The State of the World's Children 2000

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Panel 6 - The education age, past due

The multiplication factor

The child-friendly schools initiative has taken off in earnest in the Philippines. The aim is to stem student attrition in a country where primary school enrolment rates are high for both boys and girls - 97 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively - but on average only 70 per cent of children will reach the milestone of fifth grade.

Poverty and geography conspire to thwart even the most committed students in the rugged mountainous terrain of rural areas, where children must trek to and from distant schoolhouses, sometimes for hours. And, while education is free and compulsory through the elementary grades in the Philippines, the cost of books and supplies can strain a poor family's limited budget. Even in urban areas, where access to schools is easier, the lure of the streets or the need to earn income for the family leads many children to drop out of school.

The Philippine child-friendly schools initiative was launched by the Government and UNICEF in 1999 to counterbalance these factors, and it has already earned the enthusiastic support of teachers, administrators, parents and local officials. The welcome has been so warm that what started out as 24 multigrade model schools in 12 provinces has now mushroomed to 120 schools in 20 provinces and five cities. The child-friendly schools are scheduled to open for the school year in June 2000.

The Philippine approach has much in common with the Child-Friendly Schools Programme in Thailand, which began in 1998, supported by Save the Children (USA), UNICEF and other organizations. Introduced in 23 primary and middle schools in six provinces, the initiative was part of the sweeping educational reforms enacted to stem the haemorrhaging of students from schools in the face of the national economic crisis. In some villages, as many as 10 per cent of primary-school-age children have dropped out, raising the spectre of exploitative labour and crushing hopes for brighter futures built on education.

A 1997 constitutional guarantee of a free 12-year education provided by the State was an acknowledgement that, to thrive as a society, Thailand must ensure its citizens access to quality education. The child-centred approach to learning is key to these reforms. The goal is to establish at least five demonstration sites in each of Thailand's 12 education districts before the end of the year 2000.

About education

Free access to a quality primary education is the right of every child without exception.

The State is accountable and all of society is responsible to ensure that the right to education be realized for all children and all adolescents.

For the child's right to education to be fully realized, strong links must be maintained among service providers in education, health, nutrition, hygiene and sanitation, and child protection.

Education systems and programmes must be designed with the best interests of the child and adolescent foremost. They must:

be healthy for children and adolescents;

protect all children and all adolescents;

assure gender equity in access and quality;

involve families and communities;

include family literacy programmes and parent and caregiver education in early childhood care;

be unified and comprehensive, diverse and flexible;

be efficiently managed and equitably financed;

use both formal and non-formal pedagogies;

assure that all students graduate with the essential skills, knowledge and values to succeed, and;

use information and communication technologies to reduce disparities in access and quality.

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