5 June 2003
The Second CARK Education Forum was held in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, 5-6 June 2003. The expected outcomesof the Forum were the:
Establishment of national Education For All (EFA) coalitions, production of national plans of Action (NPA) with quantifiable targets, measurable impacts, and linkages with current education reform; and the
Awareness and ownership of EFA by stakeholders and civil society, the inclusion of EFA in the national political agenda and in national monitoring and evaluation systems
Second Education Forum of Central Asian Republics and Kazakhstan (CARK)
We, the representatives of: the Ministries of Education, educational, scientific, research and public institutions and non-governmental organizations of the Central Asian Republics and Kazakhstan (CARK), assembled in Bishkek, 5-6 June 2003, to continue strengthening inter-country cooperation and practices between education policy makers and implementers of CARK, and evaluate our efforts in preparation and implementation of the National Plans of Action and achieving EFA goals by 2015.
We acknowledge that the proceedings of the Education Forum have provided a useful, practice to review both achievements and challenges in ensuring Education for All and the Convention of the Rights of the Child in CARK. This is the moment to renew commitments in education and children¡s rights, in keeping with our countries long-term responsibilities.
We are proud to have reaffirm that our countries have progressed in the achievement of Education for All goals, identified priorities and practical solutions appropriate to our circumstances. We remain committed to continue to improve quality in education and greater equality in the distribution of opportunities of educational access, and learning throughout life.
We renew our national commitments to the original spirit of Education for All in its ¡§expanded vision of basic education¡¨ around the six goals adopted in Dakar, April 2000, and aspire to build education systems capable of satisfying the learning needs of all (children, young people and adults), both within formal education and outside it.
We strongly urge community participation, not only in the implementation of education policy, plans and programmes, but also in design and discussion.
We also commit ourselves to developing increased collaborative efforts to articulating education programmes that incorporate policies for both national and regional improvements, and to ensuring that children, young people and adults are equipped with the necessary skills to live in the modern society. We strongly commit to undertaking these actions, which should result in successful, tangible progress in education and socio-economic reforms in our countries by 2015.
Taking into full account the above considerations and observations, we have reached consensus on the following:
- To continue the Education Forums functions as a structure for introducing ideas for the global movement of EFA and for sharing experiences and generating solutions to common problems in CARK.
- To take into account the reports by the regional thematic groups and support them in the following areas
- Girls Education
- Life skills-based Education
- Education Management Information Systems
- Adult Education
To recommend CARK to expand the following technical areas in all CARK countries:
- Early childhood care and development
- Access to basic education and level of childs participation in education
- Monitoring and assessment of learning achievements
- Education of children with special needs
4. To recognise, that:
- Representatives of the Ministry of Education and Culture of Kyrgyzstan will act as the Executive Secretary of the Executive Committee and the Forum Coordinator.
- The Forum Coordinator ensures the interaction of technical groups between Executive Committee meetings working jointly with civil society representatives from the hosting country, representatives of UNESCO Cluster Office Almaty, UNICEF CARK Area Office and the UNICEF Kyrgyzstan country office.
5. The next meeting of the Executive Committee will be held in November 2003. The venue, date and agenda of the meeting will be determined by the Executive Committee Secretariat in the procedure established.
6. Between Executive Committee meetings and the annual Forum, member countries of the Education Forum ensure that their national working groups continue to function and submit progress report to a relevant regional thematic group 1 month prior to the next Forum, and regional thematic groups in their turn - to the Executive Committee Secretariat 10 days prior to the Forum.
7. The next Education Forum to be held in the spring of 2004. The venue and date of the meeting is to be determined by the Executive Committee at the meeting in November 2003.
***** The Education Forum requests the support of the Governments and civil societies of all Member States for the work of the Forum and the provision of all necessary assistance for it to function effectively.
The Education Forum requests UNESCO Cluster Office Almaty and UNICEF CARK Area Office, other international missions and donor organisations to provide financial, technical and any other support to the implementation of the set targets.
Permanent link: http://en.unesco.kz/second-central-asian-education-forum-joint-effort-to-improve-education-in-central-asia