Learning from success: How some countries have reached UPE

• In Event: Eliminating exclusion in education: Zero OOSC

Proposal

Despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the attainment of universal primary education as a way toward achieving Education For All has not surpassed some developing countries. Educate A Child (EAC)a global program of the Education Above All Foundation in its mandate to provide opportunities for all children to have access to a full course of primary education, wanted to know how some developing countries were able to meet, or come close to meeting, their commitment to primary education as a universal right. To look into this question more deeply, in collaboration with FHI 360, EAC commissioned case studies on four developing countries to understand better their pathway toward honoring their commitments to universal primary education.

These countries—Botswana, Brazil, Lebanon, and Malaysia—have very few similarities. They are continents apart, each with very different histories, cultures, economies, and social structures, yet these countries have stayed the course in ensuring all children can have a quality primary education. The purpose of the study was to identify the key elements or drivers that made UPE possible, and that may serve to inform decision-making at a national level. Despite their dissimilitude, the study identified 10 common elements across the four countries that enabled each to reach or come close to reaching UPE.

Drawing lessons learned from this Study, the panel will explore opportunities to scale out the strategies used by these countries in Djibouti, Botswana, and Thailand to reach OOSC. This initiative aims that by March 2020, these countries will commit the resources and the political to reach the most disadvantaged OOSC including those impacted by extreme weather and climatic conditions in order to achieve zero OOSC.

This presentation draws on lessons learned from the study and highlights the answers to the key questions:
• What drove countries that achieved zero OOSC to make the commitment?
• How did they do achieve zero OOSC?
• What problems did they overcome along the way?
• What challenges still remain?

Author

• Said Yasin, Education Above All/Educate A Child