Challenges of Scaling Up Promising Practices for achieving
- Slides: 8
Challenges of Scaling Up Promising Practices for achieving Gender Equality in Education in South Asia Jyotsna Jha Commonwealth Secretariat Lahore, Pakistan February 2 nd, 2006
The Context - 1 • South Asia is home to about one-fourth of the world’s out-of-school children and adult illiterates; majority of them being girls and women • Nationally and internationally we are all committed to EFA goals and MDGs • Gender parity and equality in education are major means to achieve other education and development goals, as well as to ensure desired rights and freedoms to all citizens
The Context - 2 • Commonwealth Secretariat organised a regional workshop on Promising Practices and Implications for scaling up girls’ education in India in 2004 • A number of cases studies (12 from five countries) presented analysed from the perspective of scaling up; analytical report available • This dialogue meant to take the task of sharing and learning forward
The Lessons learnt from the analysis of case studies: Scaling Up-1 • Scaling up is not an issue of arithmetic expansion; it is a matter of re-strategising • Scaling up requires adaptation of the entire approach to the context • Adaptation or re-strategising should not undermine or kill the process that were critical for making that practice successful • The essence and the factors that have made a particular strategy successful need to be clearly identified and retained at the time of adaptation
The Lessons learnt from the analysis of case studies: Scaling Up-2 • Partnerships forged, nurtured and promoted in real terms, not only in name • The required policy or institutional changes must be introduced simultaneously (e. g. , establishment of suitable monitoring mechanisms and processes) otherwise mismatches do not allow scaling up to be successful
The Lessons learnt from the analysis of case studies: Mainstreaming gender in education -1 • Limited understanding of the notion of gender equality at various levels (at times varying notions) • The need for integrating gender at all stages (policy, institution, programme design, budgeting, implementation and monitoring) not realised • The issue of gender often seen as an ‘add-on’ and hence additive or iterative solutions; not integrated ones • Often viewed as women’s issue – nothing to do with men; as a result often ridiculed
The Lessons learnt from the analysis of case studies: Mainstreaming gender in education -2 • Gender Inequalities justified on the name of culture • Often not linked with other forms of inequalities that exist; therefore, seen as competing to find a space • It is possible to develop and implement curriculum which focuses on equity and diversity issues • To conclude, the challenges of scaling up Promising Practices for achieving Gender Equality in Education are far greater (scaling up + gender mainstreaming)
What are therefore the Policy and Institutional Challenges? Scaling Up • Re-strategising, not plantation • Adaptation of the entire approach and retention of critical factors and processes • Partnerships forged, nurtured and promoted with an appreciation of the strengths and constraints on both sides; challenges of up scaling understood by all • Introduction of the required policy or institutional changes (reforming institutional structures and processes, having mechanisms to ensure smooth implementation and monitoring of policy choices made……. ) Mainstreaming gender • Build common and clear understanding of gender related issues at various levels (moving beyond rhetoric and ‘orientation’) • Presence of a system to integrate gender organically at all stages, as a people’s and not as women’s issue; and having links with other forms of inequalities • Develop capacity to distinguish between contextualisation and justifying gender unequal practices on the name of culture • Development and implementation of curriculum that focuses on equity and diversity issues