Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on education and training in the context of poverty reduction in developing countries
Date: 2002-03-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: developing countries, education, poverty, primary education, teacher training, vocational training

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 06.03.2002
COM(2002) 116 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

ON EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN THE CONTEXT OF POVERTY REDUCTION
IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

SUMMARY

The  purpose  of  this  Communication  is  to  stress  the  vital  importance  of  education  in
reducing  poverty  and  in  development  and  to  present  an  overall  framework  for  the
objectives,  priorities  and  methods  of  the  Community  in  education  and  training  in
developing countries.

The Communication refocuses sectoral support on reducing poverty in line with recent
international undertakings, in coordination with developing countries' policies and
on the  basis  of  complementarity  with  other  donors.  Its  purpose  is  to  focus  all  of  its
methods  on  support  for  education  and  training  and  to  set  out  guidelines  for  the
Community.

The  Communication  recognises  the  vital  role  of  the  countries  and  identifies  three
priorities  for  Community  support:  basic  education,  in  particular  primary  education
and  teacher  training,  work-related  training  and  higher  education,  especially  at
regional level.

The  strategy  to  be  pursued  will  involve  support  for  basic  education  as  first  priority  (at
both  qualitative  and  quantitative  level)  and  ensuring  that  girls  as  well  as  boys  have
attained an acceptable level of schooling, before support of work-related training. Higher
education will be supported at regional level in particular.

The  principles  to  be  followed  in  the  political  dialogue  on  education  and  training
strategies are as follows:

(cid:1)  Total  resources  for  education  and  training  must  be  increased,  in  particular  for  the

poorest countries and population groups;

(cid:1)  The recurrent expenditure of "education" budgets can be covered by the Community

subject to certain conditions;

(cid:1)  Developing  countries  will  have  to  improve  the  efficiency  and  quality  of  their

education systems;

(cid:1)  They will have to improve access to primary education by working towards making it

compulsory and free;

(cid:1)  Equality between the sexes is essential;

(cid:1)  The  links  between  AIDS  and  education  should  be  taken  into  account  in  education

programmes;

(cid:1)  Account should be taken of education issues in conflict prevention and in conflict and

post-conflict periods in order to protect children, in particular girls.

As  regards  political  and  strategic  dialogue,  the  Commission  will  use  its  programming
framework  (the  Country  Strategy  Papers)  and,  for  the  countries  eligible  for  the  HIPC
initiative, the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers prepared by the partner countries.

2

Lastly, the Community's strategic approach in developing countries will be based on the
following guidelines:

(cid:1)  the sector-wide approach;

(cid:1)  consideration of the macroeconomic and budgetary framework;

(cid:1)  consideration of the needs and participation of the poor;

(cid:1)  participation by education actors and civil society in the broad sense;

(cid:1)  support for institutional development and capacity-building;

(cid:1)  monitoring and results (indicators);

(cid:1)  increased coordination and complementarity between all the partners.

Sectoral  support  for  education  will  as  far  as  possible  be  provided  through  macro-
economic support on the basis of sectoral programmes founded on dialogue with all the
partners.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................... 2

I.

II.

1.

2.

3.

4.

III.

1.

2.

3.

IV.

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

V.

INTRODUCTION........................................................................................................ 6

EDUCATION AND TRAINING: KEY FACTORS IN REDUCING POVERTY ..... 6

The role of education and training in combating poverty ............................................ 6

Action by the developing countries.............................................................................. 7

International undertakings............................................................................................ 7

Action by countries and donors.................................................................................... 8

EDUCATION AND TRAINING PRIORITIES GEARED TOWARDS
POVERTY REDUCTION IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES............................ 9

Basic education and in particular primary education and teacher training .................. 9

Work-related training and the development of qualifications: taking account of
education demand....................................................................................................... 13

Higher education ........................................................................................................ 14

METHODS OF IMPLEMENTING COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND
TRAINING PRIORITIES .......................................................................................... 15

Political dialogue: the Community's Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) and partner
countries' Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers............................................................ 16

The “sector-wide approach”....................................................................................... 16

Consideration of the macroeconomic and budgetary framework .............................. 17

Taking account of the needs of the poor and their participation ................................ 17

Participation by the education actors (including the private sector) and of civil
society in the broad sense........................................................................................... 18

Support for institutional development and capacity-building in education
systems ....................................................................................................................... 18

Monitoring of activities and results (indicators) ........................................................ 19

Financing instruments ................................................................................................ 19

CONSISTENCY, COORDINATION AND COMPLEMENTARITY
BETWEEN DONORS ............................................................................................... 20

VI.

CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 21

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Annex 1 : Definitions ............................................................................................................... 22

Annex 2 :  The education situation........................................................................................... 23

Annex 3 Share of total development assistance to education and to basic education

(DAC countries) ......................................................................................................... 25

Annex 4 Member States policies in the education and training sector..................................... 26

Annex 5: Community cooperation in education and training .................................................. 31

Annex 6 Evaluation of Community support for education in the ACP countries .................... 32

Annex 7 Common Framework for Cooperation with third countries on higher education...... 33

Annex 8 Code of conduct for education sector funding agencies ............................................ 34

Annex 9 Indicators ................................................................................................................... 36

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I.

1.

2.

II.

1.

INTRODUCTION

Education  and  training  play  an  essential  role  in  reducing  poverty  and  in
development.  This  is  borne  out  by  a  series  of  undertakings  made  by  the
international community.

The Dakar Forum (“Education for All”) in April 2000 reaffirmed and broadened
the international community’s commitment to compulsory primary education for
all by 2015.

Under the Millennium development objectives for education, all children (boys
and girls) should complete at least primary education by 2015.

In  their  Joint  Statement  of  November  2000,  the  Commission  and  the  Council
affirmed that the main objective of Community development policy must be to
reduce and, eventually, to eradicate poverty. The Commission and the Council
noted, in this context, that the promotion of equitable access to social services,
i.e. health and education services, is a vital dimension of poverty reduction.

The purpose of this Communication is therefore to present a new framework of
guidelines  for  the  Community  which  specifies  the  role  that  support  for
education1  and  training  can  play  in  combating  poverty  in  the  developing
countries.

EDUCATION  AND  TRAINING:  KEY  FACTORS  IN  REDUCING
POVERTY

The role of education and training in combating poverty

Education and training have a significant positive impact on health, social and political
participation, equal opportunities, economic growth rates, income and productivity,
especially  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  fair  redistribution  of  the  fruits  of  this
growth. Education provides the core skills that people, especially those who do not enrol
for secondary education, need to be able to find work.

In parallel, education  has  positive  effects in terms of  good  governance: education  can
play a key role since it enables people  to  claim  greater transparency  and  accountability
on the part of the authorities and therefore to obtain better access to local resources and
public services.

At  the  same  time  there  is  incontrovertible  evidence  that  primary  education  cannot  be
developed and economies cannot grow without an education system that trains teachers
and a large number  of students  beyond the elementary level and up to  university level.
Education therefore has to be developed in a balanced way, i.e. care must be taken to
ensure that systems produce students at different levels and that their qualifications are in
keeping with labour market demand.

1 Definitions of the various levels of education and training are set out in Annex I.

6

                                                
An overview of the education situation, in the developing countries in particular, is given
in Annex 2.

2.

Action by the developing countries

Experience  shows  that  the  developing  countries  play  a  crucial  role  in  gearing  their
policies and action to  support the  education  and training  systems.  Some  countries  have
succeeded  in  significantly  increasing  school  attendance  rates,  although  considerable
problems remain as to the quality of education.

Essential measures in this field are: increasing the funds devoted to educational systems,
good governance, a credible and stable macro-economic framework and the ownership of
reforms by governments.

Other  countries  have  failed  to  translate  their  international  commitments  into  budget
appropriations and to encourage initiatives benefiting the poorest.

School attendance rates are continuing to rise, but not quickly enough. In overall terms,
demographic growth is also having an adverse effect on trends in school attendance rates
throughout the world: this is true even though birth rates are tending to decline, although
the extent of this decline is very different in different regions.

3.

International undertakings

(cid:1)  At  the  World  Summit  for  Social  Development  in  Copenhagen  (1995),  the
developing countries also undertook to increase the resources channelled to the social
sectors, with voluntary dialogue on the 20/20 principle under which 20% of aid and
20%  of  the  budgets  of  developing  countries  are  to  be  channelled  into  the  basic
social sectors of these countries.

