Liberia: El activista Ernest Jallah pide más apoyo a la educación

Liberia/30 de enero de 2018/Fuente: http://allafrica.com

Monrovia: con tan solo una semana en la nueva administración, un activista juvenil y estudiantil llama al gobierno a recordar su promesa de campaña y aumentar su apoyo a la educación y el desarrollo de la primera infancia.

Ernest Duku Jallah, defensor de la educación de calidad en Liberia, comenzó una cruzada, mediante una petición en línea para lograr que el gobierno apoye la educación y el desarrollo de la primera infancia comprometiendo al menos el 20% del presupuesto nacional para el año fiscal 18/19 a educación y primera infancia desarrollo.

Según el Sr. Jallah, la educación de calidad no solo es un derecho sino también un medio crucial para el desarrollo económico y existe un consenso general entre los expertos en desarrollo de que las naciones que no logran progresos significativos en los resultados educativos tampoco cumplirán con las demandas de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible.

Dijo que muchos niños en Liberia aún no pueden acceder a la educación, con muchos más en la escuela pero que no aprenden y que esta realidad es una gran amenaza para nuestros objetivos nacionales.

«El gobierno asigna actualmente 14.6% del Presupuesto Nacional al sector educativo, pero gran parte de este fondo se expande de forma recurrente no en programas sino en funciones administrativas y al final no vemos una mejora en los resultados de aprendizaje entre los estudiantes y es por eso que queremos al gobierno para unirse a otros países del mundo para mejorar su compromiso con el sector educativo, pero también monitorear la forma en que se gastan estos fondos «.

El gobierno de Liberia actualmente expande US $ 82.7 millones representando 14.6% del Presupuesto Nacional para FY17 / 18, con más de la mitad de esta cantidad enviada al Ministerio de Educación, el funcionario del gobierno responsable de garantizar la productividad en los resultados de aprendizaje en las escuelas.

Recientemente, el presidente Weah reposicionó su compromiso con la educación en el Día de los Derechos Humanos de ECOWAS bajo el lema «Promoviendo los derechos a la educación hacia la Visión 2020 de ECOWAS».

«La negación del acceso de una persona a la educación es una violación de los derechos humanos porque la incapacidad de un niño para obtener una educación debido a la falta de escuela, escuela inferior a la norma o alto costo de la educación constituye una negación del derecho de ese niño a la educación … hoy en día la gran mayoría de los jóvenes liberianos no pueden encontrar empleo debido a la falta de habilidades, y los pocos que tienen habilidades no son expertos en sus áreas de disciplina. «Necesitamos más y mejores maestros capacitados no solo para nuestros profesionales instituciones, pero para nuestras escuelas y universidades «, dijo.

El gobierno presentará en abril de este año su primer presupuesto a la Legislatura Nacional número 54 y se espera que cubra las prioridades de desarrollo del gobierno liderado por los CDC.

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Nigeria: World Bank Pledges Continuous Support for Nigeria On Child Education

Nigeria/August 30, 2017/Souce: http://allafrica.com

The World Bank Group said on Tuesday that it would continue to support Nigeria toward boosting the literacy rate, especially among school-age children.

Olatunde Adekola, the Senior Education Specialist, African Region of the World Bank, made this known in a sideline interview with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, at the ongoing 10th Pan African Literacy for all Conference, Abuja 2017.

NAN reports that the conference was organised by the Reading Association of Nigeria, RAN, with support from the International Literacy Association, and the Federal Ministry of Education, among others.

«World Bank is more than 100 per cent in support of what RAN is doing. We believe in this effort and for the World Bank, we will continue to support the country to enhance literacy.

«This is because literacy is a critical determinant of a country’s economy, growth, development and standard of living of the people.

«There is need for concrete action to strengthen the literacy systems, policies, structures and the desire for the achievement of sustainable development goals.

«There is need to think through holistic approach to providing inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels especially for the vulnerable groups and particularly, the girl child,» Mr. Adekola said.

