After the introduction of nine year basic education in 2007 and 12 year basic education by the government of Rwanda in 2010, many of the private schools have lost the majority of their students. Some of them even ended up closing the doors. Private schools leaders blame these two programs as the main cause for their collapse, but the government did not intend to close private schools. Through its efforts of bringing positive changes in public and government aided schools, they are making public schools more affordable to parents and students which has made it difficult for some private schools to compete.
We recognize that 2015 is a particularly transformative year for the global education community as we reflect upon the progress made toward meeting Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals and work to position education as central to the emerging Sustainable Development Goals. During this era of rapid change in education at the global and local levels, it is important to promote approaches and initiatives that advance not only educational equity, access, and quality, but also the education sector as a whole.
The facts are stark. In 2014, UNHCR – the UN Refugee Agency – estimated that 51.2 million people were living as refugees or internally displaced persons globally. What might seem like a temporary predicament often leads to a long-term reality. In fact, the average length of displacement for refugees is 17 years, and 20 years for those internally displaced.
For over 50 years, Malawi used the 1962 Education Act to govern its education system. This document was created before independence. The need to review the act became clear when taking into consideration the transformations that the education system went through over the years.
It’s been 15 years since world leaders committed to improving lives of those living in poverty through the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals have been an important point of reference for how far we’ve come, what remains to be done and the existing challenges. International donors also made a commitment that “no countries seriously committed to education for all will be thwarted in their achievement of [universal access] by a lack of resources.”
Successful implementation of Millennium Development Goal #2 will ensure that all boys and girls everywhere will be able to complete a full course of primary school. As we know, although great progress has been made, worldwide there are still more than 58 million children of primary school age who are not in school.
Gender-based violence in schools has prevented the world from achieving quality education for all and gender equity, Millennium Development Goals 2 and 3. We must take national and global action to address this crisis and ensure that all girls and boys complete a safe, equitable, quality education.
When schools actively create a culture of service, they make education real, relevant, and rewarding. They also prepare students to become global citizens, and teach skills and knowledge they will need for college and career readiness.
My 2015 probably started like many of yours—thinking to myself what can I pledge to do better, differently or not at all this year. Will I travel more, eat better, see my friends more often or will I just promise to do everything a bit better than I did last year?
If you are anything like me, you hate the phone. I would much rather someone text me or email me—hey even tweeting me is better than a phone call. But sometimes a good old fashioned phone call is what is going to get the job done and on June 16, we are asking you to dust off the landlines or fire up the cell to place a call for an important cause—the millions of children around the world that are out of school.