(cid:1)  The  Framework  for  Action  on  Education  for  All  (April  2000)  reiterated  the
international commitment to provide support for basic education within the framework
of the Millennium development objectives and strengthened this commitment through
increased action  and through its  extension to  other objectives  within  the  sector:  "no
country  seriously  committed  to  education  for  all  will  be  thwarted  in  their
achievement  of  this  goal  by  a  lack  of  resources".  The  objectives  adopted  can  be
summarised as follows:

(cid:1)  Generic  declaration  on  education  and  the  protection  of  infants  and  the

acquisition of life competences by young people;

(cid:1)  Compulsory and free primary education for all by 2015;
(cid:1)  50% improvement of the adult and in particular female literacy rate by 2015;
(cid:1)  elimination  of  gender-based  inequalities  by  2005  and  the  introduction  of

(cid:1) 

equality in primary and secondary education by 2015;
improvement,  in  all  respects,  of  the  quality  of  education  that  can  be
measured by recognised and quantifiable results.

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4.

Action by countries and donors

(cid:1)  In  a  context  of  stagnating  Official  Development  Aid  (ODA),  donors  have  not
increased  their  education  aid  to  the  developing  countries  to  any  great  extent.  At
present,  an  average  of  approximately  10%  of  all  ODA  among  the  DAC  members  is
channelled into support for education; differences range from 3% in the case of US aid
to 12% of total aid from the Community and its Member States (Annex 3). The share
of total aid for education allocated to basic education has remained constant at 15%,
i.e. no more than 1.5% of total aid from the DAC countries!

(cid:1)  A recent external evaluation of the process of PRSPs shows that for the 24 countries
currently benefiting from the HIPC initiative, the social sectors will not necessarily be
strengthened.  Even  after  debt  alleviation  the  countries  will  only  allocate  between  3
and  5%  of  GDP  to  the  social  sectors,  while  three-quarters  of  these  countries  have
spent more than 10% of their revenue on servicing the debt in 2001.

(cid:1)  The  data  given  in  Annex  3  show  that  the  Member  States  are  not,  in  general,  giving
education  in  general  priority  over  the  other  sectors  of  action.  The  World  Bank,
however,  currently  spends  7%  of  its  resources  on  education,  in  the  form  of  loans
(USD  1  billion  per  annum).  The  policies  and  actions  of  the  Member  States  are
summarised in Annex 4.

(cid:1)  Community aid for the overall sector is shown in Annex 5, with  a peak  in  Asia and
sub-Saharan  Africa.  Aid  for  education  and  training  accounts  for  roughly  6%  of  all
Community  aid;  a  substantial  proportion  of  this  aid  goes  on  basic  education.  The
Community's current investments at the end of 2001 total some EUR 2 billion.

(cid:1)  A  recent  external  evaluation  of  Community  aid  to  the  ACP  countries  for
education under the 7th and 8th EDF (1990-2000) shows a nominal but not substantial
increase. The shift of priority to basic education has favourably influenced the amount
of funds channelled  to  it,  but  the  link  between  education  and  poverty  reduction  was
recognised  only  after  most  of  the  programmes  had  been  devised.  Targeted  macro-
economic support is considered an approach that increases the financing of education
systems. However, the  evaluation shows  that  very  substantial  efforts  still  need  to  be
made from the point of view of the impact and quality of education aid. It argues in
general  for  limiting  the  number  of  projects,  a  sector-wide  approach  where  possible,
institutional capacity-building and better donor coordination (Annex 6).

The  Commission  is  taking  account  of  the  findings  of  this  evaluation  in  the
programming of the 9th EDF (ACP) and programming for other regions.

8

III.

EDUCATION  AND  TRAINING  PRIORITIES  GEARED  TOWARDS
POVERTY REDUCTION IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

The Communities' priorities in education and training are:

(cid:1)  Basic education (in particular primary education) and teacher training;

(cid:1)  Work-related training;

(cid:1)  Higher education, in particular at regional level.

In setting these priorities, the Commission:

(cid:1)  Follows the principles of tightening up of priorities in the context of ownership by the
countries and of coordination and complementarity with other donors, in particular the
Member States;

(cid:1)  Is aware that it is impossible in practice to isolate either one level of education from
another  or  the  education  system  from  all  the  external  demands  which  cement  it  to
working and everyday life;

(cid:1)  Focuses on the strategic priority unanimously agreed at the Dakar  Forum, i.e. access
for children to free basic education, at both infant and primary level (formal and non-
formal sectors).

1.

a)

Basic education and in particular primary education and teacher training

The  total  resources  channelled  into  education,  in  particular  primary
education, need to be substantially increased

(cid:1)  Primary responsibility for implementing the strategy of Education for All lies with the
governments  of  the  developing  countries.  A  clear  sign  of  a  commitment  to  this
strategy will be their ability  to allocate resources in ways  that  enhance  education
and in particular primary education, which is the cornerstone of basic education and
the area in which the Community can play an important role as a catalyst, in particular
through  its  budgetary  support,  and  in  ensuring  that  resources  are  targeted  towards
regions  and  disadvantaged  groups  and  to  countries  where  other  donors  do  not
sufficiently target education.

(cid:1)  The international Community should give preference to countries  that have  the
most clear-cut commitment to Education for All, in particular countries that are
taking account of the needs of the poorest population groups, encouraging girls
to attend school and removing barriers to education access, such as the costs of
education.

b)

The efficiency of education systems must be improved

An  increase  in  education  expenditure  is  not  enough  on  its  own  to  improve  progress  in
education:  the  efficiency  with  which  different  countries  may  use  the  same  resources
differs greatly.

9

Countries therefore need to make their education systems more efficient. Those that are
successful combine high expenditure on primary  education, reasonable unit costs and  a
low rate of repeated years.

Donors  will  therefore  discuss  education  strategies  with  recipient  countries  in  order  to
maximise the impact of the financial support that they can offer for these strategies. This
obviously means that the amount of  resources needed  for education must be discussed
not across the board but with each individual country.

c)

Countries must improve school access opportunities and move towards free
access to primary education

Parents are often discouraged from sending their children to school because they have to
pay some or all of the costs of education. There is a now a world-wide consensus that
primary education should be universal and free (Education for All).

The introduction of free and compulsory primary education may have consequences for a
country in terms of additional financial resources. The Community should therefore help
countries that have demonstrated a firm desire to move in this direction.

Providing the largest possible number of children with access to school is also a way of
combating  child  labour,  and  of  complying  with  Convention  182  prohibiting  the  worst
forms  of  child  labour,  which  is  among  the  fundamental  ILO  Conventions  to  whose
implementation the Community is committed.

d)

Education  budgets  should  therefore  be  geared  towards  the  most  urgent
needs, i.e. towards poor and vulnerable population groups which have only
limited access to schools

Priority  should  be  given  chiefly  to  rural  areas  rather  than  urban  areas  where  school
attendance  is  easier  and  where  gross  attendance  rates  are  much  higher,  even  though
severe  problems  of  poverty  in  towns  and  cities  may  prevent  children  from  attending
school,  girls  and  women  (see  following  section),  children  and  adults  with  special
educational needs (disabled, orphans) and indigenous peoples whose specific needs need
to be taken into account through intercultural dialogue.

From this point of view, the urban/rural balance needs to be seriously considered. This
means that it must be possible to encourage children brought up in rural areas to pursue
their education and training in  situ;  vocational  and  secondary  education  schools  should
be  located  at  district  level.  When  decentralisation  processes  are  taking  place  the
Community  and  the  Member  States  should  therefore  promote  financial  support  at
district level in recipient countries within sectoral programmes.

Recognition  of  these  urgent  needs  should  be  reflected  by  the  construction  of  more
schools  closer  to  areas  in  which  disadvantaged  population  groups  live,  and  by  the
training of more teachers in these areas.

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e)

Gender equality is a fundamental priority in connection with access to and
the fairness and quality of education

Education  for  All  is  underpinned  by  a  strong  commitment  to  gender  equality  in
education;  although  the  gap  between  the  school  attendance  of  girls  and  boys  is  falling,
girls are still lagging behind. This means that educational strategies must be supported by
gender  analyses.  Gender  analysis  means,  moreover,  that  specific  measures  need  to  be
taken from the point of view of teacher training and of programmes intended to step up
the demand for education from girls and to open up opportunities for women teachers.

