Central Asian countries agree to improve quality and access to education by 2015Dushanbe, 9 June 2005 - Concluding a three-day meeting, delegates from five Central Asian countries committed to speeding up the common education reform process in each country in the face of limited resources for investment in the education sector. In a unique initiative of regional cooperation, delegates from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan addressed the critical problems of their common education reform plan, as well as barriers to the achievement of Education for All and Millennium Development Goals. "UNICEF welcomes this renewed commitment of education officials from the five Central Asian countries," said Yukie Mokuo, UNICEF Tajikistan representative. Some Central Asian republics have successfully faced the challenges of maintaining access to universal education, while others have experienced worsening completion rates for the nine years of compulsory education. Sustaining the quality of education was a key issue of the discussion. Country delegates acknowledged that investment in education was a critical factor for successful reform, sustainable development of society and the protection of a basic child right. Yukie Mokuo, the UNICEF representative in Tajikistan, observed that, "such regional institutional frameworks can move social issues to centre stage and solve social problems like girls education and introduce new ideas like early childhood development. However, in future, greater children's participation is also required." On the first day of the forum, experiences in reforming the education system in member countries were discussed. Fresh ideas, such as per capita financing and institutional mechanisms for managing the education system, were presented by guest speakers from the government of Samara in the Russian Federation. On the second day of the forum, thematic groups on girls education, life skills based education and adult education presented plans of actions. A new thematic group on early childhood development was introduced, and Turkmenistan, attending the forum for the first time, was nominated to lead the group. The forum adopted a strong, practical problem-solving approach within the subregion. The forum participants also called on donor agencies to increase their support, particularly in financing the reform process. The forum emphasized the need for greater coordination and cooperation among donor agencies, including the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, UNICEF, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the German Agency for Technical Cooperation and others.
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