16-19 June 2008
Kathmandu, Nepal

Representatives from South Asian countries, UN agencies and partners involved in education met in Nepal to prepare policy recommendations aimed at ensuring the achievement of the Education for All goals by 2015.

Using results of the national and sub-regional EFA Mid-Decade Assessment (MDA) reports and the 2008 EFA Global Monitoring Report, the EFA Mid-Term Policy Review Conference aimed to translate findings of the MDA into concrete actions, identify policy gaps, and propose policies and strategies towards reaching the un-reached groups in education.

The conference was an opportunity for South Asian countries and EFA partners to verify and validate the South Asia EFA MDA sub-regional synthesis report. The conference was organized by the Assessment, Information Systems, Monitoring and Statistics (AIMS) Unit, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Regional Office, on behalf of the UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education in close collaboration with the UNESCO Kathmandu Office.

Download conference documents:
16 June 2008
Opening Remark (word/32KB)- Balananda Paudel, Secretary General, Ministry of Education and Sports, Nepal
Opening Remark  (word/43KB) - Colin Kaiser, Director, UNESCO Nepal
Opening Remark (word/88KB) - Frances Turner, Deputy Regional Director, UNICEF ROSA
Highlights of the 2008 GMR (PPT/0.9MB) - Sheldon Shaeffer, Director, UNESCO Bangkok
Highlights of the South Asia EFA MDA Sub-Regional Report (PPT/3MB) - James Jennings, South Asia EFA MDA Sub-Regional Report Writer
Rationale for Policy Review (PPT/1.5MB) - Ko-Chih Tung, UIS-AIMS Regional Advisor/Head, UNESCO Bangkok
Monitoring of EFA Progress (PPT/1.5MB) - Nyi Nyi Thaung, Programme Specialist, UIS-AIMS, UNESCO Bangkok

Thematic Issues Presentations:
Inclusive Education (PPT/0.9MB) - Johan Lindberg, Associate Expert in Education and Human Rights, UNESCO Bangkok
Beyond Groups: The Dynamics of Diversity (PPT/104KB) - Susan Durston, Regional Education Adviser, UNICEF ROSA 
Gender Equality (PPT/1.4MB) - Maki Hayashikawa, Programme Specialist in Gender and Quality Basic Education, UNESCO Bangkok
Adult Literacy and Continuing Education (PPT/523KB) - Kiichi Oyasu, Programme Specialist in Literacy, UNESCO Bangkok
Language (PPT/53KB) - Carl Grove, SIL
Quality (PPT/1.4MB) - Els Heijnen, Save the Children Sweden
Finance and Governance (PPT/1.3MB) Raquel Castillo, ASPBAE

Thematic Working Group Presentations:
18 June 2008
Gender and Inclusive Group (PPT/52KB)
Quality Group (PPT/54KB)
Finance Group (PPT/140KB)

Thematic Working Group Reports:
Literacy (word/138KB)
Gender and Inclusive (word/54KB)
Gender and Inclusive Matrix (word/137KB)
Quality (word/72KB)
Finance (word/89KB)

Country Presentations:
19 June 2008
Bangladesh Report (word/73KB)
Bangladesh Presentation (PPT/55KB)
Bhutan Report (word/47KB)
Bhutan Presentation (PPT/322KB)
India Presentation (PPT/126KB)
Maldives Presentation (PPT/2.3MB)
Nepal Report (word/64KB)
Nepal Presentation (PPT/648KB)
Pakistan Report (word/72KB)
Pakistan Presentation (PPT/175KB)
Sri Lanka Report (word/85KB)
Sri Lanka Presentation (PPT/106KB)

Next Steps and Closing:
A Way Forward: Recommendations on Enhancing EFA Monitoring & Evaluation (PPT/139KB) - Nyi Nyi Thaung and Nori Furukawa (UNESCO Bangkok)
Next Steps (PPT/594KB) - Ko-Chih Tung (UIS-AIMS, UNESCO Bangkok)
South Asia EFA Coordinators Recommendations (PPT/638KB)
EFA Partners' Group Reflection on Supporting Policy Processes for Reaching the Unreached (PPT/102KB)

Summary of Recommendations (PDF/99KB)

Conference Background Documents:
Agenda (word/145KB)
Registration Form (word/97KB)
Information Note (word/103KB)
Terms of Reference/ Conference details (pdf/41KB)

Modality for Working Groups (word/140KB)
List of Participants (pdf/56KB)

Related materials:
2008 EFA Global Monitoring Report

News article:
South Asian countries propose policies to ensure delivery of quality education for all

If you have any problems downloading the documents, please contact efa(at)unescobkk.org.