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UNICEF global girls' education programme: country
highlights
UNICEF is active throughout the world where the need for improvements
in education is clear and present. As the intent to achieve Education for
All grows in the new millennium, some of UNICEF's work in the crucial area
of girls' education (literacy, communication, rights advocacy, etc.) will
offer significant signposts for the future. Below are up-to-date thumbnail
sketches of successful ongoing initiatives in 63 countries. These efforts
provide a distinct sense of hope in the face of challenges that might
otherwise seem daunting.
A Afghanistan | Algeria | Angola
B
Bangladesh |
Benin | Bhutan |Botswana | Brazil |Burkina Faso
| Burundi
C
Cambodia | Cameroon | Cape Verde | Chad | China | Colombia | Comoros | Cote
d'Ivoire
D Djibouti | Dominican
Republic
E Equador | Egypt | Eritrea | Ethiopia
G
The Gambia | Ghana | Guatemala | Guinea | Guinea
Bissau
I India
J
Jamaica
K
Kenya
M
Madagascar |
Malawi | Mali | Mauritania |
Mauritius |
Mexico | Morocco | Mozambique
N Namibia | Nepal |
Niger
O Oman
P Pakistan | Peru | Philipines
R
Romania
S
Senegal | Somalia | South Africa
| Swaziland
| Sudan | Syria
T Tanzania | Togo | Tunisia
U
Uganda
V Vietnam
Y
Yemen
Z Zambia | Zimbabwe
Afghanistan
Radio programming and home
schooling efforts in specific locations have helped to meet the needs of
girls in an extremely restricted learning environment.
Algeria
The project, Improving Female
Literacy, has benefited 7,600 girls and women in two remote southern
provinces through integrating literacy lessons into income generating
activities. The inclusion of income generating activities helped to gain
male support of the project.
Angola
Mini-escolas is an alternative
school programme run by the Ministry of Education, which has helped to
expand children's access to primary education, especially girls.
Bangladesh
Nearly 700,000 girls in
30,000 schools have entered into the education system through the
Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC), which sponsors an
innovative, community-based, parent/community managed, interactive
educational programme with a teacher/student ratio of 1:33, and a gender
sensitive curriculum and organization.
Benin
A hundred community analyses have
been followed up by partnership contracts, and micro plans with teachers,
parents, village council members, and sub-prefectural committees, which
place emphasis on girls' participation in education. The Girl to Girl
tutoring/mentoring project matches older girls in upper primary with the
younger girls just entering school who are considered at risk of dropping
out.
Bhutan
Social mobilisation activities
with families and communities have raised awareness of the importance of
primary education and the education of girls, which has led to increased
primary school enrolment, including 10 percent more girls and 7 percent
more boys.
Botswana
Sensitization efforts led to
an increase of 600 school spaces for primary school students, including
girls, living in the remote areas. A private public partnership has been
forged in designing and constructing hostels for boarders from three
remote areas.
Brazil
Well coordinated advocacy efforts
against child labour and in support of education have helped to gather
support for working children's right to an education, including girls, and
the development of innovative programmes, such as the 'bolsa escola',
school grant programme. The programme provides for children living in
three areas Bahia, Pernambuco and Western Brazil to receive a monthly
scholarship that is put into an account for their family. It can be drawn
upon only after the child has successfully completed four years of
schooling.
Burkina Faso
Community mobilization
and development efforts have helped to achieve a 50/50 enrolment ratio
between girls and boys in schools located in the project zones. One such
effort is the BISONGO, a child care centre, located next to the school,
where girls drop off their younger siblings making it possible for them to
attend school.
Burundi
Support to local NGOs has
resulted in the promotion of non-formal education for children and youth,
such as in the non-formal Catholic schools called "Yaga Mukama" where 403
teachers have received training in peace education that benefits 300,000
young people, mostly girls from 10 to 15 years of age.
Cambodia
Floating schools for
populations which move their boat homes in accordance with the seasons
have increased access to primary schooling up to Grade 2 for children,
both girls and boys, in these communities. A double shift further
contributes to facilitating girls' participation in education.
