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EU-ACP JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY
Committee on Social Affairs and the Environment
18.2.2005
DRAFT REPORT
on the progress made in achieving universal primary education and gender
equality in the ACP countries in the context of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDG)
Co- rapporteurs: María Elena Valenciano Martínez-Orozco
Donald Ramotar (Guyana)
Part B: Explanatory statement

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EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
'No development strategy is better than one that involves women as central players. It has
immediate benefits for nutrition, health, savings and reinvestment at the family, community
and ultimately country level. In other words, educating girls is a social development policy
that works'.
Kofi Annan,
Secretary-General of the United Nations
Introduction: the Millennium Goals (MDGs)
In September 2000, world leaders adopted the Millennium Declaration, setting out the
aspirations of the international community for the new century. In that declaration, world
leaders shouldered their collective responsibility to respect and uphold the principles of
human dignity, equality and equity at the global level. They recognised the need for special
treatment to be given to the most vulnerable and, in particular, the children of the world, to
whom the future belongs.
The international community went on to convert the basic principles of the Millennium
Declaration into eight concrete goals with quantitative indicators and target dates: the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). In only four years, these eight goals stemming from
the Millennium Declaration have transformed development cooperation at world level.
The broad international consensus on a set of clear, measurable development goals with
specific deadlines has generated unprecedented coordinated action not only within the United
Nations system - including the Bretton Woods institutions - but also among the donor
community in general and, what is more important, in developing countries themselves.
TABLE 1: The Millennium Goals (MDGs)
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

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Purpose of the report: MDGs 2 and 3
The purpose set for the report is to assess the progress made in achieving MDG 2 (achieve
universal primary education) and MDG 3 (promote gender equality) in the countries of
Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP).
The targets and indicators set by MDGs 2 and 3 are outlined in Table 2 below.
TABLE 2
Goal 2. Achieve universal primary education
Target 3
Ensure that, by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full
course of primary schooling
Indicators
6. Net enrolment ratio in primary education (UNESCO)
7. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5 (UNESCO)
8. Literacy rate of 15-24 year olds (UNESCO)
Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women
Target 4.
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all
levels of education no later than 2015
Indicators
9. Ratio of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education (UNESCO)
10. Ratio of literate women to men, 15-24 years old (UNESCO)
11. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector (ILO)
12. Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament (IPU)
Given the broad range of topics to be addressed, we have decided to focus our efforts on a
central theme: girls’ education. Because, as we shall see, in order to understand the factors
which hinder the achievement of universal education, it is essential to analyse the inequalities
affecting girls in their access to the education system.
Gender discrimination is the underlying discrimination; i.e. gender discrimination runs
across all other forms of discrimination. Girls’ inequality has its origin in the fact that they
belong to the female gender, to which other factors are frequently added such as the fact that
they are poor, suffer from AIDS, have disabilities, etc. Girls make up half of all children, and
they live in subordination and dependence merely because they were born girls ...
In addition to the above forms of discrimination, we should also mention those deriving from
girls’ reproductive and/or social role, meaning that they suffer education-related

