When I think of girls’ education in Africa, I dream of a continent where women and men are treated equally. I long for a continent where women are equal contributors to society; a continent where girls receive the same opportunities as their male counterparts so they can tap into their inherent potential. I would love to see every single girl have access to a free, quality education in Africa.
Zambia joined the rest of the world in committing to achieving Education for All (EFA) goals that would ensure quality access to education by 2015. As such, the Zambia National Education Coalition was born to provide a platform for coordinated civil society advocacy for attainment of the goals.
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.
A lot is going on in the world. The term a lot is not an understatement or an exaggeration—a lot is going on and I am sure it can feel quite overwhelming. A lot going on can make you feel small and insignificant and unsure about whether you really can do anything to make the world a better place.
Since 2013 the school fees charged by public secondary schools in Kenya have risen dramatically--- some schools charging up to USD 1200 per year. This cost was far beyond the reach of many Kenyans.
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.”
Malawi banned child marriage last month. The new legislation increasing the legal age of marriage from 15 to 18 is a major victory for girls in Malawi, and a game changer for girls’ education everywhere.
It is quite a lucky day indeed. The application for our FIFTH Youth Advocacy training is LIVE!
