Between 1970 and 1990

Between 1970 and 1990, the most rapid increase was that of higher education, with the number of students in the developing countries rising from 9 to 32 million,
i.e. an average growth of 360% (625% for the Arab States, 550% for Africa).
Yet for every student enrolled in higher education in Africa, there are 55 pupils in primary education, while in North America and in Europe the figures are 2 and 4 respectively.
In primary education during the same period, developing countries provided schooling for 200 million more pupils, i.e. an average growth of 157% (250% for Africa); at the same level in Europe and North America a slight decrease in total number is to be noted.
The total number of pupils enrolled in secondary education rose from 90 to 223 million in the developing countries, i.e. a growth of around 250% (475% in Africa), while numbers remained relatively stable in Europe and decreased slightly in North America due to demographic changes.

Gender parity is virtually attained in the developed countries and in Latin America and the Caribbean.
In this region tertiary education is the only level of education where parity has not yet been reached.
In other developing regions, girls and women are clearly worse off and the higher the level of education the greater the disparity.
The situation for females in the Arab States and Asia is comparable, with four secondary students in ten and just over one tertiary student in three being women.
The Arab States represent the region with the lowest proportion of girls in primary education.
In higher education, the gap is most marked in Africa where females account for only one quarter of the students at this level.

Training School Principals

Of the factors which have the greatest influence on pupils' performance, it is not the size of classes or even teachers' qualifications that come first, but the way in which the school is run - the educational and administrative management style. The place above all where the different measures designed to improve the quality of education are linked together in an orderly way is the school and no longer the classroom. This is why in some countries, the target for reform strategies is the place where education occurs and not the pupils, teachers, curricula or the education system as a whole.

The role of the head of a school is of prime importance. Each school is an enterprise whose director must manage available resources in the best possible way, seeing to the organization of teaching in the school, the distribution of pupils, teachers and premises, timetable management, and so on. Training in educational and administrative management has become a key element in improving school achievement. Thus UNESCO, in co-operation with the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Agency for Cultural and Technical Co-operation, has launched a regional project for the further training of school principals in Africa. This project has components for the English-, French- and Portuguese-speaking countries, with specific material such as the guide to administrative and educational management of schools. As the project is proving successful, other countries such as Brazil have launched similar activities.