To reduce gender-based inequalities in education systems the Commission recommends
that the following points be taken into account in discussions on  country strategies and
sectoral programmes:

(cid:1)  a national policy to support women’s advancement;
(cid:1)  campaigns to make parents aware of the advantages of educating girls;
(cid:1)  curricula and teaching materials from which gender stereotypes have been removed;
(cid:1)  more  appropriate  and  better  distributed  education  infrastructure  and  facilities,  in
particular in rural areas, as distance to school is  a  serious barrier  to attendance
by girls; this is especially true of continued attendance at secondary level (boarding
schools must be located as close as possible to pupils);

(cid:1)  active promotion among parents of choices of education that help girls to advance,

including in non-traditional areas;

(cid:1)  measures to step up the number of women teachers;
(cid:1)  analysis  instruments  and  statistics  through  which  girls’  performance  can  be

genuinely measured;

(cid:1)  consultation  of  and  participation  by  the  actors  when  planning  education  measures

(families, experts, NGOs, etc.).

f)

The  stress  must  be  placed  as  much  on  the  quality  as  the  quantity  of
education

If  quality  is  to  be  improved  it  has  to  be  part  and  parcel  of  the  content  of  sectoral
programmes which must reflect local situations; the only way of ensuring success here is
to  involve  the  authorities  of  countries  and  the  civil  society  actors  working  in  the
educational field. This highlights the fact that countries must attach as much priority to
the abilities acquired by pupils as to the extension of school coverage.

The  issue  of  quality  overlaps  the  issue  of  stimulating  demand  for  education.  Such
stimulation  programmes  highlighting  the  value  of  education  include:  care  for  infants
(Education  for  All),  activities  to  upgrade  girls’  education,  the  availability  of  secondary
education facilities, adult literacy programmes, partnerships between schools, parents and
communities,  and  measures  to  promote  children’s  health  at  school  (nutrition,  school
canteens).

More  specifically,  measures  that  can  help  to  improve  quality  include  local  community
participation  in  the  management  of  educational  issues  and  an  increase  in  the  number
and  an  improvement  of  the  status  and  training  of  school  teachers  and  principals
which is an absolute priority in this context. Curricula must be practical  and  adaptable.
There  must  be  opportunities  to  monitor  and  evaluate  educational  performance  so  that

11

progress can be measured other than in quantitative terms. The availability and adequate
use of appropriate teaching materials (textbooks) is also important.

The  language  of  learning  (in  particular  the  mother  tongue  and  the  common  language)
plays a key role in access to education and its quality.

Many  countries  of  sub-Saharan  Africa  and  southern  Asia  have  a  poor  educational
environment.  The  development,  maintenance  and  appropriate  location  of  school
infrastructure plays a vital role in high-quality results. In this respect, the importance of
locating schools as close as possible to pupils needs to be stressed.

The  Commission  also  stresses  the  importance  of  including  in  curricula  (wherever
possible) essential elements relating to the protection of human rights and democracy
in the context of education for peace and respect for cultural diversity.

g)

Developing  countries  and  donors  need  to  pay  much  more  attention  to  the
impact of AIDS on education systems

AIDS has an impact on the education sector and education can play a key role in limiting
the epidemic and in protecting the health of people affected.

(cid:1)  AIDS  affects  education  systems  in  two  ways:  firstly,  there  is  increasing  pressure  on
education  systems  to  provide  information  on  AIDS.  Secondly,  AIDS  can  have  a
negative impact on school systems (fewer pupils and teachers, therefore fewer classes)
and  methods  of  teaching  and  learning,  and  on  the  quality  of  education  (owing  to
higher rates of absenteeism among teachers and pupils).

(cid:1)  Lack  of  education  and  poverty  are  serious  obstacles  to  the  fight  against  AIDS.
Education  can  play  a  key  role  both  in  limiting  the  spread  of  AIDS  and  in  helping
people  to  cope  with  its  effects.  Experiences  in  Thailand  and  Uganda  show  that  a
political  will  on  the  part  of  governments  to  use  education  to  combat  AIDS,  by
introducing  special  curricula  into  school  syllabuses,  has  been  helpful  in  halting  the
spread of the disease.

(cid:1)  Other methods of prevention include the provision of  appropriate teaching materials,
the  recruitment  of  teachers  together  with  specific  support,  special  arrangements  for
orphaned  students,  the  strengthening  of  community  social  funds,  school  information
campaigns and the inclusion of specific education programmes in health programmes.

h)

Education  must  be  protected  and  restored  in  conflict  and  post-conflict
periods

50% of children who do not attend school live in countries in crisis or in a post-conflict
situation (some 73 countries throughout the world) and 82% of the 113 million school-
age children who do not have access to primary education also live in these countries.

Among measures taken to prevent conflicts, education should be given an essential role
in  order  to  promote  social  cohesion  and  a  culture  of  peace.  From  this  standpoint  the
content  of  teaching  programmes,  school  books  and  the  language  of  instruction  are
decisive factors.

12

In  periods  of  conflict,  during  which  education  systems  are  severely  tested  or  even
destroyed, particular measures need to be taken to protect children, and in particular girls,
and to maintain a minimum education system.

Countries in transition, countries at war and countries emerging from crises are countries
which  do  not  have  sufficiently  consolidated  strategies.  This  must  not  be  left  out  of  the
equation but must receive the aid that they will need in future to achieve the objectives of
Education for All, in the same way as countries that do have sound programmes.

In post-conflict periods, governments and donors must rebuild school infrastructure and
ensure that enough human resources are available for children to return to school.

In  its  Communications  on  linking  relief,  rehabilitation  and  development  of  April  1996
(COM(96)153)  and  April  2001  (COM[2001]153  final),  the  Commission  stressed  that
relief  measures  should  take  account  of  long-term  development  objectives,  which  is
particularly true in the case of education.

In  practice,  the  Community  and  the  Member  States  should  agree  on  the  following
principles:

(cid:1)  education must be a key component of crisis-related policies;

(cid:1)  education is a fundamental component of reconstruction programmes.

i)

Knowledge  of  education  programmes  relevant  for  development  must  be
increased.

Improving  knowledge  involves  first  of  all  the  need  for  better  statistics  on  education
and  training.  Many  developing  countries  do  not  possess  all  the  data  that  they  need  to
introduce efficient education policies. Good statistics can help to identify groups facing
serious school attendance problems or problems in completing  education as well  as the
necessary financing requirements. Donors also need reliable statistics to be able to plan,
manage and evaluate aid.

A further aim is to deepen and pool knowledge of the ways in which education policies
can be introduced and implemented, and of the lessons that can be drawn for success in
other  countries,  although  the  reproducibility  of  reforms  from  one  country  to  another
should  be  viewed  with  caution.  Issues  covered  here  include,  for  instance,  education
quality, gender equality and distance learning.

2.

a)

Work-related  training  and  the  development  of  qualifications:  taking
account of education demand

Training  can  be  provided  in  specialist  centres  through  apprenticeships,  via
distance learning using the new technologies or directly in the workplace. It has
been  recognised  that  technical  education  and  vocational  training  are  necessary
for  the  establishment  of  an  education  system  that  offers  an  alternative  to
students leaving the system who will ultimately provide a skilled workforce for
the  formal  and  informal  sectors  but  attempts  to  make  schools  into  combined
centres  of  education  and  training  have  led  almost  everywhere  to  a  decline  in
standards of education, without providing a standard of vocational training that
can be recognised by employers in the formal sector.

13

b)

c)

d)

3.

a)

This  means  that  it  is  necessary  to  support  educational  strategies,  systems  and
processes  that  promote  the  demand  for  education  and  the  acquisition  of
qualifications  paving  the  way  for  the  economic  growth, 
increased
productivity and the efficiency of those in employment. The corollary is that any
development  strategy  has  to  look  in  further  depth  at  the  complex  relations
integrated
between  education,  qualification  and  employment  within 
framework of a poverty reduction strategy.

the 

This  means  that  the  developing  countries  should  introduce  innovative
approaches  that  go  beyond  the  formal  education  sector,  enable  girls  to
move  beyond  the  primary  education  level,  promote  self-employment  and
concomitant access to other forms of capital (land, loans) in particular for
women, develop a framework conducive to  expansion of the private sector
and  ensure  lifelong  learning.  In  this  context,  it  is  essential  to  step  up  the
acquisition of qualifications in adult literacy programmes, especially for women.

Similarly,  in  order  to  increase  school  attendance  levels,  secondary  schools
should  forge  links  with  the  labour  market.  Enterprises  should  set  up
partnerships in order to strengthen synergies with schools.

This  requires  the  introduction  of  active  labour  market  policies  linking  the
development  of  skills  with  employment,  possibly  including:  job-seeking  aid,
improvements  to  employment  services,  programmes  of  targeted  training
combined  with  income  substitution  benefits,  direct  assistance  for  job  creation
and other measures related to the flanking structural policies,  including private
sector development. Close cooperation with businesses on matching the supply
and demand of skills in specific economic sectors also plays an important part in
this  approach.  This  should  be  a  priority  for  the  Community  in  its  political
dialogue.

The  aforementioned need  to  improve teaching quality,  the number of  teachers,
the quality of statistics and the pooling of knowledge applies also to job-related
training.