The official said the World Bank had inaugurated a one-million-dollar project to enhance literacy in the northern parts of the country.

According to him, the project is a global partnership for education tagged ‘Nigeria Partnership for Education’.

He said: «It is carried out by the World Bank and other development partners such as USAID, UNICEF and DFID in the North-west of the country.

«The focus of the project is first, to strengthen the government systems to deliver basic education for the children by improving the basic education service delivery especially at the early primary level.

«There is need to think through holistic approach to providing inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels especially for the vulnerable groups and particularly, the girl child,» Mr. Adekola said.

The official said the World Bank had inaugurated a one-million-dollar project to enhance literacy in the northern parts of the country.

According to him, the project is a global partnership for education tagged ‘Nigeria Partnership for Education’.

He said: «It is carried out by the World Bank and other development partners such as USAID, UNICEF and DFID in the North-west of the country.

«The focus of the project is first, to strengthen the government systems to deliver basic education for the children by improving the basic education service delivery especially at the early primary level.

«The project has a life span of four years. We are almost two years into it now.

«We still have about two more years and the outcome is very good because we are now seeing more girls in school.

«Nevertheless, we need partnerships, collaboration and cooperation between and within state and non-state actors to address the issue of literacy as a tool for problem-solving.

«However, we will continue to support the country to enhance the literacy level in the country,» he explained.

Mr. Adekola, who is also the Task Team Leader for the Global Partnership for Education in Nigeria, said the conference would focus more on literacy, reading, language and learning issues.

He stated that the idea is to ensure that children become familiar with the language in which they will be taught as a step toward improving their literacy.

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Africa: Make Girls’ Access to Education a Reality

Por: Allafrica

Resultado de imagen para Africa: Make Girls' Access to Education a Reality

Millions of pregnant and married adolescent girls across many African countries are being denied their education because of discriminatory policies and practices, Human Rights Watch said today, on the Day of the African Child. More than 49 million girls are out of primary and secondary school in sub-Saharan Africa, with 31 million of them out of secondary education, undermining their rights and limiting their opportunities.

Early marriage and teenage pregnancy are significant factors. In sub-Saharan Africa, 40 percent of girls marry before age 18, and African countries account for 15 of the 20 countries with the highest rates of child marriage globally. The region also has the world’s highest prevalence of adolescent pregnancies. In 14 sub-Saharan countries, between 30 and 51 percent of girls give birth before they are 18. Cultural or religious beliefs often stigmatize unmarried, pregnant girls, with the result that many pregnant girls are forced into early marriages.

«The African continent has one of the world’s highest rates of adolescent pregnancy, but many governments insist on tackling this social and public health challenge by punishing girls and jeopardizing their future,» said Elin Martínez, children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. «Governments should focus on helping girls prevent unintended pregnancies and support their efforts to stay in school.»

Although most sub-Saharan African countries have made commitments to guarantee compulsory primary and lower-secondary education for all children, many exclude or expel pregnant girls and young mothers from school.

Tanzania and Sierra Leone are among the sub-Saharan African countries that have harmful policies and practices that discriminate against pregnant and married girls, Human Rights Watch research shows. In Tanzania, Human Rights Watch found that school officials conduct pregnancy tests and expel pregnant students. Nineteen-year-old Rita, from northern Tanzania, said she was expelled when she became pregnant at age 17. «Teachers found out I was pregnant,» she said. «I found out that no student is allowed to stay in school if they are pregnant … I didn’t have the information [sexual education] about pregnancies and what would happen.»

Some countries, including Cameroon, South Africa, and Zambia, have adopted «re-entry» policies so that adolescent mothers can return to school after giving birth. However, even if governments have these policies, school officials often fail to carry them out adequately or at all. Young mothers frequently lack support to re-enroll due to school fees and related costs, limited support from their families, stigma in school, and a lack of affordable childcare and related early childhood services.

