access of girls and women to education in rural...

Access of girls and women

to education in rural areas

a comparative study

unesco

Printed in the Workshops of the Uniled Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

Place de Fontenoy, Paris-7e

0 Unesco 1964 Printed in Frunce ED.úUXII. 51/A

FOREWORD

Since its earliest days, Unesco has constantly worked for an improvement in the status of women, indirectly by an intensification of its general activities affecting the population as a whole and more directly through projects relating specifically to women. This action not only reflects Unesco's determination to combat any form of discrimination, but also its concern to avoid artificially creating a problem in the matter of education for girls and women.

The needs and aspirations of women are implicitly taken into account in all the programmes adopted by successive sessions of the General Conference, but only through special studies is it possible to discover where inequalities exist in respect of the right to education, proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to consider appropriate measures for remedying the situation.

In close co-operation with the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and the Specialized Agencies, and with the assistance of Member States and non-governmental organizations, Unesco is therefore carrying out studies on the access of girls and women to the different levels of education, promoting surveys and regional meetings, and encouraging by all the means at its disposal - provision of experts, study and travel grants for girls, gift coupons, etc., the development of educational opportunities for the female section of the population.

Thus, for instance, at Cotonou (Dahomey) in 1960 and in Bangkok (Thailand) in 1962, women specialists from various countries of Africa and Asia, respectively, analysed the situation existing in those two regions, and their recommendations were brought to the attention of the Conferences of Ministers of Education, which considered the regional planning of education, on both a long-term and short-term basis. ln 1964 a similar meeting will be held for the Arab States.

Studies on the access of womea and girls to out-of-school education, to the teaching profession and to elementary education, have already been made in the past few years. The present document embodies the latest of the studies carried out by the Organization and is concerned with two areas in which inequality in the matter of education still raises problems : namely, the opportunities afforded to girls, and education in rural areas.

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Page

INTRODUCTION ............................................ 7

CHAPTER ONE . Size of the rural populations ....................... 9

9

CHAPTER II . Educational opportunities for rural populations ............ 13 School education ........................................ 13

Criteria used in defining rural populations ...................... 9 The "rural factor" exists in the majority of countries ...............

Quantitative information .................................. 13 (a) Primary education ................................. 13 (b) Secondary education ................................. 14 (c) Higher education ................................... 15 Qualitative information ................................. 15

Out-of-school education .................................. 17 17 17 18

Illiteracy rate and percentage of rural population ................

Action undertaken in rural areas (out-of-school education) .......... Illiteracy in rural and urban areas ..........................

CHAPTER III . Educational opportunities for girls and women in ruralareas .................................... 23

School education ........................................ 23 Quantitative information ................................. 23 (a) Primary education ................................. 23 (b) Secondary education ................................ 24 (c) Higher education ................................... 24 Qualitative information ................................... 25

Out-of-school education ...................... : ............ 25 Illiteracy among women in rural areas ....................... 26

in rural areas ....................................... 26

education activities .................................... 27

Adult education activities specially designed for women

Participation of women and girls in rural areas in adult

CHAPTER IV . Difficulties of access of women and girls to education in rural areas .................................. 31

CHAPTER V . Measures adopted to make possible or facilitate the access of girls and women in rural areas to education ....... 35

Measures concerning access to school education .................. 35 Measures concerning out-of-school education .................... 37

CHAPTER VI . Current trends ................................. 39

CONCLUSION ............................................. 42

ANNEX 1 . Data on primary educational institutions and enrolment in rural areas .................................. 44

ANNEX 2 . Number and percentage of rural secondary schools (general education. vocational. technical. and teacher- training) and percentage of rural population .............. 46

5

Table of contents

ANNEX 3 - A N N E X 4 - ANNEX 5 -

ANNEX 6 -

ANNEX 7 -

Number and percentage of enrolment in rural secondary schools and percentage of rural population ................

Proportion of girls attending rural and urban schools at various levels and categories of education ................

Percentage of rural enrolment and the proportion of girls in rural enrolment at different educational levels : primary, general secondary, and higher ........................

Report and recommendations of the Working Group of Non-Governmental Organizations on equal access of women to education ..............................

Recommendation 961 (XXXV1)D adopted by the Economic and Social Council on 12 July 1963 .....................

LIST OF TA B L E S IN THE TEXT OF THE REPORT

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Classification of 82 countries in accordance with the percentage of rural population ......................................

Classification of 82 countries by their percentage of rural population and estimated total population ..............................

Comparison of the proportion of pupils attending general, technical and vocational, and teacher-training secondary schools in rural areas. ...

Rural population and enrolment at rural establishments .............

Illiteracy and rural populations .............................

Comparison of illiteracy rates in rural and urban areas .............

Percentage of rural population, percentage of rural school enrolment in total primary school enrolment, and proportion of girls in rural school enrolment, in 24 countries ...........................

Percentage of female and male illiteracy in rural areas .............

48

50

52

53

62

10

12

20

21

22

30

30

30

6

INTRODUCTION

1. At the present time, the greater partofthe world's population lives in rural areas. It is sometimes extremely difficult for girls and women in those areas to receive either school education or adult education. At the request of the UnitedNations Commission on the Status of Women, Unesco, which had already carried out various studies on educational opportunities for the female section of the population(l), assembled a body of information, as comprehensive and reliable as passible, on the particular problem of the access of girls and women to education in rural areas. In January 196 2, a questionnaire was circulated to all States Members of the Organization. Seventy-nine Member States and Associate Members(2) and 15 territories under British and Netherlands admini~tration(~) sent replies to the Director-General.

States to its importance, the problem of educational opportunity for women was chosen by the Secretariat as the subject of the regional meeting of experts held at Bangkok, from 26 February to 8 March 1962, in which 25 experts from 16 Asian countries(4) took part. The questionnaire had been sent to these States in July 1961 and two women experts had vi- sited a number of countries in that region for the purpose of preparing a working paper. As in the case of the inquiry into the access of women toout- of-school education, Unesco requested the co- operation of a working group on equality of educational opportunities for women, which consisted of a number of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with Unesco. This group drew up its own questionnaire on the basis of the Unesco questionnaire and drafted a report and recommendations which are annexed to the present document(5).

3. The replies sent to the Secretariat by the Member States, Associate Members and territories concerned refer to countries whose total population is estimated at 1,904,539,000. The rural population in 82 of these countries amounts to 1,001,424,500 out of a total population of 1,581,413,700. In 59 of these countries, comprising in the aggregate 70.470 of this population, over half the inhabitants are regarded as rural.

4. The large number of replies received is an indication not only of the importance of the question but also of an awareness of rural women's problems in many of these countries. In some cases, special detailed studies have already been undertaken. The data collected for the prescnt inquiry are therefore sufficiently abundant to enable significant conclusions to be drawn.

2. In order to draw the attention of Member

5. The present-day significance of the problem of the education of girls and women in rural areas, the interest aroused by this report in the Commission on the Status of Women and among non-governmental organizations, and the fact that the Economic and Social Council drew the attention of Member States and international intergovern- mental and non-governmental organizations to the question by a formal recommendation(6), have prompted Unesco's Secretariat to disseminate the present study more widely by publishing it in the series "Educational Studies and Documents" . Some slight changes have been made in the text to take account of the comments made by the Commission on the Status of Women and of belated replies from some governments.

Sources

6. The information given in this report is mainly drawn from the replies sent by governments to the questionnaire circulated to them. The document contains no information about countries which did not reply to the inquiry. Use has also been made of the current school enrolment statistics regularly communicated by governments and published by Unesco(7), and of the information given in the three volumes of the "World Survey of Edu- cation" (8) , the "International Yearbook of Educa- tion"(9) and the study on "Facilities for Education in Rural Areas"(10) submitted to the XXIst Inter- national Conference on Public Education. The studies carried out by the Secretariat on educational needs in the countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America and in the Arab States, and the results of the conferences of Ministers of Education held in Paris and at Tokyo, of the Conference at Santiago de Chile and of the meetings of experts on general secondary education in Africa and the Arab countries and on higher education in Africa, have frequently provided confirmation of statements made in the replies to the questionnaire and have enabled the problem of the education of women in rural areas to be placed in the more general context of educational development in the world.

General plan

7. The situation of the populations of the rural areas, especially from the educational standpoint, undoubtedly leaves much to be desired and it would be impossible to convey an idea of the educational opportunities open to women in these areas without

7

Introduction

first giving a general picture. This study therefore, begins by describing the quantitative and qualitative state of school and out-of-school education in rural areas, with a view to depicting the special situation of women in these areas. On this basis, the opportunities open to women and girls in the rural areas are the subject of a quantitative and qualitative study at the different levels. Next, the manifold difficulties encountered by women in their attempts to obtain an education in a number of countries are examined, as are also the various steps which have already been taken to remedythis situation. Although as yet inadequate, these steps give grounds for hope that progress will be made, and this view is confirmed by an examination of

NO

(1) Access of women to out-of-school education (UNESCO/ED/182, 1960); Comparative study on the access of girls to elementary education (UNESCO/ED/195, 1962); Access of women to the teaching profession (UNESCO/ED/185, 1961).

(2) Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Burundi , Byelo- russian Soviet Socialist Republic, Cambodia, Canada, Ceylon, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador , El Salvador, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Guinea, Haiti, Hungary, India, Indonesia , Iran, Iraq, Israel , Italy, Ivory Coast, Japan , Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar , Federa- tion of Malaya, Mauritania, Mexico , Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger , Norway, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Rumania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , United Arab Republic, United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland), United States of America, Uruguay, Vene- zuela, Viet-Nam - Mauritius, SingäpörF ~

Federation of the West Indies: Barbados and St. Lucia. Territories under British administration: Aden, the Bahamas, Bechuanaland, Bermuda, Brunei,

(3)

present-day trends. Numerous statistical tables, either appended to or included in the report, tend to show, through a comparison of the data relating to rural and urban areas and to boys and girls at various educational levels, the main features of the present situation of rural populations from the standpoint of education.

working group of non-governmental organizations on equality of educational opportunities for women, and the report of the meeting of experts on the access of girls and women to education in rural areas in Asia, are also appended to the present report.

8. The report and recommendations of the

T E S

Fiji , Gambia, Hong Kong, Kenya , Malta, North Borneo, Sarawak, Zanzibar. Self- governing non-independent parts of the King- dom of the Netherlands : Netherlands Antilles and Surinam. Burma, Ceylon, China, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Laos, Federation of Malaya, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand , Viet-Nam .

(5) Annex6. (6) Recommendation 961 (XXXVI) D contained in

Annex 7. (7) Unesco, "Current School Enrolment Statistics",

No.8, Paris, 1961. (8) Unesco, "World Survey of Education", I. Hand-

book of educational organization and statistics, Paris, 1955. II. Primary Education, Paris, 1960. III. Secondary Education, Paris, 1961.

(9) Unesco/IBE . "International Yearbook of Edu- cation", vol. XXIII, 1961.

(10) Unesco/IBE . "Facilities for Education in Rural Areas", publication no. 192, 1958.

(4)

N .B. All lists of countries in this report are in ~~ ~ the above order, i .e. : Member States (in

alphabetical order), Associate Members (d" ), Territories under British administration (do ), Territories under Netherlands administration (d" ).

8

CHAPTER ONE

SIZE OF THE RURAL POPULATIONS

9. Before dealing with the subject of this study, and in order to form a better idea of its scope, it seemed desirable to ascertain the size of the rural populations in the countries which took part in the inquiry. No claim is made however, that this process, for purposes of international comparison, is one of scientific accuracy. The criteria used by the different governments to define rural populations vary substantially, but an analysis of the replies received enables the existence of a "rural factor" in each country to be established and the proportion of inhabitants who may be regarded as rural to be estimated.

CRITERLA USED IN DEFINING RURAL POPULATIONS

10. Forty-seven replies(ll) show, more or less precisely, the criteria adopted by governments in defining rural areas,

centre, which varies considerably according to the demographic and geographical structure of the country concerned , frequently serves to establish the distinction between rural and urban populations . Thus a populated centre is called rural whenithas:

11. The number of inhabitants of a populated

under 1,000 inhabitants in Burundi, Canada and

under 1 , 500 inhabitants in Colombia; under 2,000 inhabitants in Argentina, Luxembourg,

under 5,000 inhabitants in Cuba and Japan (in the

Mauritania;

Spain, Switzerland and Turkey;

latter case, however, population density is also used to differentiate between rural and urban populations);

under 10,000 inhabitants in the Syrian Arab Repub- lic.

12. In other countries, an administrative criterion is used in addition to the "size of populated centre" criterion: in order to be regarded as urban, a place must have a certain demographic importance and must be the seat of a municipality(l2).

areas by contrasting them with what is called "the town", the latter frequently being the exception and its dimensions of little significance(l3): Sierra Leone and Gambia, for instance, regard their entire populations as rural with the exception of those in their capitals. Sometimes distance from the centre of the town is also taken into consideration

13. A number of other replies define rural

(Barbados, Singapore); and when the area of the country is very small, as in the case of Bermuda (53 km2), there can be no question of drawing a distinction between rural and urban areas.

14. Administrative criteria alone are apparently used in Ceylon, Lebanon, Sweden, Mauritius and Surinam.

15. Certain other countries, such as Belgium, Korea, Pakistan for the Karachi region, Aden, Bechuanaland and Malta, employ economic criteria; the population is regarded as rural if its activities are of an agricultural type (including fishing and stock-breeding) or if its income is derived from agriculture..

16 . According to the United Kingdom reply to the questionnaire, "there are no rural areas in England and Wales in the sense commonly under- stood in very large, sparsely populated countries. . . density of population is probably the main criterion". The Federal Republic of Germany states thatthere is no clear statistical distinction between rural and urban areas, since density of population is considerable even in the rural areas, and the network of schools very substantial.

THE "RURAL FACTOR" EXISTS IN THE MAJORITY OF COUNTRIES

17. Thus the criteria indicated by the governments are frequently somewhat vague and undoubtedly are not comparable. While 47 countries have supplied criteria, 82 give the percentage of their population which is regarded as rural. Doubtless the "rural factor" is defined in different terms in each region; the size of the territory and that of the populated centres frequently determine its administrative structure and sometimes, its economic structure . In fact, every country differentiates between rural and urban populations, and this report will subsequently show how educational opportunities are divided among these populations.

ing to percentage of rural population, of countries which have replied to the questionnaire and supplied the necessary data, and the diagram on page 11 illustrates this classification.

19. Out of 82 replies 59, or nearly three- quarters, come from countries over half of whose population is rural, and 32 or two-fifths, come from countries where over 70% of the inhabitants live in rural areas. The proportion of inhabitants regarded as rural is thus considerable,

18. Table 1 shows the classification, accord-

9

Size of the rural populations

20. To enable this phenomenon to be appraised with greater accuracy, table 2 shows the number of inhabitants of the countries classified in table 1 according to the percentage of their rural populations.

21. This table shows that the 32 countries , over 70% of whose population is rural, together account for 40.4% of the total population of the 82 countries concerned. If all the countries over half

of whose population is described as rural (59, i .e. 7270 ) are taken into Consideration, it will be seen that they represent 70.470 of the total number of inhabitants.

22. Thus the rural populations form a very large majority in the countries which took part in the inquiry. To what extent are they benefiting from the advantages of school or out-of-school education? This is the subject of Chapter II.

N O T E S

(1 1) Argentina, Australia Belgium, Burundi, Canada, Ceylon, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Federal Republic of Germany, Guinea, Hun- gary, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon Luxembourg, Federation of Malaya, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, Panama, Philip- pines, Senegal Sierra Leone, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic, Turkeys United Kingdom (England and Wales), Repub- lic of Viet-Nam, Barbados, Mauritius, Singa- pore; Aden, the Bahamas, Bechuanaland, Bermuda, Fiji , Gambia Hong Kong, Maltas Sarawak; Surinam.

(12) Australia (plus 6,000 inhabitants), Chile, India (plus 5,000 inhabitants), Israel (plus 5,000 inhabitants), Federation of Malaya (plus 1,000 inhabitants), East Pakistan (plus 10,000 inhabitants), Panama (plus 1,500 inhabitants), Viet-Nam.

(13) Guinea, Hungary, Kuwait, Niger, Philippines (distinction also based on administrative structure), Senegal, Sierra Leone; Barbados, Singapore; the Bahamas, Fiji ~ Gamia ~ Hong Kong, Sarawak.

TABLE 1

Classification of 82 countries in accordance with the percentage of rural population

90% or over 70% to 89% 50% to 69% 25% to 49% 0% to 24%

Afghani stan Burundi Mauritania Nepal Ni ge r Sierra Leone Sudan Bechuanaland Gambia Kenya

Albania Bolivia Cambodia Ceylon Guinia Haiti India Iran Ivory Coast Korea Laos Madagascar Philippines Senegal Thailand Togo Viet-Nam Aden North Borneo Brunei Fiji Zanzibar

Byelorussian SSR Costa Rica Cyprus Czechoslovakia Denmark Dominican Rep. Ecuador El Salvador Finland Iraq Japan Jordan Lebanon Fed. of Malaya Norway Panama Paraguay Poland Rumania Syrian Arab Rep. Tunisia Turkey USSR United Arab Rep, Barbados & St, Lucia Mauritius Surinam

Argentina Canada Chile Colombia Cuba France Hun gar y Luxembourg Mexico Netherlands New Zealand Spain Switzerland United States Venezuela Singapore The Bahamas Malta

Australia Be 1 gi u m Israel United Kingdom

and Scotland) (England, Wales

Hong Kong

10

N u m b e r of countries


Diagram showing an analysis of 82 countries by proportion of rural population

30

25

20

15

10

5

O to 24% 25% to 49% 50% to 69% 7070 to 89% 90% a n d o v e r

11


TABLE 2

Classification of 82 countries by their percentage of rural population and estimated total population

% of rural population

Number of countries

Total population of these countries (in thousands)*

% of the total population repre sen ted

by these countries

90% or over 707'0 to 89% 507'0 to 697'0 2570 to 497'0 0% to 24%

10 22 27 18 5

82

51,366.1 587,803.8 473,851.1 392,420.5 75,972.2

1,581,4 13 .7

3.3 37.1 30.0 24.8 4.8

100 .o

* Source: replies to the questionnaire and "Basic Facts and Figures", Unesco, Paris, 1961.

12

C H A P T E R II

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR RURAL POPULATIONS

23. It is generally recognized that to live in a rural area often diminishes a person's chances of acquiring a complete education, and the replies received by Unesco provide abasis for a more detailed analysis of this phenomenon. For the purpose of this analysis , school education and out-of- school education have been examined separately. Wherever possible, and in the interests of objec- tivity, an attempt has been made first to arrive at a quantitative assessment of the educational efforts undertaken in rural areas after which the qualityof the education provided has been considered. This analysis makes it possible to compare the opportunities of children in rural and urban areas to obtain the same type of education.

S C H O O L EDUCATION

QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION

24. B y classifying educational institutions and school enrolment figures according to rural and urban areas, it is possible to arrive at aprelimin- ary estimate of existing educational opportunities . A large number of countries which replied to the questionnaire furnished this data for a fairly recent year. It is reasonable to suppose that this classification was based on the same criteria as were used to distinguish rural populations from urban populations. Accordingly, in each country and at the various educational levels, the percentages of educational establishments and school enrolments in rural areas have been compared with the percentage of the population living in those areas. How- ever, allowances have to be made for certain factors. For example, the demographic structure of the population (number of persons per year or age group) m a y not be the same in rural and urbanen- vironments if the infant mortality rate or the birth rate varies between town and country, or if a large number of m e n from the country areas go to work in towns , leaving their wives and children in the village, etc. These comparisons are therefore made only with an indicative purpose.

(a) Primary education

25, The table in Annex 1 to this report contains data concerning primary educational institutions and pupils attending them i3 the countries which have furnished the information requested : number of primary educational institutions , number of

primary educational institutions in rural areas , percentage of the total constituted by these rural institutions , enrolments in primary edu-cational institutions, enrolments in institutions situated in rural areas , percentage of the total constituted by rural enrolments, percentage of the population in rural areas in the country concerned.

(i) Rural educational institutions and rural population

26. In most cases the percentage of rural educational institutions is distinctly higher than the percentage of rural population(l) . However , a comparison of these two figures is not in itself of great significance since a primary school "may vary from a one-room, single-teacher school ina rural community to an institution comprising many buildings and housing thousands of pupils in alarge city"(2) ; a high percentage of rural institutions is thus not sufficient evidence of a satisfactory situation with regard to rural primary education, but it does give an idea of the extent of the network of schools in the country areas, regardless of the size of the schools.

27. When the percentage of rural institutions is lower than the percentage of rural population, on the other hand, there is a strong probabilitythat primary education in the country areas is unsatisfactory, since it is exceptional to find rural schools accommodating more pupils than do urban schools. Afghanistan (62 .i% rural schools, 92% rural population), Haiti (53.170 and 8770 ) , Iraq (42.1% and 6470 ) and Zanzibar (60.570 and 80% ) show a percentage of primary schools lower than the percentage of rural population. Except in cases where a policy of "school zoning'' is carried out, it can be said that the rural areas of these countries are at a disadvantage as regards primary education compared with urban areas; the percentages constituted by rural school enrolments when compared with total school enrolments in these countries(3) bear out this observation: 63.770 in Afghanistan, 47.0 in Haiti, 31 .9 in Iraq and 4 9.7 in Zanzibar.

