MAKING SENSE OF THE EFA FROM A NATIONAL CONTEXT: ITS IMPLEMENTATION, AND IMPACT ON HOUSEHOLDS IN ETHIOPIA Shoko Yamada INTRODUCTION In 1990, the World Conference on Education for All (EFA) was held in Jomtien, Thailand. Six development QA :1 goals were agreed upon and aggregate- ly came to be called ‘‘Education for All (EFA)’’. Their aim was to achieve universal access to primary education of acceptable quality for all school- aged children, without fees charged, in tandem with elimination of gender disparities therein. The EFA’s aims also included the expansion of early childhood care, adult education, and improvement of the adult literacy rate. These EFA goals were not achieved but were endorsed again in 2000 by officials gathered in Dakar representing major bilateral and multilateral donors, as well as the governments of developing countries. Meanwhile, two of the EFA goals, namely, achieving universal primary education (UPE) and eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary education, were integrated into the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for social and economic development. These two education-related MDGs act as key structural pillars for the allocation of donor assistance, including within the 1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 3B2v8:07f XML:ver:5:0:1 IPES  V008 : 8016 Prod:Type: pp:4652503ðcol:fig::NILÞ ED: PAGN: SCAN: 29/12/06 17:46 Education for All: Global Promises, National Challenges International Perspectives on Education and Society, Volume 8, 465–503 Copyright r 2007 by Elsevier Ltd. All rights of reproduction in any form reserved ISSN: 1479-3679/doi:10.1016/S1479-3679(06)08016-9 465