Introduction
Education for All (EFA) is a set of international commitments aimed at making quality education accessible to children, adolescents, and adults worldwide. The primary objective of EFA is to establish a universal and global development system that enables countries to measure and influence educational progress at the national level (UNESCO, 2013). Side effects that EFA aims to address include inequality, poverty, and unequal access to healthcare (UNESCO, 2013). These secondary goals can only be realized by giving all citizens access to an efficient education system.
Many countries are part of the EFA policy and integrate the overall goals of making education more accessible under control and monitoring systems. The EFA goals serve to mobilize the resources needed to achieve educational equity (UNESCO, 2013). The analysis of national policies in relation to the goals raises questions about how effectively the tasks are being addressed and whether the state allocates the necessary resources to achieve them (UNESCO, 2013). EFA places education as a necessary priority of state development in any country to ensure stability, globalization, integration, and democracy.
England’s Pupil Premium Program
Policy Definition
The Pupil Premium Program in the UK aims to provide additional funding and support to disadvantaged students. The scheme was introduced in 2011 and offered a £900 supplement for each student who received free school meals (OECD, 2015). An additional support measure was aimed at reducing the achievement gap caused by income and background inequality. Public schools in England are free to allocate funding to improve the well-being of low-income students and take action to close the achievement gap.
The Pupil Premium Program targets public schools based on the number of disadvantaged students. The allowance is also provided to local governments, which cover the tuition costs for pupils under their care (GOV.UK, 2023). The program’s impact spectrum encompasses both children eligible for free school meals and those who have applied for such an opportunity in the past 6 years (GOV.UK, 2023).
Public schools are expected to prioritize providing high-quality education for disadvantaged children when allocating resources. At the same time, the state payment is not the personal budget of individual students; it can be directed to school-wide improvement at the school’s discretion (GOV.UK, 2023). School principals are responsible for managing the additional funds provided. Reporting requires itemizing expenditures, demonstrating that funds are used to improve students’ situation, and providing reports on improved academic performance.
Addressed Goals
The primary goal of England’s Pupil Premium Program is to narrow the educational access gap, aligning with the EFA’s central message. At the same time, the state is considering an indirect way of providing each child with primary education. The national policy suggests that children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those in public education cannot be afforded the same level of education as their peers (GOV.UK, 2023). It is understood that the performance of such students will be lower due to external factors related to the environment in which they were raised and which they cannot influence (Miller et al., 2019). Thus, the policy aims to identify the cause of the problem rather than just address its manifestations, making it more effective.
The secondary goals of the Pupil Premium Program include combating poverty and inequality, which align with the EFA’s direction. It is expected that efforts to improve academic performance and general well-being will enable students from disadvantaged backgrounds to overcome poverty through quality education (Rashid, 2019). Inequality is also addressed by further supporting students whose educational opportunities are limited by their background. Financial aid enables schools to undertake initiatives that help close the gap, rather than relying solely on personal funding, which is also a healthy approach.
Commitments Integration
The national education policy analysis checks the degree of compliance with the EFA commitments and is used to identify parties for potential improvement. The Pupil Premium Program policy follows an approach that considers education as a key sector of national development. At the same time, according to the EFA approach, education policy should be integrated with the development of other sectors to ensure a complex impact (UNESCO, 2013). One of the primary needs is to align education policy within the framework of economic development and investment in health improvement (UNESCO, 2013). Additionally, educational policy should address current national issues.
Firstly, the Pupil Premium Program aligns with the EFA’s aim to allocate sufficient funds to education. By 2024, funding for the educational campaign is planned to increase to almost £3 million (GOV.UK, 2023). These resources are used to address existing problems and the national context.
According to statistics, nearly one in six people in England lives in relative poverty (Francis-Devine, 2023). Poverty does not have to mean disadvantage, but it is a risk factor that cannot be ignored. The Pupil Premium Program is integrated into economic development, as it provides opportunities for more students to transcend their social class in the future. This is a significant contribution to the economy, as it will provide more highly qualified and educated specialists.
Finally, EFA points out the need to address development goals by improving educational policies, without replacing them. In the case of the Pupil Premium Program, the goal of alleviating poverty and reducing inequality is closely tied to increasing educational access (GOV.UK, 2023). Thus, the Pupil Premium Program can be considered a national policy that fulfills the EFA’s obligations.
