Since I have not heard from my Mali friend lately, spent
some time exploring the UNESCO sight, more specifically information related to
the Education for All initiative. I really can’t say how my research this week
has influence or even pertained to my professional goals other than to say it has
continued to raise my awareness of how much there is still to do if the goals
set forth by UNESCO are to be achieved by 2015. In just three short years
billions of dollars must be rerouted towards education to address the millions
of children who are still not in school. 
As I looked into the figures presented in last year’s EFA
Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO, 2011), which focuses on the education
outcomes for children as a result of military conflict one comment that stood
out was that so many developing countries spend a greater percentage of their
gross domestic product (GDP) on the military than on education. The latest
World Bank statistics for the US show that educational spending has held steady
since 2007 at 5.5% over military expenditures that have unfortunately increased
from 3.3% to 4.5% in the last decade (The World Bank, 2012). Comparatively,
Mali’s numbers reflect educational monies at 4.5% and 1.9% on the military,
which is down over the last few years (The World Bank, 2012). Statistically,
world wide, many other countries are fighting this inequity in spending but
what I find interesting is that even though the US and Mali (not really a fair
comparison – more like apples to oranges) spend a greater percentage of their
GDPs on education there is still far fewer children gaining the benefit of a
quality education than there are soldiers who are equipped with their tools for
success.
Professionally, how does this impact me? I’m not sure.
Perhaps it is just another statistic that emphasizes the need for advocacy for
underprivileged children and their families. Perhaps it is a growing
perspective of how government spending reflects the values of a nation and the
concerns of a generation. Perhaps it is a sign of urgency for today's pre-service early childhood educators (even to the extent of secondary students) to join in the effort and continue to carry the banner high to demand equity in our profession and support our nation's/world's children.
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteI'm actually happy to see that finally we have the same blog assignment because I was curious to know others' opinions on UNESCO and their Global Campaign. While I think it's a worthwhile initiative, I just wonder how realistic it is, knowing there are other issues that affect education in each nation, such as poverty (which we studied) and even something that made the news as recent as this week, the genocide of baby girls in India. A practice that was once common in China has gradually taken over in another nation and these are the things that must be addressed before we can seriously campaign for a global education intiative. In all honesty, how can we campaign for books for every child, yet every child isn't even being given the chance to survive?
Hi Laura,
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting when you mentioned that their are fewer children gaining the benefit of quality education and more money is spent on the military. It has been discussed and in our readings that if we invest in ECE that in the future we would see the benefits of a stronger work force and more confident educated adults.
Dear Laura,
ReplyDeleteYou have a way of presenting your facts in a touching way.Education for all for me is just a slogan and nobody is seriously working towards it. I think it is a world problem that the governments rate education lower than military in terms of spending and investments. I am really worried as a professional child care worker now more than before to begin to advocate and speak out for the underprivileged. In Nigeria, Government does not fund pre-school at all, yet military training is fully funded. How do we really take care of the future in terms of adequate brain development for economic growth?