Cameroon
Between 1997 and 1998, girls'
enrolment in girls' education project zones increased by 8 percent, and
the drop out rate decreased from 9 percent to 6 percent. Management
training for PTAs and School Management Committees has given the
communities/schools more managerial responsibilities, including running
the Book Bank for the schools. PTAs and School Management Committees
disseminate information on the Convention on the Rights of the Child to
communities and schools. The government adapted the AGEI Fact Sheet
(instrument) to be used as a framework with regard to collecting and
processing data from the AGEI project sites.
An innovation in Cameroon has been the latest development and signature
of a protocol agreement between UNICEF and the Ministries of National
Education, Public Investments, Social Affairs and Women's Condition to
accelerate girls' education. This signals a commitment to including
innovative approaches to basic education and is also influencing
discussions between Government and the World Bank.
Cape Verde
Intersectoral linkages led
to including lessons on hygiene in the curriculum, and bringing water and
sanitation facilities to some schools, recognized as important for keeping
older girls in school.
Chad
The number of girls enrolled in first
grade in schools in the targeted project zones has multiplied by four
between 1997 and 1998. The drop out rate in the same areas decreased from
22 percent in 1997 to 9 percent in 1998. The proportion of qualified
teachers nationally improved between 1996 and 1998 from 49 percent to 54
percent, but less than half of primary school teachers in the project zone
are qualified. At the same time, the number of female teachers in the
project zone increased from 36 in 1996 to 787 in 1998.
China
China's nation-wide focus on
education has resulted in providing education for nearly all girls and
boys, and improving the quality of education.
Colombia
The Escuela Nueva programme
has steadily expanded access to quality education, especially in rural
areas, which promotes the participation of parents and communities in
their children's education, and has been studied and adapted by numerous
other countries implementing community-based schooling.
Comoros
The education programme is
focused on achieving quality education for all children, both girls and
boys, with a special focus on building capacity among teachers, and
involving community members in the education of the children. A visit to
Madagascar helped to inform implementers/decision makers about the DINA
(community contract) approach.
Cote d'Ivoire
A total of 38
Committees on the Promotion of Basic Education (COPEBS) have been formed
in the North and Northeast, which promote girls' education. 180 young
female street vendors have participated in literacy training and income
generating activities.
Djibouti
Radio listeners, especially
girls and women, benefit from educational radio programming promoting the
education and health rights of girls and women, which is aired during
popular listening times.
Dominican
Republic
Altogether 300 teachers have received training on
gender and the elimination of stereotyping that has helped to increase
their gender awareness and improve their interactions with students in the
classroom.
Ecuador
Advocacy campaigns, and training
local leaders and parents on gender issues, and early childhood care and
development are helping to improve parents' relationships with their
children, increase fathers' roles in their children's education, and
develop gender sensitivity and knowledge in families living in
disadvantaged communities.
Egypt
With about 100 Community Schools in
operation and a projection of 200 Community Schools to be established by
the end of Year 2000, the Community Schools Project is on the way to going
to scale. In the northern communities, girls' enrolment has increased from
as low as 30 percent to as high as 70 percent, the attendance rate is
consistently high between 95-100 percent, and high student achievement on
national exams has been recognized. Teacher training has promoted gender
awareness and the use of child centred, interactive methodologies.
Eritrea
Thirteen community based feeder
schools with 4,500 students (35 percent girls) have been established, and
30 female teachers from the ethnic groups in the areas being served have
been trained. Surveys indicate that closer schools and female teachers are
key to help parents overcome safety concerns for their daughters with
regard to attending school.
Ethiopia
Close involvement in the
planning process of the Education Sector Development Programme has caused
girls' education to be infused throughout the several components at all
levels.
Clustering of schools helps increase access to school for girls,
lessening parents' fear of abduction of their daughters for marriage, and
ensuring time for domestic chores. In Bedeno Woreda (district), Oromiya
Region, girls' enrolment has increased from 5 percent 18 percent in five
years, while in the whole region of Oromiya, girls' enrolment has
increased to 29 percent. In the same region, mobile schools for nomadic
populations have been established, which has increased girls' enrolment in
them to 39 percent.