The Education and Skills Act
Policy Definition
In addition to providing primary education, national policy aims to offer opportunities for further education to support career fulfillment. The Education and Skills Act in the UK aims to keep young people in the education system. It was introduced in 2008 and aimed to extend compulsory education to age 18, facilitating transitions during education and into future employment (OECD, 2015). The law aims to clarify the role of government actors in supporting youth education and skills development (OECD, 2015). There are also special requirements for the quality of the skills obtained through the general education program, since they must be relevant, effective, and applicable to a further professional career.
The Education and Skills Act was intended to reform education for children aged 16 and over. The changes were intended to increase teenagers’ opportunities to gain valuable skills for jobs in critical, high-paying areas. Sectors affected included healthcare, manufacturing, and clean energy-related industries (GOV.UK, 2022). The policy aims to prioritize the employment of young people from the local population, thereby increasing the country’s overall well-being and economic development. The program also aims to provide better access to student loans by 2025 (GOV.UK, 2022). An important innovation is improving career guidance programs to raise young people’s awareness of the benefits of working in socially important professions.
Addressed Goals
The Education and Skills Act was primarily aimed at increasing young people’s involvement in higher education programs. An additional goal of the policy could be to attract valuable personnel to work in significant areas to increase their prestige and achieve sustainable social development. The first goal, to increase the accessibility of higher education, aligns with the direction of EFA. It calls for attention not only to children’s education but also to adult education to provide improved career opportunities (UNESCO, 2013).
Indirectly, the Education and Skills Act can be seen as a long-term effort to combat economic inequality, as high-quality higher education is a key factor in overcoming it (Salmi & D’Addio, 2021). The improvement of student loan opportunities is also consistent with the main goal of increasing access and opportunities. To improve professional development, the Education and Skills Act aligns with the goals of EFA.
Commitments Integration
Firstly, it is necessary to determine to what extent the Education and Skills Act aligns with the national context for improving education. According to statistics, the number of students receiving higher education in 2021 increased by at least 8% compared with the previous year during the COVID-19 pandemic (Perrott, 2022). The slight increase can be explained by the difficulties the education system faced during the pandemic.
However, 2021 figures remain at or slightly below the 2017-2018 period (Perrott, 2022). There is no sharp increase in the number of people seeking higher education in the UK, which suggests the national context justifies implementing state policy. The Education and Skills Act is inextricably linked to the development of the economic sector, as it provides the market with qualified specialists. This approach meets the EFA’s requirement to improve the effectiveness of public education policies.
The policy in question aligns with the EFA commitments, as it aims to enhance access to higher education for adolescents and adults. However, the fact that tertiary enrollment rates have not risen sharply in recent years may indicate that this policy is not focused in the right direction (Perrott, 2022). The intention to reduce the financial burden for students pursuing higher education may not be effective for families with low incomes.
To truly achieve the goal of universal access to education, deeper work with the population is needed. Career guidance should cover a broader range of occupations, as vacancies in healthcare and industry may not be available to people from some regions. Policies need to be redirected to raise awareness of the importance of higher education for a sustainable future, regardless of the chosen path (Chankseliani & McCowan, 2021). In general, the Education and Skills Act aligns with the EFA commitments, but more work is needed to increase potential students’ involvement.
References
Chankseliani, M., & McCowan, T. (2021). Higher education and the sustainable development goals. Higher Education, 81(1), 1-8.
Francis-Devine, B. (2023). Poverty in the UK:Statistics. Commons Library Parliament.
GOV.UK. (2023). Pupil Premium. Department for Education.
GOV.UK. (2022). Everything you need to know about the Skills Act. The Education Hub.
Miller, P., Votruba-Drzal, E., & Coley, R. L. (2019). Poverty and academic achievement across the urban to rural landscape: Associations with community resources and stressors. The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 5(2), 106-122.
Perrott, L. (2022). Higher education student statistics: UK, 2020/21. HESA.
Rashid, L. (2019). Entrepreneurship education and sustainable development goals: A literature review and a closer look at fragile states and technology-enabled approaches. Sustainability, 11(19), 1-23.
Salmi, J., & D’Addio, A. (2021). Policies for achieving inclusion in higher education. Policy Reviews in Higher Education, 5(1), 47-72.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2015). Education policy outlook: United Kingdom.
UNESCO. (2013). UNESCO handbook on education policy analysis and programming (vol.1). UNESCO Bangkok Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education.