Many adolescent girls become pregnant because they lack the information needed to make informed decisions about their sexuality, family planning, and their reproductive health, while others are coerced into sex and require protection and access to health services and support. According to the United Nations, 80 percent of women ages 15 to 24 who have HIV globally live in sub-Saharan Africa and across the continent, and girls aged 15 to 19 are five times more likely to be infected with HIV than boys.

Sexuality and reproduction are often not included in the national school curricula. In a handful of countries where they are included in HIV awareness or «life skills» programs or subjects, teachers are frequently unwilling to teach these subjects because of the sexual and reproductive health content, or due to constraints on teaching time and resources.

All African governments have made a commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals to guarantee gender equality and universal access to free primary and secondary education for all children by 2030. The African Union has recognized the importance of ending child marriage, understanding that it is a major impediment to regional development and prosperity, and of eliminating all forms of gender-based violence and discrimination.

 African governments should guarantee that girls have equal access to free quality primary and secondary education and support to stay in school, Human Rights Watch said. Governments should reverse harmful policies and practices that stigmatize girls, including forced pregnancy testing and regulations that allow for the expulsion of pregnant or married girls. Governments should also adopt laws that clearly set 18 as the minimum marriage age for boys and girls.

They should also adopt clear guidelines that instruct schools to re-enroll young mothers, provide support services in schools, and ensure that young mothers have access to early childhood services. Governments should also ensure that all children have access to age-appropriate, comprehensive sexuality, and reproductive education. Where possible, school-based services should be connected to youth-friendly health services to ensure that adolescents receive impartial, nonjudgmental information.

«Governments have the prime responsibility to ensure that girls access free primary and secondary education, without facing stigma and discrimination,» said Martínez. «All governments should scrap policies that exclude pregnant or married girls, and put in place special measures to ensure that all adolescent girls can go to school.»

In Girls’ Own Words

Malawi

In Malawi, roughly half of all girls marry before age 18. Between 2010 and 2013, 27,612 girls in primary and 4,053 girls in secondary schools dropped out due to marriage. During the same period, another 14,051 primary school girls and 5,597 secondary school girls dropped out because they were pregnant.

Girls told Human Rights Watch that marriage interrupted or ended their education, and with it their dreams to be doctors, teachers, or lawyers. Many said that they could not return to school after marriage because of lack of money to pay school fees, childcare, flexible school programs or adult classes, and the need to do household chores. Others said that their husbands or in-laws would not allow them to stay in school.

Kabwila N., 17, said she left school in standard eight at age 15 because of poverty. She said she could not go back to school because she felt ashamed about her pregnancy: «I would not want to go back to school because I started having sex with my boyfriend while at school. I am not fit to go back.»

South Sudan

In South Sudan, 52 percent of girls marry before their 18th birthday. According to UNESCO, over 1.3 million primary-school-age children are out of school, and the country has the world’s lowest secondary school enrollment rate, at four percent.

Mary K., of Yambio County, said: «My father refused me to go to school. He said it is a waste of money to educate a girl. He said marriage will bring me respect in the community. Now I have grown up and I know that this is not true. I cannot get work to support my children and I see girls who have some education can get jobs.»

Anyier D., 18, said that her uncles forced her to leave school at 14 in 2008 to marry an old man she did not know: «I would wish to return to school even if I have children. People think that I am happy but I am not because I don’t have an education. I don’t have something of my own and I am only cleaning offices. If I had gone to secondary school, I would get a good job.»

Tanzania

In Tanzania, fewer than a third of girls who complete primary schooling complete lower-secondary school, and over 15,000 girls drop out annually due to pregnancy. Human Rights Watch found that in some cases adolescent girls dropped out of lower-secondary school due to sexual exploitation and violence by teachers.

Joyce, 17, from Shinyanga, said: «There are teachers who engage in sexual affairs with students – I know many [girls] it has happened to … If a student refuses, she is punished … I feel bad … even if you report the matter it won’t be taken seriously. It makes us feel unsafe. Three girls dropped out because of teachers and sex in 2015.»

Fuente: http://allafrica.com/stories/201706160843.html

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