Experimental grade 1 classrooms demonstrate to teachers in three
regions how to improve the quality of the teaching/learning process by
using a child centred/interactive approach that is sensitive to gender
issues, and making use of locally available resources.
The Gambia
A teacher training manual
that is sensitive to gender issues has been worked on with input coming
from a wide range of partners. Scholarships, especially for girls, are
being used as a bridging mechanism in working towards achieving a
sustainable nation-wide school system, especially in the rural areas. A
partnership agreement has been signed up with the FAWE as an innovation to
help reinforce government capacity in girls' education, and sixteen girls'
clubs have been set up with the objective of increasing girls'
participation, building confidence and self esteem, and promoting
completion of and performance in school.
Facts for Life in Mandinka include girls' education as a theme and
hygiene and sanitation have been identified for the development of
parenting education modules. A concrete result from Gambia has been the
identification of the 5,000 most needy girls in Grade 1 and the provision
learning material has been initiated.
Ghana
The MOE has established a Girls'
Education Unit, which is instrumental in helping to implement project
activities, such as training District Girls' Education Officers, producing
the Unit's first newsletter, conducting action research, facilitating
workshops, etc. Childscope, the Child-School-Community Project, located in
Afram Plains is working on achieving equitable and quality education for
both girls and boys through promoting community involvement, developing
teacher capacity and gender awareness, promoting health education, and
networking within the districts and among key partners.
Guatemala
50,000 indigenous girls and
mothers have achieved bilingual literacy through non-formal educational
approaches under the education component of the UNICEF supported
Integrated Basic Services Programme that covers 25 municipalities in seven
departments, and 10 neighbourhoods in Guatemala City.
Guinea
An additional 25 Nafa Centers were
established in 1998 bringing the total to 89, which provide education for
about 5,500 children, 95 percent girls. Already 130 girls have
transitioned from the three-year Nafa Centre programme to conventional
public schools.
Guinea Bissau
Difficult
circumstances brought activities, such as the social mobilisation of
parents and communities to get girls into school, to a halt.
India
The District Primary Education
Project (DPEP) promotes and supports the development of participatory
processes in planning and management, increased gender awareness, and
enhanced teacher effectiveness through inputs into teacher training and
decentralised management. The programme covers 149 districts in 14 states,
which includes districts where the female literacy rate is less than the
national average. Teachers use a joyful learning methodology, which has
helped to attract and retain children, including girls, in school.
Jamaica
Research on child care practices
from a gender perspective has helped to increase understanding of the
gender disparities in the Jamaican learning environment where girls' are
generally higher achievers in education than boys, which calls for
different girls' education strategies in comparison to the majority of
countries around the world.
Kenya
The Government has conducted policy
reviews and made decisions with regard to girls' education, including
approving the re-entry of teenage mothers to school, providing training
for untrained teachers, including female teachers, and providing textbooks
for children, girls and boys, in needy districts.
The Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), located in Nairobi,
produces and disseminates a substantial amount of information on girls'
education, and raises awareness of gender issues through different fora
and media.
Madagascar
200 community-based
schools in the targeted provinces with the greatest enrolment disparities
(Toliara, Fianarantsoa, and Toamasina) use the strategy of a community
school contract (DINA), where 200 School Steering Committees have been
formed through which parents and community members with school staff and
funders make commitments and collaborate on supporting children's
education, especially girls.
Malawi
The Malawi Free Primary Education
Initiative, a.k.a. "Keeping Kids in School Initiative", has increased
primary school enrolment from a normal average of 1.9 million to 3.2
million students. It is projected that all Malawian girls will be in
school by the Year 2000. Advocacy efforts in policy making, establishing
community-based schools, recruiting and training parateachers, and
supporting community empowerment processes are key programme elements. The
Chinsapo Community School Project is put forth as a model for getting
parents involved in school management, which positively impacts children's
participation in education, especially girls.
