'Intl Donors Actually Send Poor Kids Out of School'
Today
(April 16, 2000)
INTERNATIONAL loans intended to send children of poor countries to schools have only worsened the education-related problems all over the world due to the payment policies "'imposed by the lending institute according to the British education group Oxfam International.
In its executive summary, titled "Aid and Education: The Squandered Opportunity, "Oxfam international said despite loans from the international donors extended to pool countries, some 125 million children around the world are still out of school.
Despite the commitment made by 155 governments to help send poor children to schools during a forum in Jomtien, Thailand 10 years ago, Oxfam said the number of out-of-school children ail over the world continues to increase.
"But the reasons for the failure of Jomtieti are not simply the responsibility of the governments of the South," Oxfam said. "International support for education has fallen far short of what was promised. Economic stabilization policies, imposed, by the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, have worsened the situation of some of the poorest countries. Education has become a luxury out of reach for many households.
Oxfam cited Zambia for example, where enrollment rate in primary school is constantly decreasing because it spends four times more, on debt servicing than on education.
"Although debt relief has eased the pain of some indebted countries, as a result of international public pressures many countries will continue to spend more on debt servicing than they do in health and education," said the report.
The problem mainly lies on the poor implantation of aid to basic education, Oxfam said, citing almost half of the total amount is being spent on consultants, courses and scholarships for elite southern students.
"Aid to basic education has often been uncoordinated and poorly implemented.
Most aid has been delivered as technical assistance, with nearly half of the money being spent in donor countries, leaving little opportunity for the recipients' involvement and participation," the Oxfam report said.
European Union is the world's biggest aid donor. It supposedly prioritizes education in its assistance programs. But in reality, Oxfam said, basic education has only received 10 percent of total aid from EU in the 1st eight years.
"The donor community has a scandalous record of neglect when basic education. Aid to education over whelming favors tertiary education, which benefits the richest groups. Less than one tenth of education aid goes to basic education," the report said.
ESTRELLA TORRES
Reporter