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discrimination owing to early pregnancy or marriage.
Girls face more obstacles than boys in entering, staying at and finishing school. Many barriers
stand in their way: poverty, cultural factors, beliefs, lack of accessible and appropriate
schools, discrimination, social and family role.
The goal of gender parity in primary and secondary education initially set for 2005 will not be
reached in the majority of developing countries. Studying the obstacles which hinder girls'
education will help us to understand why the vast majority of countries will not arrive on time
at their first rendezvous with the MDGs and, consequently, will help us to draw up strategies
which will make it possible to remove those barriers and clear the ground for the remaining
MDGs to be achieved.
Girls' education: an urgent and necessary goal for progress
It is no coincidence that the initial date for eliminating gender disparity in primary and
secondary education was set at 2005, 10 years before any of the other dates set in the MDGs.
World leaders initially agreed on this date for various reasons, above all because it is now
absolutely certain that any sustainable development strategy must involve promoting girls'
education as a priority.
Education for girls and women brings us closer to achieving the remaining millennium goals.
Various reports1
have shown beyond any doubt that education for girls and women brings
immediate benefits for nutrition, health, savings and reinvestment at family, local and national
level.
Education provides women with the knowledge and self-confidence needed to take informed
decisions on their own future, the economy and family well-being. It is women who are
responsible for social well-being in developing countries without social support structures.
Women who have received education have smaller and healthier families and contribute to
increased productivity and poverty reduction. Their sons and daughters are much more likely
to avoid contracting diseases, to survive beyond five years of age and to receive adequate
schooling themselves.
Boosting and improving education, above all among the rural population, can be one of the
most effective means of reducing hunger and malnutrition. A recent FAO report2
shows that
men and women farmers with four years of primary education are on average 8.7% more
productive than those who never went to school. Higher rates of female literacy in rural areas
are associated with lower rates of malnutrition.
Education is also fundamental in combating HIV/AIDS. Dependence and ignorance are the
main causes of the phenomenal spread of this epidemic, above all among the most vulnerable
groups such as girls and young women. School education provides them with tools to protect
1
UNESCO 2004 and 2005, FAO 2004, UNDP Human Development Report 2003.
2
FAO report 'The state of food insecurity in the world 2004'.

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themselves and makes them aware that they are at risk, why they are at risk and how the
further spread of the infection can be prevented.
We must bear in mind that more than 121 million children have never attended school - 65
million of them girls - and that girls’ enrolment ratio continues to fall far below that for boys.
The mere fact of incorporating girls provides balance in education; education in equality for
boys and girls improves the education system itself. We must consider not only the benefits
for girls but also the benefits for everyone else.
As we have seen, Goals 2 and 3, and in particular girls’ education, are more urgent than the
other goals and are essential for the remaining MDGs to be achieved.
The goal of eliminating gender disparity in primary education by 2005 will not be achieved in
the vast majority of countries. Nevertheless, we must continue to fight to ensure that the goal
of universal primary education in the world becomes a reality by 2015. If we do not succeed,
a fresh generation of children - above all girls - and their future families will be condemned to
ignorance, sexual exploitation and disease, and will be incapable of breaking the vicious circle
of poverty.
Education - and in particular girls’ education -, together with health and the environment,
cannot be considered as being among the ‘luxuries’ which a developing country cannot permit
itself until it has reached a certain standard of living. Investment in education, above all girls’
education, is constantly at the bottom of the list of priorities and is financed with whatever is
left in the budget.
It is a shared responsibility that girls’ education should be a priority and should be placed at
the centre of our debate on development strategies. The remaining policies are also
important, but girls’ education cannot be permanently consigned to the bottom of our list of
priorities.
Educating girls is a necessary condition for achieving sustainable development, and not the
inverse. Educating girls is a development policy which produces results. The costs of failing
to do so are immense.
Education for boys and girls is above all a fundamental human right
Education is a fundamental right for every girl and every boy. There can be no excuses.
Education is not only a development objective which justifies investment on the grounds of
the benefits it brings in the medium and long term; each time that a boy or girl is denied his or
her right to education represents an unacceptable violation of that child’s fundamental right to
education.
For that girl or boy, the path to personal development is closed and access to decent
employment is denied. They will form part of a new generation condemned once more to
labour or sexual exploitation, with an increased likelihood of premature death from diseases
such as AIDS.

