers only to pre-school or pre-primary education. As noted, ECCE covers (and should address) the
whole period from birth up to 8 years of age. Pre-school or pre-primary education can be a major
portion of ECCE, but the concept of ECCE is broader than that and also addresses the issues specific
to children younger than 3 years as well as the transitional period into a formal primary school
system. Thus, in a quality ECCE programme, ‘care’ encapsulates health, nutrition, hygiene, affection,
protection, safety and psychosocial support and ‘education’ goes beyond being just “downward
extensions of a formal school system” (UNESCO, 2000) to the provision of opportunities to facilitate
learning and to guide the process of acquiring new skills, knowledge and values.
Asia-Pacific End of Decade Notes on Education for All
The Dakar Framework for Action contains numerous commitments and strategies to which several
governments are signatories. Particularly noteworthy is the call for all States to develop or strengthen
existing national plans of action by 2002 at the latest. In this framework, emphasis was placed on
involving community leaders, parents, learners, non-government organizations (NGOs) and civil
society.
An unparalleled set of analyses, based on several indicators and measures that took stock of progress
towards the EFA goals since Jomtien in 1990 were presented during the World Forum in Dakar. The
EFA 2000 Assessment showed that some progress had been achieved, reaffirming the belief that
education for all is a realistic and achievable goal. The report also included candid acknowledgment
that progress on ECCE had been uneven and far too slow.
Specifically, the EFA 2000 Assessment noted:
Of the more than 800 million children younger than 6 years, less than a third benefit from any
form of early childhood education.
Some 113 million children, 60 per cent of whom are girls, have no access to primary schooling.
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