[child-rights] Support for 600,000 Iraqi Children Currently Missing Out on Education

UNICEF Press release

Joint Workshop Held to Promote Non-Formal Education Strategies

BAGHDAD / AMMAN, 5 April 2006 -- The needs of 600,000 Iraqi children who,
for a variety of reasons, have missed out on their formal education, have
just been addressed in a three-day workshop involving the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Iraqi Ministry of Education (MoE), the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
and other technical experts.

Participants in the workshop, which ended today, agreed on a strategy on
non-formal education for Iraq’s out-of-school children – known as the
Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP).

A school survey conducted by the MoE and facilitated by UNICEF in 2004
found that the net enrolment rate for primary education in Iraq was 86 per
cent, commendably five per cent higher than the regional average for the
Middle East. While this would seem to represent a significant achievement,
“What is of concern,” notes UNICEF’s Special Representative for Iraq,
Roger Wright, "is the fact that the number of out-of-school children in
the primary age group is estimated to be 600,000, of which 74 per cent are
girls.” He further observed that nearly 21 per cent of primary school age
girls are not enrolled in school and that almost 24 per cent of children
drop out before completion of their primary education.

In order to meet the learning needs of children aged 12-18 years who have
either never enrolled or dropped out of school early, the MoE and UNICEF
launched the ALP in September 2005. It currently covers some 14,000
children in 10 out of Iraq’s 18 Governorates. The goal is to provide
opportunities for out-of-school children to complete their primary
education – normally a six year cycle – in a compressed three-year period.
Upon completion of this stage, children will be able to opt to rejoin the
formal education system, enroll in vocational education courses, or
acquire higher levels of education through distance education or
alternative education modes.

Preliminary results of the programme are now available. These cover
indicators such as numbers of out-of-school and adolescent children
enrolled in the ALP; decline in the number of out-of-school children as
compared to previous years; the number of children who have acquired
Levels I, II and III competencies (equivalent to Grades II, IV and VI
respectively) in the past year; and the number of teachers involved with
the programme. The workshop took stock of progress since the launch last
year, did a detailed evaluation and finalized an agreed strategy for
future implementation. Paramount in the discussions was the recognition
that dealing with children of such backgrounds requires a great deal of
sensitivity and the development of strategies that suit their specific
context.

“Directly enrolling these children in mainstream schools may not always be
possible, particularly in the case of older ones who will not be
comfortable if seated with younger ones. Also, while these children may
not have attended formal schools, most of them have probably acquired
essential survival skills that, in many cases, are practical applications
of learning that they would otherwise have obtained in the classroom.
Adoption of strategies that treat them as merely illiterate children is
unlikely to meet with any great degree of success. Inclusion, however, of
material with which the children can identify may improve retention and
transition rates,” observes Maman Sidikou, the Senior Education Officer
for UNICEF Iraq and Coordinator of the UN Cluster on Education and
Culture.

One of the common obstacles usually faced in any rural area is lack of
support from the local community, especially for girls. Some communities,
however, have been extremely supportive of the ALP so far. Girls’
classrooms are reported to be full and there are even married students who
are attending with the support of their families.

The MoE also reports that since the beginning of the school year,
Directorates have received hundreds of requests from children to join
these schools. In addition, community leaders have approached the
Government and UNICEF to ask for ALP schools, with one sheikh even giving
his personal facilities for use as a classroom. Therefore, an important
aspect of the success of any strategy for the ALP is the degree to which
it involves the local community and the manner in which the community can
be motivated to support it. While considering the continuation and
expansion of the ALP in Iraq, the workshop identified ways and means of
further increasing the involvement of local communities in the programme.

UNICEF and UNESCO sincerely hope that despite the recent disturbing
reports of violence and insecurity adversely affecting the education
system, this new initiative by the MoE – the ALP – will greatly help
overcome interruptions in the optimal education and training of all Iraqi
children.

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For 60 years UNICEF has been the world’s leader for children, working on
the ground in 155 countries and territories to help children survive and
thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest
provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child
health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education
for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence,
exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary
contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

For further information, please contact:

David Singh, Communication Officer - Media and External Relations 
UNICEF Iraq Support Centre in Amman
Tel: +962 (0) 6 551 5921 / Mob: +962 (0) 79 640 0536