Mali
Mali is training teachers at the newly
constructed and improved teacher training centers, where more females
enrol and teaching capacity is being improved. Girls' learning achievement
has improved in mathematics and French and there is more openness of the
population to education in general and girls' education in particular. The
"girl friendly schools" pilot programme has been extended to 50 villages,
and girls' enrolment rates are continuing to improve.
Mauritania
A "girl friendly" model
school has been developed in villages in Guidimagha, a rural region with
the lowest girls' enrolment rates in the country. The school is
affordable, and has a canteen that provides lunch to the students,
sanitation facilities and water, especially for the girls, and gardens to
promote learning about agriculture.
Mauritius
Through the "Education for
Development" interactive methodology in both primary and secondary
schools, children, both girls and boys, develop critical thinking skills,
knowledge, and confidence in participating in a teaching/learning process
that makes learning fun and helps them to critically form and express
opinions. Along with high and equal enrolment of both girls and boys in
the education system, the teaching/learning process helps to promote
gender equality in education.
Mexico
The Media Education project helps
primary students acquire critical thinking skills, including the ability
to recognise and articulate inequalities, and marketing techniques that
convey underlying messages.
Morocco
Girls' enrolment in primary
school in 17 provinces increased within one year by more than 10 percent,
which was attributed to high level government commitment, well coordinated
national and provincial planning, social mobilisation communication
activities, research, teacher training, etc.
Mozambique
A Gender Unit has been
established in the Directorate of Primary Education, which is equally
staffed by women and men, and six Project Teams on Girls' Education are
coordinated by women in connection to six districts located in three of
the country's 10 provinces. 47 Community/School Liaison Committees (CLECS)
and Girls' Promotion Groups (GPGs) have been established in 47 project
schools located in the three targeted provinces, which contribute to
community involvement. Approximately 20,000 children have benefited from
the girls' education activities, of whom 7000 are girls.
Namibia
A national training team of 25
staff from regional education offices is developing skills to strengthen
school and community linkages, and quality and equitable education. Girl
Child Associations have been developed in each region, which focus on the
needs of girls in high school.
Nepal
The establishment of community-based
child-care centers is helping to reduce the child care responsibilities of
older girls so they are enabled to go to school.
Niger
Through the girls' education
initiatives the programme has contributed to significant enrolment rates
in the district of Tahoua where enrolment rates increased from as low as
13 percent in 1996 to 26.3 percent in 1998/99 and in the district of Agdez
where the rates increased from 28 percent in 1996 to 42 percent in
1998/99. The success is due to considerable progress in overcoming social
and cultural resistance to girls' education through community empowerment,
especially through improving school attendance and parents' participation
in the management of school systems. Key strategies have been; support to
practical and productive activities, construction of latrines and support
to women's functional literacy programmes.
Nigeria
Social mobilisation, advocacy,
and literacy training activities target girls' education. A short video on
raising awareness to constraints to girls' education was produced and has
been used in mobilisation/advocacy efforts. The viewer is informed of
constraints through the story of a young girl, Hadiza, who, with six
brothers in school, is not allowed by her family to attend school.
Oman
Closer attention is being given to
monitoring gender disparities in education.
Pakistan
14,000 girls attend school in
over 300 village schools with female teachers from their communities who
are enabled to continue their education through their participation in the
Balochistan Mobile Female Teaching Training Programme.
Peru
The National Girls' Education Network,
which was formed following the International Girls' Education Conference
in Washington, DC in 1998, has helped to link members of women's groups,
teachers, adolescents, community leaders, and members of non-governmental
organisations and governmental organisations together in putting girls'
education on the public agenda, and finding ways to promote and support
the education of girls.
Philippines
24 multi-grade
demonstration schools in 12 provinces are serving as models of best
practices in multi-grade teaching/learning methodologies, building
school-community partnership, and promoting ECCD, health, nutrition, water
and sanitation practices. Child centered and active learning/teaching
approaches are helping to promote the development of quality education for
both girls and boys.
Romania
Education issues surrounding the
participation of rroma girls in education are being investigated.
Senegal
A new basic education curriculum
that is sensitive to gender issues has been developed. From 1996 to 1998,
social mobilisation activities, and increased community participation in
education, contributed to raising girls' enrolment from 53 percent to 56
percent.
