Overview
 |
|
© UNICEF/2006 |
|
The provision of basic education and literacy for all, are among the most important contributions to the development of the world’s children. (World Summit for Children, 1990) |
ISSUES
Greater emphasis is being placed throughout Europe on making education systems more effective and equitable. Inequity in education has high hidden costs, whereas investment in education has long-term economic and social benefits. Making the basic education system more effective, efficient and equitable is also a way to foster social cohesion, to obtain a better match between education and labour market needs, and, ultimately, to contribute to a more competitive and knowledge-based society.
In the country, non-income child poverty indicators have been deteriorating, including in the education sector. At national level, the country has almost achieved universal access to primary education. However, wide disparities exist based on ethnicity, gender, household income or different abilities of children. The worst indicators in education are observed among the Roma, with 39% of primary school age children not attending primary education.
Source: Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey (State Statistical Office), 2005/2006
* UNICEF assessment
Furthermore, it is estimated that only 15% of children with disabilities are enrolled in mainstream education. These data clearly indicate that the current education system replicates and deepens existing social inequalities.
Countries tend to focus on enrollment because it is easier to measure. However, in middle-income countries there is a need to expand the focus to address issues of quality of education. According to international studies measuring learning achievements (e.g. PIRLS, TIMSS, PISA) the country shows performances under the international benchmarks. This suggests that the system as a whole is not as effective as it should be and that children in the country are not learning to the fullest of their ability. Outdated curricula, lack of standards to monitor learning achievements, lack of systematic investment in teacher training, weak teachers incentives, poor learning environments (both in terms of infrastructures and teaching methods) are all contributing to the poor learning achievements.
In the country, some 33.9 percent of persons aged 15 to 19 years are currently excluded from education and employment. By comparison, only 10 percent of persons in the same age group are excluded from education and employment for the European Union as a whole. Incomplete reforms and lack of adequate investment mean that the quality of education has fallen and is not providing the knowledge and skills required by young people in order to enter increasingly competitive labour markets and knowledge-based economies.
Preschool education is another critical area. Preschool coverage is very low and children in rural and poor areas are completely left out of the system. At national level, pre-school attendance (children 0-6 year olds) is only 11 percent, 1.5 percent in rural areas and 1.4 percent among the poorest. This is mainly due to limited infrastructures and high costs of kindergartens. The country is also lagging behind in terms of quality of pre-school education. Increasing access to and quality of pre-school education is a very important strategy to prepare children to succeed in primary education and to combat social exclusion.
ACTION
UNICEF ECD & Education programme aims at contributing to national reforms in the education sector by supporting interventions to increase access to and quality and relevance of basic education. More specifically, through this programme, UNICEF:
- Advocates for increased public budget allocations to the education sector;
- Provides technical assistance to the Ministry of Education in the area of development and implementation of standards for quality education through modeling the “Child Friendly School” Initiative in 10 pilot schools;
- Supports in-service teachers training as a strategy to improve learning outcomes for children;
- Assists the Ministry of Education in the implementation of the newly revised primary education curricula, particularly the component related to Life-Skills Based Education;
- Provides technical assistance and policy advice to the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy for the development and implementation of Early Learning and Development Standards for preschool education within the frame of a new national policy for early childhood and education (under preparation);
- Supports area-based social development initiatives in highly vulnerable communities to facilitate access to basic social services, including basic education, for the most socially excluded children (focusing on Roma communities);
- In 11 municipalities, child rights commissions are established as permanent structures that ensure the child rights perspective in the municipality planning and budgeting
UNICEF ECD & Education programme is structured around three components: 1) Early Childhood Education; 2) Primary Education; and 3) Decentralization
PROGRESS
- Through UNICEF advocacy work and technical support, an inter-sectoral working group chaired by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy (MoLSP) was set-up and is developing a comprehensive national Early Childhood Development (ECD) policy that will inform the reform of the pre-school education system.
- UNICEF has supported the preparation of Early Learning and Development Standards, expected to be finalized in 2008 and thereafter infused into the ECD/pre-school system.
- Child Friendly School (CFS) standards for quality and relevant primary education were developed by the Ministry of Education and Science (MoES), with UNICEF technical and financial support. A baseline CFS study was conducted in order to assess the situation while CFS standards are currently piloted in ten schools and experiences will serve for scaling-up of CFS in all primary schools through mainstreaming the standards in the WB funded Education Modernisation Project (EMP).
- The 2007 Government decision to introduce compulsory nine-year primary education and to review all primary education curricula provided an opportunity for UNICEF to support the development of Life Skills Based Education. LSBE is now included as a separate subject in the new curricula for grades 1-9 and the roll-out will start in 2008. Furthermore, primary education curricula are being revised against the CFS standards.
