A Situational Analysis - UNESCO Bangkok

Urbanization in South-East Asia
South-East Asian cities are growing rapidly as young
people migrate in search of a better education and
jobs. Manila, Bangkok and Jakarta are now among
the largest cities in the world. Overpopulation, crime,
unemployment, homelessness and pollution are
common in such urban centres. Effective governance
at the local level to improve urban services, stimulate
private sector investments and increase community
participation is essential to improve the quality of
life in the sub-region’s urban cores.
Most South-East Asian cities face an acute shortage
of safe drinking water and poor sanitation services.
This has led to persistently high incidences of infant
and child mortality in the secondary cities of the
sub-region. Industrial pollution is also an urban
issue, as a large percentage of industrial waste in
South-East Asia, including hazardous chemicals, are
discharged without treatment. This waste directly
affects the mainly poor residents who are living near
factories. Many urban waste disposal systems are
also inadequate. Disposal of untreated wastewater
spreads water-borne diseases and damages marine
and aquatic life.
evergreen rainforests to peat and mangrove
forests in coastal areas. By 2000, nearly half of the
forests in South-East Asia had been destroyed
by legal and illegal logging. Land clearance for
animal husbandry and subsistence farming also
contributed to this destruction. In 2004, the
dangerous consequences of this deforestation
were clearly demonstrated by the mudslides in
the Philippines. Further, the loss of mangrove
forests - both as a natural buffer and as the
critical breeding ground for coastal marine
resources - exacerbated damage caused by the
recent Indian Ocean earthquake and subsequent
tsunami.
Awareness and Perceptions of ESD
ESD has become a pre-eminent challenge of
the 21 st Century for South-East Asian countries.
The concept of educating for sustainability
has increasingly been adopted in government
ministries, schools and communities. Both
learners and educators must search for new ways
of thinking to creatively address the complexity
of sustainable development. Although a large
body of EE literature and projects has been
generated over the last few decades, ESD
practices in formal education are only a recent
phenomenon in South-East Asia.
Core Issues of ESD
Both history and recent demographic, economic and cultural changes in the sub-region
have profoundly influenced the role and development of the countries’ education systems.
The use of local languages in formal education systems is a relatively recent phenomenon
in much of South-East Asia. The view that education is a basic human need that is integral
to quality of life, a support for moral and social values, and an instrument for economic
growth and productivity is also a relatively new concept.
The first level of basic education in South-East Asian countries is primary education that
lasts about 5-6 years. Secondary education is often divided into two levels, and higher
education varies widely in terms of subjects and course duration offered. Generally, high
levels of economic development are associated with high levels of education enrollment.
In more developed countries such as Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Thailand,
the Philippines, Indonesia and Viet Nam, primary education has become nearly universal,
and the expansion of secondary education has been marked. However, the net enrollment
rates in primary school appear to be low in less-developed countries such as Myanmar,
Cambodia, Lao PDR and Timor Leste. In most countries, substantial improvement in adult
literacy among both males and females has been observed over the last decade. An
emerging concern within the sub-region has been the quality of education.
32