PRESS ROOM
Basic Education Coalition Welcomes Four New Members
Washington, DC (April 5, 2012) – The Basic Education Coalition (BEC), the leading coalition of U.S.-based organizations advocating for effective U.S. programs and policies in global basic education, is pleased to welcome Chemonics, ProLiteracy, Juárez & Associates, Inc., and Perkins School for the Blind as new members.
Chemonics is a 100 percent employee-owned consulting firm dedicated to providing high quality professional services to USAID’s programs around the world. Because education is inextricably linked to economic development and growth, democracy and human rights and improved health, Chemonics leverages its experience to improve the quality of education at all levels. Chemonics is currently implementing USAID basic education projects in the Republic of Georgia, Zambia, and Indonesia.
ProLiteracy is an international non-governmental organization working through the United States and around the world to improve lives and communities through adult literacy and basic education. Internationally, ProLiteracy works with 52 grassroots indigenous literacy and development organizations located in 30 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Juárez & Associates, a minority-owned small business, has been providing services to USAID Field Missions and Washington Bureaus since 1973. J&A has worked in basic education for over 20 years, designing, managing, implementing, and evaluating education projects in developing countries around the world, including Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Jamaica, India, Kosovo, Nicaragua, Pakistan and South Africa. The organization is currently implementing USAID’s Guatemala Educational Reform in the Classroom project and the Jamaica Basic Education project.
Perkins School for the Blind is a world-renowned center for the education of children with disabilities, including children who are blind, deafblind, or who have multiple disabilities. In 1989, Perkins established a global program to advance the education of children worldwide. The primary focus of Perkins International is to build capacity at local, regional, and national levels to develop independent, sustainable education services. In over 60 countries, Perkins International works through local institutions to collaborate with schools, parents, universities, governments and international agencies to improve educational opportunities, refine university curricula, and transform disability policies.
The Basic Education Coalition believes that basic education is essential to long-term poverty reduction, and is one of the most cost-effective proven solutions in global development. BEC’s 19 members have decades of experience working in over 100 countries with families, communities and governments to expand equitable access to quality basic education.
Deep and Disproportionate Cuts to Basic Education Put Children around the World at Risk
Washington, DC (March 13, 2012) – The Basic Education Coalition expresses its grave concern over the Obama Administration’s deep and disproportionate cuts to basic education programs in its fiscal year 2013 budget request. By continuing to slash funding for these critical programs year after year, the Administration severely undercuts its own education strategy and significantly backtracks on its global commitment to Education for All.
The recently released budget request of $573 million for basic education programs represents a severe 28% cut from the fiscal year 2012 enacted level, and a staggering 38% reduction from the enacted level in fiscal year 2010. Over the last three fiscal years, the Administration’s request for basic education has plummeted by over 40%. Though last year the United States Agency for International Development announced laudable goals in their education strategy around improved reading skills, increased tertiary programs and greater equitable access for children in conflict, the Administration’s latest request seriously calls into question its commitment to their implementation.
Basic education programs have demonstrated proven results and are making a true impact around the world. Cutting funding at this critical time not only has a crippling effect on the lives of children around the world but will have real implications for economic growth and security and stability around the world. Investing responsibly in programs like basic education provides children with the tools to shape their own future, and is the surest path towards economic self-sufficiency for the world’s poor. International education programs help to expand the U.S. consumer base in the developing world and build the stable trading partners that growing U.S. export markets require. In addition, education gives hope to millions of disenfranchised youth living in countries beset by conflict and unrest.
The Basic Education Coalition expresses its sincere disappointment in the Administration’s request, and will work with the House and Senate to fully fund these critical programs.
Rep. Lowey Urges USAID Administrator to Prioritize Basic Education
On March 6, Representative Nita Lowey questioned USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah on the Administration’s “failure to prioritize basic education.”
In his testimony before the House Appropriations’ Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs, Administrator Shah stated: “Last year, we made some critical decisions about how we strengthen global education.” He noted that USAID’s new education strategy “will make sure that our assistance is focused on concrete, tangible outcomes, like literacy. By 2015, we will help improve the reading skills of 100 million children.”
