Education for rural poeple - Main policy issues

How to reach the MDGs on education for all and rural development

By: Breccia A and Hermanowicz E
Published by: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 2007
Via: Eldis

Although a lot has to be done to reach the Millennium Development Goals on education for all (EFA) and rural development, the authors argue that they are still achievable. However, strong partnerships between stakeholders have to develop, and governments and international organisations should be lobbied to allocate more resources to the education sector. Past lessons should also be shared with all interested parties to avoid repeating errors.

The authors observe that many rural children never enter school, fail to complete primary school, or leave barely literate. This may be due to unsuitable curriculum or inappropriate language of instruction for local conditions. Curriculum planning should therefore involve the communities to which it is addressed rather than being formulated at the highest levels. To encourage the rural poor to educate their children, authorities should consider introducing feeding programmes and providing parents with an incentive to educate their daughters, reducing the gender gap in enrolment. Incentives should also be provided to qualified teachers accepting positions in rural areas.

Globalisation and consequent changes in the labour market imply a need for skilled personnel in the off-farm jobs. Addressing this transformation requires increased investment in education and training to raise productivity levels and equip vulnerable rural communities with capacities to cope with such change. Finally, the focus on rural development in higher education should move away from a sole focus on agriculture to also addressing the needs of the rural people more generally

(http://www.fao.org/sd/erp/Documents2007/ThesisonERPMainPolicyIssue.pdf)