Results

Development for Results - Education

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) views education as a human right, a basic component of open, democratic and equitable societies, and essential for sustained social and economic development. Basic education, including the acquisition of skills and knowledge, is understood to be the main driver in reducing poverty and in achieving sustainable development. Education plays a central role in reducing child mortality, curbing population growth, preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS, providing protection from abuse and exploitation, and achieving equality between men and women. Education is a transformative agent of change, empowering individuals to contribute to their own social and economic well-being, and to that of their communities.

CIDA allocates approximately 10 percent of its overall budget to education programming. Within the area of basic education, CIDA's strategic objectives in education are to:

• build on achievements in basic education to promote increased quality and relevant learning at the school level;
• increase access and equality among marginalized or hard-to-reach groups, including girls, out-of-school children, working children, rural children, and the poor;
• increase HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness through targeted education programs; and
• address issues of access, quality, and equality in basic education for children living in emergencies and in conflict, post-conflict, and fragile states.

Canada's commitment is reflected in its support for various international agreements, in particular the Education for All Framework, the Millennium Development Goals, and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, and its adherence to the principles of partner-country-led and -driven development.

Quality Basic Education for Learning

• Through the Integrated Education in Artibonite project in Haiti ($12 million over six years), education training centres and model schools are providing in-service teacher training for teachers and education managers in more than a hundred schools in 10 regions of the country. Support is being provided to regional administrative units of Ministry of Education to better plan, manage, and organize both pre-service and in-service teacher training. The quality of education in Haiti is also being supported by a $10 million contribution to the World Food Programme for school meal programs.
• In Mozambique, Canadian support procured 11.5 million textbooks, student workbooks, and teachers' manuals for four million students. Also, CIDA has funded similar programs dealing with textbooks and learning materials, and other access and quality-of-education issues in Malawi, Senegal, and Kenya.
• In Senegal, 250,000 youths and adults have enrolled in literacy training, of which 91 percent were women and girls. This exceeds by 20 percent the enrolment target and by 16 percent the expected participation of women and girls. In 2006 alone, 2,000 literacy classes were opened in six regions, and more than 62,000 participants enrolled.

Access and Equality to Basic Education

• In Tanzania, CIDA-funded technical support in gender equality to the Ministry of Education has included:
  • a gender-mainstreaming strategy for the national education sector plan that is currently used nationally;
  • gender-equality training for education officers;
  • resource materials such as the teachers' handbook Gender Friendly Schools: A Handbook for Primary School Teachers, instruments for gender analyses of curriculum, teaching and learning materials, and examinations; and
  • gender budget training for policy makers.
• In Vietnam the Primary Education For Disadvantaged Children project involves community awareness raising, curriculum development, teacher training, and specialized material development to increase education opportunities for children with disabilities. With CIDA's help, the project has also contributed to the drafting of a National Plan of Action for Inclusive Education and Education for Children Living with Disability.
• In Bangladesh, BRAC's extensive CIDA-supported education programs emphasize access to schooling for excluded and hard-to-reach children in urban as well as rural settings. In one project, BRAC negotiates with urban employers to allow children working in factories to leave their places of work to acquire schooling for several hours a day. BRAC's programs reach 148,000 students, of whom 65 percent are female, and include 51,600 ethnic minority children and 14,471 children with disabilities.

HIV/AIDS Prevention Education

• In South Africa, CIDA supports the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund (Canada), with their local partners Re Direng Care Givers, to incorporate HIV/AIDS prevention and education into their early childhood development programs.
• In Ethiopia, CIDA's support to the Canadian non-governmental organization CODE helped publish a collection of books in Amharic on HIV/AIDS, showcasing positive stories of people who are HIV-positive. Some 2,000 copies were distributed to primary schools and libraries. The popularity of the books has led to ongoing print runs. CIDA's support for CODE in Mali has contributed to the production of a national radio program on the role of literacy/education in combatting HIV/AIDS and other health problems.

Education in Emergencies and in Conflict, Post-Conflict, and Fragile States

• The Education for Displaced Children project in Colombia has improved access to relevant, quality formal education for girls and boys affected by conflict and displacement, and has provided alter­natives to violence through non-formal education for children. This project created 2,218 new placements within the public school systems, and involved 5,000 children and youth in activities to promote peacebuilding through non-formal education.
• Through the Education Quality Improvement Program in Afghanistan, 3,190 school management committees have been established, of which 1,753 have successfully implemented school quality improvement grants, which typically fund education materials, supplementary readers, and/or transportation. Through the BRAC community-based education project, 2,654 community-based schools have been established in 11 provinces in Afghanistan, including Kandahar. Through a literacy program in Kandahar, CIDA has supported literacy training for more than 5,000 students, of whom more than 80 percent are women.
• For more information on how Canada is supporting basic education in the developing world, visit the CIDA website.

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Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)
200 Promenade du Portage
Gatineau, Quebec
K1A 0G4

Telephone: 819-997-5006 / Toll free: 1-800-230-6349
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Fax: 819-953-6088
Email: info@acdi-cida.gc.ca

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