[{"bbox": [96, 163, 1163, 299], "category": "Text", "text": "The proposed Action is aligned with the New European Consensus on Development⁴ and the EU commitments in response to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As stated in the Consensus, it is essential to respond to the educational needs of children and youth – global population is projected to increase by 2.4 billion by 2050, of which 1.3 billion will be in Africa – to promote responsible citizenship, develop sustainable and prosperous societies and boost youth employment."}, {"bbox": [96, 310, 1163, 443], "category": "Text", "text": "The EU Global Gateway, as the new European strategy to enhance education reforms across the world amongst other areas, indicates that the EU and Member States will invest in quality education and pay particular attention to the inclusion of girls and women and other groups in vulnerable situations. Over the current multi-year programming period (2021-2027), the EU is focusing on strengthening education systems to respond to the learning poverty and the teaching deficit, a main education challenge exacerbated by COVID-19."}, {"bbox": [96, 454, 1163, 536], "category": "Text", "text": "The Conclusions of the 6th European Union – African Union Summit (held in February 2022) also refer to agreed investments in inclusive and equitable quality education by improving policy and legal frameworks, increasing access to teacher training, ensuring safe delivery of education services and curbing the gaps resulting from COVID-19."}, {"bbox": [96, 546, 1163, 681], "category": "Text", "text": "The EU GAP III⁵ recognises education as a key policy area to accelerate progress towards gender equality in EU external action. The EU Communication on Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises⁶ provides another important framework for EU commitments in education and reflects its efforts to increase funding and support to countries most in need and to children affected by conflict, violence and other crises. The G7 Ministerial Declaration on girls' education (May 2021) recommends a focus on cementing girls' education as central to COVID-19 recovery."}, {"bbox": [85, 694, 340, 725], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [96, 741, 1163, 899], "category": "Text", "text": "The national education system in Guinea-Bissau is largely dysfunctional, underfinanced and poorly managed and is largely dependent on external aid. Frequent rotation of education managers and other staff, due to political instability and poor governance, hampers the possibility to offer quality education for all. The State that is structurally weak has little presence outside the capital Bissau, does not fully perform its regulatory functions and does not provide basic social services. Intervention of projects financed by technical and financial partners are key in allowing the population to access services in vital sectors such as health and education."}, {"bbox": [96, 925, 775, 952], "category": "Text", "text": "In the formal education sector, the following figures should be recalled⁷:"}, {"bbox": [96, 953, 1163, 1059], "category": "List-item", "text": "- The share for education in the State budget has fluctuated since 2010 between 13% and 8% (being 8% the current value), while the target set at international level is 20%; staff expenditure accounted for 90% of current expenditure in 2021. In this context, education is confronted with repeated strikes of teachers demanding payment of salary arrears, resulting in a significant decrease in the total number of school days."}, {"bbox": [96, 1060, 1163, 1166], "category": "List-item", "text": "- The efficiency of the public education system, primary and secondary, has deteriorated. The gross enrolment rate, which is rising in primary education (69% for the 6-11 age group), is characterised by a very high number of over-aged children and young people, resulting from late entry and/or a high repetition rate. It is estimated that 32% of children have not completed their first year of schooling in 2021."}, {"bbox": [96, 1167, 1163, 1273], "category": "List-item", "text": "- This lack of effectiveness is reflected not only in the number of overage children and adolescents attending school, but also in the growing number of school dropouts, especially girls, or young people who have never attended school. About 160,000 children were out of school in 2021, half of whom should be attending primary school (28% of 6-11 year-olds)."}, {"bbox": [96, 1274, 1163, 1353], "category": "List-item", "text": "- In addition, disparities between urban and rural areas persist. Among other things, the primary education completion rate is 47% in urban and 14% in rural settings and 36% of children in the interior of the country are outside the education system as opposed to 14% living in cities and peri-urban areas. Widespread access to"}, {"bbox": [85, 1388, 295, 1411], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ OJ C 210 of 30.6.2017."}, {"bbox": [85, 1428, 1143, 1475], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵The EU Gender Action Plan (GAP III) was adopted by 24 Member States through the Presidency Council Conclusion on 16 December 2020."}, {"bbox": [85, 1476, 1143, 1524], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises - COM(2018) 304 final."}, {"bbox": [85, 1525, 1143, 1647], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁷ The sources are the following: Report on the state of the national education system (RESEN - 2015) established by UNESCO (Pole of Dakar), UNICEF, the Global Partnership on Education, (including MICS 2018-2019 and MICS EAGLE 2021) and the World Bank databases. By noting that the base year adopted by the technical and financial partners and the Government of Guinea-Bissau, for everything that refers to the percentages of progression of the rates (school progression, school dropout, etc.), and the absolute values of expenditure in CFA francs is the reference year 2021."}, {"bbox": [1130, 1655, 1143, 1677], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "5"}]