Higher education

Support  for  higher  education  is  a  key  component  of  the  “Education  for  All”
strategy.  Teachers  and  planners  are  trained  in  higher  education  institutions
which  are  also  centres  for  educational  research.  Support  for  higher  academic,
technical  and  vocational  education  is  just  as  necessary  as  support  for  primary
education.

Support  for  higher  education  is  also  necessary  for  countries’  institutional
development.  Institutional  capacity-building  is  an  essential  component  of
programmes in all sectors of development cooperation.

In this context, information and communication technologies can improve the
management,  implementation,  content  and  quality  of  education  services
throughout the world. These technologies - which are a tool and not a priority
in  themselves  -  can  help  greatly  to  improve  the  organisation  of  education
systems, access to these systems (support for teacher training, access to foreign

14

b)

c)

d)

languages,  overseas  training,  etc.)  and  quality  (access  to  a  wider  range  of
knowledge, interinstitutional network assistance). This applies, for instance, to
distance learning methods for teacher training.

Cooperation in the area of higher education between European and third-
country  institutions  seems  to  be  a  useful  way  of  supporting  higher
education  in  these  countries.  This  cooperation  is  to  be  promoted  at  the
regional level in particular.

The Community must be more vigilant in regard to the impact on these countries
of a brain drain to the developed countries and must ensure greater taking into
account  of  other  Community  policies.  It  must  also  ensure  that  development
cooperation policies do not unfairly limit the ability of these countries to provide
for their own development at a time when the brain drain from the south to the
north has reached unprecedented levels.

The Commission will also ensure coherence between other Community policies
and development cooperation.

It sees its own measures in this field as a necessary contribution to institutional
in  recipient  countries.  The
and  administrative  capacity-building 
Commission’s  Common  Cooperation  Framework  for  Higher  Education
places this approach on a practical footing (Annex 7).

IV.

METHODS  OF  IMPLEMENTING  COMMUNITY  EDUCATION  AND
TRAINING PRIORITIES

Implementation of the Community's priorities in education and training will be based on
the following strategic options:

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Political and strategic dialogue with the countries in the Country Strategy Papers
(CSPs) and partner countries' Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers;

The sector-wide approach;

Consideration of the macro-economic and budgetary framework;

Consideration of the needs and participation of the poor;

The participation of education actors and civil society in the broad sense;

Support for institutional development and capacity building;

Monitoring activities and results (indicators).

Financing instruments (recurrent costs).

15

1.

a)

b)

2.

a)

b)

c)

Political  dialogue:  the  Community's  Country  Strategy  Papers  (CSPs)  and
partner countries' Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers

The recently approved guidelines for Country Strategy Papers (CSPs) explicitly
provide  for  an  analysis  of  the  policy  programmes  of  recipient  countries.  The
purpose of the CSPs is to create a framework for Community cooperation and to
meet  and  support  national  development  efforts  as  expressed  in  national
development strategy. Education and training are a sectoral priority at the stage
of dialogue on programming.

The introduction of PRSPs at the end of 1999 represents a turning point in aid
and  tries  to  return  the  initiative  to  recipient  countries  by  placing  poverty
reduction at the centre of development strategies. PRSPs are government policy
documents  prepared  following  consultations  with  civil  society  and  the  private
sector which analyse poverty in the country concerned and set out a programme
to reduce it.

Education  and  training  are  a  priority  of  PRSPs  since  they  are  instrumental  in
reducing  poverty.  Donors,  and  in  particular  the  Commission,  must  ensure  that
PRSPs comply  with  the  commitments  made  at  the  Dakar  Forum  on  Education
for All, in particular in the area of support for basic education.

The “sector-wide approach”

The sector-wide approach in education is the Commission's preferred method
to support a sector; in this field the Commission has developed the achievements
of  the  international  community.  Ownership  by  the  recipient  country  is
essential  for  the  implementation  of  this  approach.  The  aim  is  to  consider  the
education sector as a whole. It is an ongoing and dynamic process; sub-sectoral
support is still possible provided that it is relocated in the overall context of the
sector, and a key aspect of this is the ownership by the country of policies and
implementation.  The  sector-wide  approach  in  education  must  be  accompanied
by high-quality monitoring and evaluation systems and be more result-oriented.

Support from donors must be long term as results are not immediate, especially
in social  sectors.  The  external  support  that  countries  receive  must  therefore  be
reasonably predictable, especially in the case of education which is, more  than
other sectors, a government-directed public service.

The  sector-wide  approach  has  the  advantage  of  managing  the  number  of
education  cooperation  measures.  But  in  many  countries  a  sector-wide
approach  as  described  is  not  yet  in  place;  in  this  case  the  approach  could  be
targeted  to  sub-sectors  or  fields  with  a  minimum  of  capacity  and  with  a
strengthening  of  institutional  capacity.  Education  programmes  will  be
financed bearing in mind the conditions of the sector as a whole.

16

3.

a)

b)

c)

d)

Consideration of the macroeconomic and budgetary framework

The sector-wide approach presupposes a viable macroeconomic framework and
a transparent and efficient budget framework, within which the specific financial
features  of  the  education  sector  obviously  have  to  be  included.  Greater
consistency is therefore to be sought between economic reform programmes and
sector-wide programmes so that the former are better able to serve the objectives
of social sectors, and in particular education.

In this field, therefore, the Community and the Member States must ensure, by
setting  result  indicators,  that  resources  are  channelled  into  education  and
training, in line with international commitments (Millennium development
objectives) and to offset in part the financing shortfall in education budgets
on condition that the developing countries seriously commit themselves to these
objectives.

In  this  context  the  Community  will  encourage  macroeconomic  support  in
the framework of dialogue with governments on their education policy and
its  implementation;  it  will  have  to  monitor  governments’  medium-term
expenditure  framework,  trends  in  the  amounts  of  resources  channelled  into
education  and  the  results  achieved  on  the  basis  of  monitoring  and  result
indicators. The sector-wide approach will be applied. This requires substantial
institutional  support  to  countries  and  delegations  in  order  to  step  up
monitoring of the impact of the  budgetary support,  tie macroeconomic support
more closely to results in the education sector and set up or improve systems for
monitoring education sector performance.

However,  macroeconomic  support  alone  cannot  provide  sufficient  aid  to
education,  even  if  tied  to  result  indicators  in  the  sector.  It  does  not  take  real
account of sectoral sub-strategies and the need to help partner countries devise
appropriate education strategies. Consideration should also be given to the  fact
that  Community  practices  are  different  from  those  of  the  Member  States  and
vary according to the area or region.

In  keeping  with  the  macro-economic  framework,  the  Community  will
support  the  education  sector  through  sectoral  programmes  based  on
dialogue with all the partners.

4.

Taking account of the needs of the poor and their participation

One of the main risks of the sector-wide approach applied to education is that people who
are below the poverty line remain outside the system and fail to benefit from advances in
access to and quality of education.

At  government  level,  education  measures  need  to  be  targeted  on  poverty  within  the
medium-term  programming  and  budget  implementation  process.  At  the  same  time,
expenditure  on  the  protection  of  the  poor  must  be  protected  against  any  budget  cuts.
From  the  point  of  view  of  donors,  joint  reviews  play  a  key  role  since  they  enable
practical measures to be taken to consolidate poverty reduction objectives.

17

The  choices  made  in  the  framework  of  macroeconomic  programmes  or  in  the  area  of
direct  sectoral  support  should,  in  the  interests  of  fairness,  be  aimed  primarily  at
promoting the least advantaged population groups, who do not necessarily have access to
these services.

Users of public education services must be consulted about the objectives of the sectoral
policies supported by donors before they are adopted by governments and must also be
involved in their implementation.

The  specific  school  coverage  needs  of  some  disadvantaged  regions  or  groups
(distribution, schools in rural areas, ease of access to schools) must be taken into account
when implementing sectoral programmes.

If  education  services  are  decentralised,  mechanisms  are  needed  to  enable  the  users  of
these services to monitor results.

Lastly,  priority  for  basic  education  and  preferential  access  for  girls  are  key
components of poverty reduction in public expenditure programmes.

5.

Participation by  the  education actors (including  the private  sector)  and  of
civil society in the broad sense

Participation by the actors and civil society must be considered a priority. Participation of
this  kind  needs  therefore  to  be  sought  with  parents’  and  teachers’  associations  in
particular. This will work only if real financial capacities are provided at local level.

Participation by the actors may also be assisted by decentralisation policies. Countries as
well  as  donors  must  be  able,  however,  to  audit  the  allocation  of  funds  to  users.  In  this
context, participatory social assessments should be used more systematically, particularly
in  the  sector-wide  approach.  Decentralisation  may  also  help  to  mobilise  the  actors,
especially if they are able themselves to monitor education measures

The importance attached to actors in the education sector also means that account has to
be  taken  of  the  “private  sector”  of  education  which  may  in  some  countries  make  a
major contribution to the quantity and quality  of education,  especially  outside the
formal education system.