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Progress made
The August 2004 report on the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration
by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan confirms that progress has been made - albeit
uneven from region to region - in both Goal 2 and Goal 3, something which cannot be said of
all the MDGs.
The data gathered show that developing countries can be classified in three groups depending
on the extent to which they have made progress in achieving Goals 2 and 3. A first group is
headed by Latin America and the Caribbean, where the targets set for 2015 will be reached,
and in some countries even those set for this year may be achieved. In a second group of
countries, led by Asia, some progress has been made but they will not reach the targets for
this year and the targets for 2015 will not be met until 2050 unless progress is speeded up.
Finally, sub-Saharan Africa is the region which is lagging behind the most, with only slight
progress in some indicators1
.
Achieving the MDGs largely depends on the resolve of all concerned. Unless efforts are
stepped up, gender disparity in the world will not disappear until 2035 or 2050 and universal
primary education will not be achieved until 2100 or 21502
.
Reversing this trend rests in the hands of the governments of developing countries and
international donors. It is a question of political will.
Changes are necessary in national policies
The positive examples outlined in many reports show that, if the political will is there,
enormous progress can be made towards universal primary education. Countries such as
Benin, Eritrea, Gambia, Malawi, Mali, Rwanda, Senegal and Togo have recorded substantial
increases in net enrolment rates between 1990 and 2000. Very positive results have been
achieved in eliminating gender disparity in primary education in Eritrea, Malawi and Sudan.
As already mentioned, the indicators show highly satisfactory results in Latin America and
the Caribbean. Without wishing to cast a shadow on these good results, we would sound a
note of caution: these results do not reflect the whole situation.
In particular, it is extremely difficult to measure gender equality as regards opportunities.
Equal opportunities involve more than simple mathematical parity. The current indicators do
not measure disparity in the treatment of boys and girls at school, or of women and men in
relation to access to university, the world of employment or a political career, nor do they
measure wage inequalities.
The World Bank, study groups and various NGOs have already drawn attention to this point
and have put forward specific proposals aimed at introducing new indicators in the MDGs or
1
UN report, August 2004.
2
UNICEF - The State of the World’s Children 2004.

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improving the existing indicators. We are aware of the shortcomings affecting the existing
indicators and would support changes which would enable us to measure progress towards the
MDGs more accurately.
Those countries which have made progress towards the goal of universal primary education
have carried out systematic enrolment campaigns specifically for girls, helped by international
agencies headed by UNICEF.
The reason is simple: when the primary education enrolment rate drops, it is always girls who
are excluded first. Correspondingly, the best way of achieving an education system suitable
for all is to ensure that girls enter, remain at and finish school. A school in which girls find
their place is also fit for boys. The inverse is not always the case.
Education for all is also a shared responsibility
Education is not only a development objective and a fundamental right, it is also a
commitment and a responsibility for us all.
The additional cost entailed in achieving the millennium goals for education (universal
primary education by 2015) for international donors has been estimated by UNICEF at
between 5000 and 7000 million dollars a year1
. This may seem like a lot of money, but it is
less than three days of world military spending, and around the same as American families
spend each year on Barbie dolls and accessories2
.
Of the funds set aside for development aid, the European Union allocated EUR 516 million to
education in 2003, EUR 198 million of that sum being allocated to basic education, which
amounts to 6.2% and 2.4% of total aid3
. These percentages do not match the priority this
sector deserves, and neither do they match the repeated calls which the European Parliament
has made for total spending on basic education and health of at least 20% of development
funds4
. The EC report on the MDGs 2000-20045
clearly lists among its priorities the stepping-
up of primary education campaigns, particularly for girls, in all developing countries.
However, giving priority to education is not only the responsibility of international donors. It
is also the responsibility of developing countries: of 77 ACP countries, only 21 have included
education as a financing sector within the framework of the 9th European Development Fund
(EDF). Only 12 countries currently benefit from the Fast Track Initiative, a programme which
has been unanimously praised by NGOs, beneficiary countries and international donors since
it was set up in 2002. Only two ACP countries (Burkina Faso and Nigeria) have requested
additional resources for education from non-allocated EDF funds.
1
UNICEF, report 2004.
2
Global Campaign for Education, April 2003.
3
Annual report on the EC’s development policy and external assistance.
4
Chapter 2103, Budget 2005.
5
SEC(2004)1379.

