Primary Education (Africa) (Hansard, 29 March 2000)

§ Clare Short

We are committed to the International Development Targets of achieving universal primary education by 2015 and gender equality in primary and secondary schooling by 2005. In our bilateral programmes in Africa, substantial resources are allocated to education for the achievement of these targets. And in my meetings with representatives of African governments, I take every opportunity to discuss their commitment to, and progress in, achieving these targets.

We believe four things need to be done if these targets are to be met and there is to be significant improvement in access to, and the quality of, primary education in Africa. First, we need a real and sustained commitment by African governments to securing universal primary education. We need to work with those governments committed to reform, and help them put in place the structural changes necessary to deliver quality primary education for all their children.

Second, we need to address the issue of resourcing for education. There is a clear need to increase the level of resources that African governments commit to primary and basic education. Too often, the needs of the primary sector are not funded because the university sector has more vocal and politically influential constituents. In Africa, the public subsidy for a university student is 20 per cent, of a primary school pupil. And investing in primary and basic education should be a vital priority area for development assistance.

Third, we need to shift from a projects-based approach to a sector-wide approach which gives appropriate priority to basic and primary education. And we need to pull together the work of all the different development donors around a focused, agreed strategy drawn up by the government of the country concerned. This means encouraging and supporting a sound macro-economic framework which ensures a sustainable flow of resources for primary education. And it means help with reforms to ministries of education, to systems of management and teacher training, book production, and tax reform.

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The fourth thing we need to do if we are to achieve universal primary education by 2015 is to link education policy with the wider development strategy of the country, including policies on health, sanitation, livelihoods and rural transport. African governments and donors need to address the serious obstacles that often exist to enrolment, as well as the causes of drop out from school. This is particularly vital in the case of girls, who often face barriers of prejudice and discrimination, as well as economic disadvantage.

These are our priorities for Africa. This is also the agenda that we will be taking to the World Education Forum in Dakar next month. This meeting provides an important opportunity for African government, development agencies and non-governmental organisations—from North and South—to recommit themselves to a quality primary education system for all Africans.