Global Action April 2010

Take Action! Ask Your Rep to Cosponsor the Education for All Act

Education is the essential foundation for health, economic development, gender equality, and long-term security.

— Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), statement before the Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, March 4, 2010

While the U.S. has provided strong global leadership to help open classroom doors for children around the world, there are still 72 million primary school-aged children not in school, the majority of whom are girls. International efforts are failing to mobilize the resources and commitments needed from both donor and developing countries to ensure that every child receives a quality basic education. Without new leadership and new direction, 56 million children will still be out of school in 2015, which is the Millennium Development Goal target date for achieving universal primary education, and many who are in school won’t have the resources they need to really learn and excel in the classroom.

2010 is a year of opportunity to change the status quo and create new international cooperation to achieve Education for All. Momentum is growing globally to create a new multilateral, multi-donor response to the education crisis — a new Global Fund for Education — that would increase global funding commitments, coordination, transparency, and accountability to achieve universal access to education. But a new Global Fund for Education won’t happen without U.S. leadership. In April, RESULTS joins global education activists across the U.S. and around the world as part of the Global Campaign for Education’s Week of Action, April 19–25.

To amplify the impact of these global activities, RESULTS activists around the country are asking their representatives to support the Education for All Act, which will be introduced this month by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY). The bill calls on the U.S. to increase funding to expand access and improve quality of basic education and to support a new multilateral mechanism, like the Global Fund for Education, to meet these goals. Call and write your representative to cosponsor the Education for All Act of 2010, which will be introduced after the spring recess ends on April 13.

Take Action! Call and Write to Your Representatives

1. Introduce yourself as a RESULTS volunteer and a constituent. Acknowledge any actions that your member has already taken to support our work or other actions on poverty and thank him/her.

2. Inform your representative that a new Education for All Act will be introduced and why Education for All is so important for long-term development.

3. Highlight that the bill supports U.S. leadership to create a new Global Fund for Education.

4. Tell your rep. that you will follow up with the bill number and urge them to cosponsor once the bill is introduced.

5. Sample Letter:

Dear Representative____________:

I am a member of RESULTS and a constituent. Thank you for your support for _________. I am amazed that there are 72 million children out of school when we know that education… (include some gripping facts about education in the opening of your letter) But you can help ensure all kids go to school: this month, Rep. Lowey will reintroduce the Education for All Act, which would increase U.S. support to make sure all children get a quality education. I am also excited that the bill supports U.S. leadership to help create a new multi-donor, multilateral Global Fund for Education that would increase global funding commitments from other countries, coordination, transparency, and accountability to achieve quality Education for All.

6. Request a reply and include all of your contact information. If you don’t know the aide that handles foreign aid, call the office and ask. Please e-mail and fax your letter if possible. Call and make sure the aide that handles these issues received your letter. For contact information, go to the Elected Officials page of RESULTS website.

What is Education for All?

Education for All (EFA) is a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children. EFA was launched at the World Conference on Education for All in 1990. Education for All is also goal #2 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — eight internationally agreed-upon goals that serve as the blueprint for cutting extreme poverty in half. Of the 72 million primary-aged children not in school, 54 percent are girls, and more than half the countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia, and the Arab States have not reached gender parity at the primary level. Tens of millions more children drop out of school before grade five because schools are overcrowded, unsafe, poorly equipped, poorly managed and have inadequately trained teachers.

According to UNESCO, if current trends continue, 56 million children will still be out of school in 2015 — the Millennium Development Goal target date for achieving universal primary education. Standing between these children and the classroom is a lack of funding for quality basic education, which helps overcome barriers to education such as tuition fees, disabilities, lack of sanitation, and poorly qualified teachers. Why is Education So Important? Education is a basic human right and a significant factor in the development of children, communities, and countries. Opening classroom doors to all children, especially girls, will help break the intergenerational cycles of poverty because education is intrinsically linked to development, including: supporting gender empowerment, improving child and maternal health, reducing hunger, fighting the spread of HIV and diseases of poverty, spurring economic growth, and building peace.

The U.S. and other rich countries must do more to support developing countries’ efforts to eliminate school fees and other barriers to education. By working in closer partnership with poor countries that have committed to providing universal, quality education, the United States can help to invest in the best strategy to eliminate poverty: Education for All.

What is the Education for All Act?

The Education for All Act of 2010 will be introduced in April by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY), the congressional champion of basic education. The bill seeks to ensure the U.S. provides the resources and leadership to ensure a successful international effort to provide all children with a quality basic education by 2015. It calls for assistance to expand access to school; improve education quality; reach marginalized and vulnerable children, including those affected by conflict and humanitarian crises; and mandates a new U.S. Education for All strategy to be overseen by an Education for All Coordinator.

Perhaps most important, the bill calls on the U.S. to support a new Global Fund for Education — an independent multi-donor education initiative to increase and improve the impact of international aid for education. It should be based on the following principles:

transparency with respect to financing, key policy decisions, and impact;
coordination among governments, private sector, and civil society;
mutual accountability between donors and recipients for achieving measurable results in access and quality;
alignment with host country priorities; and
predictable, long-term funding disbursed in a timely manner.

What is the Global Campaign for Education and Global Action Week?

The Global Campaign for Education (GCE), founded in 1999, brings together major nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and teachers’ unions in more than 100 countries. RESULTS is a member of the U.S. Chapter of the Global Campaign for Education, which is a broad-based coalition of more than 30 non-governmental and religious organizations, teachers unions, foundations and child advocates to promote the cause of universal basic education in the world’s poorest countries. Each year the Global Campaign for Education holds a Global Action Week to raise awareness about the need for universal basic education and the necessary actions of both rich and poor countries to achieve this objective.