(ii) Rural school enrolments and rural population

28. A comparison of the proportion of pupils attending rural primary schools with the percentage of population in rural areas yields more accurate information. Where the two figures are similar, that m a y be taken as a quantitative indicationof an

Educational opportunities for rural populations

educational effort distributed evenly between rural and urban areas.

29. The situation seems to be satisfactory in most of the countries which furni~hedinformation(~). In ten countries(5) , however, the disparity between the figures is very marked and shows that country children receive far less schooling than children in towns. In seven other countries (6) , the disparity between the figures is just over 10% . Naturally, this information must be supplemented by comments on the quality of the education provided in rural and urban areas.

30. The enrolment figures given in the table in Annex 1 relate to institutions situated in rural areas, and do not take account of the place of residence of the pupils. Where there is no school sufficiently near their home, children who normally live in a country area may attend a primary school in a town where they can be housed by relations or friends. The information furnished indicates that this practice is fairly infrequent at the primary level. However, four countries have furnished the following data:

In Mauritania, 15 , 100 pupils attend primary schools, 8,275 being enrolled at urban schools; of this latter group, 1,360 children - that is, 9% of the total and 16.4% of the urban enrolment figure - live in a rural area;

In Senegal, out of 149,175 pupils attendingprimary schools, 100,450 go to school in towns and 15,060 children regarded as urban pupils have taken up residence in country areas; these latter constitute 10% of the total number of primary school enrolments and 15% of the urban enrolments;

Mauritius reports that while pupils mostly attend primary schools in their place of residence, some children in rural areas go to school in a town;

ban primary schools, 410 - that is, 16.9% - live in rural areas.

In Bechuanaland, out of 2,418 pupils attending ur-

(b) Secondary education

31. A comparison between the number of institutions and enrolments in rural areas and the overall situation in the countries considered(7) enables a preliminary estimate to be made of the educational opportunities for the various types of secondary education.

(i) General educational institutions(8)

32. Fifteen countries(9) provided information concerning secondary institutions in urban areas only, from which it would seem that in some cases there is no secondary school network at all in the rural areas.

33. A n analysis of the data concerning the other countries(l0) yields the following information:

Rural secondary schools have, in most cases, far fewer pupils than urban schools of the same types; indeed, the percentage of rural schools is higher than the percentage of rural school enrolments as compared with the total number of pupils(11).

In rural areas far fewer children have opportunities for general secondary education locally than in urban areas, as can be seen by comparing the percentage of pupils attending rural institutions with the percentage of rural population. Only seven countries(l2) afford children in urban and rural areas approximately the same opportunities for this type of education (the disparity between the percentage of rural school enrolments and the percentage of rural population is less than 10%). In Bechuanaland, ali general secondary schools are situated in country areas.

dary level, pupils in rural areas often attend urban schools. The enrolment figures given in Annex 3, with the exception of the United States and the Netherlands, relate only to pupils in rural secondary schools.

34. N A : It should be noted that, at the secon-

(ii) Technical and vocational training institutions(l3)

35. Twenty-eight replies(14) give the number of institutions in rural and urban areas or the number of enrolments (see Annexes 2 and 3). Twenty- three replies(15) give only the number of technical and vocational training institutions in urban areas. It would therefore seem that, on the whole, the countries with facilities for technical and vocational secondary education in rural regions are less numerous than those in which general secondary education is provided in rural areas(16).

moreover, that enrolments in technical and vocational educational institutions are far less numerous than those in institutions providing a general education, both in global terms and as regards rural areas. O n the other hand, twelve replies(17), mostly coming from countries with a predominantly rural population, reported a higher proportion of pupils - often markedly so - attending rural technical and vocational schools than that attending rural general secondary schools.

37. Whether the pupils undergoing technical and vocational training lived in rural or in urban areas was not specified, except in three cases: in Albania, where no institutions exist in rural areas, 5070 of the urban school pupils are from the country; in the Ivory Coast, 6570 of the boys and 34% of the girls attending secondary technical institutions are the children of farmers; in Rumania, 66 .i% , and in Viet-Nam, 33.3% , of the pupils Live inrural areas.

36. A n analysis of the table in Annex 3 shows,

14


Rumania and Sudan have furnished the following figures :

In the United States, out of 2,935,446 students, 357,994 or 12.270 come from a rural area;

In the Netherlands, out of 31,886 students, 6,677 or 20 .WO come from a rural area;

In Rumania, out of 83,749 students, 17,500 or 2170 come from a rural area;

In Sudan, out of 2 , 500 students, 1 , 500 or 6070 come from a rural area.

(iii) Teacher-training institutions(l 8,

38. This type of institution is to be found both in rural and in urban areas in 33 countries(l9), and in towns alone in 33 others(2O) .

39. The countries which furnished information making it possible to compare the distribution of institutions or enrolments between rural and urban areas are listed in Annexes 2 and 3. O n the basis of this data, a comparison has been made(21) between the percentage of rural population in various countries and the proportion of pupils attending rural institutions providing general secondary education, technical and vocational training and teacher- training.

rural enrolments are mainly to be found in the categories of technical and vocational training and teacher-training and the disparity betweenl'general education" and the other branches seems to be greater the higher the percentage of population in rural areas. In Korea and Hungary the distribution of school enrolments between general education and technical and teacher-training is ininverse proportion. Only the figures reported by Canada reflect a balance in the percentage of rural pupils enrolled in general educational institutions and in teacher-training institutions .

41. These observations would have beenmore precise if, in calculating the number of enrolments, account could have been taken of the pupils inrural areas attending urban institutions. Only four countries furnished data in this respect:

40. In all these countries except three(22),

Albania reports that 5070 of the pupils at vocational and teacher-training institutions come from rural areas;

the pupils receiving general education, 7670 of the pupils receiving technical and vocational training and 93.570 of the pupils undergoing teacher-training come from rural areas;

account, it is found that 3170 of the pupils receiving general education come from rural areas , whereas in teacher-training establishments the proportion is 68.570 ;

Sudan, however, reports a different situation: 69.270 of the pupils at general secondary schools and 58.370 of the pupils at teacher- training institutions come from rural areas.

Cyprus: in the Greek secondary schools, 5770 of

Senegal: if the residence of the pupils is takeninto

(c) Higher education

42. At this level, the most significant data regarding the access of rural populations io higher education would be the rural or urban origin ofthe students, which is only rarely specified in replies to the questionnaire . For example :

In Albania, between 30 ano 40% of the uiuversity

The United States of America, the Netherlands, students come from rural areas;

It should be noted that the rural population in these four countries is 30.170, 42,970, 67.570 and 9270 respectively.

43. Twelve countries(23) report the existence of higher educational institutions in rural areas and in towns. Three others - Guinea, Barbados and Mauritius - each report that the only existinghigher educational institution is situated in a rural area.

QUALITATIVE INFORMATION

44. The foregoing paragraphs and accompany- ing tables reflect no more than a de facto situation at a particular time, concerning the distribution of educational institutions and their enrolment figures according to rural and urban areas.

45. Are these institutions administered inthe same manner? Do they provide schooling of the same length and quality? Does the personnel receive identical training Is the schooling the same in rural and in urban areas? Is the proportion of children attending secondary schools and , there- after , higher educational institutions, the same in rural and in urban areas? The answers to these questions should make it possible to evaluate the statistical data more accurately. Naturally most attention is paid to the quality of rural primaryedu- cation, since it is the training received at the primary level that will influence the pupil's orientation towards a particular occupational and social activity.

(a) Administration of education

46. Most countries state that they establish no distinction - in legislative provisions, administrative regulations, or in fact - between education in rural and education in urban areas. Sixty-seven replies(24) specify that no distinction exists, or that it has been abolished or is in process of abolition(25); others apply some slight restrictions to the affirmation of principle :

Some report special measures designed to assist the development of education in rural areas. This is the case in Australia, where certain special advantages are provided for rural and very isolated regions; in Canada, where young people from rural areas are trained for work in towns; in India, where the Constitutionpro- vides that special aid m a y be given to less

15


favoured groups; in N e w Zealand, where teachers must complete three years of service in rural areas in order to obtain a certain advancement; and in Sarawak , where the Govern- ment has expressed its intention of givingpri- ority to educational needs in the rural areas;

Others (Cuba, United States) say that some rural schools are of a single-teacher type (18.2% of all public schools in the United States in 1958- 1959); that they are being transformed into community schools (Republic of Viet-Nam); that their establishment is subject to special conditions , as for example in Spain, where the school becomes a mixed one when the totalen- rolment of children aged between six and twelve does not exceed thirty-five; that differences arise because of the special features of certain regions (customs , traditions, etc.), as for example in Mexico and Venezuela;

out that school questions come within the com- petence of local communities; in Gambia, similarly, there m a y be a few slight differences between one area and another(26).

47. Eight countries(27), on the other hand, state that there are legal or administrative differences in the education given in the rural areas.

These differences are of a legal nature:

Canada, the United Kingdom and Switzerland point

In Ecuador , the law prescribes two different types of education so far as length of schooling, curricula and the training of teachers for rural schools and urban schools are concerned;

In Turkey, a legislative text stipulates that the effective duration of the school year must not be less than 170 days in the rural areas and not less than 200 in the urban areas; rural schools usually have a garden for practical work and a plot of land reserved for the teacher if he cul- tivates it himself, but there are also schools with itinerant teachers; de facto differences are also noted in school equipment and in the number of teachers per course;

In Uruguay, a legal distinction oxists between rural, suburban and urban schools.

In Bolivia and Haiti, education in the rural areas is entrusted to the Ministry of Agriculture but education in the urban areas to the Ministryof National Education. In Mauritania, the distinction is factual rather than legal and all urban schools there will soon have six classes. The rural schools are of two types: for the coloured or mulatto population, they are mixed, with biennial enrolment for three classes or triennial enrolment for two classes; for the Moorish population, they operate in camps with a variable periodicity of enrolment and a three- year period of schooling after which the best pupils are sent to urban boarding schools. Indonesia reports a difference in administration and in curricula, particularly for basic disciplines in primary education in rural areas.

(b) School organization

48. The administrative differences described above(28) generally involve differences in the organization of schools in the rural areas and in the urban areas of the countries concerned(29).

(i) Leng-th of compulsory schooling

49. In Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mauritania and Uruguay, the length of primary schooling is , in principle or in fact, appreciably shorter in the rural areas than in the urban areas. It m a y vary by one year or even two, according to local regulations, in Canada, Denmark and Switzer- land. Nine replies(30) report that compulsory schooling does not exist.

(ii) Age at which compulsory education begins and ends

50. In Bolivia, Colombia, Mauritania and Senegal, children in rural areas begin and endtheir periods of schooling at an older age than children in towns. In Canada, India and Switzerland, the ages at which schooling begins and ends may vary somewhat, according to administrative areas.

(iii) Curricula

T31) 51. In countries where the length of primar

schooling is shorter in rural than in urban areas the children in the country obviously receive an education much less complete than that of the children in towns.

52. Twenty-four other countries(32) report differences in the curricula of rural and urban schools, but it is often difficult to distinguish adaptation of the methods and content of education to environment and circumstances from the essential changes which might be made in the nature of the education given; similarly, it is impossible to determine whether the existing changes are laid down in regulations or official instructions or whether they are due to the interpretation of teachers or to their lack of qualifications.

,

(iv) Training of teachers

53, Only in a very few countries (Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador) is the training prescribed by law for rural teachers inferior to that prescribed for urban teachers.

54. O n the other hand, in severalother countries(33) the lack of teaching staff and the difficulties of recruitment in backward regions lead to the appointment in rural areas of teachers who have little or no training or whose qualifications are often inferior to those of teachers in towns.

16


(c) Proqress of schooling

55. The regularity with which the greatest possible number of pupils complete the primary school cycle is an important factor in the quality of education received. Data concerning absenteeism, pupils who stay in a class more than a year, and drop-outs indicate the degree of schooling achieved.

for the Commission on the Status of Women, "drop- ping-out . . . constitutFs one of the most serious problems in elementary education"(34). In fifteen countries(35) "it is more marked in rural than in urban regions"(34). The study quoted above also shows that "irregularity of school attendance is a rural rather than an urban phen0menon"(~6) in twelve countriec(37) , and that "in certain countries the problem , if it exists, is limited to certain categories of pupils - those in rural regions"(38).

56. According to a study prepared by Unesco

(d) General remarks

57. While in theory there are hardly any &if- ferences between the education given in rural areas and in urban areas, the reservations expressed about the actual situation are, as has been seen, much more numerous. Whether a de facto situation is sanctioned by legislative texts or whether it is imposed in practice with a force equivalent to that of legal provisions , the replies lead to the conclusion that children in rural areas are often at a disadvantage compared with those in the towns so far as school education is concerned.

58. It has been seen that sometimes there is no network of secondary educational establishments in the rural areas; when it exists its deficiences considerably restrict the access of rural children to this type of education. Indeed, an analysis of Annexes 2 and 3 shows that, in general, the number of places in secondary establishments available to rural children bears no relationship to that offered to town children. Thus, in Jordan, 114,180 children attend rural primary schools and 110,245 attend urban primary schools; in the years to come, unless there is some spectacular developmeni of rural secondary education, 28,206 places will be available to rural children in their areas, and 38,831 places to urban children. Paraguay states that 249,558 children attend primary schools in the rural areas, and 55,921 in the towns; 7,234 secondary places will be available later to rural children in their areas, and 10,100 to urban children. Many more such examples could be cited.

59. Pupils in rural areas may have access to urban boarding schools, but often these schools do not meet the needs of the rural areas and in many cases the cost of boarding represents an economic and social obstacle.

ing the percentages of pupils attending rural establishments of primary education, general secondary education and higher education (see Table 4). As a

60. Other comments could be made by compar-

general rule, the proportion of pupils attending rural establishments decreases appreciably between the primary and the general secondary level, although the latter is the normal stage to be completed before the stage of higher education.

61. A similar observation may be made concerning the proportions of pupils living in rural areas and attending primary, secondary and higher e stabli ~hments(~~) .

62. Often, the thinning-out of rural numbers at the different levels of education is all the more marked when the country has a larger rural population.

63. The rural populations are very often at a disadvantage compared with urban populations regarding school equipment in their regions; their participation in the different forms of education, even taking into account their access to urban establishments , is also smaller than that of towns- people.

OUT-OF-SCHOOL EDUCATION

64. Out-of-school education is designed for adults and young people as a substitute for school education when the latter cannot be provided, or as a supplement to it in the light of the needs and requirements of individuals and society. The varied types of training which it provides, ranging from reading and writing to the starting levels of higher education, and the flexibility of its organization, could make of it an ideal means of helping rural populations obtain access to the different forms of education. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to assess the scope of the effort undertaken in the field of education outside school. This studythere- fore merely assembles certain data extracted from official documents of Member States or from studies published by Unesco, likely to give a picture of the situation in the rural areas with regard to suchedu- cation.

ILLITERACYRATEANDPERCENTAGEOF RURAL POPULATION

65. W e have already seen that the effort topro- vide primary schooling is not always equally divided between urban and rural areas; rural children constitute the majority of children not attending school, and they inevitably increase the number of illiterates. It may be seen from Table 5, where a comparison is given of the percentage of adult illiterates and the percentage of rural population for a certain number of countries, that the countries with a high rate of illiteracy have large rural populations.

ILLITERACY IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS

66. The statistical study published by Unesco in 1957 on the problem of illiteracy(40) contains a

17


comparison of illiteracy rates in rural and urban areas for certain countries (Table 6). These rates are always higher in the countryside than in the towns , and this is probably the case in every part of the world, since rural areas combine in themselves many of the negative factors of development.

ACTION UNDERTAmN IN R U R A L A R E A S (OUT-OF -SCHOOL EDUCATION)

67. The field of application for out-of-school education programmes is too vast to enable a complete picture to be given, within the limits of this study, of the various forms of action undertaken: literacy campaigns, vocational training and improvement, and instruction in household, health, cultural or social matters. However , the replies received to the inquiry make it possible to ascertain, in many cases, which bodies are responsible for these activities: 49 countries(41) state that this activity is carried out by both public and private bodies; 23(42) indicate that public services alone are responsible (in the first place the Ministry

N O T E S

of National Education and, occasionally , services concerned with fundamental education or with youth and sports; secondly, the Ministries of Agriculture and Rural Development; and thirdly, the Ministries of Health and Social Affairs); and eight ~ountries(~3) state that out-of-school education is wholly or mainly the responsibility of private services alone.

68. Specifically rural activities are reported by half of the above-named countries; in thirteen of these countries(44), the activities are organized by both public and private bodies; in nineteen others(45), b overnmental bodies only; and in seven others 66, solely by non-governmental organizations. It m a y be noted that it is mainlyin the rural areas that educational activities are the responsibility of the public authorities: while 22 out of 78 governments, or 28.2'70 , themselves organize adult education in a general way, 19 out of 39 , or 48.770 , assume responsibility for such education in rural areas. This is possibly reflec- ted by the need felt by governments to undertake specific action to remedy the inadequacy of educational equipment in rural areas.

(1) See Annex 1, columns 4 and 8. (2) "Manual of Educational Statistics", Unesco ,

1961, p. 78. (3) Annex 1, column 7. (4) Annex 1 , columns 7 and 8. (5) Afghanistan, El Salvador , Haiti, Iraq, Mauri-

tania, Senegal; Brunei , Gambia, NorthBorneo and Zanzibar.

(6) Costa Rica, Ecuador , Nepal, Sierra Leone , Syrian Arab Republic , United Arab Republic , Surinam.

(7) Annexes 2 and 3. (8) Data concerning 66 countries. (9) Chile , Costa Rica, Dominican Republic ,

Ecuador, El Salvador , Iraq, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Togo, Turkey; St. Lucia; Nether- lands Antilles; Aden, the Bahamas, Brunei.

Canada, China (Taiwan) , Cuba, Cyprus , Fin- land, Guinea, Hungary, India, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Korea , Kuwait, Lebanon , Madagascar, Nepal, Netherlands, Niger, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Rumania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia , Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Republic, United King- dom (England and Wales) , United States of America , Uruguay , Viet-Nam; Barbados, Mauritius, Singapore; Bechuanaland, Fiji, Gambia, Hong Kong, Malta, North Borneo, Sarawak, Zanzibar; Surinam (cf. Annexes 2 and 3).

and 3.

(10) Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Burundi,

(11) Comparison of the third columns in Annexes 2

(1 2) Austrak, Canada, Israel, Netherlands, Union

of Soviet Socialist Republics, United States of America; Singapore.

(13) Data concerning 51 countries. (14) Burundi, Chile, China (Taiwan), Cyprus

(Turkish and Greek schools), Dominican Re- public, France, Guinea, Hungary , India, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Korea, Madagascar, Netherlands , Pakistan(East1 Panama, Para- guay, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sweden, United Arab Republic , Singapore; Surinam; Bechuanaland, Fiji, Hong Kong, Malta, Zan- zibar.

(15) Afghanistan, Albania,Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecua- dor, El Salvador, Iraq, Kuwait , Nepal, Niger, Republic of Viet-Nam, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Turkey; Barbados and St. Lucia, Mauritius; Netherlands Antilles; Aden, Brunei, Gambia, North Borneo, Sarawak.

(16) See paragraph 32 above. (1 7) Burundi, Cyprus, India, Jordan, Madagascar,

Netherlands, Philippines, United Arab Repub- lic, Fiji, Hong Kong, Malta, Zanzibar.

(18) Data concerning 66 countries. (19) Bolivia, Burundi, Canada, Ceylon, Chile,

Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador , El Salvador , Korea, Guinea, Haiti, Hungary, India, Iran, Jordan, Federation of Malaya, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan(East1 Panama, Paraguay, Rumania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Thailand, United Arab Republic ; Aden, the Bahamas, Brunei, Fiji, Hong Kong.

(20) Afghanistan, Albania, Cuba, Cyprus (Greek and Turkish schools), Finland, Guinea, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mauritania, Niger, Panama,

18


(33) Chile, Dominican Republic, India, Iran, Jor- dan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Panama, Spain, Viet-Nam; Sarawak.

(34) Access of girls to elementary education. E/CN .6/396 , para. 75.

(35) Burma, Chad, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Iran, Laos, Pakistan, Turkey, United Arab Repub- lic, Viet-Nam, Yugoslavia; Singapore, Nether- lands N e w Guinea; Nyasaland and Swaziland.

(36) Access of girls to elementary education. E/CN .6/396, para. 110.

(37) Burma, Ceylon, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salva- dor , India, Morocco, Thailand , Turkey, Uru- guay; Barbados and St. Lucia; Swaziland.

