Ten years ago, in March 1990, the World Conference on Education for All, held in Jomtien, Thailand, with 155 governments and 150 organizations attending, set a goal of getting all children into primary school and reducing adult illiteracy by half by 2000. Where do we stand on this goal at the dawn of the new century?
Over 1,000 representatives of governments, international agencies and nongovernmental organizations gathered in Dakar, Senegal, from April 26-28 to take stock of progress in basic education and to chart the course for the future. The Dakar meeting, called the World Education Forum, was sponsored by the World Bank and the United Nations.
Data compiled by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics show that progress has been made in the last decade in expanding educational opportunities, but not enough to fulfill the vision of education for all. The advances have been partially wiped out by the growth of child population. These also have been held back by worsening poverty, civil war and ethnic conflict, as well as the onslaught of HIV/AIDS, especially in Africa.