United Nations
Information Centre | Nepal
Winning People’s Will For Girl Child Education: Community Mobilisation for Gender Equality in Basic Education-A Case Study
Abstract:
Nepal’s approach to education is changing and recent developments towards increasingly child-friendly education, and inclusive schooling are encouraging. The growth in NFE initiatives has allowed for greater access to education for many people traditionally excluded, or beyond the reach of formal education. Nepal’s Tenth National Development Plan (2002-2007) focuses on the need for poverty alleviation and looks upon education as a pivotal factor in this initiative. There is a very real need for such an approach in a country where 19% of school age children do not attend school. That figure jumps to 40% at secondary level (MOES school based data, 2003).‘Children’s access to school and their achievements in the classroom are affected by poverty,disability, ethnic minority and gender’ DFID, Reaching the Poor- the Costs of sending children to school. As six country comparative study (2002). School enrolment rates in Nepal steadily increased from 1980, but have slowed down in recent years (EFA: National Plan of Action, 2003). This implies that there is an unreached section of society yet to be affected by national broad-spectrum initiatives,and that requires a different approach. The WPW project was designed to achieve the EFA goals after UNESCO identified the need for grass roots community mobilization for gender equality in basic education. To increase the school enrollment rate in some of the worst affected areas the task of sensitizing community leaders, elders, parents and the girls to the importance of female education needed to be addressed. Identification of problems and needs related to school attendance prior to the start of the academic year in April would be a key factor in the success of the project. In order to achieve this a six month integration phase was devised, beginning in December 2004 and running through May 2005. Contact with key community leaders and extant groups would be the first step in the process. Through discussion and Participatory Rural Assessment (PRA) determining factors influencing the enrollment of girls would be identified, and subsequently addressed (where possible) through open dialogue and structured support. #ChildFriendlyEducation #EFAGoals #EducationalDevelopment
Publisher: UNESCO Type / Script:
Progress Report  in  English
Keywords:
 EDUCATION, EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND PLANNING, RIGHT TO EDUCATION, PRIMARY EDUCATION, AGE GROUPS, EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS, SCHOOLCHILDREN, POVERTY, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, BASIC NEEDS, WOMEN'S EDUCATION, RURAL EDUCATION, GENDER DISCRIMINATION, DISCRIMINATION, GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE, EDUCATIONAL PERSONNEL AND POPULATION
Thematic Group:
UNESCO, (2005)
Thesaurus:
11.01.00 - Educational Policy And Planning
PDF | File Size: 4.22 MB   Download
Feeder: LUNI SHRESTHA, Editor: SANJIYA SHRESTHA, Auditor:
...
Winning People’s Will For Girl Child Education: Community Mobilisation for Gender Equality in Basic Education-A Case Study
Abstract:
Nepal’s approach to education is changing and recent developments towards increasingly child-friendly education, and inclusive schooling are encouraging. The growth in NFE initiatives has allowed for greater access to education for many people traditionally excluded, or beyond the reach of formal education. Nepal’s Tenth National Development Plan (2002-2007) focuses on the need for poverty alleviation and looks upon education as a pivotal factor in this initiative. There is a very real need for such an approach in a country where 19% of school age children do not attend school. That figure jumps to 40% at secondary level (MOES school based data, 2003).‘Children’s access to school and their achievements in the classroom are affected by poverty,disability, ethnic minority and gender’ DFID, Reaching the Poor- the Costs of sending children to school. As six country comparative study (2002). School enrolment rates in Nepal steadily increased from 1980, but have slowed down in recent years (EFA: National Plan of Action, 2003). This implies that there is an unreached section of society yet to be affected by national broad-spectrum initiatives,and that requires a different approach. The WPW project was designed to achieve the EFA goals after UNESCO identified the need for grass roots community mobilization for gender equality in basic education. To increase the school enrollment rate in some of the worst affected areas the task of sensitizing community leaders, elders, parents and the girls to the importance of female education needed to be addressed. Identification of problems and needs related to school attendance prior to the start of the academic year in April would be a key factor in the success of the project. In order to achieve this a six month integration phase was devised, beginning in December 2004 and running through May 2005. Contact with key community leaders and extant groups would be the first step in the process. Through discussion and Participatory Rural Assessment (PRA) determining factors influencing the enrollment of girls would be identified, and subsequently addressed (where possible) through open dialogue and structured support.
Publisher: UNESCO Type / Script:
Progress Report  in  English
Keywords:
 EDUCATION, EDUCATIONAL POLICY AND PLANNING, RIGHT TO EDUCATION, PRIMARY EDUCATION, AGE GROUPS, EDUCATIONAL SYSTEMS, SCHOOLCHILDREN, POVERTY, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, BASIC NEEDS, WOMEN'S EDUCATION, RURAL EDUCATION, GENDER DISCRIMINATION, DISCRIMINATION, GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE, SCHOOLCHILDREN, EDUCATIONAL PERSONNEL AND POPULATION
Thematic Group:
UNESCO, (2005)
Thesaurus:
11.01.00 - Educational Policy And Planning
PDF | File Size: 4.22 MB   Download
Feeder: LUNI SHRESTHA, Editor: ANITAKARKI2052@GMAIL COM, Auditor:
...
Winning People’s Will For Girl Child Education: Community Mobilisation for Gender Equality in Basic Education-A Case Study
Abstract:
Since 2000, UNESCO and the global community including Nepal have been striving to attain the Dakar Education for All (EFA) Goals. Considering the fact that education for girls and women is an urgent priority, the Dakar Framework for Action contained a time-bound goal (Goal 5) devoted specifically to gender parity and equality in education. Moreover, special attention has been paid to women and girls in other goals: for example, Goal 2 stipulates that we must “ensure that by 2015 all children, particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities have access to a complete free and compulsory primary education of good quality”. Against this background, the UNESCO office in Kathmandu conducted an action-research project in 2004 and 2005 to work on the access and retention in school of girls from Dalit (or untouchable) castes. Given the social and cultural complexities relating to this most deprived caste group, our activity was focused on community mobilization and gaining “people’s will” on girls’ education. In order to achieve EFA, particularly for such a challenging target group, access to education provided through political and administrative commitments does not suffice. Parents and the community must be fully convinced of the importance of education and motivated to send their children, particularly their daughters to school, or our commitment to universal primary education will not be fulfilled. The present case study attempts to document the process, the outcomes and the lessons learnt from UNESCO’s project to “Win People’s Will” to educate girl children in two communities in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. We hope that this document will serve as a good reference material for those communities and organizations who will be undertaking future projects throughout Nepal.
Publisher: UNESCO Type / Script:
Progress Report  in  English
Keywords:
 GIRL CHILD EDUCATION, COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION, GENDER EQALITY IN BASIC EDUCATION, EDUCATION IN NEPAL , TARGET GROUP, INTEGRATION AND RESEACHER, WOMENS LITERACY
Thematic Group:
UNESCO, (2005)
Thesaurus:
11.01.00 - Educational Policy And Planning
PDF | File Size: 4.22 MB   Download
Feeder: LUNI SHRESTHA, Editor: , Auditor:
...