ABSTRACT
One of the three projects to which UNESCO gave priority in 1958 was universal primary education in Latin America. In 1963, the Con-ference of Latin American Ministers of Education adopted the Santiago Plan which established targets for all levels of schooling up to 1970. One year later, the Conference of Bogota revised these objectives, reducing the calculated figures by one-third, which in practice amounts to postponing universal primary education until 1975. The Confer-ence of Ministers of Education at Buenos Aires in June 1966 did not significantly change this orientation of general policy. This paper 1 provides a quantitative analysis of the developments in Latin American education since I960, as compared with the forecasts made a few years ago, using UNESCO data and statistical data from various ether sources. This analysis suggests a number of observations on the value of educational planning at the regional level. There may be differences of opinion on regional forecasting and planning, but the experience of the last few years shows that in fact these regional meetings, involving as they do interregional comparisons of statistics, aims, and policies in education, do exercise a positive influence on the countries taking part. The recommendations they adopt, the targets which they ex-plicitly or implicitly approve, the methods of forecasting which they employ at the regional level, serve later as a standard of reference for national plans.
