This year we commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The article 26-1 of the declaration states “ Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.” How to ensure access to higher education when access to basic education is still a challenge in most countries in Latin American and the Caribbean?

There is no contradiction between universal access to basic education and merit-based access to higher education. The key is to ensure that everyone has access to quality learning. The significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is profound. It is first and foremost on the grounds of rights that we are leading the Education for All movement, because everything derives from the intrinsic human value of education, from social and economic well-being to civic participation.

My first reaction to this question is that we have to put things into perspective. There has been tremendous progress towards universal education worldwide, especially since 2000. The issues are very different from region to region, from country to country and within countries themselves. The greatest concern in Latin America and the Caribbean is the degree of inequality that remains higher than in other regions. Wide disparities exist between geographic areas and socio-economic or ethnic groups. That being said, policies exist to address these shortcomings and inequalities, and several Latin American and Caribbean countries have been instrumental, for example, in developing conditional cash transfer programs aimed at the poorest families that have increased access and achievement of the most disadvantaged. An education minister is in charge of all levels of education - the challenge is to assure access and quality across the whole system in the aim of serving both the basic level and the higher level. The yardsticks are equity and quality at every stage and every stage matters. Clearly basic education is the foundation for all future learning but higher education is indispensable for promoting a country's sustainable development and knowledge base. Higher education institutions are centres for knowledge, research, innovation and of course training of well-qualified teachers for all levels of the education system.


Many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have not placed Higher Education in the political agenda, which is evident giving the lack of resources and investment. As a result, there is a short of trained professionals to teach basic education. The outcome is an unfair society where underprivileged kids and young adults receive limited education because their teachers are not well prepared. What can be done to reverse this trend and provide quality Higher Education to future educators and other professionals?

Education quality is a problem worldwide and governments realize it. They are investing in learning assessments that are showing very low achievement in reading, writing and numeracy for a significant percentage of learners. The recent SERCE assessment in Latin America and the Caribbean demonstrated this clearly. The issue in some parts of the world, especially in Africa, is about teacher shortage and too many teachers being poorly trained. A great concern in Latin America and the Caribbean is also the status of teachers: their professional development, their working conditions and their remuneration. That being said, it is equally important, especially in light of results from learning assessments, to improve training and give teachers the tools and skills to work with students from all types of backgrounds. So both the recognition of teachers' work and their training are essential for reaching more equity and better quality.


How Higher Education Systems in Latin America and Africa deal with current social challenges such as immigration or poverty?

This again is a great concern, and not only in Latin America and the Caribbean. Institutions of higher education have a responsibility toward society, in terms of development, capacity building and their social engagement towards national and local challenges. These include poverty, immigration and the learning needs of youth adults on a continent where some 35 million adults lack basic literacy skills. Universities have the responsibility to be connected to local realities, to provide intellectual leadership and to develop through multiple means, from research to sharing knowledge, strategies for reducing poverty and promoting sustainable development. This is why the social responsibility of universities will be one of the main themes on the agenda of the World Conference on Higher Education taking place in Paris in July 2009.


More information:
Teachers matter!
Inclusive Education: The Way of the Future


By Grace Guerrero
UNESCO-IESALC

Mr. Nicholas Burnett was appointed Assistant Director-General for Education on 5 September 2007. Prior to that, he was Director of UNESCO’s EFA Global Monitoring Report from 2004 to 2007. Born in United Kingdom, Mr. Burnett spent most of his career working on developing and transition countries in Africa. He has worked before for the World Bank and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office as Economic Adviser on Africa and Latin America. He has managed his own international consulting firm, specializing in human development and strategic management.

www.iesalc.unesco.org.ve