Addressing learning needs of rural people in Asia

In 2002, the FAO and UNESCO launched a flagship on Education for Rural People (ERP) to help foster education for rural people throughout the world. This initiative is particularly relevant for Asia . home to 70 per cent of the world.s poor, most of them rural. While globalization has contributed to economic growth, it has also excluded a vast number of people from mainstream development, particularly the rural poor. In addition, rapid economic expansion has created serious environmental degradation, making the rural environment even less productive, and aggravating poverty. This, in turn, has led to migration by the rural poor to urban areas. It is within this context that the FAO and UNESCO (IIEP and the Bangkok office) organized, in May 2004, a seminar on Addressing learning needs of rural people through national plans for agriculture, rural development and Education for All. Based on the seminar, this book reviews current issues and trends in ERP for nine Asian countries. It focuses on measures taken in policy, planning, implementation and monitoring of ERP. It also discusses the status of ERP in EFA National Action Plans and analyzes collaboration between education and agriculture ministries to meet the learning needs of rural people.