Representative Lowey questioned Administrator Shah on the Administration’s drastic underfunding of basic education, as well as its failure to include education as one of USAID’s development priorities. Congresswoman Lowey pointed to the facts:
- A child born to an education mother is twice as likely to survive to the age of 5;
- Personal earnings increase 10% for every of schooling an individual receives;
- A girl who completes her basic education is 3 times less likely to contract AIDS;
- In sub-Saharan Africa, a focus on girls education could boost agricultural productivity by 25%; and
- Each additional year of schooling of a country’s population reduces a country’s chances of falling into civil war by 3.6%.
Representative Lowey emphasized that “education directly impacts every development priority of this Administration, from poverty reduction to improvements in agricultural production to decreased maternal and child mortality.”
Following this exchange, Administrator Shah pledged to make basic education a core development objective when the agency reviews the USAID Policy Framework.
The Basic Education Coalition expresses its sincere appreciation to Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) for her strong support for basic education at the hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and her continued commitment to ensure that all children around the world have access to a quality basic education.
Read Administrator Shah’s testimony. Read Representative Lowey’s statement.
The Basic Education Coalition expresses its sincere appreciation to Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) for her strong support for basic education at today’s hearing of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, at which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified on the Administration’s FY13 budget request. In her opening statement, Ranking Member Lowey stated:
“I am deeply troubled by the failure to prioritize basic education. We cannot make progress on any of our international priorities – from food security to building democratic institutions to sustained health outcomes – if generations of children grow up without basic literacy skills. I remain frustrated by this administration’s apparent lack of focus on international education and hope you will address this.”
The members of the Basic Education Coalition believe that Congresswoman Lowey’s leadership in basic education has been critical to their work throughout the developing world to ensure that all children have access to a quality basis education. The Coalition will continue to call on all members of Congress to join Congresswoman Lowey in supporting the U.S. commitment to quality global basic education programs for all children.
H.R. 2705, the Education for All Act (EFA), introduced on July 29th, will enable tens of millions more children around the world to enroll in school, dramatically improve the quality of their education, and increase retention rates, so that greater gains in learning can be realized.
New Coalition Leadership Urges Others to Fight for Quality Basic Education
As the new Co-Chairs of the Basic Education Coalition, we ask you to join in our fight to ensure the world hears the voices of the millions of children around the world who are denied the opportunity to step inside a classroom door.
Read More
The Basic Education Coalition applauds the publication of the 2011 EFA Global Monitoring Report, The hidden crisis: Armed conflict and education.
Basic Education Coalition Responds to President’s Budget and Proposed Congressional Cuts
The Basic Education Coalition expresses its gratitude to President Obama for his fiscal year 2012 International Affairs budget request, which would invest responsibly in development and humanitarian programs to ensure a better tomorrow for the world’s poor. In a challenging budget environment, the President has offered a sensible proposal, which will help to alleviate poverty, strengthen societies, foster stability and security, and spur economic growth, at home and abroad.
Basic Education Coalition Statement on President Obama’s State of the Union Address
January 26, 2011
The Basic Education Coalition applauds President Obama’s emphasis in the State of the Union on the importance of quality education and its critical role in building US economic growth. President Obama stated “when a child steps into a classroom, it should be a place of high expectations and high performance.” This principle holds true for classrooms not only in the United States, but throughout the world. Quality education equips people with the knowledge, skills and self-reliance they need to increase income and expand opportunities for employment.
Basic Education Coalition Releases Report on Status of Education around the World
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The Basic Education Coalition announces the release of its updated Teach a Child, Transform a Nation, publication.
The report reviews the status of basic education around the world, highlighting the key role education plays in all facets of human development.
Based on current and compelling evidence, Teach a Child shows that investing in basic education is one of the surest paths to economic growth, boosting GDP, individual earnings and reinvestment in the community. Basic education empowers women and girls, improves maternal and child health, lowers infant mortality, and is one of the best ways to combat deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS. It also boosts agricultural productivity, fosters political participation and good governance, and brings stability to war-torn regions.
