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April 2008: Ask Congress to support the Education For All Act

Despite strong leadership on international basic education in Congress in recent years, the United States’ contribution for global basic education still falls far short of what is needed to ensure every child has access to a quality education. At least 72 million primary school-aged children are currently out of school, and progress toward universal primary education is inadequately slow. While U.S. foreign assistance for basic education is increasing, current investments could be more effectively spent as part of a coordinated strategy to remove barriers to education in partnership with poor countries that are committed to ensuring all children have a chance to go to school.

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 21–27. To amplify the impact of these global activities, RESULTS activists around the country are asking their members of Congress to support the Education for All Act. This legislation will authorize the funding needed to get kids in school and help ensure that these funds are spent eliminating the biggest education barriers, such as fees for primary education.

Sample Letter

Engage	Dear Representative/Senator ___________: The importance of education in the development of children, communities, and nations is widely recognized. The benefits of education include better child health, increased income, reduced fertility rates, and stronger democratic institutions. Yet progress toward reaching the Millennium Development Goal of Education for All remains unacceptably slow. More than 72 million primary school children around the world are still not in school. Of the 86 countries that have not achieved universal primary school enrollment, 58 will fail to do so by 2015 — unless we act now to change this trend. As a member of RESULTS, a grassroots advocacy organization committed to ending hunger and poverty, I am writing to urge you to support the Education for All Act to help ensure children have access to the classrooms, books, and teachers they need to reach their potential.
Problem	Standing between these children and a classroom are a lack of financing for quality basic education and the charging of school fees that create an insurmountable financial hurdle for many poor families. School fees remain one of the biggest reasons that poor, vulnerable, and orphaned children — the majority of whom are girls — are not able to attend school. The U.S. must do more to support countries’ efforts to abolish fees and other barriers, and we must work in closer partnership with poor countries that have committed to providing education for all children.
Inform about the Solution	When primary school fees were dropped in Kenya in 2003, over a million additional children, whose families previously could not afford to send them to school, poured into classrooms almost overnight. The removal of these fees has served as a catalyst for increased investment in education not just from donors, but also from the Kenyan government. It has also been a cause for reform, making the school system more transparent and accountable to the communities it serves. For example, school funding levels and uses of that funding are posted in full public view in every community.
Call to Action!	Please cosponsor the Education for All Act (H.R.2092, S.1259) to help ensure every child has an opportunity to go to school. This legislation would establish the United States as a global leader in helping achieve the international goal of universal primary education by 2015. The bill would authorize funding to work toward this goal and support the elimination of school feels and other expenses that act as barriers to education. The bill would also require the president to develop a comprehensive, integrated strategy to ensure foreign assistance for basic education is targeted to the most vulnerable children, including girls in poor and marginalized communities and children impacted by HIV/AIDS. Recognizing the roles of both donor governments and host countries, the bill focuses assistance on countries with strong national education plans. I look forward to your reply and to supporting you in your efforts to help ensure every child has the opportunity to go to school.

What is Education for All?

Education for All (EFA) is a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children. It was launched at the World Conference on Education for All in 1990. Education for All is also the second goal of The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — eight internationally agreed-upon goals that serve as the blueprint for halving extreme poverty. If current trends continue, 58 out of the 86 countries that have not yet achieved universal primary enrollment will fail to do so by 2015.

Why is Education so Important?

Education is a basic human right and a significant factor in the development of children, communities, and countries. Education is a critical determinant of access to economic opportunity and better health. Particularly for women and girls, the economic and personal empowerment that education provides allows them to make healthier choices for themselves and their families. On average, for a girl in a poor country, each additional year of education beyond grade 3 or 4 will lead to 20 percent higher wages and a 10 percent decrease in the risk of her own children dying of preventable causes. The ability of girls to avoid HIV infection is so strongly associated with achievement in school that education is known as a “social vaccine” against the virus. Opening classroom doors to all children will help eliminate a root cause of poverty and disease.

What are School Fees?

In much of the world and most of Africa, a primary school education is not free. The fees required to attend school are often prohibitively expensive for poor families and prevent children — particularly girls, orphans and other vulnerable children — from earning a basic education. These fees were instituted in the early 1980s and 90s at the behest of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a way for countries to create revenue and pay back their debt to these lenders. This requirement put both the burden of the debt and the burden of the cost of education on the backs of poor families and children — exactly those who could benefit most from education but afford fees the least. Kenya’s experience demonstrates the transformative power of abolishing school fees. In 2003, Kenya eliminated fees for primary school and over a million additional children came to school almost overnight, and within a couple of years, school enrollment had increased by 2.2 million children. Abolishing school fees served as a catalyst for the rapid scale-up of education in Kenya, created an opportunity for meaningful reform, improvements in quality, and offered hope to all the children who now have access to a primary education.

What is the Fast Track Initiative?

The Fast Track Initiative (FTI) is a partnership between civil society, donors, and developing countries to ensure accelerated progress toward the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015. Through the FTI, developing countries agree to put primary education at the forefront of their domestic efforts and develop sound national education plans in consultation with all stakeholders. This process coordinates donor resources to provide timely, predictable, and effective assistance to support governments’ implementation of national education plans. Currently, Congress does not directly invest in the Fast Track Initiative, and U.S. assistance is too often directed on a project-by-project basis, rather than working within and supporting national education plans.

What is the Education for All Act?

The Education for All (EFA) Act authorizes the U.S. resources and leadership necessary to help ensure a successful international effort to provide all children with a quality basic education. The EFA Act requires the president to develop a comprehensive integrated strategy to reach the 2015 goal of universal access to education. The bipartisan bill would authorize an initial $1 billion in annual global basic education funding for this year, scaling up to $3 billion by 2012. This represents the U.S. share of the resources needed to fill the estimated financing gap to achieve international education goals.

The EFA Act would also require the president to prioritize basic education funding and strategies for the most disadvantaged children, including girls in poor and remote areas, child laborers, the disabled, victims of sex trafficking, orphans, and those impacted by HIV/AIDS. The bill would focus support on countries that have completed, or are in the process of completing, the Fast Track Initiative process. Finally, funding authorized by the bill would support activities to eliminate barriers to education, including the elimination of fees and expenses related to attending school.

The Education for All Act was introduced by Representatives Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Spencer Bachus (R-AL) (H.R.2092) and Senators Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Gordon Smith (R-OR) (S.1259) on May 1, 2007.

What is the Global Campaign for Education?

The U.S. Chapter of the GCE is a coalition of more than 40 non-governmental and religious organizations, teachers unions, foundations and child advocates. The U.S. chapter is part of a network in more than 150 countries. To learn more about additional activities that you can do in your community, go to http://www.campaignforeducationusa.org.