Category: Education

{African Ministers of Education and ICT today (Wednesday) issued an urgent appeal for African Governments to meet the continent’s demographic challenge by investing in African youth.}

Africa is currently in the midst of a “youth bulge” and a majority of the continent’s population will soon be under the age of 25. Meeting at the annual eLearning Africa Ministerial Round Table at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, ministers and senior officials from 15 African countries said that, as the average age of Africa’s population is getting younger every year, the continent faces both a growing challenge and a significant opportunity.

The Ministerial Round Table, which was held under Chatham House Rules, discussed the theme of “Youth, Innovation and the Development of Talent.” It provided an opportunity for ministers, experts and business leaders to discuss how to use Africa’s increasingly young population to entrench long-term economic growth. The opening session of the Round Table, which was addressed by speakers, including Ethiopian Deputy Prime Minister Dr Debretson Gebremichael; Shiferaw Shigute, Minister of Education of Ethiopia; Mohamma Ouedraogo, Director of Human Resources, Science and Technology at the African Union and Guenter Nooke, the personal representative for Africa of German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, noted that Africa faces a significant skills gap.

“We have to invest in the future and the future is in the hands of our youth,” said one Minister. Investing in innovation and skills for young people will not only help to narrow the skills gap, but also to boost job creation and create “a breeding ground for the development of the private sector.”

If the right decisions are taken, according to one senior official, the continent’s demographics “could catapult Africa to become a global centre for manufacturing, ICT and service industries.”

The benefit will not, however, “happen by itself.” The fundamental question is, therefore, how Africa should invest in its youth.

“It is about more than just introducing ICT into the classroom,” said the official. “It requires a national strategy.” He said that every African country needed to focus on “mainstreaming ICT.”

Ministers identified several priority areas for investment, including science and technology; focusing on the quality of education, improving both teacher training and learner outcomes; equipping education systems, from primary level onwards, for ICT; bridging the digital divide and increasing connectivity; delivering good content; ensuring more focus on innovative approaches to eLearning, especially in rural areas; creating new links between schools, universities and industry, so that the education system provides the basic skills industry needs; and helping graduates to acquire the soft skills they need for the job market.

A senior government official also commented that ICT should play a significant role in strengthening democracy by encouraging young people to participate in decision-making. It was vital, he said, for Governments to help to facilitate open dialogue and to “lose their fear of transparency.”

{Free, quality basic education is a fundamental human right for all, and governments must not delegate this responsibility to the private sector, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to education urged authorities in Africa today.}

“Education is not a privilege of the rich and well-to-do; it is an inalienable right of every child. Provision of basic education free of costs is a core obligation of States,” Kishore Singh said after education authorities considered, among other issues, possibly cutting costs by promoting the expansion of private education.

African education authorities discussed the possibility of reducing States’ education spending during the Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Ministerial Conference on Education Post-2015 African in Kigali, Rwanda.

Mr. Singh voiced his deep concern that some governments were actively encouraging private basic education, emphasizing, “Now more than ever, governments should be expanding public educational opportunities for the marginalized groups, especially children from poor families.”

He recalled his 2014 report to the UN General Assembly, which emphasizes the importance of preserving education as a public good and not a profit-making business and underscores the principles of non-discrimination, equal opportunity, social justice and equity.

“Privatization in education negatively affects the right to education both as entitlement and as empowerment. Moreover, it depletes public investment in education as an essential public service and can lead to abusive practices,” the Special Rapporteur stressed.

He noted that, in the context of the UN post-2015 development agenda, “education deserves to be a high priority, receiving a high degree of public investment in recognition of the fact that it benefits both the individual and society.”

Mr. Singh called on governments “to stand against the idea of privatising basic education and to strengthen their public systems. Free basic education is the cornerstone of the right to education and must not be undermined through privatization.”

Independent experts or special rapporteurs are appointed by the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to examine and report back on a country situation or a specific human rights theme. The positions are honorary and the experts are not UN staff, nor are they paid for their work.

{{UN News Centre}}

{Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame, on Tuesday, has met with Julia Gillard, Chairperson of Global Partnership for Education and former Australian Prime Minister who is in the country to attend a three-day Unesco-Africa regional conference which started on Monday.}

Previously speaking at the official launch of the meeting, Julia Gillard called for increased partnerships among global partners in the provision of quality education that goes beyond basic learning.

Meanwhile Rwanda has so far achieved targets set in the MDGs in education as well as objectives set by the Education for All initiative by making necessary investments and forging partnerships.