6.

Support  for  institutional  development  and  capacity-building  in  education
systems

Donors  have  not,  in  general,  paid  sufficient  or  systematic  attention  to  institutional
capacity-building  even  though  it  plays  a  large  part  in  the  sustainability  of  sectoral
to  be  a  natural
programmes.  Support  for 
consequence of the sector-wide approach. It is a key factor for the introduction of viable
education strategies. This is reflected by the Code of Conduct on Education adopted by
the Commission and the Member States (Annex 8).

institutional  capacity-building 

tends 

Institutional  capacity-building  in  the  education  sector  may  include  support  for  policy
formulation  and  implementation,  substantive  and  budget  auditing  of  government
commitments,  financial  constraints  and  choices,  development  of  the  ability  to  dialogue
with  donors,  consistency  with  public  service  reforms,  development  of  teachers’

18

capacities  and  training,  infrastructure  planning  (school  locations),  support  for  gender
issues and local capacity to produce usable statistics.

The Commission considers that institutional support for education must be seen as part
and parcel of the general enhancement of countries’ institutional and administrative
capacity.  It  is  consistent  with  the  Commission's  commitment  to  finance  recurrent
expenditure in the context of budgetary support.

7.

Monitoring of activities and results (indicators)

(cid:1)  The  use  of  budgetary  support  and  the  sector-wide  approach  means  that  activity
monitoring  (input)  indicators,  results  (output)  indicators  and  impact  indicators
must  first  of  all  be  those  of  the  country,  e.g.  within  the  framework  of  the  Poverty
Reduction Strategies.

(cid:1)  They  must  also  be  common  to  all  the  donors,  because  it  is  no  longer  possible  to
evaluate the impact of a single donor's activity in isolation from the country's activity
and other donor operations. This is particularly true if donors are willing to make up
the  financing  shortfall  of  the  "education  of  countries"  budgets  with  a  view  to
achieving the Millennium development objectives.

(cid:1)  Considerable  efforts  need  to  be  made  to  improve  over  time  the  statistical  data  on
which indicators are to be based, if reliable and relevant indicators are to be set up. It
is vital that statistics be broken down by gender. Countries and donors also need to
improve their monitoring and feedback systems.

(cid:1)  Indicators  should  be  few  in  number,  simple,  relevant  and  readily  measurable  and
achievable.  Donors  and  partner  countries  must  check  that  the  indicators  used  in  the
country and poverty reduction strategies are consistent.

Annex  9  summarises  the  criteria  for  the  use  of  indicators.  The  success  rate  of  an  age-
group  after  a  sufficient  number  of  years  of  education  (end  of  primary  education)  is  a
good indicator of a system's efficiency.

8.

Financing instruments

(cid:1)  The  Community  will  back  education  and  training  systems  through  macroeconomic
and  budgetary  support  on  the  basis  of  monitoring  and  results  indicators,  in
coordination with the other donors, and on the basis of viable sectoral policies on the
part of recipient countries.

(cid:1)  The Community will defray the ongoing current expenditure connected with some
measures (for instance teachers' pay), especially for the poorest countries and those
that are in or emerging from crisis.

This undertaking is new, consistent with direct budgetary support, and should enable
many  countries to strengthen the tenability  of  the  reforms  they  wish  to  undertake  in
the management of their education systems. It is expressly provided for by Article 61
of the Cotonou Agreement. It will take place in a healthy macroeconomic context in
order to ensure the long-term viability of education systems.

19

The  conditions  of  this  payment  undertaking  are  linked  to  the  circumstances  of  the
macroeconomic  support  itself:  there  must  be  sufficiently  transparent,  reliable  and
efficient  management  of  public  expenditure;  clearly  defined 
sectoral  or
macroeconomic  policies  established  by  the  country;  and  known,  transparent  public
procurement rules.

(cid:1)  It will continue, in line with the Joint Declaration of the Commission and the Council,
its support to the education sector with a view to ensuring equal access to education
by means of sectoral programmes.

(cid:1)  This  support  can  be  provided  through  joint  financing,  which  will  be  based  on
matching the partner country's financing needs with the overall capacity of donors.

The  financing  should  preferably  be  provided  under  the  management  of  one  donor,
ensuring pooling of its financial resources and that of other donors, according  to the
macro-economic context and based on a sector-wide approach. It may take the form of
strengthened operational coordination, harmonisation of procedures, joint monitoring
and evaluation and possible unified financial support.

Lack of financing: Tanzania

In  Tanzania  the  Poverty  Reduction  Strategy  Paper  contains  a  programme  for  the
development  of  the  education  sector  which  should  enable  the  country  to  achieve
education  objectives  by  2015.  The  cost  of  the  programme  is  estimated  at  $  969
million  for  three  years  (until  2004).  The  Tanzanian  Government  can  only  finance
half of that amount. The World Bank and DFID have undertaken to cover two thirds
of the remainder. Thus despite this aid the sectoral financing plan does not cover all
of the estimated needs.

Source: OXFAM, Are PRSPs working? 21 December 2001.

V.

1.

2.

CONSISTENCY,  COORDINATION  AND  COMPLEMENTARITY
BETWEEN DONORS

For the Commission, coordination and complementarity with the Member States
and the other donors must take place via increased cooperation in the framework
of tenable sectoral policies owned by the recipient states.

Commission  cooperation  with  international  bodies  (UNESCO,  ADEA),  the
other  multilateral  donors  (World  Bank)  and  with  the  Member  States  must  be
substantially  strengthened  both  in  terms  of  policy  analysis  and  the
formulation  of  joint  programmes  and  on  the  operational  level  through
wider-ranging  cooperation  in  the  field.  The  Community  undertakes  to
strengthen cooperation with European donors by meetings of experts in Brussels
and on the ground in the framework of sectoral strategies for education.

20

3.

4.

Increases  in  aid  resources  for  education  should,  according  to  the  Commission,
take  place  also  within  a  framework  of  complementarity  with  Member
States' measures. The Member States must also take on their responsibility in
this  field  on  the basis of much closer  coordination  between  them  and  with  the
Commission.

In its  conclusions on operational coordination  between  the  Member  States  and
the Community (May 2000), the Council listed the following areas: information
exchange, dialogue on strategies, cofinancing, differences in implementation
between  regions,  joint  evaluations  and  studies,  etc.  These  conclusions  are
fully applicable to education and training strategies.

Complementarity  is  likely  to  play  a  greater  role  where  the  governments  of
partner countries have clear education sector policies which are actually applied
and  where  financing  mechanisms  are  common  to  both  donors  and  partner
countries.  The  critical  point  in  this  respect  is  the  level  of  financing  of
education  and  training  budgets  and  the  commitment  of  donors  to  finance
the shortfall.

The  Commission  considers  the  strengthening  of  coordination  and
complementarity  to  be  an  essential  prerequisite  for  increasing  the  overall
efficiency of aid.

VI.

CONCLUSION

This  Communication  from  the  Commission  refocuses  its  sectoral  support  on  poverty
reduction  in  line  with  its  recent  international  undertakings.  It  confirms  its  political
commitment  to  stepping  up  education  and  training  resources  in  its  development
cooperation.

The Commission therefore asks the Council to adopt a resolution in accordance with the
guidelines contained in the Communication.

21

Annex 1 : Definitions

It has been  acknowledged, in line with the recommendations of the Jomtien  and  Dakar
conferences,  that  basic  education  requires  a  specific  definition  that  is  no  longer  over-
restrictive  or  too  technical  (e.g.  the  OECD/DAC  definition)  but  can  be  more  broadly
applied to all regions and education systems. It therefore seems appropriate to adopt the
definitions  of  basic  education  produced  by  the  conferences  as  well  as  the  OECD/DAC
definitions for other categories or sub-sectors.

Basic  education:  basic  education  needs  to  be  redefined  in  respect  of  the  terms
“technical”,  “special”,  “higher”,  “tertiary”  and  “lifelong”.  Basic  education  as  such
embraces  formal  primary  education  but  also  covers  all  the  skills,  knowledge,  attitudes,
values  and  motives  considered  necessary  for  an  individual  to  fully  master  the  skills  of
reading and writing and to lay the necessary foundations for embarking on a voyage of
lifelong  learning.  Basic  education  can  be  dispensed  by  means  of  both  formal  and
informal resources and institutions.

The  length  and  nature  of  the  “basic”  school  cycle  varies  from  one  country  to  another:
from a minimum of 3-4 years of primary school to a nine-year cycle or the completion of
a full secondary cycle.

Infant education: offers a structured series of activities in a formal institution or as part
of a non-formal programme for children. These activities are normally geared to children
from the age of three onwards and include organised learning activities as one part of the
overall care programme.