(38) Document E/CN.6/396, para. 107. (39) Table 4 : Data supplied by Netherlands, Sene-

gal, Sudan, United States. (40) "World Illiteracy at Mid-Century" , Unesco ,

Paris, 1957. (41) Albania, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Boli-

via, Burundi, Canada, Ceylon, Chile, China, Colombia , Costa Rica, Denmark , Ecuador, France , Hungary, India, Indonesia , Iran, Israel, Ivory Coast , Japan, Korea, Luxem- bourg , Federation of Malaya , Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines , Poland, Sierra Leone, Syrian Arab Republic , Thai- land, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , United Arab Republic, United Kingdom, United States of America, Viet-Nam; Barbados and St. Lucia, Mauritius; Bechuanaland, Fiji, Hong Kong, Kenya , Sara- wak , Zanzibar.

Republic, Cambodia, Czechoslovakia, Domi- nican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guinea , Iraq, Jordan, Laos, Madagascar , Niger, Pana- ma, Paraguay, Rumania, Sudan, Uruguay, Venezuela; Surinam; Brunei, Malta, North Borneo.

(42) Afghanistan, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist

(43) Cyprus, Federal Republic of Germany, Fin-

Sudan, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Republic of Viet-Nam; Bar- bados, Mauritius, Singapore; Netherlands Antilles, Surinam; Bechuanaland , Brunei, Gambia , Malta, North Borneo, Sarawak.

(21) Table 3 below. (22) Canada, Hungary, Korea. (23) China (Taiwan), Hungary, India, Korea,

Nepal, Norway, Pakistan (East), Philippines, United Arab Republic; Singapore; Hong Kong, Kenya.

Burundi, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Repub- lic, Cambodia, Ceylon, China, Costa Rica, Cyprus , Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Domini- can Republic , El Salvador, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Korea, Guinea, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait , Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar , Federation of Malaya, Nepal, Netherlands, Niger, Norway, Pakistan Pana- m a , Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Rumania, Senegal, Sierra Leone , Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand , Togo , Tunisia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , United Arab Repub- lic; Barbados andSt. Lucia, Mauritius, Singa- pore; Netherlands Antilles, Surinam; Aden, the Bahamas, Bechuanaland, Bermuda , Brunei, Fiji, Hong Kong, Kenya, Malta, North Borneo, Zanzibar.

(25) Denmark since 1958, Dominican Republic since 1961-1962, Rumania since becominga People's Republic, North Borneo in the process of abolition.

1 January 1962 onwards, the financing of education.

Mauritania, Turkey, Uruguay.

(24) Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Austria,

(26) In Gambia it is planned to centralize , from

(27) Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, Indonesia,

(28) Paragraphs 46 and 47. (29) Australia , Bolivia, Canada , Colombia , Cuba,

Ecuador, Haiti, India, Indonesia , Mauritania, New Zealand , Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Vene- zuela, Viet-Nam; Gambia, Sarawak.

(30) Burundi , Federation of Malaya, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Sudan; Gambia, Hong Kong, Sarawak, Zanzibar.

(31) Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mau.ri- tania, Uruguay (see above, para.50).

(3 2) Argentina, Australia, Cambodia, Canada , Den- mark , Dominican Republic, Haiti, Indonesia , Korea, Federation of Malaya, Pakistan , Pana- m a , Rumania, Senegal , Sierra Leone, Sudan, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Republic , Viet-Nam; Gambia , Sarawak.

(44

(4 5

land, Italy, Mauritania, Norway, Spain , Switzerland. Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Cey- lon, France, Ivory Coast, New Zealand, Philippines , Thailand, United States; Bechu- analand, Kenya. Burundi, Canada, Colombia, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Korea, Federation of Malaya, P a E - stan, Panama, Poland, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Turkey, Venezuela, Viet-Nam; North Borneo, Sarawak. Zanzibar.

(46) Belgium, Chile , Netherlands , Norway, Spain, Switzerland , Togo.

19


TABLE 3

Comparison of the proportion of pupils attending general, technical and vocational, and teacher-training secondary schools in rural areas

Percentage constituted by enrolments in rural

General Vocational Teacher-Training

secondary educational institutions Percentage of rural population Country

Burundi Canada Hungary India Jordan Korea Nepal Netherlands Paraguay Philippines Rumania Senegal Sierra Leone Sweden United Arab Republic Fiji Hong Kong Malta Zanzibar

6.3 38.9 20.3 56.4 42.1 61 43.2 34 41 .7 65.1 11.6 1.5

45.3 18.9 11.3 27.2 3.2 13.2 7.9

53.4

6.8 73.7 81.7 49 36.7 48 35.3 66.6

17.6 24.7 95.1 6.2 19.4 60.2

95 40 11.6

46.6 5.8

42.8 58.5

35.3 35.5 85.7 56

1 O0 94.3 6.8

66.7

97 33 35.9 82.1 58 82 90 42.9 65.5 85.8 67.5 80 98

61.8 81.7 13.1 35.1 80

TABLE 4

Rural population and enrolment at rural establishments

Percentage Country of rural expressed as a percentage of total enrolment

population Primary General secondarv Hinher

Enrolment at rural educational establishments

Afghanistan Albania Australia Burundi Canada China (Taiwan) Cuba Denmark Hungary India Israel Jordan Korea Kuwait Lebanon Madagascar Nepal Ne therlandsr Niger Pakistan (West) Pakistan (East) Panama Paraguay Philippines

92.0 71.2 25.4 97 33

40.4 53 35.9 82.2 23.3 58 82

52 7 0 6 5 90 42.9 97.7

80 58.5 65.5 85.8

63.7 68.5 28.2 96.5 39 78 47.5 54.5 63.5 77 24.8 50.8 73 17 66.7 84.3 79.7 45.6 93.2 1.7

98 61.9 81.7 87.6

5.8 49.1 16.9 6.3

38.9 64.7 1.4

20.6 20.3 56.4 21.6 42.1 61 17 47.7 21.9 43.2 34 25.7 0.7

63.9 2.4

41.7 65.1

18.6

0.7 36.5

1

12.6 20.9

14.8

50.5

20


Percentage

population Primary General secondary Higher

Enrolment at rural educational establishments Country oí rural expressed as a percentage of total enrolment

Rumania 61.5 75.2 11 .6 Senegals 80 42.7 31 Sierra Leone g8+* 77.1 45.3 Sudane 92 84.3 69.2 60 Sweden 50.6 18.9 Syrian Arab Republic 64 57.2 34.1 Tunisia 67.3 26.8 60::;::$ United Arab Republic 61.8 50.7 11.3 United Kingdom (England, Wales

and Scotland) 20.3 19.8 11.6 United States of America: 30.1 32 33 -3::::;;: 12.2 Viet-Nam 8 39 :% :: 75 12.5 Barbados 6 0:;' * 63.9 25.1 Mauritius 64 56 18.6 Singapore 37 38 31.3 37 Surinam 65 53.5 5.9 North Borneo 80 51 2.4 Fiji 81.7 72 27.2 Gambia go*:: 59.8 12.4 Hong Kong 13.1 15.8 3.2 13.1 Malta 35.1 38.1 13.2 Zanzibar 80 49.7 7.9

:: 'p-8 Estimate. ;M:* For all categories of secondary education.

These percentages represent pupils who reside in rural areas. .>?.I<

TABLE 5

Illiteracy and rural populations ~

Country Percentage of adult Percentage of

illiterates*** rural population

Afghanistan 85 92 Argefltina 13.6 (1950) 3 7 .5" Bolivia 60 (1960) 71.3 Cambodia 37/45 86* Canada 2.2 (1959) 33

Chile;:':' 19.9 (1952) 33.5 Colombia*:k 44.2 (1938) 43.5 Costa Rica 21/24 (1950) 66.5 Cuba 17.7 (1961) 40.4 Cyprus 5/ 7 62 Dominican Republic 57.1 (1950) 69.5 Ecuador 44 (1950) 63.2 Federation of Malaya 49 (1957) 57.5 Haiti 90 87 India 73.3 (1961) 82.2 Iran 80 (1961) 75" Iraq:;::: 89.1 (1947) 64 Israel 33.7 23.3 Jordan 30 58 Madagas car::<+: 65/ 70 70%

Ceylon 23.8 84.7

21


Country Percentage of adult Percentage of

illiterates *** rural population

Federation of Malaya Pakistan Panama Para pay'*:* Philippines Sudan

Tunisia Turkey Vene zuela Viet-Nam Singapore Surinam Aden** North Borneo**

Thailand:::%

Brunei* 9; Fiji**

49 (1957) 84.7 (1961) 28.3 (1950) 34.5 (1950) 25 (1957) 90 (1960) 48 (1947) 65/70 68 18.4 10 (1961) 52 10 79.0 (1946) 82.9 (1951) 72.6 (1947) 35.6 (1946)

57.5 80 58.5 65.5 85.8 92 88.2

68.3 32,7

37 65

80 72 81.7

6 0:;'

83::

ao*

3 Estimate. ** :%** Unless otherwise indicated, percentages are taken from Unesco document 12 C/PRG/3 on the World

Source: "World Illiteracy at Mid-Century" , Unesco , Paris , 1957.

Campaign for Universal Literacy, prepared for the twelfth session of the General Conference (table 1, page 7).

TABLE 6

Comparison of illiteracy rates in rural and urban areas

Percentage of Percentage of Percentage of country illiteracy in illiteracy in rural areas urban areas rural population

Argentina (1947) Ceylon (1946) Chile (1952) Dominican Republic (1950) Panama (1950) Venezuela (1950)

37.5

33.5 69.5

32.7

* Population aged 14 years and over. ** Population aged 15 years and over. *** Population aged 10 years and over.

Source: "World Illiteracy at Mid-Century",Unesco, 1957, pp. 72, 85, 87, 112, 137 and 158.

22

CHAPTER III

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR GIRLS AND WOMEN IN RURAL AREAS

69. "Women suffer, in many cases, both from discrimination and from inequality of treatment"(1). It is easy to imagine that the difficulties encountered by rural children in obtaining education are often greater when the children in question are girls.

70. In chapter II, the various indications that people living in rural areas are educationally at a disadvantage were considered. Attention will now be turned to the special position of girls and women in rural areas with regard to school and out-of- school education, the general features of education in rural areas being taken as recognized and an attempt being made to compare the educational opportunities open to women in the towns with those available to women living in rural areas.

SCHOOL EDUCATION

QUANTITATIVE INFORMATION

71. Many of the replies to the questionnaire give the number of girls in the enrolment of rural and of urban schools - which has made it possible to compare the proportion of girls attending rural and urban schools at the various levels. These data (see table in Annex 4) are a rough guide as to how many girls receive schooling, according to whether the schools are in rural areas or in towns. These attendance figures only partly reflect the girls I educational opportunities; it is not impossible, for instance, that some girls from rural areas may attend urban educational institutions , particularly at the secondary and university levels. However, the proportions will show whether or not as many girls as boys now attend school, in rural areas on the one hand and in urban areas on the other. Annex 4 calls for the following comments:

(a) Primary education

72. In 37 Member States, Associate Members and Territories(2) out of the 65 which supplied information on this point, roughly the same number of girls as boys attend urban schools and rural schools - that is to say, in 56.9% of the cases. If the schooling of girls compared with that of boys may be considered fairly satisfactory when there is a pro ortion of 4670 or more girls in school en- rolmentP3), it should be noted that roughly this level is attained in all cases except Burundi, Tuni- sia and Singapore, where, both in the towns andin the country, the proportion of girls is still low (20 to 24% in Burundi, 31 to 3270 in Tunisia, 29

to 3270 in Singapore). In five countries - Panama, Sudan, Barbados, the Bahamas and Bechuanaland - the proportion of girls enrolled in urban primary schools (calculated from the data supplied in reply to the questionnaire) is lower , sometimes substantially, than that of girls enrolled in rural schools; but there is no explanation for this anomaly.

73. On the other hand, 23 other countries(4) , i .e. more than a third of those replying, state that the proportion of girls in rural primary schools is much lower than in the urban schools; there is a difference between the proportions of girls attending school in the two areas of at least 570, and often 10 to 15 or even 35% . If it is remembered that the proportion of rural children in primary school enrolment is often already low, it is easy to see that the proportion of rural girls in the total enrolment is, in these countries, even lower. Table 7 compares, for the same countries, the percentage of rural population, the percentage of rural school enrolment in the total primary school enrolment, and the proportion of girls in rural primary school enrolment. It shows that, if an effort was made to see that as many girls as boys attended school in rural areas, and so raise the proportion of girls in rural schools to 46 or 50% , the rural share in primary school enrolment would be appreciably increased - which would help to improve the educational situation in country districts .

74. As was shown in the preceding chapter, children studying at the primary level usually attend the school closest to their home. Only Mauri- tania, Senegal and Bechuanaland mentioned cases of rural pupils travelling into towns to attend a primary school; but it is to be noted that , while in Senegal and Bechuanaland some girls from rural areas are enrolled in urban schools (roughly 10% of the total female school enrolment in the two countries), in Mauritania this is the case onlywith boys.

Senegal(5) reveals very clearly the relative positions of boys and girls in town and country with regard to education: "In the towns four boys infive and two girls in five attend primary school; in the country, one boy in four and one girl in ten attend primary school" .

35.4% of the countries which supplied figures (23 countries out of 65), girls from rural areas are at a disadvantage compared with girls from towns so far as schooling is concerned. However, in 34 countries or 52.370, as many girls as boys attend school.

75. The statistical document supplied by

76. To sum up, at the primary level, in

23

Educational opportunities for girls and women in rural areas

(b) secondary education

77. (i) In general secondary schools, the proportion of girls to boys is much lower than in primary schools(6). The proportion of girls is either roughly the same in the two areas or higher in the rural areas than in the towns in nearly half these countries(7); it is above 40Y0 and sometimes even above 5070 - which means that as many girls as boys are able to attend general secondary schools, except in Paraguay, Senegal, Sudan and Sarawak. It may be noted that in some countries there are more girls than boys in the general secondary schools, i .e. in Canada, the Netherlands, the rural areas of Malta, the United States, the urban areas of Barbados, Hungary, Rumania, Sweden, and both areas in Uruguay.

proportionately fewer girls in the rural secondary schools than in the urban schools of the same type; in each country, there is a difference of between 5 and i270 (8), but it is often considerably more than 1570 (9); at the same time , the proportion of girls in rural schools is sometimes very small (Jordan, Nepal, Pakistan (East) , Syrian Arab Republic , Gambia, North Borneo) - which reflects a very satisfactory schooling situation for rural girls at the secondary level.

ral secondary schools in rural areadll), the proportion of girls in the urban schools is sometimes very low (Afghanistan, Ecuador, Haiti, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Togo, Turkey) and the number of girls from rural areas attending these schools is undoubtedly very small. The necessity of going into town is always in any event an obstacle. Too few countries supplied information for it to be possible to analyse how many girls from rural areas are enrolled in urban schools. It may be noted, however, that in the Greek schools of Cyprus 4,720 rural girls take the general secondary courses but 2,623 attend urban schools, while in Senegal 885 of the 941 rural girls receivinggeneral secondary education are enrolled in the towns.

80. To sum up, in more than half of the countries which provided information on this point girls from rural areas are at a disadvantage compared with girls from towns so far as general secondary education is concerned.

78. In 20 other cases, however, there are

79. In the 15 countries(l0) which have no gene-

(ii) Technical and vocational schools

81. The existence of technical and vocational schools in rural areas is mentioned, as has been seen(12), in only 28 countries(13), and far fewer pupils are enrolled in these schools than in the institutions of general education (see Annex 3).

proportions of girls in the rural and the urban schools respectively; the proportion is lower in rural areas than in towns - often appreciably SO - except in the Dominican Republic, France, Hungary, Paraguay, the Philippines and Hong Kong. From

24

82. Only 17 of these countries(l4) give the

the figures of 10070 and 89.270 for the Dominican Republic and Paraguay respectively, it would seem that the latter 's technical and vocational schools are almost exclusively for girls.

technical and vocational schools are mentioned, far fewer girls than boys attend such schools, except in Ecuador, Panama, Sierra Leone , Singa- pore, Fiji and Zanzibar, where technical and vocational education is sometimes only for girls and may take the form of instruction in domestic science or handicrafts.

84. To sum up, in the majority of countries which supplied information, girls take technical or vocational training much less often than boys, and this is particularly the case in the rural areas.

83. In the 23 countries where only urban

(iii) Teacher-training schools

85. Seventeen out of the 33(16) which mentioned the existence of rural and urban schools of this type give the proportion of girls in the two areas.

86. Except in Canada, Hungary and Koreathe proportion of girls in the rural schools is always smaller than in urban schools. However, there are more girls than boys attending teacher-training schools, even in rural areas, in Burundi, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Hungary, the Republic of Korea, Paraguay and Rumania.

87. This phenomenon is even more evident in the urban teacher-training schools where girls are in the majority in 25 countries(l7) out of the 45 which provided information (see Annex 4) I i .e. in 56% of the cases.

There is an increasing tendency towards a majority of girls among those training to be teachers in urban areas and in rural areas this trend is found in more than one-third of the countries which mentioned teacher-training establishments in these latter areas.

88.

(c) Higher education

89. Too few countries provided information about higher education for it to be possible to reach any conclusions as to how many women take such education in rural and in urban areas respectively.

Kong, all the countries which supplied figures have a much smaller proportion of women students in rural areas than in towns; as a general rule, there are in any case far fewer women than men receiving higher education.

91. In conclusion, it is a serious initialhandi- cap in many countries to live in a rural area sofar as access to the different types of education is concerned, but a rural girl has even fewer chances of receiving the education obtained by boys from rural areas or girls from urban areas.

90. Except for the United States and Hong

Educational opportunitues for girls and women in rural areas

in that enrolment. In most countries(20), the higher the educational level, the lower these two

QUALITATWE INFORMATION

92. When girls from rural areas go to school, is the teaching they receive as good as that of boys?

93. (a) Accorgng to available information, the laws or regulations governing education in rural areas are the same for boys and for girls; there are a large number of Co-educational schools, and the children of both sexes who attend school have the same teachers, study there for the same number of years and are eligible for admission at the same age.

94, (b) Curricula. The curricula are of the same type and level for both boys and girls from rural areas; but their practical work is different both in the towns and in the country. Some of the replies show that care is taken to see that the curricula serve the children's future needs and are not too academic. The Belgian reply says: "The principles governing the adaptation of education to the environment imply that in a rural girls I school an effort should be made to provide an education which is more useful for life on the farm, particularly in the family context". But the replies do not give any indication that such adaptation has any adverse effect on the quality of the teaching of general subjects to girls at the different educational levels.

95. (c) Progress of primary schooling. The report already mentioned(l8) (paragraph 56) on the access of girls to elementary education gives some information, which should be recalled here, on the progress of girls primary schooling: I'. . . Ecua- dor, Cyprus (so far as Turkish schools are concerned), Honduras, India (which emphasized the extent of the phenomenon), Iran, Israel (so far as Arab schools are concerned), Jordan, the United Arab Republic, Barbados and St. Lucia, Chad, Mauritius, Sierra Leone and Tan anyika state that more girls than boys drop out"(16. In its reply, the Republic of Viet-Nam states that girls from rural areas frequently fail to complete their elementary schooling.

absenteeism is not usually more marked among girls than among boys, except in India, Mauritius and the rural areas of Senegal(l9). There are in fact some countries in which the school attendance of girls in rural areas is not so good as that of boys, but this is not the general rule.

96. According to the above-mentioned report,

(d) General remarks

97. A n analysis of the position of rural girls in the matter of school education would be incom- plete if there were no examination of how they mount the educational ladder.

of girls from rural areas decline as progress is made from the primary through the secondary to the university level. Annex 5 shows, for each country, the development not only of the percentage of rural enrolment but also of the proportion of girls

98. It has already been seen that enrolments

percentages are; the opportunities open to rural girls to mount the educational ladder are, therefore, doubly reduced. In ten countries, while the percentage of rural enrolment declines as the educational level rises, the proportion of girls is either about the same at the primary and secondary levels(21) (but the proportion may be very small, as in East Pakistan), or even higher at the secondary than at the primary are the only countries which have the same proportion of enrolments, both from rural areas and of girls, in primary and secondary schools.

girls, or of children from rural areas and of girls, is good at the secondary level, it is never satisfactory at the university level, where there are always fewer students from rural areas (except in Hong Kong, where the percentage relates to a small student enrolment from rural areas, viz. 504, which makes it less significant) and the proportion of women students is always smaller than at the secondary level.

100. servations :

Fewer girls than boys from rural areas attend universities, even in countries where boys and girls from both urban and rural areas have equal access to primary and secondary education;

In some countries, the educative process may be slower in rural areas, without this involving less favourable treatment for the girls than for the boys;

In most cases, however, the number of secondary school enrolments from rural areas is smaller than that of primary school enrolments on the one hand and, on the other, far fewer girls than boys are enrolled; where the proportion of girls in rural primary school enrolment is already low and reflects inequality of treatment as between boys and girls, it would seem that the rural factor greatly increases the chances of discrimination against girls at the secondary level; where as many girls as boys from rural areas attend primary school, there may be many reasons for the small number of girls in secondary schools : their primary schooling may have been deficient in quality they may be too old, they may not feel the need for a secondary education, or tradition may be against such education.

ing access to the various levels of education, girls from rural areas often, whether at primary, secondary or university level, encounter two obstacles - discrimination against women, and the fact that the towns are better off than the country districts.