However among the challenges that continued to hold back access to education especially in the sub-Saharan region, were the high number of children still out of school, mostly girls.

(Edited By Ange de la Victoire D.)

{The academic year 2015 will begin on 26 January 2014 with over 1,082 new fully furnished classrooms and 444 new toilets. The new classrooms and toilets cost RwF 8 billion (US $11.6 million). To date, 11, 340 new classrooms have been built since 2009 when the 9 Year Basic Education programme was introduced. In 2013, the programme was expanded to 12 years of basic education.}

The new classrooms are part of the government’s plan to increase equitable access to 12 years of basic education for all Rwandan children. The classrooms were build in all 30 districts across the country and include the construction of multi-story buildings that aim to solve the issue of space that some schools in Kigali have faced.

Olivier Rwamukwaya, the Minister of State in Charge of Primary and Secondary Education said, “Since we started free universal education in Rwanda, we have seen tremendous results. Today, young Rwandans have the opportunity to pursue different forms of higher education, such as university or technical training, thanks so a solid start at the primary and secondary level. The newly constructed classrooms will increase capacity, allowing more children to enrol in school while reducing class sizes.”

Minister Rwamukwaya added that Rwanda has made considerable strides to ensure universal education for all, one of the most important Millennium Development Goals. This has been the result of the 12 Years of Basic Education Programme, which is also having a direct impact on the quality of education and preparing young people with the skills to enter the labour market.

Rwanda is also investing significantly in developing technical schools as 60% of students completing secondary school are expected to join technical schools by 2017.

Key Facts

Total number of new public school classrooms built since 2009: 11,340

Number of students currently enrolled in primary school: 2,402,164

Number of students currently enrolled in secondary school: 566,370

Number of students currently enrolled in Technical Vocational Education and Training Centres: 100,040

Primary School Enrolment Rate: 97%

Primary School Completion Rate: 70%

Rwanda has achieved gender parity at the primary school level

{On 5th January 2015, Grades 7 to 10 of Hope Academy Rwanda visited the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) to find out about the importance of paying tax and how it is used in the country.}

The students and staff were met by the Deputy Commissioner for Taxpayer Services, Mrs. Mukashyaka Dorcelle, who welcomed the visitors to the RRA. The group also met the heads of the Taxpayer Education and Media and Customer Relations departments, as well as officers within those sections.

There was a short but enlightening presentation on what tax is, the role it plays in Rwanda, and the different kinds collected by RRA, followed by a question and answer session. A variety of questions were asked, ranging from how old you have to be to start paying tax to the aims for RRA within Vision 2020.

Mrs. Mukashyaka concluded the discussion with a suggestion to foster a culture of paying taxes to further the development of the country and community.

{{Gaborone}} — {A consultation workshop to prepare the country for the Sub Saharan Africa regional conference on the Post-2015 Education Agenda scheduled for February 9-11, 2015 in Kigali, Rwanda convened in Gaborone on Monday, December 15.}

The Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) held the workshop in conjunction with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Secretary of reforms in MoESD, Ms Taboka Nkhwa said the purpose of the preparatory consultation was to prepare for the intergovernmental negotiations by ensuring that the key national stakeholders were fully briefed on the proposed post-2015 education agenda.

“The consultation gives the opportunity to discuss the proposal from the stakeholders’ national perspective as well as to undertake first reflections on implementation requirements at national level,” she said.

Ms Nkhwa noted that UNESCO advocates for a single, clearly-defined, global education agenda, which should be an integral part of the broader international development framework. Education must be a stand-alone goal in the broader post-2015 development agenda, she added.

Botswana Examinations Council (BEC) director of research and policy development, Dr Moreetsi Thobega who is also a UNESCO Education Sector Committee member said that the workshop was ideal because Botswana’s input was needed when the international community discusses the importance of education in the post-2015 international agenda.

Some of the issues discussed included reflections on proposed targets and recognising the worldwide movement for Education For All (EFA), and the education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are unlikely to be achieved by 2015, and acknowledged the continued relevance of the EFA agenda.

Presenting on EFA (A case of Botswana), Dr Moreetsi Thobega said Botswana was fairing dismally in early childhood care and education and there was need to increase access to quality early childhood education.

The report also saw a need to increase youth and adult literacy and numeracy rates at a proficiency level sufficient to participate in society and for further learning, with particular attention to girls and women and the most marginalised.

The outcomes of the national consultation wouldserve as a basis for the discussions of the regional conference including views and opinions of national stakeholders on the proposed targets of the post-2015 education agenda in the perspective of national challenges and priorities in education.

Source : BOPA