By NNN-KUNA
Paris : The Arab states have made significant progress towards universal primary education since 2000 although at a slower pace than other regions, according to a report revealed by UNESCO.
The 2008 Education For All (EFA) Global Monitoring Report and the Regional Mid-Term Review on EFA for the Arab states said that the number of children enrolled in primary school increased by nearly 12 per cent between 1999 and 2004, compared with 22 per cent in South and West Asia and 36 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
The percentage of students who reach the last grade of primary education is relatively high, above 94 per cent in half the countries, but a number of them face high drop-out levels, the report indicated.
In this regard, UNESCO declared that the findings of the report will be discussed at a four-day conference that will be held in Qatar from Wednesday, which will he held under the patronage of Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser Al-Missned, UNESCO’s Special Envoy for Basic and Higher Education and the participation of the Arab education ministers.
UNESCO noted in a statement that the conference will also focus on what needs to be done to ensure that the Arab countries achieve the six EFA goals by 2015.
The Regional Conference on EFA: Mid-Term Review, is organized by UNESCO and hosted by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. It will assess progress towards the six EFA goals, set by over 160 governments in 2000, and highlight the remaining challenges to be faced if these goals are to be met by the target year of 2015.
On this occasion, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, stressed the “timeliness” of the Doha conference. He said: “The Arab region has all the necessary potential to achieve the goals set in Dakar. Commitment to achieving these goals is a commitment to face the future through the spread of knowledge, the basis for peaceful and sustainable societies.”
Up to six million primary school age children are still out of school in the Arab states, and that there are marked disparities in the provision of education between urban and rural areas.
International and national student assessments suggest low levels of achievement in language, mathematics and science, the report stressed.
According to the report, gender disparities are greater at higher levels of education. About two-thirds of the Arab states had achieved gender parity in primary education by 2005, compared with 35 per cent in secondary education. At the tertiary level, more women than men were enrolled in 12 out of 17 countries with data.
The EFA Development Index finds that only one country, being Bahrain, is close to achieving EFA goals by 2015. Ten countries are in an intermediate position while four countries are still far from achieving the goals.