"Education is central to development. It is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalised adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty"
White Paper on Irish Aid

The Challenge

The right to education is a fundamental human right and is essential and indispensable to the understanding of all other human rights. Education is central to development. It is the primary vehicle by which economically and socially marginalised adults and children can lift themselves out of poverty, better understand and improve their health, create sustainable livelihoods and obtain the means to participate more fully in their communities.

Raising the level of education can have a significant impact on governance and on economic growth. Education creates more discerning voters and more effective workers. Increased levels of education allow for a more complete understanding of and participation in society. Investment in education is a crucial investment in the future.

In the last decade, global efforts to ensure that all children complete primary school have greatly increased. The central place of education within the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reflects this commitment. Particular emphasis has been placed on achieving equality of access and opportunity for both girls and boys.

While the number of out-of-school children is declining, 100 million children still do not receive a primary education. If current trends continue, the world net enrolment ratio will reach only 87% in 2015, failing to meet the MDG target. A particular effort is needed in Sub-Saharan Africa, which will have to find 88 million additional primary school places. Completion of primary schooling and the quality of that schooling remain major concerns.

Ireland’s Response

Irish Aid’s White Paper highlights the priority which we place on supporting education systems in developing countries. Education has been central to Ireland’s own economic and social development. We know from our own experience that key policy decisions and sustained investment in education take time to translate into economic and social progress. Education has been one of the key rivers of our economic success and we are well placed to be an advocate of sustained and planned investment in education.

Universal Primary Education
We will work with international donors, developing country governments and international organisations to help increase collective efforts to achieve the goal of universal primary education by 2015.

While access remains a challenge, efforts to achieve primary education for all will lose their value without a strong focus on quality. The issue is not alone how many children get into or even complete basic education, but the level of core functional life skills (including literacy and numeracy), knowledge and attitudes that they have acquired.

The principal focus of our support for education in developing countries, particularly our programme countries, will remain the provision of high-quality primary education, situated within comprehensive national education plans.

Public Education Systems
At all levels of the education system in developing countries, from central government through to regions, districts, sub-districts and school-level, there is a shortage of capacity to plan, manage and implement the financing, monitoring, and evaluation of education systems. This is reflected in poorly-trained and poorly-paid teachers, low teacher morale and absenteeism, inadequate facilities, limited availability and use of new technologies and little say for parents and communities in the running of schools.

The strengthening of public education systems at all levels is critical. While focusing principally on primary level, it must extend to the whole education system and aim to reflect the economic and social needs of the communities and countries in question.

We are committed to strengthening the capacity of national, district and local authorities to plan, implement and monitor public education, particularly in our programme countries.

Sustainable improvements in educational systems will require long-term commitment of resources by national governments and by the international community. We are committed to providing predictable, long-term funding for education.

Equality in Education
In developing countries the majority of those currently excluded from access to education are girls. In addition to being a right, increasing the education level of girls has many positive social and economic impacts. Education, particularly of girls, is one of the most important weapons against the spread of HIV and AIDS. It is a social vaccine that will help change behaviour and alert young people to the risks of the pandemic. Educating girls provides additional benefits in terms of improved infant and child survival rates and increased status and participation in society by females.

We are committed to supporting initiatives in developing countries that will increase access to education for girls and increase the participation of women at local, district and national level education planning.

Last updated: 08/02/07