6 December 2006
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 30 November 2006 – The Executive Committee Meeting of the Central Asian Education Forum has completed its 2006 session in Ashgabat. The Executive Committee has reviewed the progress towards achievement of “Education for All” Declaration (EFA) goals in all the five countries including Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
The Committee has also adopted the report of the fifth CARK Education Forum that took place in Ashgabat in June of this year and set the venue for the sixth Forum. The Executive Committee supported by UNICEF and UNESCO coordinates relevant education activities and facilitates information exchange and communication among five Central Asian countries. It also ensures that the five thematic groups – adult education, life skills education, girls’ education, education management information system, and early childhood development and readiness for schooling are functional. These thematic groups with equal representation from each country discuss issues relevant to their theme and plans region-wide strategies.Underlining the importance of education UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan Mahboob Shareef said that “there cannot be wiser investment and greater return than creating better education opportunities for our children. Their full development is a key determinant not only of their future but of entire societies”.
As Tarja Virtanen, UNESCO Representative for the Cluster Office in Almaty, mentioned, “the meeting took place at the same time when countries of Asia-Pacific are preparing for the Mid-Decade Assessment”. The Mid-Decade Assessment will assess the progress and achievements of the six “Education for All” Declaration goals set at the 2000 World Education Forum in Dakar with focus on quality and equality in access to education as well as reaching the “unreached”. During the meeting delegates discussed the technical guidelines for conducting country-wide Mid-Decade Assessment and agreed to complete the process by mid 2007.
The Executive Committee Meeting was hosted by the Ministry of Education of Turkmenistan with the technical support by UNICEF and UNESCO. This is the ninth meeting of the Executive Committee that meets twice a year in one of the Central Asian countries.
For more information please contact:
Ms. Gulshat Amandurdiyeva
UNICEF Education Officer
Phone: +99312 425681/82/86/86
Fax: +99312 420830
Email: gamandurdiyeva@unicef.org
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Ms. Gulyalek Soltanova
UNICEF Communication Officer
Phone: +99312 425681/82/86/86
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Permanent link: http://en.unesco.kz/the-executive-committee-meeting-of-the-central-asian-education-forum-completes-its