Thank you chairmen. This is a day of seeking inspiration from Jim Grant. Jim Grant used to say, "I'll consider the decade of the 1990's a failure if despite all the accomplishments in reducing children's mortality, all children, girls and boys, do not have basic education opportunities". I think he said so for two reasons.
First, access to basic education for all children is a key indicator of children's well-being. And secondly, all the achievements that are made in children's health, cannot be sustainable in the longer term without basic education for all the people. I will try to three things in about ten minutes. First, try to explain very quickly, the link between basic education of girls and women and children's well-being. We are convinced about these links, but I think we need to understand a bit better, because it's not a one to one direct linear statistical relationship. The way it works, looking at it logically and looking at experiences in a number of countries, is that with girls education, primary and secondary level and those who miss primary education, non-formal primary education equivalent, that lead to certain things in the girl's and women's life and psychology. There is a greater self esteem, a better self image of girls and women. They begin to behave in a different way, in a more knowledge seeking and knowledge using way. And their own status, social and economic status in their families and in their communities begins to improve. And their economic status very often improves. And all of these things lead to a second level of effects, which are that they begin to behave in a health promoting way. And they also begin to help themselves in nutrition, in hygiene, in child-care and family planning. We have heard how nutrition is so much the care and the attitude and behavior of people rather than the services themselves or more food. Then they begin to use the health services and social services more and they are also more effective in advancing their children's education. And all of these things result in children's survival, protection and development. And there is a cyclic effect you see within the same generation and for the next generation there is that effect.
Next, I'd like to show very quickly where we stand in terms of education of girls. Now in Africa, about 50% are out of school, all children boys and girls. For the girls it was 49% and now 54% out of school. For South Asia, also in other regions the situation has improved somewhat, but still there are substantial gaps. It's still 27% out of school boys and 38% girls. In East Asia, it is pretty close, in Middle East it is still some gap and Latin America its even boys and girls out of school but still there are certain numbers who are still out school. And then for developing countries as a whole, it's 29%, about one third of the girls are still out of school, whereas there about 20% boys out of school, and in absolute numbers, 132 million children are estimated to be out of school, of which close to 80 million girls, more than two thirds. Now we know something, something regarding what can be done about it. From experienced within developing countries, I think there are two basic strategies. One is a strategy of mainstreaming girls in the effort to improve and expand primary education. And from experience in many developing countries, we know certain principles that can be followed, especially when it comes to girls. Simplified, curriculum, provide learning material, learning materials in most developing countries is something rare for both boys and girls. Involved community and parents, that seems to be particularly important for girls. The parents must have some confidence in the school and the teachers. Promote decentralized and localized management for the same reason. Undertake advocacy and social mobilization so that the parents and the communities and the public begin to realize the importance of girls education. And there are special needs of girls, like you must have some sanitary facilities in the school. If you have girls, whereas the boys can probably go to the bush, which is not as easy for girls. That's an example of the special needs of girls. And support flexibility and local adaptation of school so that the cultural and social barriers for girls can be overcome with more flexible approaches in organizing the school. Then the second most important strategy, overall strategy is that still you have millions of girls that missed the opportunity for primary education and it is important that these adolescents and young girls have the opportunity, a second chance for a non-formal equivalence of primary education. Again there are a lot of experiences, we know what works and what doesn't. And these are sort of lessons that we have learned.
We know that a non-formal equivalent can be done cost effectively with parateachers, what we call parateachers rather than full-time professionally trained teachers. Provided that they are given some short training and given strong, regular and frequent supervision. It has to be something small, a small catchment area that is within the community, within the neighborhood, a small center where thirty or forty girls can come. Again, active community and parental involvement. Simplified curriculum, because it has to be something abridged, something practical, something that fits the timetable of the girls, and so it can focus on basics. And then it has to be something equivalently, recognized and accepted as equivalent to primary school and again from experience we know that about 1500 hours of instruction time over a 30 month period, that is about 200 days of school, three hours a day for about 2.5 years, that gives an equivalency of primary education. The essential learning materials have to be provided in these kinds of programs and these have the advantage of no capital costs. These can sit in these kind of centers, can sit in the local primary school, or any communal, community facility. Somebody's home or a mosque or any other facility that the community can provide. And here, a government bureaucracy, government departments do not run these things very well. It has to be non-governmental and community-run organized programs. But the government needs to support them very often with finances and the recognition that these kinds of programs should have. So that means that some provision for adequate financing. These are cost-effective programs that cost much less than the formal schools but these essential finances still have to be there, otherwise they cannot work. And flexibility because they are non-formal programs. Flexibility which is for the local, to adapt to the local conditions, adapt to the circumstances of the learners. So these are the kinds of lessons that we know that should be done. All that is needed that the conviction that it must be done and the will to do it. Thank you very much.
Rebecca Rios-Kohn is Chief of the Child Rights & Public Policy Section, UNICEF, she is a lawyer from Uruguay. She came originally to work with advocacy and mobilization of religious leaders, mayors, parliamentarians, and now she finds herself leading the work in the convention of the rights of the child.