North-South group urges G-8 leaders to commit to "Education for All"

OTTAWA, June 22 /CNW Telbec/ - When G-8 and G-20 leaders meet in Canada later this week, the failure of the international initiative Education for All (EFA) will not appear on the agenda.

The members of the Policy Action Group on Learning (PAG-L) of the Commission on Globalisation urge the leaders of the G-8 and G-20 countries to take the opportunity of their upcoming meetings in Huntsville and Toronto to discuss the issue of Education for All and act on the core recommendations outlined in the recently released PAG-L report, Education for All: what would it take to become a success?

"The maternal health objectives being set by the G-8 leaders are not achievable without better access to learning and to health literacy," says Dr. Paul Cappon, PAG-L Chair and President and CEO of the Canadian Council on Learning. "Maternal health and education should be addressed simultaneously."

"Our report provides a critical review of EFA and notes that although progress has been made in some countries, the six key goals aimed at achieving EFA, established in 2000 by the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, will not be reached by the 2015 deadline. We are calling on the leaders participating in the upcoming G-8 meetings to review the recommendations made in the PAG-L report and engage in a discussion on the future of the global EFA initiative."

Achieving universal primary education has already been identified as a United Nations Millennium Development Goal. In a recent interview in The Globe and Mail, U.S. President Barack Obama stated that "At this year's (G-8) summit, we need to recommit ourselves to making serious and sustainable progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. We can, and should, celebrate the progress we've made, but we also need to be frank about where all of us - developed and developing countries alike - have fallen short."

A copy of the PAG-L report and the executive summary are available at www.paglearning.org/webdocs/EFA_Alternative_Report_EN_Complete.pdf.

A list of the six key goals established by the World Education Forum can be found at www.unesco.org/education/efa/ed_for_all/dakfram_eng.shtml.

About CCL

The Canadian Council on Learning is an independent, not-for-profit corporation. Its mandate is to provide evidence-based information to Canadians so they can make the best decisions about learning throughout all stages of life, from early childhood through to the senior years.

The Policy Action Group on Learning (PAG-L) is an independent international group. Its mission, in concert with like-minded international organizations, is to suggest practicable alternatives in advancing an agenda promoting success in Lifelong Learning.

For further information: Margot Maguire, 613.786-3230 ext 242, [email protected], www.ccl-cca.ca