Global Campaign for Education UK launches report on equity and inclusion in DfID’s education programmes.
Today the Global Campaign for Education (GCE) UK launched a new report called ‘Equity and Inclusion for All in Education’ which looks at whether and how DFID includes marginalised populations in its education programmes.
Today 61 million children are not in school. Most out of school children are from marginalised populations in poor countries (e.g. linguistic, ethnic and religious minorities; disabled children; street children and slum dwellers; rural or nomadic populations; and girls).
It’s difficult to get accurate numbers on exactly how many of the most marginalised children are excluded from education, but estimates paint a worrying picture, e.g. in poor countries you’re more than twice as likely to be out of school if you’re disabled.
Photo courtesy of Garry Knight (creative commons)
Ahead of the report’s launch this afternoon, at an event in Parliament to draw on the Paralympic legacy and ensure all children get an education, Ade Adepitan MBE, British wheelchair basketball star and host of Channel 4’s Paralympics’ coverage, had this to say about the importance of education for all:
“I was born in Nigeria and find it quite alarming that there are now 10.5 million children in Nigeria alone who don’t go to school. Every child deserves the right to have an education and be given a chance for a decent future. And the challenges are even harder for disabled children in the developing world to get to school and succeed. Without an education many of them are destined to a life of destitution and poverty.”
The report shows that while there are some examples of good practice from DFID in including marginalised populations in their education programmes, there remains a lack of strategic focus to make sure all children get an education.
GCE UK makes five core recommendations to DFID to improve inclusion in their education programmes and make sure that marginalised populations aren’t left behind:
- Develop a strategic approach to equity and inclusion of all marginalised groups and a coherent policy towards inclusive education across all countries in which DFID operates;
- Invest in research and programmes which promote equity and inclusion in education, and provide resources and materials to support these initiatives;
- Encourage and support participation of civil society – particularly those representing marginalised groups – to promote equity and inclusion in education;
- Advocate for inclusive education on the international stage when in dialogue and negotiation with other donors and other governments;
- Implement effective and transparent monitoring and evaluation to ensure equity and inclusion is a core component of education programmes.
You can read the report online here from 11am, Wed 24 October 2012.