Canada and the Unitedstates

99. However, even where the schooling of

This analysis justifies the following ob-

101. To sum up it seems clear that, in seek-

OUT-OF-SCHOOL EDUCATION

102. The difficulties encountered by girls in rural areas in obtaining access to school education obviously affect the educational level of the female

25


population. D o women in rural areas have the opportunity of overcoming those difficulties, at least partially, by completing their trdning throughout- of-school education programmes? The experts who met at Bangkok (26 February-8 March 1962) emphasized the "primary importance'' of such education "for the development of women's education in rural areas"(23).

103. A n indication of the incidence of illiteracy among women in rural areas will give an idea of the magnitude of needs. A n analysis willthenbe made of the resultant education activities specially organized for country women, and of the participation of women and girls in adult education activities.

ILLITERACY AMONG WOMEN IN RURALAREAS

104. In rural areas, far fewer girls thanboys receive school education. It is, therefore, not surprising that illiteracy is more common among women than among men. Table 8 gives, for seven countries, the percentages of female and maleilli- teracy in rural areas as recorded in the Unesco study already quoted(24). It will be noted that the percentage of illiteracy is always higher for women than for men; it is acknowledged that this is the case in all the rural areas where illiteracy still exists.

ADULT EDUCATION ACTIVITIES SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR WOMEN IN RURAL AREAS

105. It is not always possible to identify clearly, from the replies, the activities which are specifically for women and specifically for rural areas. Some types of action have, perhaps, been undertaken in urban areas and extended, unchanged, to rural areas.

acy classes among the adult education programmes designed for girls and women in rural areas, but do not specify whether special equipment has been developed; it does not seem that educational research is being undertaken on the adaptation of reading methods to these particular pupils.

ties specifically for women and specifically for rural areas undertaken by private associations in nine countries(26). by the public authorities in ten countries(27), and by both private associations and public authorities in 12 other countries(28).

108. The nature of these activities varies considerably; in the first place, it depends on the educational level of the girls and women attending the classes. In countries where education is highly developed, the aim of the out-of-school education activities provided for women in rural areas is either to give them the vocational education and advanced training which they want or which are

26

106. Twenty-six countries(25) mention liter-

107. Nevertheless, 31 replies mention activi-

made necessary by changes in economic and social techniques, or to end their cultural isolation and enable them to improve themselves and become better integrated into the modern world. Mention may be made, for example, of the travelling schools for adults in Australia, at which childpro- blems or international affairs are studied for two or three days; various courses and study groups on preparation for marriage, domestic science and health education, in Canada; various discussion groups on the problems of rural life and on the improvement of the living conditions of women in rural areas, in the United States; and the technical and vocational courses organized by the "Finnish Workers Educational Association'' and the "Association for Education in Rural Areas", and many study groups in ruial areas attended mainly by women, in Finland. The Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Switzerland also indicate great diversity in the forms of out-of-school education provided for women in rural areas.

109. In countries where education is not sufficiently developed, it is generally found that the aim of out-of-school programmes is to provide girls and women in rural areas, not with the education they have missed, but rather with training or additional training in a practical subject. Home- craft and domestic science in all their aspects (sewing, cutting, knitting, embroidery, cooking, housework, etc.) occupy first place; next come health education and training for women's rural occupations and crafts while a more subsidiary place is taken by introduction to household manage- ment, rural economy and accounting, trade union and co-operative problems, political and social affairs and artistic activities (music, singing, dancing, dramatics, etc .). This list is not res- trictive, since the programmes ' field of application is very wide.

110. Sometimes the activities are part of a general plan for rural or community development, in which public and private sectors act together; in other cases, activities develop independently as a result of government directives or private initiative.

111. The following, by way of example, are some of the types of out-of-school education for women in rural areas which exist in certain countries :

In Albania, training coursesl'for accountants , for women who raise poultry, calves and pigs, etc., are held in farms, agricultural and livestock co-operatives, or cultural centres";

In India, "in the sectors being developed, the women's social education instructor (Mukhya Sevika), with the help of her local assistant (Gram Sevika), organizes women's centres in the villages. She starts by inviting the leading women of the village to come and discuss with her local needs and the action to be taken. She then encourages them to form a committee (Manila Samities) to help and advise the Gram


Sevika. After consulting the Panchayat Sami- ties (locally elected bodies functioning at the sectoral level), the Gram Sevika organizes literacy classes for girls and women, libraries for the new readers, sessions for training in manual ta~ks(~9) , and homecraft courses; she also tries to improve the economic situation of rural families by encouraging them to exercise additional skills and by teaching them such sldlls: dressmaldng, cutting and sewing , knitting , embroidery, making of dolls or soap, basket-maldng, spinning, aviculture, Etchen gardening, fruit-bottling , etc .'I;

Spain mentions the existence of four mobile units which are used to disseminate various types of fundamental education among women in rural areas; teams are composed of seven persons: the team leader, a woman pediatri- cian, four instructors (rural handicrafts , cutting and cooking, manual tasks , music) and a woman instructor for the girls;

In the Federation of Malaya,-mobile teams from the hold meetings for at least 25 people

about various activities : silk-dyeing , fruit- bottling, various manual tasks , etc.

11 2. In theory there is no limit to the programmes and methods which may be adapted to the special requirements of women in rural areas; moreover, there is nothing to prevent women from enjoying the educational opportunities provided for everyone, in certain countries, through correspondence courses(31) , radio(32) and television(33).

the types of activity does not give a true picture of the actual opportunities which country women and girls have of educating themselves. A carefully described experiment may be simply a proto- type affecting only a small group of people. A n attempt will therefore be made, in the following paragraphs, to assess the extent of women's participation in adult education activities.

113 . In fact, the diversity and multiplicity of

PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN RURAL AREAS IN ADULT EDUCATION AC TIVITIES

114. Very few replies to this part of the inquiry give figures. It is noted, however, that in Hungary 25 to 28% of the rural inhabitants pursuing out-of-school activities are women; in the Philippines the figure is 6070 , and in Israel 50% (90% for literacy classes); while in the rural areas of Hong Kong, the percentage of female enrolment for literacy classes is 80% .

115. In Albania, 345,000 illiterate people learnt to read and write during the literacy campaign; in India, 713,480 women in rural areas attend 42,584 women's centres. Jn the United States, 5070 of the 566,876 women attending

domestic science courses in 1960 lived in areas regarded as rural (less than 2,500 inhabitants); 20% of the pupils attending adult courses provided by public schools in these areas are women. In the United Arab Republic, during the year 1960- 196 1 , the proportion of women pupils attending literacy classes was 10.570 (5,830 out of 55,487) , and the proportion of those taldng part in adult education activities (free culture universities) was 46.470.

116. Canada has made a sampling survey of women 's participation in out-of-school education activities in rural areas. The survey covered a sample of 29,000 rural inhabitants attending courses; 3170, or 10,360 people, were women; 6670 of the women were married and their ages ranged from 14 to over 65. It is found that it is the women from 35 to 44 years of age who take part in such activities in the greatest numbers (30% ) . The courses attended are divided as follows: ordinary secondary courses - 19% , general training courses - 41% , artistic training courses - 23% , apprenticeship - li%, vocational, technical and agricultural courses - about 370 for each cate- gory *

of the extent of women's participation in adult education efforts at the national level, the scope of which is not clearly defined. Women in rural areas take no part in adult education activities in the Niger and the Bahamas, take little part in Af- ghanistan, Mauritania, the Sudan and Thailand , and participate "to the extent their time and awareness can permit" in Jordan. There is adequate participation in Cyprus, Ecuador, Iraq , Italy and Japan; increasing participation in Indonesia; participation equal to that of men in Bolivia and Mada- gascar, and less than that of men in Sarawak.

118. In 11 other countries(34) , however, many women take part in adult education activities; Poland states that they participate in large numbers, and Australia and the Ivory Coast say that they participate enthusiastically. Nevertheless , Australia, Costa Rica, the Ivory Coast and Kenya emphasize that women's participation depends on the opportunities provided; when activities are organized women do not refuse to take part.

119. For all forms of non-compulsory education, the problem arises of the type of activity to be organized. Do the programmes proposed take into account the interests of the people concerned? Do they meet needs felt and expressed, or uncon- scious needs?

120. The most popular activities appear to be - in the following order - first, all those connected with domestic and family education, allpro- grammes of child care, hygiene and health education; secondly, the literacy classes; and finally, activities specifically related to agriculture and vocational training. This classification is , of course, very summary and does not apply to countries where education and culture are highly developed. The reply by New Zealand is interesting

117. The other replies give only an estimate

27


in this conneion: "Women take part in adult education programmes to a greater extent than men. The interests of rural women - especially those that take part in adult education programmes - do not differ greatly from the interests of women living in urban areas. This is probably due to the reason- ably high level of education, the availability of the National Library Service, the radio and modern means of transport. The intelligent countrywoman rather feels she has been over-fed on home science subjects and is more and more turning to drama,

NOTES

"Towards equality in education", by Pierre Juvigny, Unesco, Paris, 1962. Albania, Australia, Burundi, Canada, China (Taiwan), Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus (Turkish schools), Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Korea, Lebanon, Netherlands, Nor- way, Paraguay, Philippines, Rumania, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Tunisia, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, (England, Scotland and Wales), United States, Uruguay, Venezuela; St. Lucia, Singapore; Surinam; Fiji, Hong Kong, Malta. Criteria applied in the "World Survey of Edu- cation", vol. II, Primary Education, p. 19 - Unesco, 1960. Afghanistan, Haiti, India, Iraq, Jordan, Ku- wait, Laos, Madagascar, Mauritania, Nepal, Pakistan (East), Senegal, Sierra Leone, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey, United Arab Republic, Viet-Nam; Mauritius; Brunei, Gam- bia, North Borneo, Sarawak, Zanzibar. Statistical information regarding the situation in primary and in general secondary education as at 1 January 1962. Ministry of Education, Republic of Senegal. Data concerning 39 countries. Australia, Canada, Cyprus (Greek schools), Hungary, Lebanon, Netherlands, Paraguay, Philippines, Rumania, Senegal, Sudan, Swe- den, Tunisia, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay; Hong Kong, Malta, Sarawak. Albania, China, Cyprus (Turkish schools), Israel, Panama, Republic of Viet-Nam; Barbados, Singapore; Surinam; Fiji. Jordan, Korea, Madagascar, Nepal, Pakistan (East), Sierra Leone, Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Republic; Mauritius; Gambia, North Borneo.

(10) Afghanistan, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Iraq, Ivorycoast, Mauritania, Togo, Turkey; St. Lucia; Nether- lands Antilles, Aden, Bahamas.

(i i) See paragraph 32 of the preceding chapter. (12) Paragraph 35. (13) Burundi, Chile, China (Taiwan), Cyprus,

Dominican Republic, France, Guinea, Hungary, India, ivory Coast, Jordan, Korea, Madagascar,

28

music, painting and the arts generally; she is also very interested in child development and the problems of bringing up a family".

made in the recent Unesco study on the access of girls and women to education outside Lhe schocl apply to women in rural areas: I'. . .Lthere i?/ an increase in the opportunities offered and in the use that women are making of these opportunities to pursue their education . . ."(35).

121. It therefore seems that the remarks

Pakistan (East), Panama,Paraguay, Philip- pines, Netherlands, Siei-ra Leone, Sweden, United Arab Republic; Singapore; Surinam; Bechuanaland, Fiji, Hong Kong, Malta, Zan- zibar.

schools) , France, Hungary, Ivory Coast, Korea, Madagascar, Netherlands, Pakistan (East), Paraguay, Philippines, Sweden, United Arab Republic 1 Fiji , Hong Kong.

(15) Burundi, Canada, Chile, Denmark, Domini- can Republic, Haiti, Hungary, Korea, Nepal, Netherlands, Paraguay, Rumania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Thailand; Fiji, Hong Kong.

(16) Bolivia, Burundi, Canada, Ceylon, Chile, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guinea, Haiti, Hungary, India, Iran, Jordan, Korea, Federation of Malaya, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan (East), Paraguay, Rumania, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sweden, Thailand, United Arab Republic; Aden, the Bahamas, Brunei, Fiji, Hong Kong.

Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Finland, Hun- gary, Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Rumania, Sierra Leone, Thailand; Surinam; Bechuanaland, Fiji, Hong Kong, Malta, North Borneo, Zanzibar.

(18) Access of girls to elementary education. Re- port by Unesco, E/CN.6/396, para. 77.

(19) Ibid., para. 112. (20) Albania, China, Cuba, Israel, Jordan, Korea,

(14) Burundi, Chile, China, Cyprus (Greek

(17) Burundi, Canada, Chile, Cuba, Denmark,

Madagascar, Nepal, Panama, Parguay, Philip- pines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab Republic, Viet-Nam; Mauritius; Surinam; Fiji, Gambia, Hong Kong, North Borneo.

Kingdom; Barbados, Singapore.

the case of Malta, this percentage relates to a rural enrolment of 1,422 pupils only, including 970 girls; in urban areas, the percentage is 37.4 of 9,360 pupils; it would therefore seem that secondary schools in rural areas are more readily attended by girls, perhaps because the parents send boys more readily than girls to boarding schools.

(21) Australia, Lebanon, Pakistan (East), United

(22) Hungary, Netherlands, Sweden, Mslta. In


(23) Final report of the Meeting of Experts on the Access of Girls and W o m e n to Education in Rural Areas in Asia, held at Bangkok from 26 February to 8 March 1962. Document UNESCO/ED/193.

Paris, 1957.

Costa Rica, Cuba, El Salvador, Guinea, India, Indonesia I Iraq, Italy, Federation of Malaya, Mauritania, Niger, Panama, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Republic; St. Lucia; Brunei, North Borneo, Zanzibar.

(26) Albania, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand; Kenya.

(27) Canada, Colombia, El Salvador, Guinea, Indonesia, Poland, Rumania, Venezuela; North Borneo, Zanzibar.

France, India, Ivory Coast, Federation of

(24) "World Illiteracy at Mid-Century" . Unesco,

(25) Albania, Argentina, Burundi, Cambodia,

-

(28) Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Ceylon,

Malaya, New Zealand, Philippines, United Arab Republic, United States.

(29) The different centres specialize in different crafts, dependlng on local needs and resources.

(30) The Rural and Industrial Development Autho- rity.

(3 i) Mentioned by China (Taiwan), Denmark, Korea, N e w Zealand, Rumania.

(32) Mentioned by Canada, Chile, Denmark, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, Philippines, United Arab Republic; St. Lucia; Fiji, Zanzibar.

(33) Mentioned by Canada, Denmark, Italy, Japan, United Arab Republic.

(34) Albania, Australia, Byelorussian SSR, Cey- lon, Ivory Coast, Luxembourg, Norway, Po- land, Rumania, Switzerland, Tunisia.

Girls and W o m e n to Education Outside the School. E/CN .6/361, para. 178.

(35) Report prepared by Unesco on the Access of

29


T A B L E 7

Percentage of rural population, percentage of rural school enrolment in total primary school enrolment, and proportion of girls in rural

school enrolment, in 24 countries

Percentage of rural Percentage of girls primary school in rural primary Percentege of

rural population enrolment school enrolment Ceuntry

~ ~

Afghanistan El Salvador Haiti India Iraq Jordan Kuwait Laos Madagascar Mauritania Nepal Paidstan (East) Rumania Senegal Sierra Leone Syrian Arab Republic Turkey United Arab Republic Viet-Nam Mauritius North Borneo Gambia Sarawak Zanzibar

~~ ~~

92 60.7 a7 a2.2*

58 64

75 70" 90* 90

67.5 ao

ao sta*

68.3 61 .a a3*

64

64 80 90+

ao*

63.7

47 77 31.9

17 73

45.2 79.7

75.2 32.7 77.1 57.2 64.2 50.7 75 56 51

77.2 49.7

38.1

50.8

84.3

9a

59.8

5.4

31.3 27.3 12.1 30.5 30.7 25.1 34.3 12.1 25 4.1

47.6

45 20 35 34.6

43.7 33.5 22.4 38 26.5

48.4

28.2

38.6

* Estimate.

T ABLE a

Percentage of female and male illiteracy in rural areas

Country W o m e n M e n

(i 94 7) Argentina* (1946) Ceylon** (1952) Chile** (1950) Dominican Republic** (1951) India** (1 950) Panama*** (1950) Venezuela**

26.2

39.3 69.5 94.8 44.9 77.3

58.3 20.9 23.6 33 65.3 76.3 41.1 67

* 14 years old and over. ** 15 years old and over. *** 10 years old and over.

30

C H A P T E R IV

DIFFICULTIES OF ACCESS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS TO EDUCATION IN RURAL A R E A S

122. It has been demonstrated that the access of girls and women in rural areas to education in its various forms is still, in general, limited. T o judge from the replies addressed to Unesco, the reasons for this circumstance are to be found in a number of factors, almost always interdependent. There is an obvious connexion between the educational opportunities for girls in rural areas and the degree of economic and social development of the countries concerned. It appears , however, that geographic and climatic conditions constitute the preponderant factor ,perhaps because they are the conditions least easy to change; it m a y be notedin this connexion that, even in highly developed countries, sparsely inhabited areas are always at a disadvantage. When these sparsely inhabited areas are characterized by unfavourable economic and social conditions or an unsatisfactory school system, girls are always the most adversely affected.

125. Where transport services do exist, they may not be specially organized to collect schoolchildren; or - in particular - they may be expensive. This handicaps the poorer families and ob- liges them to limit, very often to the detriment of girls, the number of children who can be sent to school.

126. The establishment of boarding schools at all levels , as required, might also provide a solution; but as indicated below, such a measure depends on the resources of the country concerned.

127. In addition, scattered population often leads to cultural isolation, which may affect the development of the child's aptitudes adversely; in this respect, schoolchildren in rural areas are almost always at a disadvantage as compared withtheir urban counterparts. Moreover, suchisolation makes living conditions in rural areas unattractive to teachers generally and to women teachers in particular.

S C A T T E R E D POPULATION ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES

123. Scattered population is considered to be one of the basic causes of the difficulties encountered by girls in rural areas, because it makes it hard to bring together a sufficient number of pupils to justify the establishment of a school. Consequent- ly school buildings are few in number and are located at considerable distances from the homes of the majority of children. In the case of girls, parents are more concerned about the fatigue, and sometimes the danger , involved in movement to and from school. The higher the level of education or the more differentiated the curricula, the smaller the number of institutions. The difficulty presented by scattered population also affects out-of-school education, since the distance to be travelled in order to participate in educational activities probably constitutes a greater obstacle for women and older girls than for younger girls.

separated schools would be the provision of transport facilities for all isolated pupils. Here, however, a number of difficulties arise: roads are either non-existent or, owing to climatic factors, unusable during part of the year, and - above all - transport services are lacking in countries which do not have the means to acquire the necessary equipment. These difficulties of transport and communication have a more or less marked effect on education, at the different levels, in a number of countries.

124. One solution for the problem of widely

128. The USSR, in its reply, states that "no obstacle is insurmountable". In the way of school equipment suitable for the most remote areas , there is obviously little that cannot be obtained. Never- theless, the lack of financial resources oftenmakes it difficult to provide such equipment in sufficient quantities , even when investments for school and out-of-school education are given priority. Inmany countries there is a shortage of school buildings and educational material; building is almost always more costly and difficult in rural areas (problems of materials and labour); it is therefore always these areas which suffer most from the lack of schools and educational material(1). The replies often mention, if not a shortage of schools in general, at least a shortage of boarding schools for giris(1).

129. The poverty of rural families is alsofre- quently cited(2) as an obstacle to the education of girls and women; and it is true that schooling is almost always expensive, either because education itself is not free , or because of the costs of cloth- ing and educational materials, the loss of income represented by the inability of girls attending school to work at home or in the fields, or the costs of transportation or board (which represent a greater burden for rural families). Depending on the degree of the country's economic and social development, this obstacle is apparent either at the

31

Access of women and girls to education

secondary and higher levels only, or at all levels and in respect of every type of education.

130. The frequently very low level of living also compels girls and women in rural areas to perform agricultural labour. T o such family obligations as housework and child care, which in a great many countries(3) prevent women from taking part in out-of-school educational activities, work in the fields is sometimes added(4).

131. Tasks of the same End all too often bar the access of younger and older girls in ruralareas to school education; economic considerations are not the only factors involved, for under certain social systems the performance of housework by girls is quite customary. Participation in household and family tasks is often cited as one of the difficulties preventing girls in rural areas from attending school.

school also perform agricultural labour in Bolivia , Burundi, El Salvador, Mexico , Pakistan, Paraguay and Turkey. Other replies state that work in the fields constitutes an obstacle to school attendance by girls, but do not indicate at what level of education this occurs. Venezuela mentions the unduly early employment of minors as an adverse factor. In Panama, girls who could pursue their secondary education seek employment at a very early age; and Tunisia also notes this tendency of girls to begin earning their living when they are in secondary school or after obtaining their secondary school leaving certificates, which explains why few of them go on to higher education.

staff, which also hampers the development of education for girls and women in rural aread5) , is partly of an economic nature. In many cases this shortage, which particularly affects underprivileged areas and the female population in those areas, is due to the lack of a sufficient number of teacher- training schools and to the fact that the remunera- tion offered to teachers is not such as to encourage many people to enter the teaching profession.

