A global priority: Education for All.

Adult literacy rates continue to be a major obstacle to achieving the six Education for All (EFA) goals and overall poverty reduction, according to the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2006--Literacy for life.

The report, launched by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in London on 9 November 2005, focuses on the world's 771 million adults living without minimal literacy skills. This global challenge predominantly affects developing regions, although highly developed countries were also found to have significant numbers of young people and adults with weak literacy skills. Findings are based on data from the 2002/2003 school year, reporting on change since 1998. Across the board, progress over the five years was found to be steady but insufficient to reach, or come close to reaching, the EFA goals.

In the area of early childhood care and education, enrolment ratios are rising rapidly and the gender gap is slowly closing across sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia, and the Arab States; however, this sector continues to be a low public policy priority. Progress towards universal primary education has been slow overall, with the world's net enrolment ratio increasing by only one percentage point, from 83.6 per cent in 1998 to 84.6 in 2002. While significant advances have been made in

least developed countries, access to primary schools, the quality of teaching and charging of fees for primary education pose major barriers to further progress.

Both secondary and tertiary education have seen rapid enrolment increases, with the global number of students in secondary education rising from 430 million in 1998 to 500 million in 2002, and in tertiary education, from 90 million in 1998 to 121 million in 2002. Growth rates are particularly strong in developing countries and are, on average, more than twice those observed in developed countries. However, learning achievement remains an overriding concern, with data showing that average achievement levels have decreased in recent years in some countries.

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In order to accelerate the pace of progress to meet the EFA goals, the 2006 report recommends an intensive policy focus on sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia, the Arab States and least developed countries, with a commitment to national strategies that concentrate on gender, teachers, health and the most disadvantaged groups, as well as scaling up programmes for the youth and adults. The report also emphasizes that the EFA goals are still achievable if immediate action in developing countries is combined with a doubling of the international community's aid dedicated to basic education.

RELATED ARTICLE: 'Education for All' Goals

The Global Monitoring Report each year tracks progress towards the six EFA goals set at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, in 2000:

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Expanding and improving comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged children.

Ensuring that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities, have access to and complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality.

Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes.

Achieving by 2015 a 50-per-cent improvement in levels of adult literacy, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.

Achieving gender equality in education by 2015, with a focus on ensuring girls' full and equal access to and achievement in basic education of good quality.

Improving all aspects of the quality of education and ensuring excellence of all, so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life skills.