Promoting literacy: What is the record of Education for All?

The Education for All (EFA) goals aim to increase adult literacy levels by 50% by 2015, and yet the number without access to literacy remains obstinately high at over 800 million. This paper examines a number of initiatives, such as the Millennium Development goals, EFA and the UN Literacy Decade, and assesses what level of priority their discourse gives to adult literacy. In particular, the EFA discourse since the Dakar World Education Forum in 2000 is tracked through the meetings of the EFA Working Group and the EFA High Level Group, with the conclusion that adult literacy can be observed in the rhetoric, but was not a focus of action. The position of the World Bank, in particular with regard to the Fast Track Initiative is also examined. The paper concludes by suggesting three areas that will require consideration and which may also explain the neglect of adult literacy hitherto in the EFA agenda.