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“Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010: Reaching the marginalized”
Published by UNESCO, 2010
Analysis by Bertil G. Peterson
There’s been much progress since the 2000 World Education Forum in Dakar, according to the “Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2010: Reaching the Marginalized” published by the United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO), though it is a near certainty that the goals adopted 10 years ago in Senegal will not be met by the target date of 2015. The outlook is especially bleak when viewed against the backdrop of the worst global downturn since the Great Depression, which could force as many as 90 million people into poverty this year. The poor in developing countries face an escalated risk.
“It is easy to lose sight of what is at stake. Ultimately, the world economy will recover from the recession, but the crisis could create a lost generation of children in the world’s poorest countries whose life chances will have been irreparably damaged by a failure to protect their right to education.”
Early intervention, such as prenatal care or preschool nutrition, has been proven to be one of the most effective strategies for countering social and economic disadvantages as well as improving school performance. Nonetheless, the welfare of young children continues to be neglected. About one in three children in the developing world, for example, suffers from malnutrition serious enough to hinder their ability to learn. Children born to iodine-deficient mothers have a substantially heightened risk for learning disabilities, and access to rudimentary healthcare is uneven at best.
“Children from the poorest households potentially have the most to gain from good early childhood care and education. Yet they are the least likely to have access. In Egypt, children from the wealthiest households are 28 times more likely to be in preschool than children from the poorest households.”
Indeed, the Dakar goal of providing universal primary education remains elusive for poor and higher-income countries alike. A significant obstacle is entrenched disparities among the populations of individual countries related to gender, wealth, ethnicity or location. The report says that attacking the gender gap will require committed strategies to counter prevailing attitudes that devalue education for girls and policies aimed at reducing poverty. For example, the wealthier the family, the more likely it is that female members will receive an education.
“In Pakistan there is no discernable gender gap for the wealthiest urban households, but only one third of girls from the poorest households are in school.”
Gender disparities – largely attributable to social, cultural and religious influences – play a prominent role in understanding the relatively high level of education poverty in Egypt, says the report. Poor Egyptian women are worse off than their counterparts in countries with substantially lower levels of per capita income, such as Honduras, Uganda and Zambia.
“Young women in Egypt are twice as likely as young men to have fewer than four years of education – and four times as likely if they are poor women.”
Low levels of literacy, economic disparity and the marginalization of large sectors of society also impede efforts to provide education for all. The report states that access to quality education should be considered a basic human right. People who are denied that right have little chance to better their lives and are unlikely to become informed citizens involved in political processes.
“Restricted opportunity in education is one of the most powerful mechanisms for transmitting poverty across generations.”
Economic difficulties have pushed another of the Dakar goals – youth and adult skills and learning – into the spotlight. Many countries, particularly those with high youth unemployment, see vocational skills as essential to combating social and economic marginalization, and strengthening national economies. For example, the report notes that vocational education was an integral part of industrial development plans for East Asia’s thriving economies. In the US and Latin America, too, acquisition of job skills proved to be an effective way to extend and expand opportunities for disadvantaged students. However, other vocation education efforts have not been as successful.
“Governments in the Middle East have invested heavily in vocational education with little to show for it in the way of jobs... The image of technical and vocational provision as a form of second-class education that provides limited benefits for employment remains largely intact.”
The report contends that image cannot be countered without broad reforms and private sector involvement. In the best vocational education programs, there is a strong relationship between the classroom and workplace, and a focus on broader reasoning and analytical skills rather than technical abilities targeted to specific jobs.
“In some countries, high levels of marginalization among poor females account for a significant share of education poverty. Just under half of poor rural females aged 17 to 22 in Egypt have fewer than four years of education and in Morocco the rate is 88 percent.”
