EFA Global Monitoring Report 2007

The fifth edition of the Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report, Strong Foundations: Early Childhood Care and Education, was launched at a seminar in St Patrick’s College on 31 May 2007.  The seminar was co-hosted by the College, the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education and Irish Aid.

Yusef Sayed, senior policy analyst from the EFA/Global Monitoring Team at UNESCO Paris  gave an overview of the main findings.  Heino Schonfeld, Director of the CECDE, benchmarked progress in Ireland in relation to early childhood care and education, against the situation elsewhere.

In April 2000 in Dakar, Senegal, 164 governments, including the Irish Government, adopted a six point Education for All programme to provide education for all the world’s children.  The programme commits signatories to work to ensure that all children have access to quality education before the year 2015.  The United Nations Millennium Development Goals incorporate the Education for All programme. 

Each year, the Global Monitoring Report tracks progress towards the six EFA goals.  Developed by an independent team and published by UNESCO, the report is an authoritative reference that aims to inform, influence and sustain genuine commitment towards education for all.  An essential part of the process is widespread dissemination  and debate of these issues– that was the purpose of the Irish launch.

The fifth edition of the Report assesses in particular progress towards the first EFA goal, which calls upon countries to expand and improve comprehensive early childhood care and education, especially for the most disadvantaged children. Such interventions are crucial to improving children's present well-being and future development.

The Global Monitoring Process is part funded by Irish Aid which is represented on the editorial Board.  From an Irish perspective an added value is the opportunity to benchmark ourselves against other countries and to monitor national as well as global progress. 

The attendance at the seminar included Irish Aid Education advisers, members of the consultative council of the CECDE, staff of St Patrick’s College and invited guests.  Welcoming participants, the President of the College, Dr Travers, said that above all, the value of the report lies in its contribution to global awareness and the opportunity it offers us to raise our eyes beyond local and national concerns .   It demonstrated that a low priority was accorded to Early Childhood Care and Education by governments in  developing countries and by donors.  While the report   gave grounds for optimism in terms of the work being done, it  also offered a realistic account of the extent of the challenge faced, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. 

 

 

 

Last Updated: Monday June 11 2007