Primary education: refers to education programmes normally designed to give children
a  firm  grounding  in  reading,  writing  and  mathematics  and  an  understanding  of  other
subjects. In most countries this level covers approximately six years of full-time formal
schooling.

Secondary education: study in the secondary cycle.

Training: vocational training geared to preparing young people and adults for work and
basic  living  skills;  secondary-level  basic  and  technical  vocational  training;  continuing
training; apprenticeship including informal vocational training.

Higher  education  and  training:  university-level  degree  courses;  in  lycées  and
polytechniques: grant programmes.

22

1)

2)

3)

Annex 2 :
The education situation

Data provided at the Dakar Forum on Education for All (April 2000) show that
close  on  113  million  children  (60%  of  whom  are  girls)  are  not  enrolled  at
school.  In  nearly  40  countries,  net  enrolment  rates  for  primary  education
are  below  80%.  Although  it  is  extremely  difficult  to  obtain  accurate  data  on
school  attendance,  completion  rates  and  results,  it  is  estimated  that  in  sub-
Saharan Africa one third of children enrolled for primary education drop out of
school after four years.

Sub-Saharan Africa, where net enrolment rates are the lowest (61%) and where
42  million  of  Africa’s  140  million  school-age  children  live,  and  southern  and
western  Asia,  where  47 million  of  Asia’s  school-age  children  live,  pose  the
severest challenges for Primary Education for All. There are close links in these
two “regions” between low school enrolment rates and the incidence of poverty.

The  situation  seems  less  desperate  in  southern  and  western  Asia.  In  the  Arab
countries and North Africa, considerable efforts will have to be made to ensure
that a further 29 million children attend school by 2010.

In  Latin  America  and  the  Caribbean  there  has  been  a  slow  expansion  of
secondary  education  which  is  a  step  in  the  right  direction,  but  many  children
leave school after a few years and rates of repeated years are still very high. The
quality of education is an urgent problem in these areas.

In general, world demographic trends show that it is reasonable to fear a drop in
school attendance rates in the future.

All the  education systems of  the  developing  countries  raise  problems  from  the
point of view of evaluating the quality of school outcomes. A recent study of
58 countries shows that in 23 of these  countries over 20% of  children enrolled
for the first year of primary education fail to complete four years of education.
Primary education completion rates are between 60% and 70% in most countries
of sub-Saharan Africa. There are major disparities within countries.  Africa has
one of the lowest rates of progression to secondary education (less than 10%).

The  inequalities  faced  by  girls  are  most  evident  in  sub-Saharan  Africa  and
southern  and  western  Asia.  In  sub-Saharan  Africa,  54%  of  girls  of  school  age
were  enrolled  for primary  education in 1998 against  66%  of  boys.  In  southern
and  western  Asia,  the  percentages  were  67%  and  79%  respectively.  While
disparities between boys and girls are in general decreasing, enormous progress
has still to be made  to  achieve parity by  2005 in  sub-Saharan Africa,  southern
Asia and the Arab countries.

As regards illiteracy, one out of four of the world’s adults was illiterate in 2000
(i.e. close on 900 million people) and this figure is increasing: most are women.
Southern  and  eastern  Asia  account  alone  for  71%  of  the  world’s  illiterates.
Illiteracy is a major barrier to sustainable development.

23

4)

5)

Poverty  increases  educational  disadvantages.  Although  access  to  education  in
the  poorest  countries  is  more  difficult  for  children  from  rural  areas,  access
problems are also to be found in many countries in urban areas to which there
has been an exodus from rural areas; in these urban areas, poverty is a barrier to
any recovery of children by the education system, especially in Asia.

AIDS is having devastating effects on the poor and on education, especially
in  sub-Saharan Africa.  In  Zambia,  1  300  teachers  died  from  the  disease  in  the
first  ten  months  of  1998  and  there  are  estimated  to  be  650  000  children  aged
under  15  whose  parents  have  died  from  AIDS.  An  ever  increasing  number  of
children  are  on  the  streets.  There  are  clear  signs  of  a  substantial  downturn  in
school attendance by girls and an increase in child labour in countries with high
AIDS prevalence rates.

AIDS  is  also  having  a  catastrophic  impact  on  education  system  performance;
AIDS affects the size of education systems (fewer pupils and teachers), teaching
and  learning  methods  (when  pupils  and  teachers  are  infected)  and  education
quality (higher rate of absenteeism among pupils and teachers).

Education systems have been hard hit by conflicts, especially in sub-Saharan
Africa, but also in other conflict zones (Colombia, Afghanistan, etc.). Conflicts
affect  the  availability  of  teaching  materials  and  the  organisation  of  systems.
Children  are  often  the  main  victims  of  conflicts.  According  to  UNICEF,  over
two  million  children  have  died  over  the  last  10  years  as  a  result  of  armed
conflicts. The number of severely injured children and survivors suffering from
very severe psychological trauma is estimated at six million.

24

Annex 3
Share of total development assistance to education and to basic education
(DAC countries)

Donor

Australia
Austria
Belgium
Canada
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Luxembourg
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United 
United States

Total grants

Total ODA

World Bank
Other development banks

Kingdom

% to education in total

% to basic education

15.7
19.8
13.0
8.1
1.2
7.4
27.4
16.8
6.3
15.9
5.8
8.7
18.7
8.3
35.1
10.4
7.3
12.1
5.8
3.6
9.6
3.2

10.7

4.8

6.3
2.4

3.9
0.5
0.5
0.8
0.1
0.2
-
1.9
-
-
0.0
0.4
3.2
3.9
1.8
6.5
0.0
2.2
2.9
1.2
3.0
1.2

1.2

0.9

1.3
0.1

Source: DAC Report 2000 on Development Cooperation, pp. 246-247

25

Annex 4
Member States policies in the education and training sector

Austria

Austrian Development Co-operation gives priority to basic education, vocational training
and post-secondary education. Special  focus is placed  on  increased  access  to  education
for all, quality development of educational programmes, support for reform processes by
partner countries, science and research, democratic institutions and institution building.

Bilateral aid focuses on a number of countries mainly in Europe, Asia and Sub-Saharan
Africa.

In 1999 Austria spent 19.8% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Belgium

Education  sector  support  is  focused  mainly  on  financing  university  co-operation.
However,  stronger  priority  is  being  given  to  basic  education,  formal  and  informal
education and access to education.

Belgian bilateral aid is focused on 25 countries, but there are not necessarily educational
projects  or  programmes  in  each  of  these  countries.  All  countries  negotiate  periodically
with Belgium and it is decided by mutual agreement which sectors will receive financial
support.

Belgium  finances  in  particular  projects  implemented  by  Belgian  universities  and  with
Belgian technical assistance. However, aid programmes in general and budgetary support
in particular constitute a relatively new form of aid for Belgium.

In 1999 Belgium spent 13.0% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Denmark

The focus in the education sector is on basic education and special needs education as a
component of basic  education in a selected number of partner  countries in  Africa, Asia
and Central America.

Bilateral  assistance  within  a  sector  will,  to  the  fullest  extent  possible,  take  the  form  of
sector  programme  assistance.  Sector  policy  dialogue  is  emphasised.  Danida  is  also
working towards an increasingly decentralised approach to project management.

In 1999 Denmark spent 1.2% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Finland

The Finish Government  gives  priority  to  basic education. The  geographical  focus  is  on
Africa (there are sizeable education programmes in Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia,
among  other  countries).  However,  in  recent  years  new  projects  have  been  launched  in
Latin America, Asia and the Balkans.

26

A  portion  of  development  co-operation  funds  is  channelled  through  non-governmental
organisations.  In  recent  years,  sector-wide  programmes  have  been  launched  in  many
partner countries.

The  Education  sector  accounted  for  some  7.4%  of  Finnish  development  co-operation
funds in 1999.

France

Under  French  co-operation  in  the  field  of  education  and  training  the  largest  budget
allocation  is  for  technical  assistance.  Technical  education,  higher  education  and
education supplies were other priority areas. Recent trends have seen a rise in support to
the  basic  education  sector  (which  includes  secondary  education).  Almost  half  of
education sector support focus on seven countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast,
Madagascar, Mauritania, Senegal and Chad.

France provides both direct budgetary support and project support.

In 1999 France spent 27.4% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Germany

The  German  education  sector  policy  focuses  on  the  promotion  of  basic  education,  co-
operation  in  higher  education,  and  vocational  training.  In  the  1990s  the  vocational
training sub-sector received almost 50% of German co-operation in education. However,
increasing  amounts  and  priority  are  being  given  to  basic  education.  Regional  priority
areas  of  German  development  co-operation  in  the  field  of  basic  education  are  Sub-
Saharan Africa and populous countries of South Asia. Taking all three education sectors
together, regional emphasis is on co-operation with Africa, closely followed by Asia.