The report states that there are no standards by which to measure educational marginalization, which is exacerbated by the unwillingness of many governments to improve the availability of reliable information pertaining to their most marginalized populations. The Education for All report, however, uses a Deprivation and Marginalization in Education (DME) data set to estimate the degree of marginalization and composition of marginalized groups. For example, the failure to attain four years of schooling indicates “education poverty.” The DME data permits the assessment of a country’s level of educational deprivation and offers a demographic snapshot of the marginalized. By employing selected surveys, the data can identify those in the bottom 20 percent of a population in terms of schooling and assess the odds that people subjected to various conditions will end up there.
“Regional divides mean that living in areas such as rural Upper Egypt, northern Cameroon and eastern Turkey increases significantly the risk of falling into the bottom 20 percent.”
In addition to literacy and ethnicity issues, social stigmatization and conflict, being born poor is among the most reliable predictors of educational marginalization. A lack of economic resources translates to increased vulnerability in other areas. However, the report states there is hope if government policies address these systemic underlying causes. As a means to that end, the report identifies three areas where policies can make a difference.
“Accessibility and affordability. Removing school fees is necessary to make education more affordable for the poorest, but is not sufficient to remove cost barriers. Governments also need to lower indirect costs associated with uniforms, textbooks and informal fees.”
Increasing accessibility to education also requires more schools in remote areas, which is particularly important for reducing gender inequality. The report advocates this be a role of NGOs, and suggests they be integrated into national systems.
“The learning environment. Targeted financial support and programs to facilitate improved learning in schools in the most disadvantaged regions can make a difference, as can programs that draw well-qualified teachers to the schools facing the greatest deprivation.”
It is not enough to remove financial barriers if the quality of the educational environment remains substandard. Good teachers are essential, but so is access to technology, up-to-date textbooks, white boards and other classroom aids. Programs in music and art, and a variety of extracurricular activities also are important components of education.
“Entitlements and opportunities. Legal provisions can play a role in overcoming discrimination and realizing the right to education... and social protection is a critical pathway to mitigating the vulnerability that comes with poverty. Finally, redistributive public spending is one of the keys to expanded entitlements and opportunities.
The right of all to education must be legally required, protected and enforced, says the report. And public money for education must be distributed equitably, taking into account the needs of individual areas and schools. Proactive public-private measures are also needed to alleviate or eliminate obstacles to getting an effective education. Doing so, the report contends, makes sense for governments and business alike: academic and vocational education is the foundation for an engaged, responsible citizenry and a skilled, productive workforce. Both are necessary for political systems and economies to thrive. Ultimately, concludes the report, universal education is a precept rooted in a profound “commitment to social justice and human rights.” n
This report is available online at www.unesco.org
Marketing Practice
MARKETING ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The roles of education and the media are crucial if Egypt is to develop an entrepreneurial environment.
[email protected]
By Ahmed Tolba
Assistant Professor of Marketing
The American University in Cairo
Entrepreneurship is an important driver of economic growth as well as creation of jobs. A 2008 study by Acs and Szerb revealed that there is a direct correlation between a country’s GDP and the Global Entrepreneurship Index. It is no surprise that the government of Egypt is considering entrepreneurship to be a priority and, as a result, several initiatives have been introduced to develop and support entrepreneurs, including incubators, training programs and financing opportunities. The question is: are such initiatives leading to the desired results? This article analyzes the status of entrepreneurship in Egypt, and offers a creative approach to encourage entrepreneurship in the country through an effective marketing strategy based on education and media.
Targeting dilemma: the role of marketing
Is everyone cut out to be an entrepreneur? The answer is, obviously, “no.” Not all people possess the personality, attitude and capabilities to start a business and lead it to profitability. It is important to recognize that to be successful, potential entrepreneurs should have specific traits, including a willingness to take risks, solid management and interpersonal skills, ambition and an orientation toward the long term. Any support offered aspiring entrepreneurs who do not possess at least some of these characteristics might be a waste of effort and money. More importantly, it can be argued that such traits are not inherent in Egyptian culture, which generally puts the greatest value on job security and stability.