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Education, particularly girls’ education, must be placed at the top of our list of priorities if
we wish to obtain the resources necessary for its development. MDG 8 (developing a global
partnership for development) commits us all, in both hemispheres, to a redoubling of our
efforts in this direction. The target of 0.7% must cease to be merely a call made by NGOs and
must be a real target for all our governments. Debt cancellation initiatives, particularly in
exchange for improvements in national education systems as recently proposed by the
Spanish Government1
, must be given serious consideration.
Conclusions
Girls’ right to education has been recognised for decades as a fundamental human right and a
necessity for development.
One of the keys to breaking the vicious circle of poverty and dependence is to provide
education for girls and women, inter alia because they play the main role in sustaining their
families and their societies.
Women’s progress automatically produces greater social and economic progress in
developing countries, and greater well-being for their citizens.
Results in MDGs 2 and 3 will have a domino effect, in a positive or negative sense, on all the
other goals, and success in achieving these two goals is by no means assured.
A commitment is required on the part of national governments and donors to make girls the
protagonists in terms of access to the education system and to provide opportunities for their
personal development and all their skills.
We must combat - by means of a change in many national policies, and of course with more
resources - the unjust tendency to consider girls and women second-class citizens, breaking
the fatal cycle of inequality, subordination and lack of expectations which affects millions of
girls throughout the world.
1
Summit of Iberoamerican Nations, 19 and 20 November 2004.

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ANNEX I
The recommendations of the Jomtien and Dakar conferences stressed the importance of
providing a specific definition of basic education, with a view to moving beyond over-
restrictive or over-technical definitions (cf. OECD/DAC) and establishing a broader definition
which can be applied to all regions and education systems. It therefore appears relevant here
to summarise those conferences' definitions of basic education, as well as those of the
OECD/DAC for the remaining categories or subsectors. A definition is also included of the
initiative launched by the European Community and the World Bank in 2002 (Fast-Track
Initiative).
Basic education: this concept must be redefined in relation to the following: 'technical',
'specialised', 'higher', 'tertiary' and 'lifelong'. Education considered as 'basic' includes
formal primary education, but it also comprises the whole range of skills, knowledge,
attitudes, values and motivation needed if individuals are to be able to read and write
properly and acquire the necessary bases for embarking on a process of learning which will
last a whole lifetime. Basic education may be imparted via both formal and informal means
and institutions.
The duration and nature of the education cycle defined as 'basic' vary from one country to
another: from a minimum of 3-4 years' primary schooling to a nine-year cycle or even the
completion of secondary school.
Pre-school education: this term covers a structured set of activities taking place in a formal
institution or as part of an informal programme addressed to children. These activities are
generally offered to children from the age of three, and include organised learning
activities which are only a part of the full programme proposed.
Primary education: this term refers to education programmes which are generally drawn up
with the intention of giving children a solid basis in reading, writing and mathematics, as
well as understanding of other subjects. In most countries, this level consists of
approximately six years of formal, full-time schooling.
Secondary education: schooling at the secondary stage.
Training: vocational training is aimed at preparing young people and adults for the world of
work and ensuring their capacity to secure the basic means of life and subsistence. It
includes: basic and technical vocational training at secondary level; ongoing training; and
apprenticeship, including informal vocational training.
Higher education and training: this term covers programmes of university level leading to a
degree, including polytechnic-type schools and institutes; also covered are grants awarded
to students.
Fast-Track Initiative (Education For All Fast-Track Initiative)
The Fast-Track Initiative is an agreement for education in developing countries on the basis of
funding by donors for countries prepared to prioritise basic education and develop policy

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plans to improve the quality and effectiveness of their basic education systems. As a
complement to this, donors share both their resources and their expertise to enhance existing
coordination between them, with the objective of improving development impact. At present,
12 countries benefit from this initiative: Burkina Faso, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana,
Honduras, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Yemen and Vietnam. Ethiopia is
about to join them. This initiative is intended to give practical meaning to the idea of 'pacts'
brought into being at the Monterrey Conference.

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ANNEX II