132. Girls who should be attending primary

133. The obstacle constituted by shortage of

DIFFICULTIES OF EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATION

134. These difficulties are sometimes closely connected with the financial obstacles already considered. They m a y have their origin in the paucity of the country's resources or in the inadequacy of the funds appropriated for particular sectors of education. The lack of boarding schools for girls, the shortage of intermediate and secondary educational establishments(61, of teaching staff at all levels(7) and of out-of-school educational opportunities(8) and the lack of interest in and information about such activities(7), show that educational programmes do not always take the real needs of certain categories of the population sufficiently into account. Ecuador mentions in this connexion the absence of a plan for the development of adult education.

32

135. When rural primary schools are "incom- plete" , i .e. do not supply the number of years of study provided for by the regular school laws, students are unable to pursue their studies. Where schools covering the complete cycle exist, they are too far away and girls do not attend them(9).

136. In some countries(lO), one of the obstacles to education for girls in rural areas is that they are not taught in establishments separate from those for boys. The Co-educational character of out-of-school activities is mentioned, as a draw- back, by East Pakistan.

cula are not sufficiently varied; Jordan observes that they are not suitable for girls in rural areas because they do not take into account the needs of daily life. Switzerland, on the other hand , cites a study published in 1958 which states, inter alia, that domestic science courses have the effect of reducing the number of hours devoted to other disciplines , although girls take the same tests of their general knowledge as do boys. Actually, the great majority of replies from governments indicate that the question of curricula is not a problem since the latter are, as has been demonstrated, almost always of the same nature and quality for girls and boys in both urban and rural areas. That implies , in this respect, theoretical acknowledgement of the right of girls in rural areas to pursue their studies.

quate preparation for secondary education, and Singapore states that most of the failures in secondary school entrance examinations are those of young people in rural areas. There is no reason to conclude, however, that these difficulties affect girls in particular. Whenever the quality of rural primary education is inferior to that of urban education(ll), pupils in rural areas, both boys and girls, are at a disadvantage as compared with pupils in urban areas.

137. The reply from Ceylon states that curri-

138. The Federation of Malaya notes inade-

SOCIO-CULT URAL DIFFICULTIES

139. Actually it is because of socio-cultural factors that the difficulties referred to above weigh especially heavily on girls and women in rural areas. The rural environment is always belatedly affected by changes in social and cultural systems; in particular, it clings to those attitudes concerning women and girls which are least conducive to their education. This finding emerges from the great majority of replies received; it is mentioned specifically in almost a third of them(l2).

140. In such countries, the need for educating girls and women is not always appreciated in rural areas(l3). In Togo, for example, "opinion contin- ues to accord women only a secondary, inferior rôle: to procreate, to bring up children and to cook''. "While . . . help with domestic tasks constitutes a form of economic aid, it also appears as the traditional method of education for women; the family is still often the environment for the type of

Access of women and girls to education

womanhood set before young people as an example,

regarded as a form of training more useful than the instruction given at school"(14). This is why the exigencies of family tradition are so often cited among the obstacles to the development of education for girls and women; perhaps it also explains why post-primary domestic science schools are sometimes very much in demand.

141. Pressure is exerted by the family group with a view to giving priority to education for boys , opposing attendance by girls at Co-educational establishments and protecting them by exposing them as little as possible to outside influences; in some cases , however, this pressure also has its effect upon girls and women who have succeeded in obtaining a good education. The latter often find great difficulty in recognizing that their education gives them a rôle in society, in assuming their responsibilities in relation to the less privileged wo- m e n of their communities - the lack of "women leaders" is often noted (Canada, Japan) - and in meeting their obligations as teachers in rural areas (Cambodia, Tunisia). Sometimes tradition limits the opportunities open to them: India, for example, notes that married women cannot do work at a great distance from their villages, while unmarried wo- m e n are not permitted to live alone.

of girls and women in rural areas to education is the vicious circle described in the following terms: "There islittle 1iAelihood of more women coming into the ¿teaching/ profession until the number of girls increases for secondary education. This is a most serious problem, as girls will not be attracted into the primary schools in greater numbers until the number of women teachers increases(15).

education of girls in certain countries(16). sometimes even at the primary level. It is also very often considered that the continuation of schooling and a professional life on the one hand and marriage and a home life on the other are two mutually ex- clusive alternatives. This explains the reluctance of girls themselves to pursue secondary and higher studies.

both religious and social often restrict women's activities outside the home, whether such activities entail school attendance or out-of-school education.

145. Thus it may be seen that the complex in- terplay of social and cultural influences conditions the response of girls and women in rural areas to efforts to persuade them to acquire an education. Even in countries where women's education is most highly developed, the extent to which their educational opportunities depend on the acknowledged rôle of women in society is apparent. "The tradi-

l and the daily work and behaviour required in it are

142. Not the least of the obstacles to the access

143. Early marriage is still an obstacle to the

144. In some countries(17), bans which are

N O T E S

(i) Afghanistan, Burundi (boarding schools at the primary level) , Ceylon, Chile (secondary and

tional rôle of woman in the home still influences much of our thinking, although circumstances have changed greatly as have the responsibilities", says Canada in its conclusion. "Nor has anyone produced a blueprint indicating how things should be done. A climate suitable to greater equality has been improving over the years and changes in that direction can be expected, although contextually they are involved with many old and new problems".

146. It is significant in this connexion that when girls in rural areas enter professional life the occupations chosen are always limited to the following, which are enumerated in order of importance : teaching(18) , nursing or social work(l9) and to a much lesser extent, clerical positions in the administration or in commercial undertakings(Zo), and occupations either associated with the rôle of wife and mother or in keeping with the inferior position of women. O n the whole, it is only in the urban environment that a wider choice of occupations is open to women.

INTERACTION OF THE D E G R E E S OF D E V E L O P M E N T OF SCHQOL AND OUT- OF-SCHOOL ACTIVITIES

147. Several replies indicate more or less implicitly the interaction of the degrees of development of school and out-of-school activities. A low cultural level in the family is not conducive to the change in social attitudes which, as has been seen, is necessary if the education of girls is to be encouraged. In some cases, the cultural level in rural areas is low and there is little likelihood that it can be raised so long as such cultural equipment as libraries, cinema and radio is lacking(21). The relative importance which should be attributed to school and out-of-school education if the best result is to be obtained has probably not been determined; but undoubtedly the more receptive the family environment to cultural and social values , the greater the benefit which the child will derive from school work.

148. Similarly, interest in adult education programmes may well be determined by the schooling received. Canada notes that the number of persons enrolled in night courses , short vocational training courses or other adult education courses is increasing; according to the sample survey referred to above, one-fourth of the adults and young persons who have completed schooling - 40% of them women and girls - take part in such activities; it is noted that those who enrol in such courses have generally reached a level of school education higher than that of the adults and young persons who do not engage in any out-of-school educational activities.

boarding schools), Colombia (boarding schools), Cyprus (Turkish secondary education),

33

Access to women and girls to education

Dominican Republic , El Salvador (boarding schools) , Guinea, Haiti, Hungary (boarding schools) , India, Indonesia, Iran (rural and boarding schools) , Lebanon (boarding schools), Federation of Malaya (secondary boarding schools) , Mexico (at all levels) , Pakistan, Panama (secondary boarding schools) , Para- guay (boarding schools) , Philippines (secondary and higher) , Senegal (secondary and boarding schools) , Spain (secondary), Sudan (boarding schools), Thailand, Tunisia (boarding schools) , Uruguay, Viet-Nam (boarding schools); Bechuanaland (boarding schools) , Kenya (secondary education and boarding schools) , Zanzibar (boarding schools). Cambodia , Canada (for certain farm girls) , Ceylon , Chile, Costa Rica, Cyprus , Ecuador, France, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Lebanon, Federation of Malaya , N e w Zealand, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Spain, Sudan, Togo, Turkey; Mauritius; Surinam (particularly among the Asian inhabitants); Bahamas, Bechuanaland, Fiji , Hong Kong, Kenya, Sarawak, Zanzibar. Afghanistan, Burundi , Cambodia , Canada (in the case of certain farm women), Ceylon, China, Colombia, Denmark, El Salvador, Fin- land (in part) , Hungary (sometimes) , Indonesia, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Korea, Madagascar, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Phiiip- pines , Sierra Leone , Spain, Thailand, Togo , Turkey, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Republic, United States, Vene- zuela, Viet-Nam, Barbados, Mauritius, Fiji, Hong Kong, Kenya , Sarawak, Zanzibar. Cited by Burundi , Canada (certain farm women), India, Korea ~ Pakistan and El Salvador. Cited in 39 replies: Afghanistan, Argentina, Bolivia, Cambodia, Ceylon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Finland (in part), Guinea, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Lebanon, Federation of Malaya, Mexico, Pakistan, Paraguay, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, United States, Viet- Nam; the Bahamas, Bechuanaland, Kenya, North Borneo , Sarawak , Zanzibar. Canada (in certain areas), Japan, United States (in some cases), Barbados; Zanzibar. Canada, Ceylon, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Pakistan, Philippines ~ Sierra Leone, Spain, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey.

(8) Burundi, Chile, Colombia , Ecuador, Panama, Togo.

(9) Burundi , Chile, Colombia , Ecuador , Panama, Togo.

(10) Burundi (secondary) , Cyprus (Turkish secondary schools), India, Israel , Mauritania , Mexico, Niger, Switzerland (in some cases), Syrian Arab Republic, United Arab Republic; Kenya (intermediate education) , Zanzibar.

(il) See paragraphs 50 to 56. (12) Albania, Burundi, Ceylon, Cambodia, Ecua-

dor, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Japan, Federation of Malaya, Mauri- tania, Mexico, Niger, Pakistan, Panama, Sierra Leone , Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, United Arab Republic; Surinam, Brunei, Fiji, Gambia, Hong Kong, Kenya, North Borneo , Sarawak , Zanzibar.

(13) Bolivia, Cambodia, Ceylon, India, Iraq, Mauritania, Niger, Panama, Sierra Leone, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo; Brunei , North Borneo.

Unesco, E/CN.6/396, para. 61.

self-governing territories. Unesco , A/ACL35/L.356, para. 153 (Brunei. Develop- ment Plan, p. 6).

(16) India, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, Sierra Leone , Togo , United Arab Republic, Vene- zuela; Zanzibar.

(17) Ceylon, Iran, Israel (sectors of the population having an Oriental culture) , Niger, Pakistan, Philippines, Togo , Tunisia; Mauritius; Suri- nam; Gambia , Zanzibar.

(18) Bolivia, Burundi, Ceylon, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Iraq, Jordan, Mauritania, Niger , Pakistan, Sudan , Togo , Tunisia, Tur- key, Viet-Nam; the Bahamas, Bechuanaland, Fiji , Gambia, North Borneo, Zanzibar.

Lebanon, Mauritania , Niger, Togo, Tunisia , Turkey; Bechuanaland , Fiji, Gambia, North Borneo , Zanzibar.

(20) Burundi , Ceylon, Ecuador, Ivory Coast, Niger, Tunisia; Bechuanaland, Zanzibar.

(21) Bolivia, Ceylon, Colombia, Ecuador, El Sal- vador, Haiti, Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, Federa- tion of Malaya, Mauritania, Pakistan, Para- guay, Syrian Arab Republic, Thailand, Tur- key, United Arab Republic; Bechuanaland.

(14) Access of girls to elementary education.

(15) A survey of post-primary education in non-

(19) Burundi, Ceylon, India, Ivory Coast, Jordan,

34

CHAPTER V

M E A S U R E S ADOPTED TO MAKE POSSIBLE OR FACILITATE THE ACCESS OF GIRLS AND WOMEN IN RURAL A R E A S TO EDUCATION

149. The difficulties encountered by rural women and girls in gaining access to education has led some governments to adopt special measures to enable them to benefit, like the other categories of the population, from the various existing forms of schooling.

150. It is obvious that such measures are not necessary in countries where girls and boys have the same educational opportunities and where the public authorities make a point of ensuring that (through the provision of such facilities as school buses , canteens, scholarships , etc .) obligations in the matter of education are fulfilled in the rural areas.

151. The previous chapter shows that a number of economic and social factors may have a great bearing on the participation of girls and women in educational activities of all kinds. Accordingly, all steps taken at the national level to rule out dis- criminatory measures of a racial, social, political or religious nature, to affirm the importance of education as a factor making for dignity and progress, and to improve economic and social conditions of life, are bound to affect favourably the access of rural girls and women to education.

school education and out-of-school education differ in the two cases, and it has seemed necessary to examine them separately.

152. The measures taken to develop both

M E A S U R E S CONCERNING ACCESS TO S C H O O L EDUCATION

153. It is not always made clear whether the measures quoted have specifically girls in rural areas in view. The development of education, whether throughout the country or in the rural areas only, obviously improves the educational situation of girls even when they live in under-privileged regions. Three kinds of measures may be distin- guished: those which are general in their application and have all children in view, those whose purpose is to improve education in rural areas, and lastly those particularly designed to promote the education of girls, especially girls in rural regions; the first two categories will receive only a brief survey, while the third will be analysed in greater detail.

(a) General measures

scholarships(1) , the organization of educational 154. These have to do with the award of

broadcasts(2), the creation of new educational institutions(3) , the installation of school canteens where hot meals are served to pupils free or at modest charge(4) , the organization of correspondence courses(5), the development of media for dis- seminating culture: radio , Press , cinema , libraries, cultural centres, etc .(6) , or adult education activities (Mexico) , free tuition(7). the planning of education(8). India mentions exemption from school fees which will be introduced in 1965-1966 for all children aged between six and eleven.

(b) Measures for the development of education in rural areas

155. Those most frequently mentioned concern the transport of pupils from their homes to school, and the building of boarding-school establishments. The measures taken may be restricted to the organization of a school transport or pick-up system, or they m a y also provide for its supply en- tirely or partially free of charge(9). In some countries boarding schools are being built to enable rural children to continue their studies(l0). Refer- ence should also be made to various kinds of provision pertaining to the school system:

In N e w Zealand, teachers must serve a three-year term of rural duty in order to receive salaries above a certain level; moreover, they receive a higher salary if they work in a remote rural area rather than in an urban environment;

In Singapore , qualified teachers are appointed in a higher proportion in rural than in urban schools;

Poland and USSR point out the advantages of setting up four-year schools (7 to 11 years) in the villages , and seven or eight-year boarding schools in the more populated districts;

tence of "single-teacher" schools; France indicates that "guidance groups scattered throughout the country (fifth and sixth grade classes for pupils aged 11 to 13 years) bring classical and modern education within reach of the rural child - these groups are complemented by multi-purpose centres at the canton level, which enable rural children to continue their studies to the age of sixteen";

In the United States , various experiments, from which no conclusions can as yet be drawn but whose results seem satisfactory, are being conducted in certain rural secondary schools, in which use is made of audio-visual media and

Australia and the United States mention the exis-

35

Facilities of girls and women to education

the services of travelling teachers or of teams of teachers are called upon;

Argentina is experimenting with special curricula for rural pupils; Panama is adopting special time-tables for rural schools in rainy zones; while Indonesia assists its insufficiently trained rural teachers by sending them matter for class instruction, and directives;

vate schools in rural areas are higher than in the case of urban schools, and school fees are lower; in Sarawak, it is hoped to extend the system whereby a small group of rural schools is inspected by highly qualified and experienced teachers , and the "broadcasting for schools" service is giving priority to the needs of rural primary schools.

In Hong Kong, the grants allocated to public and pri-

It m a y be noted that in Bolivia scholarships and boarding-school establishments are provided for the training of rural teachers. Programmes for the building of village schools are, often on a vast scale, under way in seven countries(l1); in Mexico the establishment of regional teacher-training schools , and in the Philippines the construction of one or two teacher-training establishments in remote areas, are contemplated.

(c) Measures particularly intended for girls

156. A number of countries state that some measures which could be generally applied are specially reserved either for girls in general or even for girls in rural areas.

Thus , scholarships are being granted in increasing numbers to the girl upils of various kinds

girls in rural areas in Albania (at the secondary level) and in Colombia. Cuba emphasizes that 70,000 secondary education scholarships have been granted to the children of peasants and workers ' families in the most remote regions, and 14,000 domestic science scholarships to young people of rural areas. Barbados , in addition to scholarships granted without distinction to all pupils , awards special university scholarships to girls; in the Bahamas, the scholarships are for the purpose of training teachers of domestic and commercial science; in Mauritania, where only one boarding- school establishment for girls at the secondary level exists, non-resident scholarships may be granted to girls admitted to secondary schools for boys.

small numbers) of boarding- s chool establishments exclusively for girls, or to which girls may be admitted, is also recorded(l3):

In Senegal, it is proposed to build a residential

In Gambia, there is a secondary boarding school

of school in nine countries(l2 P , priority is given to

f57. The construction (though apparently in

lycée for girls at Dakar;

in a rural area to which one girl per five boys is admitted;

In Zanzibar, young rural people wishing to pursue their secondary studies may be accommodated in a "hostel"; neither accommodation nor tuition are free, but two scholarships for the girls secondary school are awarded annually to deserving pupils in the eighth grade of primary school;

In Kenya, 30 girls' hostels attached to intermediate schools (160 places each) permit of a wider access to Co-educational establishments; in Fiji, on the other hand, many small co-educational hostels have been set up in the primary schools.

158. F e w of the replies record the construction of educational establishments for girls; apart from the girls' schools founded by the religious communities of Burundi and the construction of a large lyc6e for girls in Senegal, mention m a y be made of the creation in Israel of an institution for the training of teachers specialized in the preparation of women teachers, and of the development in Switzerland of domestic and agricultural schools. The United Arab Republic mentions that secondary classes are set up in girls schools (primary or technical) when the number of girls wishing to continue their studies is too small to justify the establishment of a secondary school. It m a y be noted that in India vast capital equipment projects are under way to reduce the existing disparity between the schooling of girls and that of boys.

159. A number of countries(14) have taken various institutional steps calculated to promote education for girls, usually without making special provision for girls living in rural areas:

In India, in particular, a "National Council for Women's Education" at the national level, and councils at the level of each State in nearly every State, have been set up as advisory bodies. Officials are specially appointed to watch over the execution of the girls' education programme, the purposes and budget of which have been fixed independently of those relating to boys education. Some of the measures calculated to increase both the number of girl pupils and that of women teachers affect the rural areas in particular: in Co-educational schools, the post of "school mother'' - a woman assistant specially responsible for the girls - has been established; and efforts are made to grant free accommodation and a special sup- plementary allowance to women teachers working in rural areas;

In Fiji ,. six travelling women teachers have been appointed to study women's needs and interests in the matter of education;

mentary education available to girls free of charge;

In the Niger, the upper age-limit for admission to secondary school is one year higher for girls than for boys;

In Sierra Leone , some local authorities make ele-

36


In the Bahamas , inspection of domestic-science teaching has been provided for, within the framework of the inspection service set up in 1961;

In Costa Rica and Haiti, there has been an adaptation of the curricula: hygiene programmes in Costa Rica, and in Haiti training to enable girls to run their future homes.

MEASURES CONCERNING OUT-OF-SCHOOL EDUCATION

160. Unlike primary and sometimes secondary education in a great majority of countries, out-of- school training is never compulsory. The organization of this type of educational activity therefore depends on the initiative of public authorities or of private bodies, and there is no guarantee of its continuity; it may according to cases meet s either needs already felt and expressed, or needs of which the population is not yet aware and which have first to be created and then satisfied. The facilities which can be made available to rural girls and women so that they may benefit from out-of-school education thus assume special features. They consist first in the adoption, where necessary, of legislative measures or regulations to promote the education of rural women and girls and in the creation of programmes of activities adapted to their particular needs, conducted in places accessible to them and at times when they are free.

161. Then there are all the measures calculated to increase the number and qualifications of those responsible for out-of-school education programmes; and lastly, all the measures designed to enable rural girls and women to participate in the activities offered them. Many countries have supplied no information about such measures; it is possible that, as the case may be, they are either non-existent or unnecessary.

(a) Legislative provisions concerning out - of - school e duc ati on for women in rural areas

162. Only Colombia mentions, without further elaboration, the existence of various Acts, and of a large number of decrees issued by the Ministries of National Education and Agriculture, establishing regulations and creating bodies to give rural women the training necessary for the educational development. of the rural areas. Certain other countires(l5) indicate that the Government "encourages" the participation of women and girls in educational activities although this encouragement is not particularly aimed at rural inhabitants (Albania, for instance, fixes the percentage of places reserved for women and girls in technical and vocational courses). France mentions an Act concerning the development of rural specialities which provides, inter alia, for the training of women fruit-packers , public health assistants, women domestic science instructors and home helps.