Now the next question is: are current support activities addressing real entrepreneurs? The answer is, again, “no.” First, there are a limited number of real entrepreneurs, which is a problem that needs to be tackled. Second, many of the initiatives target potential managers who do not possess entrepreneurial traits – particularly risk-taking – and they end up leading stagnant businesses with limited growth potential. Instead of exploring business opportunities, they immerse themselves in day-to-day activities and become micromanagers. Third, several initiatives target scientists with innovative ideas and push them to become entrepreneurs. The problem is that most scientists are neither interested in nor capable of running businesses. They would be quite happy to return to the familiarity of their labs.
So what should we do? Are we wasting money, time and effort? Is there a way to market entrepreneurship so that it can significantly affect the economy? Marketing strategy starts with identifying the target markets and effectively positioning the product (in this case the idea) in the minds of consumers. It is obvious that there is a targeting problem that hinders the success of entrepreneurship in Egypt. Should we support the limited number of real entrepreneurs in the hope that they will significantly impact the economy? Should we target everyone and hope that the number of entrepreneurs increases? There is, obviously, an urgent need to find an effective solution.
The solution: targeting stakeholders
While there are a limited number of entrepreneurs, one recommendation would be to target four key stakeholders that would help enable entrepreneurship in Egypt. The first group includes the existing real entrepreneurs, and the objective would be to increase their numbers through the promotion of entrepreneurial traits. The second group encompasses technical experts who are capable of guiding innovative projects to commercial success. The third group consists of managers who may not possess the characteristics of entrepreneurs, yet are essential to run ventures. Finally, the fourth group covers all parties who are capable of providing support functions to entrepreneurs, such as financing, training and incubation. A central body is also needed to coordinate all activities offered.
The accompanying diagram describes the proposed TEAM Model, which calls for an integrated marketing strategy that supports a venture consisting of entrepreneurs who own and grow the businesses, managers who run the ventures, and technical experts who provide innovative ideas to support the growth and sustainability of the ventures. The assisting functions should support the ventures at all stages (start-up, growth and sustainability).
The question is: how do we market to all stakeholders to achieve the desired objectives?
Recommendation: marketing through education, media
In order to establish an effective entrepreneurship environment, the two critical tools to be used are education and media. Education is the primary tool that can embed the entrepreneurial mindset among the new generations. While it is true that this is a long-term solution, it is the only way to create an entrepreneurial future in the country. In fact, there is an initiative supported by the European Training Fund to include entrepreneurship in university education throughout all faculties in the country, and there is the hope that the same initiative can be applied in schools as well to build an entrepreneurial spirit among young generations for long-term payback. Also recommended is support of technical education with the establishment of an innovation center that would act as a generator of ideas that entrepreneurs could commercialize. Further, management and business education should be tailored to produce graduates with management skills and a vision of innovation.
The role of media also is indispensible. The image of businessmen in Egypt can be very negative and linked to corruption, which discourages some entrepreneurs from undertaking initiatives. It is crucial to coordinate the messages sent to the public in a campaign that aims to change the image of business and encourage people to take a risk and be part of the economic development of the country. Success stories should be well publicized in the media to encourage the development of new entrepreneurs. Also, the media should be used to raise public awareness of government and private initiatives to encourage and support entrepreneurship.
Finally, industries and entrepreneurs eligible for support should be prioritized. Industries that are strategically important for economic development should be encouraged and entrepreneurs working in such industries should receive speedy and strong support. Educational programs and curricula should be oriented to benefit priority sectors. Also, high-priority entrepreneurs with a large potential for growth should be targeted with added-value initiatives that would have a significant beneficial impact on employment and on the economy as a whole.
While entrepreneurship can be a major factor in driving economic growth, it is important to be patient. Building an entrepreneurial environment is a challenging task that requires a significant cultural change, and effective coordination of marketing activities is a prerequisite to achieving both short- and long-term results.
This report is available online at www.imf.com
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