Somalia
Through support of a young nine
year old landmine victim, Faduma, a school was built near her home, which
promotes and supports girls' education. One half of the teaching staff and
student body is female. The school is put forth as a model for other
communities.
South Africa
A widespread network of
policy makers, educators, NGOs, etc. is used to disseminate information on
the efforts to support the girl child, including the best practice
approaches being demonstrated in the three provinces targeted by the
project. A video and 15 posters on gender issues in the classroom are some
of the tools that have been developed to raise awareness of gender
issues.
Swaziland
Gender sensitivity workshops
for education staff and policy makers have begun to open eyes to the
special needs of girls in education, with particular regard to sobering
statistics on HIV/AIDS, and the vulnerability of young girls to contract
the disease.
Sudan
The Nomad Mobile Schools Programme
is helping to increase nomadic girls' access to primary school. Support to
primary education in a camp for displaced persons outside Khartoum
includes 20,000 children of whom most are girls. Teachers impart knowledge
in makeshift classrooms about children's rights as articulated in the
Convention on the Rights of the Child, help the children deal with
psycho-social difficulties through different activities, provide education
on hygiene and sanitation, and generally help to divert and enrich the
minds of the children.
Syria
The Girls and Women's Literacy for
Living Initiative is implemented by the Syrian Women's Union, which aims
to increase the literacy/numeracy skills of girls and women. Training of
teachers and social mobilisation activities are helping to reduce the drop
out rate of girls in rural areas.
Tanzania
Counselling and Guidance
Manuals for primary schools have been designed to enhance the capacity and
gender sensitivity of teachers in the provision of effective and
appropriate life skills to children.
Togo
Action research on curricula and
practical pedagogies promoting learning achievement of students,
particularly girls, is helping to define competency standards at different
primary levels, promoting the questioning of dominant pedagogies, and
suggesting alternative strategies to improve learning achievement,
especially among girls.
Tunisia
In 43 out of 100 targeted
schools in the governorates of El Kef and Kasserine, teachers are learning
and implementing teaching methods involving participatory and active
learning, which aim at reducing gender and regional disparities in
learning achievement. Heads of schools are learning animator skills for
use in developing positive interactions within their schools, between the
school and community, and with private/public partnerships, which aim at
increasing access, reducing drop out, and improving completion rates and
learning achievement, especially among girls.
Uganda
COPE, the Complementary
Opportunity Primary Education programme, is operating in eight districts.
COPE supervisors, and local leaders recently participated in training
activities focusing on girls' education.
Vietnam
20,000 disadvantaged ethnic
minority girls in remote rural and mountainous areas in 10 provinces are
getting access to and working on completing a primary education with the
support of their parents, teachers who speak their languages, and
community members who are participating in activities that raise their
awareness of children's rights. It is expected that with time attitudes
and behaviour towards girls will change so they will not be sold into
prostitution, married at an early age, kept out of school, etc.
Yemen
About 1,600 female teachers from
rural communities have been recruited and trained to teach primary school
in their respective villages, which has led to increasing girls'
enrolment.
An intensive media campaign was launched to promote girls' education,
to encourage parents to enrol their girls and to reduce the dropout rate.
The campaign involves the Yemeni mass media as well as the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs, which has agreed to disseminate messages through its vast
network of mosques. Imams are also speaking about the importance of girls'
education in their meetings with community members.
Zambia
Advocacy efforts led to the
Ministry of Education allocating 25 percent of all bursaries to female
students at the university level, and the remaining 75 percent awarded
based on equal competition between girls and boys. The Programme for the
Advancement of Girls' Education (PAGE) is going to scale under a national
sector investment programme.
Zimbabwe
Thousands of children and
community residents in rural areas are becoming more sensitive to gender
issues and girls' education after watching a girls' education video,
Mwanasikana, brought to them by the mobile cinema unit. A major
primary curricular review led to the development, production, and
distribution of training modules on gender sensitisation for use in
workshops for policy makers, middle managers in education, head teachers,
teachers, and community leaders.
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