(b) Out-of-school education activities

163. As was noted earlier(16), the programmes of out-of-school activities vary in the extreme and are increasing in number. While Ecuador states that the methods employed remain theoretical rather than genuinely stimulating, other replies show a concern to adapt instruction to the needs of rural women in the economic, social and cultural spheres. It should,however , be recalled that it is impossible to estimate how much out-of-school training is being imparted to women in rural areas. Some countries mention special efforts to organize, in a practical way, out-of-school activities in rural areas :

In Burundi, in "pilot villages" in the Ruzizi Plain, dwellings have been regrouped around communal buildings; thanks to mechanization of work and facilities for obtaining water and provisions , the women are able to take advantage of out- of - school e ducation; where they are accessible to village women and, as in Pakistan, courses are conducted at times suitable for women and girls.

In India, women's centres are set up in places

(c) Out-of-school teaching staff for women in rural areas

164. Such staff may give their services free or for payment, depending on the country. Some countries indicate that measures are being taken to improve the working conditions of women instructors in rural areas; in Argentina, efforts are made to give them comfortable accommodation; in Pakis- tan, women teaching assistants and headmistresses are salaried; in Kenya, Unicef assistance has made it possible to equip some of the voluntary workers in rural areas with transport in the form of bicycles, scooters and other vehicles.

165. Arrangements made for the training of women staff to direct and inspire programmes of out-of-school education are often mentioned(l 7). Reference is made to the existence of special centres for the training of qualified personnel, where girls and women receive a boarding-school education the length of which may vary from a few weeks (Cam- bodia, India) to two years (Colombian Rural Women's Guidance College); there are also more flexibly organized sessions and courses (week-ends, evening courses, part-time training, etc .).

women and girls to train for responsible jobs : transport and hostel accommodation are provided free of charge (Federation of Malaya, Norway for certain courses), scholarships or financial aid are granted (New Zealand Sierra Leone United Arab Republic), and bonuses I gifts or journeys are arranged (Panama, Mauritius, Fiji, Kenya). Sometimes, village women are themselves invited to appoint their future instructresses, who then receive the necessary training (inthe Ivory Coast onanexperi- mental basis).

166. Various steps are taken to encourage

37


(d) Measures enabling rural women and girls to take part in organized activities

167. The measures most frequently mentioned concern the establishment of crèches, day-nurseries and kindergartens(18); women are thus able to leave their children in good hands and to attend such courses as they wish. However, there are far fewer of these institutions in rural than in urban areas, as explained in the replies of India, Kenya and Barbados; the last-named also indicates that the crèches are sometimes closed at times when the cultural and educational activities which would be of interest to mothers of families are taking place.

168. In the Byelorussian SSR, Hungary and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, working women and girls can receive special paid leave, and in Po- land financial assistance, for the purpose of preparing for examinations when they are attending

adult courses. In Hungary, persons attending evening classes are entitled to 24 days' leave and a reduction of six to eight hours in the working week; as much as 36 or even 48 days I leave may be al- lowed for preparation for advanced correspondence course examinations. In the Byelorussian SSR, persons following correspondence courses are entitled to 40 days' extra leave with pay, while working women attending evening courses are entitled to either a two-hour reduction of the working day or one extra day's leave per week, plus an extra 15 to 20 days I annual paid leave during examinations.

169. In five countries, some or all phases of adult training are free of charge(l9); in others scholarships are granted to rural inhabitants wishing to improve their education(20). Japan, the Re- public of Viet-Nam, Sudan and Bechuanaland indicate that some provision is made for the out-of-school education of women and young girls in rural areas, but do not go into details.

N O T E S

Argentina, Belgium, Ceylon, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, France, Japan, Poland, Ru- mania, Switzerland, Thailand, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; Fiji, Gambia, North Borneo, Sarawak. Argentina, Australia, Canada, Ceylon, Mada- gascar, Federation of Malaya, United Arab Republic, United States; Malta, Sarawak. Cambodia, Cuba, Hungary, Mexico, Panama, Rumania, Spain, Union of Soviet Socialist

E yelorussian SSR, Costa Rica, Haiti, Mauri- tania, Panama, Union of Soviet socialist Re- publics, Viet-Nam. Australia, Canada, United States; Fiji. Ecuador, Lebanon, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Burundi, Byelorussian SSR , Cuba, India, Pakistan, Syrian Arab Republic, Viet-Nam. Cambodia, Ecuador, India. Australia, Byelorussian SSR, Canada, Costa Rica, Czechoslovakia, Finland, France, Fede- ral Republic of Germany, Hungary, Luxem- bourg, Federation of Malaya, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sudan, Switzerland, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Re- public, United States; Malta, Sarawak.

epublics; Surinam.

Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Rumania, Sudan, Tunisia, Union of Soviet Socialist Re- publics, United Arab Republic; Surinam; Bechuanaland.

(il) Afghanistan, Cuba, Guinea, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Tunisia, Viet-Nam.

(i 2) Albania, Colombia, Cuba, India, Mauritania, Tunisia; Barbados; the Bahamas, Bechuana- land.

(13) Albania, India, Senegal; Bechuanaland, Fiji, Gambia, Kenya, North Borneo, Zanzibar.

(14) Costa Rica, Haiti, India, Niger, Paldstan, Sierra Leone; the Bahamas, Fiji.

(15) Albania, Bolivia, Guinea, Indonesia, Sudan, Thailand.

(16) Chapter III, paras. 105 to 121. (17) Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Colombia, Guinea,

India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Federa- tion of Malaya, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philip- pines, Thailand; Fiji, Kenya, Malta.

(18) Albania, Argentina ,(planned), Australia, Hung- ary, India (few), Paidstan, Poland, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ~ United Arab Re- public; Barbados; Kenya.

(i 9) Cyprus, Denmark, Jordan, Thailand, Turkey. (20) Colombia, India, Federation of Malaya, Pana-

ma, Poland. (10) Australia, Burundi, Byelorussian SSR, Canada,

Cyprus, El Salvador, Hungary, Mauritania,

38

CHAPTER VI

CURRENT TRENDS

170. There follows a brief analysis of the extent to which the present situation is the result of transformations and developments occurring during the past few years, some tending to promote and others to hinder the education of girls and women in rural areas.

EXPANSION OF EDUCATION

171 . The expansion of education during the past few years is an occurrence mentioned by a number of countries, which refer to anoverallin- crease in school enrolment(l), an increase in female enrolment(2). or an increase in rural female enrolment in particular(3); Ceylon, France and Venezuela indicate an improvement in educational facilities for rural pupils.

is, in some cases, most striking at the secondary level(4), and in some cases also at the level of higher education (Finland, Hungary). In Bolivia, school enrolment has tripled since the National Revolution of 1952. In the USSR, it was found that from 1939 to 1959 the number of girls receiving secondary or higher education had increased much more rapidly than that of boys; the number of young men who had received higher education was two and one-half times as great in 1959 as in1939, while during the same period the number of girls at that level had quintupled; at the secondary level the number of girls had increased 440% (from 6,636,000 to 29,218,000) and the number of boys 320% (from 8,053,000 to 25,712,000). Kenya reports a similar phenomenon over the past five years: school enrolment has increased by 11 and 570 per year, for girls and boys respectively, at the primary level and by 23 and is%, respectively, at the secondary level.

172. This increase in the number of pupils

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

173. A change in social attitudes and the growing awareness of the necessity of instruction for girls are often mentioned(5); in some cases it is even stated that the principle of education for girls has been accepted by public opinion and that the problem lies only in the difficulty of building schools rapidly enough to satisfy the stated needs.

174. The replies frequently associate the improvement and transformation of economic conditions with social and cultural development(6); some

also stress the rapidly increasing number of positions available to women and girls(7).

these changes occur on a national scale and do not always affect the rural areas. It may of course be assumed that the economic, social and cultural development of a country has repercussions even in its least favoured areas, but this hypothesis is not always supported by the facts.

from the rural areas(8); urban living conditions are frequently attractive and might in themselves explain the population movement from the country to the cities, but the desire to find interestingwork also plays a rôle. It must indeed be recognized that the employment opportunities open in rural areas to educated young women are often very lirnited(9) and that many replies merely state that the benefit which women derive from their studies is primarily social(l0). A desire to prevent this rural exodus is expressed in the reply of Switzer- land: "It must be stressed, however, that legislators and economists should take care to prevent the depopulation of these (rural) areas. Local op- oportunities must therefore be created" .

177. The reply of Spain suggests that migration to the cities leads rural people to educate themselves : "The above-mentioned economic changes have accelerated the process of integra- tion of rural women into vocational life. The large- scale migration of thousands of rural people to new industrial centres is bringing about an improvement in their status; often illiterate when they arrive, they are prompted by their new mode of life to acquire at least the basic knowledge and skills necessary to fit them for their new circumstances".

178. It has been seen(11) that rural areas are today at a disadvantage in many countries from the viewpoint of educational equipment and that rural women and girls have the least opportunity to gain access to education. That situation has already been reported, and Unesco's recent activities have brought out clearly that measures should be taken to promote the education of girls in rural areas.

179. Thus, at Bangkok from 26 February to 8 March 1962, Unesco convened a group of experts to study the access of girls and women to education in rural areas in Asia and the measures to be taken to remedy the existing difficulties(l2).

180. The group's recommendations were transmitted to the Meeting of Ministers of Educa- tion of Asian Member States, held at Tokyo from 2 to 11 April 1962, During this conference, the

175. It should be pointed out, however, that

176. Reference is also made to the exodus

39

Current trends

analysis of national reports indicated that "some countries in their educational development plans have found it necessary to pay considerable attention to the needs of .certain sectors of the population that have been comparatively neglected in the past. They are, therefore, making special provision in their educational budgets for the education of girls, and for children of small and isolated communities . . ."(13). Meeting declared that many of them had "decided to take early action in (their) States to ratify" Unesco's Convention against Discrimination in Education(l4).

181. The Conference of African States on the Development of Education in Africa (Addis Ababa, 15-25 May 1961), discussing the educational requirements of economic and social development, stressed the urgent need "to develop a new concep- tion of the rôle of women in the life of the community - to improve their condition as home-makers, to expand their opportunities of employment, to encourage a greater participation and leadership by women in community affairs and public life. To meet this goal an expansion and reform of education for girls is required"(l5). At the same meeting it was recommended "that living conditions in rural areas be improved by a vigorous attempt at country planning and community developmend1(l6), and it was stated that it was "imperative that educational and cultuzal programmes for women should be accelerated (17) so that both men and women could "make their full contribution to the welfare of the community"(l8) .

national plans for education in the general context of economic and social development (Paris, 26-30 March 19621, the Ministers of Education ofAfrican countries participating in the implementation of the Addis Ababa Plan found that the development plans of a number of countries contained plans for the construction of girls I schools, the completion of

Moreover, the Ministers at the

182. In considering the African States I

N O T E S

girls secondary schools and the establishment of the lower stage of a Co-educational secondary school, Some States mention as part of their general objectives the reduction of the inequality in the rate of enrolment between girls and boys, the establishment of uniform instruction for boys and girls, the early training of a female c e at every level, to be accomplished, among other means, by the establishment of training centres for women to act as rural advisers in home economics, female apprenticeship centres, teacher-training schools for women and homes for girls.

183. It may also be pertinent to recall the text of recommendations No. 4 and No. 5 adopted at the Meeting of Experts on General Secondary Education in the Arab States, held at Tunis from 23 August to 1 September 1962:

Recommendation No. 4 : Considering that most secondary schools are located in the capital cities and other urban centres, the Meetingis of the opinion that this situation should be kept under review in each country, in order to bring about a fair geographical distribution of schools and give children in rural areas equal educational opportunities . Recommendation No. 5 : Considering that women make up half the Arab community and that they play a most important part in the education of children, the Arab countries should afford them every opportunity for education in order to ensure solidarity among all members of the community as well as nation-wide co-operation in bringing about progress and shouldering educational responsibilities. 184. Finally, the conclusions and recommenda-

tions of the Conference on the Development of Higher Education in Africa, held at Tananarive from 3 to 12 September 1962, contain the following statement: "Steps should be taken at all levels of education to ensure that women students are afforded the opportunity of higher education"(l9).

Bolivia, Cuba, Hungary, Iran, Iraq, Mauri- tania, Togo, United States; St. Lucia. Burundi, Byelorussian SSR , Finland, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Jordan, Leb- anon, Netherlands, Niger, Panama, Poland, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Arab Republic; Bechuanaland, Fiji, Kenya; Surinam. Colombia, Costa Rica, Kuwait, Sierra Leone, Viet-Nam; Mauritius; Hong Kong, Sarawak, Finland, Hungary, Netherlands, Panama; Surinam. Burundi, Colombia, Cuba, Haiti, India, In- donesia, Iran, Japan, Madagascar, Federa- tion of Malaya, Pakistan, Sudan, Thailand; Brunei, Kenya, Zanzibar; Surinam. Bolivia, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mauritania,

Niger, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Spain, Tunisia, United Arab Republic, United States of America; Barbados and St. Lucia; Gam- bia; Surinam.

(7) Bolivia, Canada, China, India, Niger, Pana- ma, Philippines, Spain, Tunisia, United States of America; Barbados and St. Lucia; Gambia.

(8) Argentina, Canada, Ceylon, Japan, New Zea- land, Spain; Surinam; Sarawak.

(9) Australia, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Su- dan, Venezuela; Barbados, Singapore; the Bahamas, Brunei, Kenya, Zanzibar.

(10) Afghanistan, Argentina, Bolivia, Ceylon, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Pakistan, Panama, Switzerland, Viet-Nam; Barbados, Mauritius; Brunei, Kenya, Sarawak.

Current trends

(li) Chapters II and III above. (12) See report of the Meeting of Experts on the

Access of Girls and Women to Education in Rural Areas in Asia, UNESCO/ED/193.

(13) Report of Meeting of the Ministers of Educa- tion of Asian Member States participating in the Karachi Plan (Tokyo, 2-11 April 1962), issued by Unesco Regional Office for Educa- tion in Asia, Bangkok. Chapter I, pp. 13 and

(14) Report of Meeting of the Ministers of Educa- tion of Asian Member States participating in the Karachi Plan (Tokyo, 2-11 April 1962), issued by Unesco Regional Office for Educa- tion in Asia, Bangkok. Chapter VI, p. 37 (UNESCO/ED/192). By 20 August 1963, this

14 (UNESCO/ED/I~Z).

Convention had been ratified by the following 16 countries: Bulgaria Byelorussian SSR, Central African Republic, Cuba, Czechoslo- vakia Dahomey, France, Israel, Kuwait, Liberia, New Zealand, Norway, Ukrainian SSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics I United Arab Republic, United Kingdom.

(15) Document UNESCO/ED/181, Final Report, Chapter I, paragraph 21.

(16) E d . , Chapter V I paragraph 43 (cl. (17) Ibid., Chapter VII, paragraph 6. (18) E m . (19) Conference on the Development of Higher

Education in Africa. Tananarive, 3-12 Sep- tember 1962. UNESCO CHEA/Report - Con- clusions, pp. 21 and 2 2 ,

41

CONCLUSION

185. When it is considered that in 94 countries and territories the women and girls of the rural areas, regardless of what criterion is used to define that term, still constitute a very high percentage of the female population, it m a y be estimated that the majority of all women and girls in the world are in fact directly affected by the situation in such areas. It would appear that "rurality" not only constitutes one more difficulty in addition to the others which women m a y encounter in trying to obtain an education but actually multiplies those difficulties .

186. The differences are least noticeable, on the whole, at the primary level: in a number of countries the situation is satisfactory and girls and boys have the same educational opportunities; in other countries, the difficulties inherent in rural areas and in an insufficiently developed economy affect the education of girls, but to about the same extent as that of boys, and the only possible remedy is a general expansion of education. Lastly, in a third group of countries rural girls are clearly in a less favoured position, both as compared with boys in rural areas and as compared with girls in cities.

187. At the secondary and higher levels, the situation is more difficult to evaluate , owing to the scarcity of data regarding the rural or urban origin of the students. In a number of countries the educational opportunities available to girls are limited by the shortage or lack of institutions of general secondary education in the rural areas. In a good many other cases there are fewer girls in secondary schools in the rural than in urban areas, and at times the enrolment of girls is very low. Never- theless, in some countries with fairly weli-developed school systems the situation of rural girls is equal to that of boys and not inferior to that of city girls.

188. A study of the rather scanty data furnished with regard to technical and vocational training reveals a still less satisfactory situation for rural girls. In teacher training, on the other hand, it is found that women students are in the majority in a fairly large number of countries. Although this phenomenon is more pronounced in the cities, it is also found in rural areas. However, the fact that few countries have furnished information on that point limits the scope of the observation. For the same reason it is still more difficult to evaluate the opportunities for higher education available to rural girls. Nevertheless , it is clear beyond all doubt that fewer girls than boys are receiving higher education, even in those countries where

boys and girls of rural and urban areas have the same opportunities at the primary and secondary levels.

189. When the situation of adult women or of girls beyond school age in rural areas is considered, it is found that they constitute the majority of illiterates in those countries where illiteracy prevails and that extra-scholastic programmes are designed primarily to give them practical training, rather than to supply the education they have missed. Highly varied courses and educational opportunities are available to them, as they are to girls and wo- m e n in regions where the educational system is more developed. Ho.wever, the means of extending such education and making it accessible are often lacking; women are thus generally unable to make good use of it , and this is the result either of social or religious traditions, of the many chores with which women have to cope, or of isolation and poor com- munications. It must be recognized, however , that great efforts have been made in some countries and have been enthusiastically welcomed by the women. This is a definite trend on the part of governments and non-governmental organizations , but it is all too often hampered by the shortage of funds which affects adult education in general.

190. It must be noted that girls and women of rural areas are, as a general rule, doubly at a disadvantage, because of their sex and because of their environment. They suffer, in fact, more than m e n from the difficulties inherent in rural areas: scattered communities and a generally low level of living. They must often do a large share of the agricultural work, and the absence of boarding schools for girls, of women teachers, the lack of information on educational opportunities and, sometimes, of motivation limits their chances of enjoying the benefits of education. In certain rural communities, where firmly established traditions oppose the attendance of girls at the same educational institutions as boys, the fact that the only existing schools are Co-educational ones or that the teachers are m e n results in the practical ex- clusion of girls from any organized instruction. Since social attitudes evolve more slowly in rural than in urban areas, even those women who have been able to receive an education sometimes find it difficult to fit into their community and to play the part they should. A number of replies to the present inquiry raise the question whether instruction in its present form is useful to girls and wo- m e n in rural areas and suggest the possibility of its adaptation , without, however, putting forward

42

Conclusion

regions rural women and girls are showing an interest in education should make it possible to undertake the enormous effort necessary to give the rural female population an opportunity to participate more completely, as a result of education, in the work of economic, social and cultural development. To offer to women as well as to men a chance to obtain an education which will enable them to develop and utilize their faculties to the maximum is in effect to work in the clearly under- stood interest of society and thus to translate into deeds one of the essential principles of the Uni- versal Declaration of Human Rights, the right to education.

193. The conditions for the exercise of this right are defined in the Convention and the Recom- mendation against Discrimination in Education, In ratifying that Convention, 16 countries(1) have already undertaken to eliminate in fact all provisions which might deprive "any person or group of persons of access to education of any type or at any level" or limit "any person or group of persons to education of an inferior standard"(2). The application of the Convention in an increasing number of countries should make it possible to offer girls and women of rural areas the educational opportunities which they deserve and to which they are entitled.

any radical solution. The problem of vocational opportunities for women who have received a certain amount of education is linked to that of pro- gr a m m e s .

191. It is true that the measures which have been adopted to aid the less favoured rural areas are helping to improve the status of women in those areas, and that, in a relatively small number of cases, those measures relate particularly to the expansion of educational opportunities for girls and women. Mention has been made of the provisions for the transportation of rural pupils, the establishment of boarding schools and scholarships, which are sometimes reserved for girls, the advantages which certain States grant to rural teachers , the extension of single-teacher schools , the setting up of normal schools in rural areas, the adaptation of school hours to agricultural work, the increased use of audio-visual aids ~ radio and television, and the care taken by certain States to train women for hdult education by establishing centres or providing for their training in boarding schools, as well as to give women the necessary leisure to participate in educational programmes by establishing day nurseries and kindergartens.

192. The efforts made are not yet commen- surate with the difficulties. But the fact that an increasing number of countries are becoming aware of the seriousness of the problem and that in certain

N O T E S

(i) Bulgaria, Byelorussian SSR, Central African Republic, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Dahomey, France, Israel, Kuwait, Liberia, New Zea- land, Norway, Ukrainian SSR , Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics, United Arab Republic, United Kingdom. Convention against Discrimination in Educa- tion - Article l b) and (b). (2)

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52

ANNEX 6

WORKING GROUP OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS ON EQUAL ACCESS OF WOMEN TO EDUCATION

Report on educational opportunities for girls and women in rural areas

INTRODUCTION

The Working Group of Non-Governmental Organizations on equal access to education which, in 1960, had made a general study of access of women to out-of-school education, resumed its work with a view to submitting to the Secretariat of Unesco information and suggestions concerning in- school and out-of-school education of women and girls in rural areas.

Commission on the Status of Womento submit are- port on this question to its 1963 session, drew up a questionnaire to be sent to Member States.

