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

At that time, these figures were seen as representing an affront to human dignity and denial of the
basic right to education. They were viewed as major obstacles to eliminating poverty and attaining
sustainable development and were deemed “clearly unacceptable” (UNESCO, 2000).
In an atmosphere of commitment towards education for all and recognition that such education
cannot be achieved without investing in very young children, the Dakar Framework for Action set
out several recommendations for expanding ECCE coverage. Chief among them were a call for
strengthening existing national plans of action, commitment to gender equity, political will and
leadership, increased international support (particularly for countries in transition) conflict or post
conflict and the establishment and strengthening of national EFA forums.
Specific strategies were included in points 30 and 31 in the Expanded Commentary 1 on the Dakar
Framework for Action. Point 30 emphasizes comprehensive, holistic programmes in children’s
mother tongue language; it also reiterates the need for child-centred programming that is supported
by multiple sectors. Point 31 places the responsibility for focused and planned ECCE programmes
within national EFA plans.
3.2 Progress and overview of trends in ECCE in
the Asia-Pacific region
Now ten years on, how have those recommendations, strategies and other ambitions played out?
How many more young children, particularly those in vulnerable and disadvantaged communities,
have access to quality ECCE programmes? How has the delivery evolved – how are existing centrebased
and family-based programmes functioning? Are existing programmes comprehensive,
inclusive of families and communities and supported by multiple sectors and ministries? Are
partnerships with parents and families based on an understanding and analyses of practices and
established indicators? What budgets have been allocated for ECCE? Who is responsible for ECCE at
the national and subnational levels? Are there new or additional provisions for children up to age 3
years?
As already noted, there is limited quantitative data available regarding children from birth to 3
years of age in the region, while information on pre-school-aged children, typically 3–5 years old,
is becoming much more available. Information on children younger than 3 years largely relates to
non-education issues, such as health and nutrition. The review for this end-of-decade analysis is
thus constrained by the greater availability of data on children aged 3–8 years. More critically, the
dearth of data on children from birth to 3 years of age is a glaring gap for policy development and
planning purposes.
The Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2011 (UNESCO, 2011) describes global trends in progress
towards Goal 1. According to the report, progress on both the care and education dimensions in
the Asia-Pacific region is mixed. The mortality rates among children younger than 5 years continue
to soar in some parts of the region. Gross enrolment ratios in pre-primary education, however,
continue to rise across the region.
Monitoring and progress reports from the region indicate that, overall, gross enrolment ratios (GER)
in pre-primary education increased in all subregions and in most countries between 2000 and 2009
(figure 2). Worldwide, gross enrolment ratios increased by 12 per cent over the same period, and
among the Asia-Pacific subregions, the greatest gains were in South and West Asia (22 per cent
increase).
EFA Goal 1: Early Childhood Care and Education
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1 See http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/wef_2000/expanded_com_eng.shtml