Successive international summits held under UN auspices have set impressive targets for progress towards education for all in the context of wider poverty-reduction strategies. But progress towards these targets has been less impressive, calling into question the political commitment of the governments involved. Part 1 of this chapter sets out the basic on commitments on education made by governments during the 1990s. Part 2 assesses progress in key areas such as enrolment, completion, literacy, and gender equity. Measuring developments in relation to the qualitative targets is more difficult.
International comparisons are rare, and the goals themselves have been poorly defined.