Sectoral support, in co-operation with other donors, will be placed in the foreground. All
measures should be regional- or country specific. Germany provides project support.

In 1999 Germany spent 16.8% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Greece

Greek  ODA  is  mainly  concentrated  in  its  own  region,  and  focuses  on  health  and
education infrastructures. It devotes approximately 10% of its ODA to education, using a
project approach.

Ireland

The focus of  Ireland's aid support to education changed in the 1990s from an emphasis
on tertiary education to one on basic education. By the end of the 1990s over 90% of the
education budget was allocated to basic education. Ireland's ODA in the education sector
focused principally on three countries in the 1990s: Lesotho, Tanzania and Zambia.

Education  support  is  provided  through  bilateral  and  multilateral  support  and  through
NGOs.  Ireland's  aid  supports  national  efforts  and  sector-wide  approach  programmes.
Other aid modalities include area-based or district development programmes and project
aid.

27

In 1999 Ireland spent 15.9% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Italy

The largest share of  Italian  co-operation  in the  education sector has been channelled to
university  co-operation,  followed  by  investment  in  material  infrastructures.  Support  for
policy reforms and capacity building is also being given an increased focus. The regional
emphasis is on Somalia and Latin America, but North Africa, the Middle East and some
countries in Asia are also important regional focuses.

In 1999 Italy spent 5.8% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Luxembourg

In 1999 Luxembourg spent 18.7% of its total bilateral aid on education, of which 8.2%
was committed to basic education.

The Netherlands

The  Government  is  giving  increasing  priority  to  access  to  education  (mainly  basic
education)  within  the  context  of  poverty  reduction  and  the  PRSPs  while  retaining  a
strong emphasis on higher education. This intensification of effort is done by enhancing
the  policy  dialogue  and  increasing  financial  resources,  through  both  bilateral  and
multilateral  channels.  More  than  half  of  the  focus  countries  of  the  Netherlands  have
opted for co-operation in the education sector.

The main instruments of aid are: project and programme aid, technical assistance.

In 1999 the Netherlands spent 8.3% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Portugal

Support  for  the  education  sector  has  been  identified  as  one  of  the  priorities  for
Portuguese co-operation policy in the next three years. The co-operation programme on
education will focus on five areas: support for primary and secondary education, higher
education  support,  infrastructures  and  facilities,  institutional  building  and  Portuguese
teaching schools. Particular attention will be given to basic education (primary education,
literacy  and  non-formal  basic  education).  Portuguese  co-operation  will  focus  on  Africa
(Angola,  Mozambique,  Cabo  Verde,  Guinea  Bissau,  Sao  Tome  e  Principe  and  Timor
Leste).

Portugal works through project support.

In 1999, Portugal spent 7.3% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Spain

Spanish  aid  has  the  following  priorities  within  the  education  sector:  educational  policy
and  administrative  management,  educational  services  and  facilities  and  training,  and
university education. The focus has been on inter-university co-operation. A new strategy
on co-operation in the education sector is under preparation. Geographically, the focus is
on Latin America, some parts of the Arab world and some ACP countries.

28

The  development  aid  in  the  education  sector  is  principally  disbursed  through  a  project
approach.

In 1999 Spain spent 12.1% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Sweden

The  main  area  of  support  in  education  programmes  is  primary  education.  Education
programmes  also  aim  at  gender  equality  and  the  promotion  of  peace,  democracy  and
human rights. Africa received more than half of all disbursements.

Swedish development co-operation in the education sector has undergone a change from
project  support  to  programme  support  (SWAP).  It  began  with  the  provision  of  support
mainly  for  school  construction,  teacher  training  and  textbooks,  but  is  now  mostly
channelled directly to the government budgets in the partner countries.

In 1999 Sweden spent 5.8% of its total bilateral aid on education.

United Kingdom

DFID's policy at country level gives high priority to improving access to and quality of
primary education. A high  proportion of the UK's  bilateral  aid  benefits  least-developed
and other low-income countries.

DFID's  approach  places  increasing  emphasis  on  supporting  consistent  sectoral  plans
within  a  comprehensive  country-led  analysis  in  the  context  of  the  countries'  overall
poverty reduction strategies. Priority is  given to direct budget support for a set of  well-
developed national priorities.

In 1999 United Kingdom spent 9.6% of its total bilateral aid on education.

Sources :

(cid:1)  DAC Report 2000, on Development Co-operation, OECD 2001.

(cid:1)  Dakar  Education  for  All  Forum  and  G8  Education  Task  Force  Meeting  (December

2001).

(cid:1)  BMZ, Development co-operation in the field of basic education, Dakar Forum, April

2000.

(cid:1)  BMZ, Rapport pour le G8, 2001.

(cid:1)  DFID, Sector wide approaches to education, a strategic analysis, No 32, 1999.

(cid:1)  DFID, Learning opportunities for all, A policy framework for education, 2000.

(cid:1)  DANIDA, Annual Reports on Denmark's Development Assistance.

(cid:1)  DANIDA, Sector policy: education (2000).

(cid:1)  DANIDA, Vocational education and training, 1996.

29

(cid:1)  SIDA, Policy for Sida Co-operation in Basic Education and education reform, 1996.

(cid:1)  SIDA, Education for All (April 2001).

(cid:1)  SIDA, Facts & Figures (2000). Dept. for Democracy and Social Development.

(cid:1)  Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Netherlands, the sectoral approach, 2000.

(cid:1)  Ministry of  Foreign  Affairs, The Netherlands, Education: a basic  human  right,  basic

education, practice and implementation, 2000.

(cid:1)  Ireland's Official Development Assistance, 2000.

(cid:1)  Ireland Aid, Education policy and practice, Guidelines, July 2001.

(cid:1)  European Commission, An analysis of EU aid expenditure in education and training in

developing countries, 1994.

(cid:1)  European  Commission,  coordinating  the  development  aid  policies  of  European

Countries, CeSPI, 1994.

(cid:1)  Austria, Austria's DAC data (OFSE).

(cid:1)  Belgique,  Rapport  annuel  de  la  Direction  Générale  de  la  Coopération  Internationale

(DGCI - 2000); Rapport annuel Coopération Techique Belge.

(cid:1)  Spain, Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores. Area de planificación (November 2001).

(cid:1)  Portugal,  Instituto  da  Cooperacao  Portuguesa.  Direccao  de  Servicios  dos  Asuntos

comunitarias e Multilaterais (November 2001).

(cid:1)  Finland,  Ministry  for  Foreign  Affairs  of  Finland.  Department  for  International

Development Cooperation.

(cid:1)  France, Coopération au Développement (rapport pour l'équipe spéciale G8 EPT).

30

Annex 5: Community cooperation in education and training

Current commitments by geographical area (November 2001)

REGION

GLOBAL COMMITMENTS

BASIC 

EDUCATION OTHER 

LEVELS  OF 

EDUCATION

AND TRAINING

EUROS

Number  of  projects
and programmes

EUROS

Number  of  projects
and programmes

EUROS

Number 
projects 
programmes

of
and

Europe,
Caucasus,
Central Asia

Asia

ACP  +  South  Africa
(without 
Structural
Adjustment)

MED

Sub-total
Latin America

176 943 835

693 595 250

31

24

0

567 350 000

627 381 475

116

232 709 650

388 673 571

164 522 820

21

22

180 000 000

26 713 645

TOTAL

2 051 116 951

214

1 006 773 295

0

13

26

3

4

46

176 943 835

126 245 250

394 671 825

208 673 571

137 809 175

31

11

90

18

18

1 044 343 656

168

31

Annex 6
Evaluation of Community support for education in the ACP countries

Summary of main conclusions and recommendations, based on the draft report

7th  and  8th  EDF  aid  to  education  in  ACP  countries  shows  a  nominal  but  not  substantial
increase. The shift of priorities towards basic education has favourably influenced the amount
of funds channelled to it. On the whole the results do not reflect the interest demonstrated by
the Commission in supporting basic education given its effects on reducing poverty.

The  link  between  education  and  reducing  poverty  was  recognised  only  after  most  of  the
education programmes/projects in ACP countries had been devised, which partly explains the
absence  of  any  conceptual  framework  allowing  for  synergies  between  programmes  in  these
respective fields, and of any systematic attention to the poverty aspect in the implementation
of education programmes.

Under  appropriate  circumstances,  budgetary  support  (combined  with  “project”  support,
especially  for  institution-building)  appears  to  be  more  suited  to  the  needs  of  low-income
countries  that  depend  heavily  on  external  aid  and  where  better  access  to  education  is  a
priority, compared  to medium-income  countries that have the budget  resources  necessary to
support project investments.

