Education for Rural People: NGOs in the Front = Line

Press Release

Source: Food and Agriculture = Organization=20 of the United Nations

Education for Rural People: NGOs in the Front=20 Line
Wednesday November 17, 9:40 am = ET=20

Gap = Between Urban=20 and Rural Illiteracy Is Widening=20

WASHINGTON and ROME, Nov. 17 /PRNewswire/ -- = Representatives=20 from more than 100 nongovernmental and civil society organizations = from=20 developed and developing countries, senior officials from the = Italian=20 Development Cooperation programme and experts from FAO, UNESCO and = other=20 international organizations have agreed on strengthening their = cooperation=20 in order to address the basic education needs of the world's = biggest=20 neglected majority: rural people.

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A=20 partnership project will raise public awareness in Europe on the=20 importance of education for rural people in poor countries and the = urgent=20 need to target rural areas where over 70 percent of the world's = poor are=20 caught in the vicious circle of being unable to access the = services and=20 opportunities that might take them out of poverty.

The project, discussed at a three-day meeting which ended = today, is co-=20 financed by the European Commission, several European NGOs, FAO = and=20 UNESCO.

"Basic education is a fundamental human right in itself and an=20 essential prerequisite for achieving the Millennium Development = Goals,=20 specifically the first two goals which focus on eradicating = extreme=20 poverty and hunger, and achieving universal primary education," = FAO=20 Assistant Director-General John Monyo said.

"The gap between urban and rural illiteracy is widening and, in = several=20 countries, rural illiteracy is two or three times higher than in = urban=20 areas," stated Mr. Monyo, pointing out that worldwide the great = majority=20 of the 2.8 billion people who survive on less than two dollars a = day live=20 in rural areas.

Children writing in the sand

In Wikihi, a village in the rural Niassa Lake region in = Mozambique,=20 schoolchildren and their teacher have no books. They write down in = the=20 sand what the teacher writes on an old wooden board using dried = cassava.

"In Wikihi, as in so many other African, Asian, and Latin = American=20 villages, what is needed is an efficient, inclusive and widespread = education system, which addresses the basic learning needs of = rural=20 people," Mr. Monyo said.

In the past decade, international aid has stressed the = importance of=20 concentrating on the poor, but it has neglected rural areas and = that means=20 the majority of disadvantaged people.

In many poor countries, rural areas have seen little or no = economic=20 development and population pressure constitutes a threat to = agricultural=20 resources and the natural environment, according to FAO.

The phenomenon is particularly true for education. Children's = access to=20 education in rural areas is still much lower than in urban areas, = adult=20 illiteracy is much higher and the quality of education is poorer.

Illiteracy on the increase

"Illiteracy, which is on the increase in the developing world, = also=20 means that more and more farmers will be unable to read the = instructions=20 on a bag of fertilizer or the warnings on a box of pesticide. = Without=20 basic education, rural people cannot increase their productivity, = adopt=20 enhanced technologies and improve their livelihoods," FAO expert = Lavinia=20 Gasperini said.

She underlined that the problem of poverty is first of all a = problem of=20 rural poverty and food security. "This has prompted FAO to accept = the=20 challenge of leading the partnership project on education for = rural people=20 and food security," she said.

More than 30 European NGOs will contribute to the project by = sharing=20 with FAO and UNESCO experience, knowledge, methodologies and = competences=20 on education for rural people.

"An advocacy campaign launched by a group of Italian and = European NGOs=20 will target governments, ministries, public administrations, = regional and=20 local decision makers, schools, civil society organizations and = media in=20 order to raise awareness on the education needs of rural areas and = on=20 initiatives to address rural-urban disparities," said Ada Civitani = from=20 Italian NGO Associazione di Cooperazione Rurale in Africa e = America Latina=20 (ACRA).=20