Memorandum submitted by Plan UK
1. Plan UK is part of Plan International,
a global organisation which works to improve the lives of children
in 48 developing countries. Plan works with communities in developing
countries to realise its vision of a world in which all children
realise their full potential and live in societies which respect
people's rights and dignity. To do this Plan follows the principle
of Child Centred Community Development, which combines our long
experience of community development with the latest methods of
working with children.
2. Plan UK welcomes the chance to give evidence
to the International Development Committee inquiry into the Department
for International Development's Departmental Report 2007. Plan
is happy to recognise the significant progress DFID has made in
improving the lives of people in many developing countries. We
remain concerned, however, that more needs to be done to ensure
DFID meets its Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets relating
to children. In particular, it must ensure its Gender Equality
Action Plan results in real improvements in the lives of girls
in developing countries and increased opportunities for them to
positively influence projects intended to help them.
PSA TARGETS TO
IMPROVE CHILDREN'S
LIVES
3. Plan notes with concern that only two
of the five PSA 2005-08 targets relating specifically to African
children and young people set out in DFID's Departmental Report
are on track. Progress has slipped towards meeting all four targets
set in 2003 and 2005 relating to girls and young women in Africa.
4. Of particular concern are the major slippages
in the 2005 targets to increase the ratio of girls to boys enrolled
in primary school and to reduce maternal mortality. The former
follows the admission by the United Nations Secretary General
that the world has failed to realise the Millennium Development
Goal of equal numbers of boys and girls enrolled in school by
2005. Worldwide almost two-thirds of the primary-age children
out of school are girls.
5. In Asia, three of the four PSA 2005 children's
targets are on track, although DFID admit they are some distance
from meeting their target to increase net primary enrolments by
eight percentage points.
6. Since maternal mortality is the subject
of a separate inquiry by the Committee (to which Plan will submit
evidence), this memorandum will focus on education. It is worth
noting, however, that successfully improving girls' schooling
is likely to positively affect long-term maternal and under-5
mortality rates since research shows both have a strong correlation
to the level of mothers' education.
DFID'S APPROACH
AND LESSONS
FROM PLAN'S
WORK WITH
GIRLS
7. Plan's long experience of working with
local communities to improve the life of girls and boys in 48
developing countries has taught us the importance of enabling
young people to take part in the decisions and projects that affect
their lives. This is particularly important for girls and young
women who often struggle to make their voice heard in traditionally
patriarchal societies.
8. We therefore welcome the emphasis on
empowering women and increasing their involvement in politics
contained in DFID's Gender Equality Action Plan 2007-09. It is
unfortunate, however, that the department's girls' education strategy
and the progress report published last year do not place a similarly
strong emphasis on empowering girls to participate in decision
making.
9. As DFID recognises in its progress report,
increasing the numbers of girls at school requires more than merely
providing extra places or even persuading local communities of
the importance of female education. A successful strategy must
also tackle financial barriers to attendance and ensure girls
are enthusiastic about school, recognise the benefits of education
and communicate that to their families.
10. There is an increasing body of evidence
that social protection measures such as cash transfers (for example,
student bursaries) are successful in lowering financial barriers
and increasing attendance rates. We urge DFID to expand the good
work it is already doing in this area.
11. Because I'm a Girl, published
by Plan earlier this year, examined the discrimination faced by
girls across the globe. It identified a range of barriers at home
and at school which prevent or enable girls to attend school.
These ranged from negative parental attitudes and violent teachers
and classmates to the need for female teachers and a girl-friendly
environment.
12. We welcome DFID's acknowledgement in
its education progress report that it needs to do more to address
violence and other school-based factors. Because I'm a Girl
found that giving girls a say in their education, for example
through school committees, can be a major spur towards tackling
these issues and persuading girls to continue their education
(http://www.plan-uk.org/becauseiamagirl/download/).
13. This finding is supported by Plan's
work in the field. In Guatemala a key problem is the quality of
schools as opposed to access. 90% of children enroll in primary
school, but only 40% complete it. Over the past five years, Plan
has worked with the Ministry of Education, UNESCO and other NGO
and education partners to introduce an active education methodology
called New Unitary Schools (NEU) that promotes active children
and community involvement in education. Evaluations have shown
that NEU schools generally have consistently better results than
traditional schools.
FURTHER EVIDENCE
14. The importance of participation is also
demonstrated by academic research. A World Bank-funded study carried
out by Birmingham University found giving girls and boys some
control over curriculum design encouraged pupils to participate
in sex education lessons and improved their outcomes (www.id21.org/education/e5rm1g1.html).
15. Evidence from the UK suggests pupil
participation can lead to safer schools, albeit in a very different
context. Ofsted, the school inspectorate, said: "Schools
making sustained progress [in improving behaviour] sought feedback
from the students about how well the new strategies were working.
They ensured that the school council was strengthened and that
the students knew that their voices would be heard." Violence
and the threat of violence are correctly identified by DFID as
a major barrier to increasing girls' school enrolment.
CONCLUSION
16. Plan UK recently entered into a Partnership
Programme Agreement with DFID to examine the benefits of involving
young people in governance. We welcome this. But we believe that
in order to meet its PSA targets on education, DFID needs to place
a greater emphasis on ensuring the voice of children, particularly
girls, are listened to at school.
17. Given that the latest of these targets
expire in 2008, we believe DFID needs to take action now to ensure
its education aid and programmes empower girls to tackle the barriers
that prevent or discourage them from attending schools even where
the places exist for them.
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