The  sector-wide  approach  should  only  be  envisaged  under  appropriate  circumstances:  an
approved strategic framework  and a national sector policy,  a  medium-term  budget linked to
annual  budgets,  coordination  between  government  and  donors,  competent  and  active
Delegations,  and  performance  indicators  increasingly  focusing  on  the  quality  of  results  in
education.

The “project” approach should not be abandoned, in particular in situations not allowing for
large  sector  programmes.  Essential  factors  for  successful  education  projects  include:  a
favourable  political  environment,  good  governance,  ownership  of  preparation  and
implementation  at  local  level,  flexible  programming,  technical  assistance  for  institutional
change, clear objectives, and a link with a single institution.

It is advisable to include in Country Strategy Papers an analysis of the political environment
and of the macroeconomic budgetary and sectoral management capacity, to pave the way for
more detailed decisions as to the type and level of support for education as well as the choice
of implementation mechanisms.

More attention and resources should be devoted to support for institutional capacity building,
which  can  be  reinforced  through  partnerships,  North-South  pooling  of  experience,
scholarships,  technical  assistance  and  regional  support.  Key  fields  include:  information
gathering,  analysis,  dissemination  and  management;  budgetary  and  financial  management;
public service management; follow up and evaluation.

It is recommended that the number of specialists in education and social sectors in  Brussels
and in Delegations be increased. This would improve the credibility of the Commission in its
relations with partner countries and donors, which is  essential in the  present devolution and
decentralisation process.

The  Commission  should  place  more  emphasis  on  research  development  in  education,
including publications; and improve its data collection, storage and utilisation system.

32

Annex 7
Common Framework for Cooperation with third countries on higher education

The  Common  Framework  defines  the  main  guidelines  for  establishing  a  frame  of  reference
for  cooperation  in  the  field  of  higher  education  between  the  European  Community  and
developing  countries,  as  well  as  with  emerging  economies  and  countries  in  transition.  It
proposes harmonising the methods of implementing Commission programmes/projects with a
view to improving the effectiveness and impact of existing cooperation in the field as part of a
strategy to focus efforts.

The Common Framework rests on the following principles:

(cid:1)  Support for institutionalised networks, based on structured and sustainable cooperation
between countries/regions and designed to contribute to the development of local capacity
through  the  transfer  of  know-how.  The  Common  Framework  also  recognises  the
importance of projects to encourage mobility, both for students and teachers.

(cid:1)  A  flexible  approach  that  respects  the  priorities  set  for  each  country/region  and  the
differences between them in terms of cooperation policy. Projects/programmes defined on
the basis of the Common Framework will include features specific to the regions/countries
concerned:  for  example,  priority  thematic  areas  for  cooperation,  eligible  establishments,
network  membership  and  financing  levels.  Flexibility  in  the  cooperation  objectives
pursued  will  ensure  the  consistency  of  these  actions  with  the  two  Communications
mentioned above.

(cid:1)  Use  of  the  existing  legal  basis  for  each  geographical  area  (for  example,  the  Cotonou
Agreement,  budget  headings,  and  so  forth).  Financial  resources  will  be  allocated  by  the
DGs responsible for programming, on the basis of the priorities laid down and  following
standard programming procedures.

The typology of actions covered by the Common Framework may cover various aspects, such
as:

(cid:1)  updating  of  administrative  and  academic  management  (management  of  academic  and
administrative  staff,  management  and  development  of  curricula,  management  and
development of university teaching careers, etc.);

(cid:1)  developing  human  capital  by  means  of  training  and  mobility  (training  and  mobility
schemes  for  university  students  and  professional  managers,  training  and  mobility  for
university teachers and instructors, networking of high-level experts);

(cid:1)  financial and technical assistance for institution-building.

The Common Framework envisages the setting up of a regular system of “calls for proposals”
by  region  or  country.  These  calls  for  proposals  will  be  intended  for  final  beneficiaries,  i.e.
higher education, research and vocational training establishments recognised by the respective
authorities, organised in networks around a joint project. Other partner institutions (public or
private institutions/organisations, companies, associations and organisations representative of
civil society) will be able to form part of the networks by participating in the preparation and
implementation of projects. High level teachers and instructors, students and administrators of
the  beneficiary  establishments  are  the  final  recipients  of  the  projects  resulting  from  the
Common Framework.

33

Annex 8
Code of conduct for education sector funding agencies

1.

2.

3.

Participants  of  the  Horizon  2000  Meeting  of  Education  Experts  from  the
Commission  and  Member  States  share  the  view  that  all  reasonable  steps  should  be
taken to implement the following:

Ensure  that  information  on  all  relevant  interventions  in  the  sector  (including
consultancies,  new  project  initiatives,  requests  for  assistance  made  by  government,
project appraisals, implementation and progress reports, technical assistance reports,
evaluation  reports)  is  made  available  to  government  and  other  funding  agencies.
Confidential  matters  (e.g.  internal  problems  relating  to  inappropriate  behaviour  by
expatriate staff) may be excluded.

Strictly adhere to maximum national/regional rates  of remuneration and allowances
set  by  governments  in  agreement  with  donors  for  civil  service  employees,
remuneration of national consultants, payments for conferences, etc. Avoid “buying
out” civil servants for private funding agency consultancy.

4.

Ensure that donor-financed Technical Assistance for governments:

– 

– 

– 

– 

– 

is driven by government priorities and absorption capacity, on the basis of the
initial draft Terms of Reference that are normally provided by the government;

reports primarily to government managers;

strengthens government institutional capacity by focusing on skills transfer to
civil servants in priority government functions,

is  not  restricted  to  supporting  individual  funding  agency  projects  or
programmes;

develops local consultancy expertise wherever possible;

Incorporate gender issues in all missions, studies or related activities and use experts
in  this  field  if  necessary.  Ensure  environmental  aspects  are  taken  into  account  in
education-related activities where appropriate.

Actively  encourage  national  consensus-building  processes  and  support  local
coordination mechanisms (to  encourage  government ownership  and use as  a  means
of exploring further aid options and modalities).

Work towards:

– 

– 

using  the  recipient  country's  own  financial,  procurement,  monitoring  and
reporting procedures and guidelines;

following  the  government  fiscal  year  and  procedures  for  progress  reports,
financial reports and audits;

– 

consolidating reporting procedures.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Use existing structures in order to ensure maximum integration in MoE policy.

34

9.

10.

11.

Ensure  effective  communication  between  the  local  funding  agency  offices  and
headquarters.

Organise joint evaluation missions, joint monitoring, joint auditing and evaluation, in
accordance with the government's budget cycle and fiscal planning.

In  consultation  with  the  government,  schedule  missions  to  fit  the  government's
timetable, on a scale that is manageable for it.

35

Annex 9
Indicators

Indicators must be included in Country Strategy Papers, PRSPs and specific programmes.

The  most  useful  indicators,  in  addition  to  monitoring  indicators,  are  result  indicators.
Examination of these indicators has to include an analysis of past trends in order to measure
whether or not  they  are  realistic. They  must  be  such  that  they  can  be  used  both  to  measure
progress made and possibly to enable a re-orientation of policies. They should be reasonably
achievable and at the same time express an actual effort to achieve objectives.

The typical indicators for education are: the percentage of the country’s budget channelled
into education and the percentage allocated to primary education, an annual audit, and
the  class,  teacher  and  textbook  ratio  per  pupil.  Other  indicators  may  concern  the
percentage  of  pupils  of  a  certain  age  reaching  a  certain  level,  the  number  of  teachers
recruited, the introduction of information systems for the management of education, the
rate of enrolment in primary school and the illiteracy rate.

It  should  be  stressed  here  that  the  choice  and  monitoring  of  indicators  will  not  be  effective
unless  the  developing  countries  and  donors  strengthen  their  own  monitoring  and  evaluation
systems so that they can improve knowledge of what they are doing and draw lessons for the
policies to be pursued.

For  education  as  for  other  programmes,  improved  management  of  public  expenditure  is  an
essential  dimension  and  a  prerequisite  for  the  implementation  of  any  budgetary  support.  In
practice, this improvement involves the gradual introduction of the following measures:

–  Development  of  specific  performance  indicators  in  the  area  of  budget  management  and

more generally the sound management of public finances;

–  Support  to  strengthen  monitoring  capacities  within  and  outside  countries  (institutional

support to strengthen financial and budgetary audit agencies);

–  Support  to  strengthen  indirect  auditing  by  civil  society  (through  information  and

transparency of allocations and budget execution).

Development of instruments making it possible to evaluate the quality of budget management,
which extend the scope of public expenditure audits or act as a supplement to them.

36