Achieving the goals in education

Access to education for disadvantaged groups in the Commonwealth requires multiple interventions to tackle different types of needs so that all young people can realise their potential.

Addressing the opening of a workshop on 'Achieving the Goals in Education, Access for Disadvantaged Groups', in Kampala, 20 November 2007, Geraldine Bitamazire, Uganda's Minister of Education and Sports, said: "There is a need to build capacities to address and to compensate for the deficits of children and youth defined as underprivileged and disadvantaged."

Education is primarily about unique human beings being encouraged to achieve their unique human potential. It is a necessary and practical tool for ensuring economic, social and political justice, she emphasised.

In her speech, the Minister outlined how poverty, gender discrimination and conflict are all issues that contribute to young people being excluded from education. Her recommendations included affirmative action strategies, distance and flexible education programmes, pedagogical innovations for traumatised children, and education plans, policies and programmes to account for the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

In a statement on behalf of the Commonwealth Secretariat, Florence Malinga, Education Adviser for the Social Transformation Programmes Division, said it was hoped that the workshop would create opportunities for interaction and dialogue between civil society, government officers and donors on priority education issues in the Commonwealth. This was particularly pertinent in the context of Commonwealth countries achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in education.

Mrs Malinga highlighted how 85 per cent of children out of school in the Commonwealth live in just six countries: Ghana, India, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Pakistan. Sixty per cent of these were girls, and these countries account for 30 per cent of the global total of children who do not attend school. In all, there are 27 million primary aged children out of school in Commonwealth countries.

Regular reports being produced by the Commonwealth Secretariat on MDGs in education, provide a tool to identify the magnitude of the problem across countries and regions and focus on those countries most at risk of not achieving the MDGs, she said. Factors limiting equity were poverty, rural populations, gender and disabilities.

She added that the Secretariat had commissioned a consultant to prepare a pamphlet on good practices in inclusive education, which would be made available to governments.

"There is a need to focus on quality, not just enrolment," she stressed.

The Secretariat will propose that the Commonwealth use its advocacy, brokering and catalytic roles and work more closely with sister organisations and other partners, as well as explore new useful partnerships.

Mrs Malinga stressed that civil society can supplement government resources, which are particularly under strain in developing countries.

It is government's responsibility, working with all stakeholders, to formulate policies that will facilitate access to education by disadvantaged groups of children. The different needs of disadvantaged groups should be better understood and measures should be considered to help countries close the resulting funding gap.

The workshop was held at the Commonwealth People's Forum in partnership with the African Network Campaign on Education For All, Forum For Education NGOs in Uganda and the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports.

Key Links:

• Education

Related News:

• CHOGM 2007 Uganda