EFA News
Brunei works on its first report on education assessment
Group work at the EFA National Report
Capacity Building Workshop, Bandar Seri
Begawan © UNESCO/M.Santigul
Representatives from various departments and institutions in Brunei Darussalam came together for the first time to plan for the nation’s first education assessment report from 10-15 August 2009 in Bandar Seri Begawan.
Brunei Darussalam is the latest Member State in Asia and the Pacific to conduct an assessment on Education for All (EFA), for the years 2007 to 2009.
The country’s commitment to EFA is in line with their Nine-Year Compulsory Education Act 2007 and the National Education System for the 21st Century (SPN 21). The purpose of the assessment is for evidence-based reporting on progress and gaps made towards the achievement of the six EFA goals.
The plan is to publish the report in 2010, said Dayang Hajah Norjum Haji Mohd Yusop, Deputy Permanent Secretary (Corporate Services) at the Ministry of Education.
While Brunei’s adult literacy rate is high at 94.9 percent, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Data Centre reveal that with a population of about 400,000, there were 14,296 illiterate adults in 2007. Of this figure, 9,232 were female.
In 2007, of the total number of teachers at the pre-primary level, 66 percent were trained. At the primary level, 83 percent of teachers were trained.
Finding qualified teachers is one of the main challenges for countries.
“Countries can compensate for this deficiency by having a better curriculum, better school facilities, textbooks and in-service teacher training,” said Dr Anwar Al Said, Head of the Education Unit at the UNESCO Office in Jakarta.
EFA is a global commitment agreed in 1990 at the World Conference on Education in Jomtien, Thailand, and reaffirmed by 164 governments and organizations in Dakar Senegal in 2000. The six EFA goals include: early childhood care and education (ECCE), universal primary education (UPE), life skills and lifelong learning, literacy, gender equity and quality of education.
Brunei became the 191st member of UNESCO on 17 March 2005. In 2007, the Brunei Darussalam National Commission for UNESCO was formed. Twenty-two countries in Asia-Pacific completed their EFA Assessment Reports. Brunei is the latest country to conduct an EFA assessment.
The five-day workshop was organized by Brunei Darussalam’s Ministry of Education and attended by 53 participants from 28 departments. The UIS-AIMS Unit, Regional Office of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, UNESCO Bangkok and the UNESCO Office in Jakarta provided technical support.
For more information, visit the Regional EFA homepage.
Related links:
UNESCO Institute for Statistics