A very broad exchange of views, using as a basis for discussion the Unesco questionnaire, took place at a preparatory meeting of the Group which had been authorized by the Committee on Non- Governmental Organizations to resume its work on this particular subject. This exchange of views led to the preparation of a questionnaire for use by the non-governmental organizations, the latter being invited to submit detailed information and recommendations concerning the possibilities of extending and improving female education in rural areas.

taken of:

organizations whose various national branches have had to consider a great variety of local conditions;

themselves which were sent directly to the Group;

mation provided by the non- governmental organizations represented on the Working Group, and references to studies made by those organizations.

By 1 December 1962 reports had been transmitted by the following non-governmental organizations :

Unesco, havingbeen asked by the UnitedNations

In preparing the present report, account was

1. Comprehensive reports by international

2. Replies from the national associations

3. Observations made and additional infor-

Associated Country Women of the World (ACWW) International Alliance of Women (LAW) International Council of Women (ICW) International Federation of University Wo-

International Federation of Business and Pro-

International Movement of Catholic Agricul-

Pan-Pacific and South East Asia Women's

Soroptimist International Association (SIA) Women's International League for Peace and

men (IFUW)

fessional Women (IFBPW)

tural and Rural Youth (IMCARY)

Association (PPSEAWA)

Freedom (WILPF)

World Assembly of Youth (WAY) World Association of Girl Guides and Girl

World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) World Union of Catholic Women's Organiza-

tions (WUCWO) World Young Women's Christian Association

(WYWCA) These replies contained information concern-

ing in-school and out-of-school education of girls and women in rural areas in the following 54 countries:

Scouts (WAGGGS)

Africa (15 countries)

Basuto land Chad Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland Nyasaland Southern Rhodesia

Gabon Ivory Coast Kenya Liberia Mali Nigeria Tanganyika Uganda Union of South Africa

Transvaal United Arab Republic

ACWW(1) IMCARY

ICW - IFBPW ICW IMCARY IMCARY WYWCA WYWCA IMCARY WYWCA ICW (WYWCA) WA G G G S - WYWCA ICW - IFBPW ACWW IAW - (WYWCA)

North America (3 countries)

Canada W A G G G S - WYWCA - IFBPW - IMCARY

Mexico WYWCA United States of America SIA - WYWCA - ICW -

IFBPW - ACWW Puerto Rico WYWCA

Listing of a non-governmental organization against a country indicates that the organization provided a country study in response to the questionnaire. Parentheses around an ab- breviation indicate that the international non- governmental organization referred in its comprehensive report to work in the country concerned.

53

Annexes

South America (7 countries)

Argentina

Bolivia Brazil

Chile Colombia Panama Peru

WAGGGS - WYWCA - IFBPW WYWCA - WUCWO WYWCA - IMCARY - wucwo wucwo wucwo WAGGGS WAGGGS

However, some of the country studies and comprehensive reports include references to experience in certain countries of Asia. These have therefore, been mentioned and confirm or supplement the final report of the meeting of experts (UNESCO/ED/~~~).

Furthermore, the Working Group deliberately avoided seeking statistical data and merely asked the non-governmental organizations for a qualitative evaluation based on their knowledge and experience of the life of women in rural areas.

Asia (11 countries) IN-SCHOOL EDUCATION

Burma Ceylon India Indonesia Japan Jordan Korea Lebanon Pakistan Philippines Thailand

Europe (14 countries)

Austria Belgium Denmark Federal Republic of

Finland France

Germany

Greece Italy Netherlands Norway Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom

Oceania (4 countries)

Australia Fiji New Zealand

Tonga

(WYWCA)

(WYWCA) WFTU

(WYWCA)

(WYWCA)

WAGGGS - (WYWCA) WYWCA - IFBPW (WYWCA) - ICW IAW - ICW AMGE - AMUCF WYWCA

IMCARY (WYWCA) ICW

ICW ACWW (WYWCA) - ICW - (WFTU) - WILPF - (WYWCA) - ICW (WYWCA) - IMCARY ICW - IFBPW - ACWW WAGGGS - IFBPW ICW IAW - ICW ICW SIA - W A G G G S - (WYWCA) - IFBPW -

IMCARY

ACWW

IFBPW - ACWW PPSEAWA

IFBPW PPSEAWA

WAGGGS - WYWCA -

Most of these organizations sent representa- tives to the meeting of experts convened byUnesco at Bangkok in February 1962 to consider the question of access of girls and women to education in rural areas of Asia. Consequently the Working Group devoted itself mainly to an evaluation of educational opportunities in other parts of the world.

54

In-school education, i .e. instruction provided in primary and secondary schools (general, technical and vocational) and in higher educational establishments curricula, difficulties facilities, available open- ings and present trends.

Curricula

was considered from various angles:

At the elementary level, the educational curricula are generally the same for boys and girls in rural areas, with the exception of a few practical subjects (domestic science, child care, hygiene), which are reserved for girls; there are others reserved for boys. However one European country also provides courses in domestic science for boys.

struction provided by the schools is too formal, and is completely divorced from the daily life of the girl, who returns every evening to an environment in which she cannot apply anything she has learned at school. This criticism was voiced both in the developing countries and in those which are more highly developed.

At the same time, however, there appeared to be a desire to avoid excessively specialized curricula which might condemn childreli in country areas to remain rustics or to become ill-adjusted town-dwellers. This leaves open for discussion the question: what basic general subjects are everywhere required and what methods should be used to fit the teaching of those subjects to the environment in which the child grows up.

vities work connected with the organization of schools in rural areas and participation in work among male and female rural youth attracted by city life (participation in local educational committees and parent-teacher associations).

Secondary school curricula were mentioned in only a few replies and then merely to deplore the fact that the school attendance of girls in rural areas was still lower than that of boys, particularly in many countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Western Europe, having ten or twelve years of

A number of associations consider that the in-

Some associations mentioned among their acti-

Some countries in North America and North-

Annexes

compulsory schooling, several of the non-governmental organizations raised the problem of selec- ting curricula for the final school years, which would initiate adolescent girls to the responsibilities they would have to assume in the family, the community and society.

On the question of curricula in higher education, which vary greatly, only one reply mentioned that some professional schools at the university level were not readily accessible to girls.

Difficulties

Many reports emphasize the inadequate number of rural schools and the difficulties which arise because country dwellings are scattered, so that children have to make tiring and sometimes dangerous journeys, particularly in the developing countries where the rainy seasons make roads im- passable.

The precarious living conditions in some country areas-cause teachers to refuse posts in isolated and backward places, or to leave such posts as soon as possible. Particular mention was made of the isolation in which young female teachers find themselves.

A variety of replies were given to the question relating to the attitude of families towards schooling for girls.

Some countries have established systems covering pupils of both sexes, generally with full enrolment; the need for education is obviously appreciated there. Other countries began by providing, more or less systematically, for the educational needs of boys , but are only now considering the question of school attendance for girls and the problem of winning over parents to that idea.

It appears that, the lower the level of living, the more widespread is the practice of parents of devoting available resources to the education of boys and of resigning themselves to doing very little for their daughters. It was noted, for example, that a number of communities in rural areas of Africa and Asia have produced relatively educated male w, whereas their women are still largely illiterate.

In these economically backward societies, even very young girls perform arduous tasks (carrying water, caring for livestock, tedious preparation of grains and spices) and take over the chores of grown women at harvest time and when the latter make the long journey to the markets.

Although religious obstacles appear to be crumbling where there are schools near the homes, there is often resistance to mixed schools or male teachers for girls.

compulsory education and the lack of penalties for parents for not sending their daughters to school.

As regards secondary education, there is, except in certain European and North American countries, some criticism of the small number of secondary schools providing post-primary instruc-

A number of replies deplore the absence of

tion and boarding schools, and also of the lack of such practical arrangements as school buses, school lunches, etc. The small number of scholarships awarded to girls from rural areas is also criticized.

All the difficulties are naturally more acute in the developing countries of Asia and Africa where, in addition to the shortage of schools and other educational institutions for girls, the tuition and maintenance fees charged for girl students and the tasks which are imposed by the pattern of the society, account must also be taken of the still very widespread practice of child marriage. Where this practice prevails, few girls over 13 or 14 years of age remain in school at the secondary level.

These comments naturally apply also to the opportunities for university education. Education at this level is still the exception, save in a few highly developed countries where the legislators have taken effective measures to ensure equality of opportunity and wide access to higher education for women.

Facilities

The reports refer to legislation providing for the establishment of schools open to pupils of both sexes - legislation which has been in existence in some countries for more than a century - andother provisions included in recent educational plans of the developing countries.

Development programmes always include projects for the improvement and expansion of com- munications, a factor which contributes to a rapid growth of school attendance. There are frequent references to school bus services and semi-boarding arrangements which offer considerable aid, being subsidized by local or national authorities. Regular boarding schools, on the other hand, remain few in number.

action taken by women's associations to provide "centres" for pupils of secondary schools - which are inevitably concentrated in the larger towns where young girls may be alone. Some of these centres are actual residences, while others offer club rooms , reading rooms and recreation rooms, and may, if necessary, provide refresher courses to palliate the intellectual isolation of the young female students. These institutions, which are to be found in Africa, Latin America and Asia, are examples of very useful projects and the non- governmental organizations provide extensive docu- mentation concerning them.

particularly underprivileged or isolated areas, but they are fewer in number than one might think. Some references are also made to seasonal schools, but these exist mainly in the relatively well-equipped countries.

Scholarships are mentioned among the facilities which are provided, but there is general

Some non-governmental organizations mention

There are some travelling teachers who visit

55

Annexe s

agreement that they are too few in number. Various radio and correspondence course

schemes were considered in great detail. exist in countries in which the population is widely scattered and which already have very comprehensive school systems. Through distribution of radio receivers and provision of lessons by mail, a continuous contact is established between edu- cators and children living with their parents on isolated farms or "stations". Such schemes would be desirable in the developing countries. Many of the latter are at present building broadcasting stations, but are still seeking audio-visual teaching techniques. Methods which have proved satisfactory where the members of the family circle have themselves received schooling must be adapted to homes with a different level of culture.

They

Opportunities

It is often evident from the reports that girl students in rural areas are not encouraged to continue attending school and pursuing their studies and several of them refer to unfortunate consequen- ces of prolonged education: conflict with afamily having little or no education itself, inability to ad- just to rural Life after secondary school, need to get away, and, finally, escape and flight to the city. Serious conflict , as weil as psychological and moral problems have furnished arguments for the opponents of schooling for girls in rural areas. However , ail countries face the need of providing educational facilities in rural areas.

The revolution in farming methods brought about by mechanization is reducing the number of farm workers and is making of farming a mechan- ized and commercial occupation which, Like indus- try, requires manpower skilled in the use of tools and accounting procedures.

The modern domestic appliances which farmers' wives in Europe and women generally throughout the most backward areas of Asia and Africa, at all levels , are demanding presuppose a certain minimum level of general and practical training.

Since most of the countries which have recent- ly attained independence are primarily rural in structure, it is essential that their female population should be given such training to enable them to improve the family's level of living and to take part , together with their husbands, in the economic and cultural development of the new country.

Country dwellers will themselves recognize the value of schooling for girls when the latter, upon completion of their studies, find locally, in agriculture or related occupations , a job providing security, dignity and comfort without a complete break from rural life. Up to the present, apart from domestic and farm work, the para- medical and teaching professions were those most readily accepted by rural families. The various activities directly related to farm production have been little explored as yet and many employees will soon be required in local community enterprises ,

such as co-operatives. The expansion of community institutions in ail latitudes and at all levels of community development thus offers new possibilities for people in rural areas , which are now pas- sing through a phase of rapid development.

The problem is therefore one of providing serious guidance and vocational information to families and girls, but the reports received indicate that all too often such information, if it is prepared, takes a long time to reach the countryside, and frequently it is the non-governmental organizations themselves which, on their own initiative, supply advice and guidance.

It is suggested that, in the absence of news- papers, distribution of which is sometimes very difficult in isolated areas where, moreover ~ there is considerable illiteracy, radio could play an important rôle in this connexion.

Trends

The international associations which have prepared comprehensive reports consider that the last decade has seen the beginning of an improvement in school attendance by girls in rural areas and that this has been and still is governed by different factors :

The general acquisition of civil and political rights by women has led them to make demands with a view to raising their status and to become aware of their importance in the nation.

Isolation has been broken down in many cases by new transport and information facilities.

The lightening of household chores due to better equipment of which women are aware and which they are demanding in their own households even forming organizations for this object, gives them time for reflection, from which first young girls and then the entire family benefit.

Wars whatever form they have taken , have given women new tasks which have brought tolight the enormous reserve of woman-power.

The sending of boys to school and progress in men's education have roused women in the developing countries to emulation.

commercial purposes have familiarized women with the outside world and have helped them to find themselves.

W o m e n in developed countries with an old tradition of education have often been surprised to discover the intellectual maturity and the will to progress of women in the developing countries and their strong desire for the education of children of both sexes. But although the way is open everywhere , thanks to a highly complex combina- tion of circumstances , improvement is slow. The experience of non-governmental organizations should play its part in the selection of methods and programmes aimed at securing complete and productive school attendance.

Information media employed for political and

56

Annexes

E xtr a- mur al education

By extra-mural education we mean systematic programmes of non-compulsory educationorganized for young people and adults and intended to take the place of, or supplement, school education.

In this field the task of the non-governmental organizations is connected with their workin stimulating purely school educatio?, as reported above. Here their activity is broader in scope, more complex and more direct; consequently, the replies to the questionnaire of the Working Groupare veryde- tailed and deal with the most varied aspects of extra-mural education in rural areas and general problems in the economic and social conditions pre- vailing in rural communities which practically everywhere are undergoing profound changes.

that mechanization and technical progress have re- leased a considerable proportion of the rural population from tilling the soil; trades and rural occupations are becoming diversified, the problems of increasing yield and profit and raising the level of living are being felt and comparisons drawn between the level of living in rural and in urban industrial areas. The results of this are on the one hand a considerable migration of the rural population to urban centres and on the other a considerable change in the country way of life. This applies to the developed countries as well as the developing countries. Traditional practices and a readi- ness for revolutionary changes in farming methods exist side by side in all the regions under examination.

Most of the associations which sent in replies were created to give girls and women a full awareness of their moral and social responsibilities and to make them better fitted to assume these responsibilities. However, it is fair to point out that although they intended this to be their general objec- tive the association first made an impact in urban areas where members could be brought together readily and frequent contacts were easy. In some cases these organizations had to deal with problems confronting women from rural areas unaccustomed to the city way of life, and a new and more difficult field of activity, namely, rural areas , was included in their general programmes.

But there also exist associations which came into being spontaneously in rural areas where the people wished to make up for their isolation by genuinely rural forms of mutual education and assistance. Others are the exact replica, at the rural level, of professional associations in the cities.

As regards membership, it should be pointed out that some organizations are solely for women and are the counterpart of men's organizations, some are mixed and engage in activities which concern both sexes, others have common programmes and some special programmes, while another cate- gory, although mixed, have a very small percentage of female members who participate only to a

Several non-governmental organizations state

very limited extent, especially in recreational activities.

ciations are primarily concerned with giving a strong religious basis to the life of their members and work in fairly close collaboration with the different churches, whereas other organizations operate quite independently of any religious ties.

Finally, it is noteworthy that certain of the participants in the Working Group represented associations directly concerned with young men and girls of school age to adult age. These associations exist in the developed countries and inthe developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America, where they are being highly successful and are accomplishing an enormous amount of work. Their activities concern children of school age during their free time and holidays and in the case of others after working or apprenticeship hours.

Their highly varied programmes meet numerous needs: they supplement the work of the schools or fill in the gaps and in many cases can provide the child with the intellectual background he does not find in his own family. These organizations combine physical and intellectual activities in their programmes. They develop team spirit and encourage the pooling of effort. In a word, they are a school of preparation for responsibility. Some of these groups grow up under the patronage of adult associations yet enjoy almost complete independence of which they are particularly proud.

Apart from the sports or artistic activities which are their natural purview, these young people's movements (particularly in the case of adolescents) take a keen interest in community development activities and in general problems affecting the life and future of the younger generation. A survey of some of these movements shows that their success depends on the calibre and the intellectual and moral quality of the promoters , the amount of equipment and funds available, and the moral support given by adults, i .e. by those responsible for extra-mural education plans, and by their families. It is noteworthy that these young people 's movements are very often the backbone of future adult associations. W e shall not mention all their activities and methods or the difficulties they encounter since we are dealing with these problems within the general scope of our report.

associations, they now cover a vast area of the

blished in developing countries they have set up groups operating with techniques and methods suited to these countries, and they are using their experience and their resources to improve the status of women, which is sometimes still very unsatisfactory, and are endeavouring to give women every opportunity to acquire an education.

This activity by non-governmental organizations is in many cases carried on in collaboration with the official extra-mural education services for young people and adults. Participation in national youth

It should also be pointed out that some asso-

Irrespective of the basic idea behind all these

and wherever they were able to become esta-

57

Annexes

councils and consultative committees for adult education is mentioned in the comprehensive reports as well as in the individual reports. Another point noted is the campaign of demonstrations uniting the most diverse associations in an effort of community development, supported by local or national authorities : young people 's days, children's week, hygiene week , etc.

The non-governmental organizations also state that they play a major part in providing and disse- minating information among local organizations. Collaboration between different non-governmental organizations is also brought out in the reports, especially those dealing with developing countries where team-work is essential and where every wo- m a n should take an interest in anything which might help to improve present conditions.

Programmes

The programmes described are operated both by organizations interested in girls and those concerned with adult women. But although the former participate in general activities, they sometimes lay stress on special programmes of occupational or domestic training, whereas associations of adult women emphasize improvement of the local level of living; however , it is impossible to generalize here. These programmes m a y be grouped under the following heads :

(a) Literacy

Participation of non-governmental organizations in literacy campaigns in the developing countries, either by means of direct teaching as part of their activities, or by the creation of favourable conditions: providing meeting rooms and equipment, preparing alphabets for languages which as yet have none, producing texts for women who have just learned to read, adapting works to the needs of new- ly literate groups , and drawing women into compos- ing and putting out such literature.

(b) Development of knowledge acquired at school in preliminary occupational training

Several associations concerned mainly with girls of school age and adolescent girls mentionin their programmes activities aimed at increasing basic knowledge acquired at school and presenting it in a form suited to the needs and interests of young girls. Others draw on this knowledge for the acquisition of rudimentary occupational skills : spelling and letter writing, arithmetic and book- keeping, botany and hygiene , etc. Correspondence courses designed for women in rural areas who wish to improve their standard of education are also mentioned.

(c) Improvement of the family level of living

There are highly varied programmes, dealing mainly with the following:

Room layout designed to achieve greater hygiene and comfort and lighten domestic chores;

Improvement of domestic products : vegetables, fruit, stock-breeding, dairy produce,

Planning and preparation of meals and methods of preserving produce;

Sewing and care of clothes; Rudiments of child care , care for the sick, pre-

etc. ;

cautions as regards accidents and epidemics , etc .;

Planning of house-keeping; Family budget economy.

(d) Initiation in modern advances and techniques I and experimental introduction of these into rural communities with the co-operation of women

In the various countries where rural areas with a dispersed population have not been reached by modern utilities: study of water , light andpower supplies and their effect on family life.

operation work methods. Preparation of projects and collective implementation.

Study of scope for improvement through co-

(e) Maintenance of traditional activities and adaptation of these to modern life

Investigation of these activities and revival of tech-

Improvement of craftsmanship: weaving, basket-

Competitions, using the best products. Efforts at commercialization financing other acti-

niques.

making, printing, etc.

vities.

(f) Cultural and artistic activities

Folklore research and maintenance of this heritage (music, dances, songs, oral and written literature).

Formation of artistic groups. Introduction to other kinds of folklore and culture

Appreciation of the art of other countries,

(g) Moral, social and civic training

at meetings.

Study of living conditions and the opportunities and

Enhancement of the rôle of woman as a humanbeing. Enhancement of the part played by woman in coun-

responsibilities which they imply.

try areas (subject mentioned: "Be proud , farmer's wife, your work supports the world").

Enhancement of the part played by country people in the workaday world (efforts to produce harmony and reduce the antagonism between country people and townsfolk: visits, exchanges and common programmes).

Preparation of girls and women for the following: Marriage and the setting-up of a home; Their rôles as wives and mothers;

58

Annexes

Professional responsibilities; Civic responsibilities in the localand national

Social responsibilities as members of one or

Participation in community activities. Participation in movements for rural renewal (campaigns for the improvement of livestock and crops, world campaign by FAO against hunger, campaigns against diseases , such

communities; and

more associations.

as malaria). - courses , seminars, exchanges and competitions/

Methods

The non-governmental organizations have indicated their methods in the greatest detail; vary according to the countries in which they are to be employed, although they do have similarities. Practical methods are used everywhere , and distinguish this type of education from traditional teaching techniques. "See, judge, act" is the mot- to of one of the associations , and it could apply to them all.

quiry, however, a distinction should be drawn between:

1. well-defined techniques , based on a solid substructure in countries where a national community and private bodies exist, have been active for some time and possess considerable technical re sources;

2. simpler techniques in the "pioneer" areas comprising all developing countries , where the non-governmental organizations have to make up for an inadequate substructure by remarkable de- votion and ingenuity, or have to discover the traditional substructure gradually and adapt themselves to it with tact.

