Education for Rural People

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Education for Rural People

• David Acker Lavinia Gasperini
• Professor , Agricultural Education
  Senior Officer, Agricultural
  Education
• Raymond and Mary Baker Chair
  Office of Knowledge Exchange,
• in Global Agriculture
  Research and Extension (OEK)
• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
  Food and Agriculture
  Organization
• Iowa State University, USA
  of the United Nations (FAO)
• Ministerial Conference on Higher Education in
  Agriculture (CHEA)
• Kampala, November 15-19, 2010

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Purpose of ERP

• Share global synthesis of policy lessons learned
  on
• Education for
• Rural
• People
• http//www.fao.org/erp/en/

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Underlying Premise

• Investments in rural people education, training,
  and capacity development are essential
  prerequisites to reducing poverty and increasing
  food security.

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ERP Objectives

• Placing ERP high in the national and
  International Agenda to achieve the MDGs
• Focusing on improving access to quality
  education for rural people
• Fostering national capacity to address learning
  needs of rural people to overcome the
  urban-rural education gap

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ERP Contributes to MDGs

• ERP is critical to the achievement of all MDGs
  and particularly
• MDG 1 Eradicating extreme poverty hunger
• MDG 2 Achieving universal primary education
• MDG 3 Gender equity, empowering women
• MDG 7 Ensuring environmental sustainability

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MDGs


Food Security
Poverty Reduction
ERP

Gender Equity
Environment
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UNESCO
Ministries of Education
Ministries of Agriculture

FAO
Donors and Intl. Orgs
Civil Society
NGOs
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Presentation

• 10 Challenges

• 10 Cases

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Effective Pro-rural Policies

• Challenge 1

• Motivating major changes in policy and resource
  allocation to favor rural citizens
• ERP related capacity development at societal,
  insitutional and individual level

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Effective Pro-rural Policies

• Case 1

11 African Countries Food security and poverty
reduction strategies are directly dependent on
our capacity to foster rural children's access
to quality primary education.
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Organizational and Institutional Efficiency

• Challenge 2

• Coordination among MoE, MoAg, extension, schools,
  NGOs and the private sector is essential for
  optimal efficiency

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Organizational and Institutional Efficiency

• Case 2

• Kosovo
• National strategy for ERP developed through
  cooperation between agriculture and education
  ministries
• Local stakeholders involved
• - School personnel
• - Farmers
• - Womens associations

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Access to Education and Training

• Challenge 3

• Removal of school fees
• Mobile extension staff
• School feeding programs
• Expansion of the education network
• School and training center construction
• Satellite schools in remote areas for young
  children

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Access to Education and Training

• Case 3

• India
• A private sector government partnership to
  provide school meals to 800,000 children daily.
• Link education - childs health
• Meals increase school attendance, especially
  among girls and improved learning ability
• Uses locally grown produce
• Large centralized kitchens
• - Meals distributed daily by truck

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Quality of Education and Training

• Challenge 4

• Quality depends on
• facilities
• teachers
• materials
• evaluation
• leadership
• curriculum
• community links

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Quality of Education and Training

• Case 4

• Uganda
• Quality and relevance are linked
• Agriculture is part of curriculum
• Garden produce helps supply school lunch program
• Important link between quality and relevance,
  vital to increasing appeal and utility of
  education for rural people.

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Decentralization and Community Involvement

• Challenge 5

Decentralization of authority and responsibility
for education and training The importance of
high levels of community involvement in
determining appropriate education interventions
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Decentralization and Community Involvement
Case 5

• Cambodia
• Formation of school committees of parents,
  teachers and local leaders
• Construction of village based satellite schools
  for young children who could not walk long
  distances
• Parents provided the labor to build the school
• Local residents trained as teachers

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Gender Responsive Learning Environments

• Challenge 6

• Girl friendly schools
• Safe accommodations for girls and women
• Flexible timetables
• Take-home food for girls

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Gender Responsive Learning Environments

• Case 6

• Burkina Faso
• A high percentage of girls do not finish primary
  school
• Girl friendly schools see enrolments soar in 132
  communities
• - separate toilet facilities
• - girls who attend 90 or more of the time are
  given take home rations

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Accommodating Non-traditional Learners

• Challenge 7

• refugees and displaced persons
• people in inaccessible, remote areas
• nomadic and pastoral communities
• out-of-school youth
• disabled persons
• ethnic minorities
• retired child soldiers
• working children

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Accommodating Non-traditional Learners

• Case 7

Kenya Non-traditional learning for children of
pastoralist families
Classes take place after animals are penned for
the night allowing students to fulfill their
duties managing the animals Curriculum developed
in consultation with parents, local leaders and
students Multi-grade classes
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Redefining Agricultural Education

• Challenge 8

Fundamental changes needed in how agricultural
education is conceptualized Agricultural
education has simply not kept up with the pace
of our changing world
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Redefining Agricultural Education

• Case 8

Paraguay Teaching entrepreneurship through
agricultural education
Self sufficient, fully organic farm
school Teaches value added processing Teaches
life skills, agro-tourism, reproductive health
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Skills Training for Rural People

• Challenge 9

• Skills needed to succeed in global, knowledge
  economies

- Life skills - Food production skills -
Self-employment skills
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Skills Training for Rural People

• Case 9

Uganda Capacity development, life skills
training, income generating activities
Community-based health and nutrition
education Use of trained volunteers to extend
training throughout community
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Recruitment and Retention of Extension and School
Staff

• Challenge 10

Difficulty in attracting and retaining extension
and school staff to rural areas
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Recruitment and Retention of Extension and School
Staff

• Case 10

• Multiple countries
• More attractive deployment policies

• posting newly qualified staff in pairs

• higher salaries
• loan forgiveness
• subsidized housing
• better health care
• access to land

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Conclusion
Education for rural people is critical to
insuring that development efforts are successful
and that future generations will succeed.
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What Will Success Look Like?

• ERP well established and funded at societal,
  institutional and individual level and expanded
  access and improved quality of education of all
  rural children, youth and adults (CD Societal and
  Institutional Level)
• Rural people (CD Individual level)
• engaged in knowledge-based economies
• prepared to learn to adapt and cope with
  globalization and market forces, climate change,
  food crises and other shocks

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Adults
Will benefit from agricultural extension, skills
training, literacy training and basic education.
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Children and Youth
Will benefit from quality education and training
opportunities to ensure their livelihoods are
improved relative to those of their parents.
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• We will work to increase public investments and
  encourage private investment in the country-
  developed plans for rural infrastructure and
  support services, including- but not limited- to
  roads, storage, irrigation, communication
  infrastructure, education, technical support and
  health.
• (Declaration of the World Summit on Food
  Security, Rome, 2009)