Girls' education factsheet

DFID's goals for promoting gender equality in education

Published by: Department for International Development, 2007
Via: Eldis

This fact sheet sets out the goals and strategies of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) for achieving gender equality in education. It provides an overview of progress in achieving the MDG for gender equality in education, and describes the Department’s priority areas and country-level initiatives and achievements in sub-Saharan Africa. The fact sheet then presents DFID’s seven goals and priority actions for continuing support to girls’ education, based on the findings of the Department’s First Progress report. These are:

• improve the quality of education and address the gender-specific causes of the high drop out rates and low learning outcomes for girls
• reduce the other costs of primary education (such as uniforms, books, transport), support to governments’ long-term social protection strategies targeting the most excluded and marginal groups
• support gender-aware HIV and AIDS programmes in schools
• make schools safer places for girls through research and influencing policymaking and DFID support for school infrastructure programmes
• support the expansion of opportunities for girls to progress to secondary school
• work with other donors and the UN to make sure that gender equality is part of education sector plans and their implementation
• ensure that girls’ education is integrated within DFID’s broader programme of increased support for gender equality and women’s empowerment.

A key element of DFID’s approach is providing support to country governments’ long-term plans, focusing especially on initiatives that target the most excluded and disadvantaged.

(http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/education/girls-education-factsheet.pdf)