(a) In the first-mentioned case, members are easily recruited and local and national leaders receive training at the associations I national head- quarters in regional and international meetings. Suitable publicity reaches each member , meeting- places exist or are relatively easy to find, permanent training centres provide varied practical courses to meet the demand from local groups or individuals, the radio networks provide continuous programmes and university extension courses are open to all. Important events form part of the general activities of the country or the region concerned.,

(b) In the developing regions, advantage must be taken of all favourable opportunities , which must be created if necessary. Women's centres exist in Africa, Asia and Latin America; they represent a considerable effort, and have done much to protect women and girls. They are the central source of all activities. They provide courses of varying length and the opportunity for planning local programmes at working meetings. Travelling exhibitions, demonstrations, and stands in market-places help to recruit members for the

these

In view of the wide geographic scope of the in-

organizations, as do activities within the context of traditional celebrations (harvest festivals , religious festivals). In a number of cases, the non- governmental organizations enclosed with their replies to the questionnaire specimens of publicity which was simply presented but very carefully composed and adapted to the requirements of the public. Despite the existence of a few short programmes called "Woman's Hour" on radio networks, generally speaking no activity of any importance is yet conducted through this mass communication med- ium, which still does not reach a large enough public. In rural areas, however , audio-visual techniques m a y become important if operated by experienced people.

Participation in out-of-school education activities

The replies to this question are not veryclear. It appears that women are mainly attracted by practical programmes, which help to improve family conditions, but that, as their standard of living rises, they take some interest in other activities. Second in popularity are probably the recreational activities which are engaged in by the whole community. Some associations , however, have programmes which include all these various activities and their meetings comprise some general instruction, some practical demonstration, some recreation and some reminder of the moral value of the meeting and the aims of the association.

varies according to seasons and farm work. If the winter is not too severe, the associations are most active during that season, which has been heralded by the autumn post-harvest festivals. Girls I associations choose the holiday period for courses , study meetings and group outings. In the case of migrant groups of workers, advantage is taken of the harvest period. Replies concerning the age-groups to which women members of the associations belong state that the organizations reserved for adolescents naturally have a majority of young members but that the leaders include a fair number of older women. Certain professional or religious groups also have women's sections.

Attendance at meetings in rural areas often

OBSTACLES

All replies mention as the main obstacle women's burdensome work at home which all too often does not leave them the time, the physical energy or the mental freedom necessary for additional activities, even when these are designed to improve both the women's situation and the family's level of living. Mention is also made of the scattered location of rural dwellings, the distance from education centres, and the low level of living which does not enable women to set aside part of the family income to pay for travel or a subscription, One difficulty often mentioned is that there are not

59

Annexes

enough mobile teams or well-trained women leaders able to give life to a new group. A very small-number of reports mention the indifference of some women, their passiveness , their want of perseverance or their lack of desire for learning, but attribute these attitudes to the community's very low level of living. Finally, it appears that opposition to participation by women in adult education activities in rural areas is tending to disappear - even in some regions where women's lives have for a long time been spent primarily at home - provided that their new activities do not contrast too sharplywith their traditional ones. In addition, it is pointed out that in rural areas women have often had to do out-of-home work, of which they shouldered the main burden.

FACILITIES

The non-governmental organizations have at- tempted to increase rural women's participationin out-of-school education activities. Among the measures which have proved most effective , they mention :

The provision of more education centres, often in co-operation with other associations;

The fitting-in of meetings with the women's movements : markets , religious festivals , etc. ;

The preparation of meeting schedules based on their members ' free time (while the children are at school or, in mixed groups , during leisure periods);

The organization of children's day-nurseries, and of recreation centres (this is not considered desirable in some regions);

rates;

lies , to enable women to attend seminars and courses;

leaders, through frequent courses paid for by the organization. These facilities are mentioned in the context of community development.

The organization of communal transport at reduced

The provision of study grants for low-income fami-

The ever more serious training of local women

All replies, however, emphasize that good- will and private resources are not enough, andthat the problem of the access of rural women and girls to school and out-of-school education must always be considered within the framework of the overall national development plan and international technical assistance plans, in which it should be in- serted.

to rural populations whose level of living is such that the measures suggested for improving the situation could be applied to them. Nevertheless , an enormous problem remains - that of the vast majority of agricultural workers , m e n or women, throughout the world, whose level of living is so low and whose working conditions are so unsatis-

60

Most of the remarks made in this report refer

factory that they cannot benefit from existinglegi- slation and are in practice not covered by official or private plans for education and school or out- of-school training.

R E C O M M E N D A T I O N S

The Woridng Group , Conscious of the varied difficulties which have

so far contributed to restricting opportunities for school and out-of-school education in rural areas, particularly for girls and women,

economic and social development in rural regions and equality of access to education for both sexes should be achieved,

Suggests : 1. That all planning for school education

Anxious that both a higher level of intellectual,

should take into account the desirability of:

A n increase in the number of rural schools open to girls;

The strict application, for girls as well as boys, of the legal provisions concerning compulsory education in countries where such provisions exist , and a gradual advance towards such provisions in the developing countries;

A n improvement in both the financial and the social situation of rural school teachers;

The familiarization of teaching staff at rural schools with economic and social development plans or plans for the development of rural regions, and repeated insistence on the importance of their rôle in the implementation of these plans;

study of the environment, in this case the rural environment, in the general education which should form the basis of school education both in the country and in the town;

The introduction of varied vocational guidance programmes during the last two years of compulsory schooling, with a view to discovering the aptitudes of the children who will not continue their studies after the period during which schooling is compulsory;

The organization of school transport and school canteens in areas with a scattered population;

The creation or extension of systems of school and maintenance scholarships open to both sexes and widely publicized among families;

The creation of boarding quarters for girls near secondary, general, technical or vocational institutions ;

courses, given by qualified teaching staff, in countries with a very scattered population.

The general use of practical methods based on

The organization of correspondence and radio

The Working Group also suggests: That all development plans should take into

account the vital need to develop education in rural areas which are being modernized and to promote new methods, inwhich schools should be associated,

Annexes

for the advancement of,the community and the improvement of the family situation;

And that the large-scale literacy campaigns, in developing countries , and publicity campaigns should make extensive but wise use of all modern media: the Press , radio, audio-visual aids, television, cinema, exhibitions , etc.

The non-governmental organizations can con- tribute to this development of rural education:

By taking part in education advisory councils; By encouraging parents to see that their children

take advantage of the facilities provided; By making suggestions to the competent authori-

ties; By keeping themselves informed about overall plans

and the stage reached in their implementation; By giving moral support to schools and women

teachers in rural areas , if necessary; By establishing supporting para-school institutions

and facilities: libraries, girls' centres and boarding quarters , special prices, etc. 2. So far as out-of-school education is con-

cerned, the Working Group, using as a basis the conclusions of the World Conference on Adult Edu- cation organized by Unesco in 1960 , which it would like to see applied in the whole field of out-of- school education, considers:

That programmes should take into account the requirements and wishes of those who take part in them and should give them the opportunity of obtaining the permanent education which is necessary in modern life;

That they should consequently be adapted to the age and situation of the students: girls of school age , adolescents , older women;

That they should make it possible to reconcile the traditional cultural heritage with the accelerated development of modern techniques;

That , through constructive research and fruitful co-operation, they should make it possible to abolish the contrasts between different gene- rations and between urban and rural communities;

That they should take into account conditions in the family environment for all students and in the school environment for children, in the rural or semi-urban professional environment and in the community in which they are carried out.

Whatever tlie form taken by their activities, which were reviewed by the Working Group, the organizations dealing with adult education should concern themselves with the same problems, and thus :

Keep themselves informed of economic and social developments in the regions in which they operate, in order to adapt programmes and methods to the conditions found;

Evaluate the results obtained and transmit such evaluation to other non-governmental organizations whenever possible;

Transmit these results to governments and Specia- lized Agencies of the United Nations (Unesco , W H O , FAO , Unicef), so that the experience of the non-governmental organizations m a y be used in the preparation of overall plans in which they have a clear rôle to play.

F r o m the practical standpoint, the essential needs are:

To find, locally, women leaders with the qualities of enthusiasm , sociability and adaptability needed to ensure the success and continuity of the activities undertaken;

level of the central organization, through meetings of women leaders, training courses, etc.;

and solving problems of premises, transport or time- tables ;

T o discover the best methods of publicity (visits , meetings, exhibitions, participation in group activities, use of the results of education programmes).

To evolve out-of-school teaching methods at the

To find ways of overcoming financial difficulties

The non-governmental organizations , which have usually been set up as a result of the initiative of community members keenly aware of their responsibilities and of the needs in the matter of out- of-school education in rural areas , and which have gained considerable experience in these activities, desire that governments and Specialized Agencies of the United Nations should benefit from this experience and should help them in carrying out a task which is proving ever more necessarythrough- out the modern world and in which governmental, inter-governmental andvoluntary efforts should unite.

61

A N N E X 7

ACCESS OF GIRLS AND WOMEN TO EDUCATION IN RURAL A R E A S

Recommendation 961 (XXXVIID adopted by the Economic and Social Council on 12 July 1963

The Economic and Social Council,

Recognizing that the education of all women is of vital importance to economic and social well- being and progress,

Considering the larger proportion of girls and wo- m e n in the rural populations in several areas of the world,

cation and agricultural and other vocational training of girls and women in rural areas in many countries , 1. Recommends to governments of Member States that they give due priority to programmes and activities directed towards the development of education and vocational training of all types and at all levels for girls and women of rural areas, and that they include appropriate provisions to that end in their national development plans ;

Noting the inadequacy of facilities for general edu-

2. Draws attention to the resources and facilities available under the Regular and Expan- ded programmes of technical assistance of the United Nations, the Specialized Agencies, the United Nations Children's Fund and the Special Fund; 3. Invites the Udted Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the International Labour Organisation to continue their assistance to countries, at their request , in extending and improving education and training facilities for girls and women of rural areas, and to report to the Commission on the Status of W o m e n at its nineteenth session on their work in this field; 4. Invites non-governmental organizations in consultative status to co-operate actively in formulating and carrying out programmes for strengthening and improving the education and training of girls and women of these areas.

62

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F I N L A N D : Aùaleemincii Kirjakauppa. z Kerkinkaiu.

FRANCE: Librairie de l’Unesco. placc de Fontenoy. PARIS+.

F R E N C H W E S T INDIES: Librairie J. 1h:ac.r. rue Lavoir R.P. 208. Font-Oe-FUANCE (Martinique).

G E R h í A N Y (Fed. Rep.).: R. Oldenbourg Verlag. (Jiicrcn- Vertrieh Tür Deutschland. Roienheirnenirarre 145. MUN.

G H A N A : h4ethodiri Book Depoi Lid.. i\ilaniir tlouse.

NIWSIA.

3542. GUAYAQUIL.

SALVADOR.

ADDIP ABADA.

IieLSlNKl.

CCP 1258&48.

CHEN 8.

Commercial Street. P.O. Bor too, CAPE COAST.

G R E E C E : Lihrairir H. KauRmnnn.zô, ruedu Stnrlc. ATIIENES. G U A T E M A L A : Comirióii Nacional de la Unesco. 6.a Calle

HAITi: Libra’irie “ A Is Carsvellc”. 36, rue Roux. R.P. I I I.

H O N D U R A S : Libreria Cultural. apartado postal 568.

HONG K O N G : Sw,¡ndoii Book Co., 64 Nathan Road.

9.27 zona I GUATEMALA.

PORT-AU-~~NCE.

TEGUCKlALPA D.C.

KOWLOON. H U N G A R Y : Kultura. P.O. Box 149, ßUDAPEBT 62. ICELAND: Cnaebjarn lonsson & Co,, H.P.. Hafnarstraeti 9. REY KJAWK.

INDIA: Orient Longmans I.td.: 17 Chiitnranjaii Avenue. CALCUTTA 13. Nicol Road. Ballard Esiatc. DorinAu I ; Gudoundry- Road, HYnEnAeAD I ; 36a Mount Road, MADM 2; Kanson House, r1z4 Asar Ali Road, P.O. Box 386 NEW DELHI I. Sub-dcpo;s: Indian National Commission Cor Co-operation with Unesco, Ministry oCEducation, NEW DELHI 3; Oxford Book & Stationery Co.: i7 Park Strcct, CALCUTTA 16: and Scindia House. NEW DELHI.

INDONESIA: P. N. Fadjar Bhakii, Djnlan Nusantara ZP. DJAKAI~TA.

IRAN: Commission nationale iranienne pour l’Unesco. avenue du hlusée TéiiP.nA..i.

IRAQ: ivlcKenzie’; Bookshop. Al-Rashid Street. BAGHDAD. IRELAND: The Naii:m:il Prrsr. z Wcllington Road. Hallr- bridge Du~L~N.

ISRAEL: Ulumsiein‘~ Book.iiorer: 35 Allenby Road and 40 Nalilat Benjamit) Strecr. TEL Aviv.

ITALY: Libreria Commissionaria Sansani (Agente generale), via Gina Capponi 26, casella postale 552, FtnENzE; Libreria Internazionale Rizzali. Galeria Colonna, Largo Chigi. ROMA; Libreria Zanichelli, Portici del Pavaglione, BOLOONA; Hocpli, via Ulrico Hoepli 5, MILANO; Librairie franSaise. piazza Cartello 9, ToniNo.

JARIAICA: Sangqter’r nook Room. gi Harbour Sireei. KING~TOX ; Knox Educa1 ional Services. SPALDINGS.

JAPAN: Maruzen Co. Ltd.. 6 Tori-Nichome. Nihonbashi. P.O. Box 605, Tokyo Central. TOKYO.

J O R D A N : Joseph I. Balious & Co., Dar-ul-Kutub. Sali Rond. P.O. Bor 66, AMMAN.

K E N Y A : E S 4 Bookshop. P.O. Box 3uiG7. NAinosi. K O R E A : Koreaii National Commission lor Unesco. P.0

L E B A N O N : Librairie Antoine, A. Naufal ci Freres, 8.P.

LIRERIA: Cok & Yincv Ilookshopi Ltd.. P.O. Box 286. LIBYA: Orient Bookshop, P.O. Boa 255, TRIPOLI. LIECHTENSTEIN: EurocanTrust Reg., P.O.B. 124, SCHAAN. L U X E M B O U R G . Lihrairir Paul Bruck. zz Grand-RUC. LUXEMBOUUO.

M A D A G A S C A R : Caniniissian nationale de la République malgache, Ministère dc I’éducatian nationale, TANANARIVE. For I‘ The Courier”: Serrice der muvres posi et péri-scolaires, Ministère de l’éducation nationale, TANANARIVE.

MALAYSIA: Federal Publications Ltd., Times House, River Valley Road. SINGAPORE.

MALTA: Sapirnza’r I.ihary, 26 Kingswap. VALLETTA. M A U R I T I U S : Natanda Co. Lid.. 30 Bourbon Street, PORT- LOUIS.

M E X I C O : Editorial Hermei. Ignacio Mariscal 41. México

B~~ centr;,i fj4. SEOUL.

G5G. UEYROUTH.

MONROVIA.

-- U.E .

MONTE-CARLO. MONACO: British Library, 30. boulevard d m Moulins.

MOROCCO: Librairie “Aux belles images”. 281 avenue

M O Z A M B I Q U E : Salema & Carvalha Ltda., caixa postal 192, Mohammed V, RABAT.

BEIRA.

9, ‘S-GnAVENHAos. N E T H E R L A N D S : N.V. Martious NijhofT. Lange Voarhoui

Nl3THERLANDS:ANTILLT.S- C. C, T. Van Dorp & Co. (Ned. Ani.) N.V.. WILLEMSTAI, (Curaçao. N.A.).

NEW C A L E D O N I A : Reprex, avenue de la Victoire. Ini- meuble Painbouc, N O U M ~ .

NEW Z E A L A N D : Government Printing Office. 20 Moles- worth Street (Private Dag), WELLINOTON; Government Bookshops: AUCKLAND (P.O. Box 5344); CHnisrcHuncH (P.O. Box 1721); DUNEDIN (P.O. Box ,104).

N I C A R A G U A : Librería Cultural Nicaragüense, calle i5 de Septiembre y avenida Bolivar, apartada n.o 807, MANAGUA.

NIGERIA: C M S (Nigeria) Boohliopr, P.O. Box 174. LAooa. N O R W A Y : A. S. Bokhjnrnet. Lille Grcnscn 7, OSLO. Foi I‘ Tk Courier”: A.S. Narvescni Litteraturjcneite, Stor- tingsgt. 2. Postbokr I 15. OSLO.

PAKISTAh’: The Wesi-Pak Publishing Co. L.td.. Unesco Publiciitions House. P.O. Ror 374. 56 h’ Gulbcrq Industrial

P A N A M A : Cultural Panameña, avenida ,.a n.o 71.49. apartado de correos znr8. PANAMA.

P A R A G U A Y : Agencia de Librerh de Salvador Nina. Yegros. entre 25 de Mayo Y Mcal. Esligarribia. huNCI6N: Albo Industriai Comercial S.A., Sección Libreria. Gral.

P E R U : Distribuidora I N C A S.A., Ayacucho 154, casilla 31 15. LIMA.

PHILIPPINES: The Modern Book Co., so8 Rizal Aveniic. P.O. Box 632. MANILA.

P O L A N D : OLrodek Rozpowrechniania Wydawniciw Nau- kowych PAN. Palac Kultury i Nauki. WARSZAWA.

PORTUGAI.: Dias & Andrade Lda.. Livraria Portvieal. rua rio Carmo 70. LISBOA.

PUERTO RICO: Spanish English Publications, Eleanor Roosevelt 115, apariado rgrz. HATO REY.

R H O D E S I A & N Y A S A L A N D (Federation oí): The Book Centre, Gordon Avenue. SAi.issunr (Southern Rhodesia).

R U M A N I A : Curlimex. Str Ariitidr Riiand i4-r8, P.O. Box

S E N E G A L : La Maison du Livre. i9. avenue Roume, B.P.

S I N G A P O R E : See Malaysia. REPUBLIC: OF S O U T H AFRICA: Van Schaik‘r Bookstore (Pty.) Ltd.. Libri Buildinc, Church Street. P.O. nor 724. Pneronm..

SPAIN: Lihrerla Cicntlfica Medinaceli. Duque de Medinaceli 4. MADRID n ~ . For “The Courzrr” Ediciones Ihcroamericanar S.A.. callr de Oiiaie 15, MAORIO.

SUDAN,: AI Baihir Bookshop. l’.O. ßo. I I i8, KHAnToi I. S\,VEDEN: AIB C E. I‘riizes Kiinpl. Hovbokhandcl Freds- gaiaii i. STOCKHOLM iG For “‘The Coizrier”: Svcnska Unescorädci. Vasagaian 15.~7

S W I T Z E R L A N D : Europa Verlag, Rämiotrassc 5, ZUnicH: Pavot. 40 NC du MarchC. GENPVE.

T A N G A N Y I K A : Dar es Salaam Rootshop. P.O. Box 9030. D m ES SALAAM.

T H A I L A N D : Suksapari Panii. Mansion o. Rajdamnern Avenue, BANGKOK.

TURKEY: 1.ihrniric Hachrtic. 469 I~tiklal Caddcsi. ßrvoglu. ISTANBUI.

U G A N D A : Uganda Bookshop, P.O. Box ‘45, KAMPALA. UNITED A R A B REPUBLIC: La Renairraoce d’Emte.

U N I T E D K I N G D O M : H.M. Stationery Office. P.O. Boa

Cdony. LAHORE.

DlaZ 327. hUNC16N.

134-135, BUCURE$TI.

20.60~ DAM.

STOCKHOLM c.

0 Sh Adly Pasha, Crino (Egypt).

569, LONDON, S.E.,. U N I T E D S T A T E S OF A M E R I C A : Unesco Publieaiions Centw (NAIP). 917 East 34th Street, NEW Yon% N.Y. 10016; and, rx@I /or periodicals: Columbia University Presi. 1960 Broadway, NKW YORK 27. N.Y.

URUGUAY: Representación de Editoriales. plaza Cagancha 1342, piso. MONTEVIDEO.

USSR: Mezbdunamdnaja Kniga. MOSK~A G-200. V E N t Z U E L A Libreria Politécnica. calle Villnflor. local A. al lado General Electric Sabana Grande, CAMCM; Librcrla Cruz del Sur, Centro Cbmercial del Este, local II. apartado 10223, Sabana Grande, CARACAS; Oficina Publicaciones de la Unesco, Gobernador a Candilito n.0 37, apartado postal n.o Bogz, CARACAS; Libreria Fundavac C.A., apartado de1 Este 5843. CAUACAS; Libreria Selecta, Avenida 3. ma 23-23. M ~ I D A .

VIET N A M : L.ibrsirie-Papetcric Xuan-Thu. 185-193 rue

Y U G O S L A V I A : Jugoslovcnaka Knjign. Teraziie 27. BEOORAO. Tu-Do, B.P. 283, SAIOON.