Gulf Times, May 6,2013
“How can we build stable communities, achieve economic growth and create a sounder future if we cannot overcome the conditions that hinder children from having access to schooling?” This question raised by HH Sheikha Moza bint Nasser last week in Doha has universal relevance.
As she pointed out “it is truly embarrassing that we live in a world where, on one hand, technical progress allows for so much advancement in education, while on the other hand, the humanitarian issue of children missing out on school cannot be addressed, or is ignored”.
Addressing the opening session of the High Level Strategic Meeting to accelerate efforts to reach out of school children, sponsored by the Educate A Child (EAC) initiative, Sheikha Moza, the chairperson of EAC’s parent body, Education Above All Foundation, reiterated that the EAC programme “will work for a world in which no child is deprived of his or her right to education, under any condition”.
The meeting has issued a call to adopt new approaches, locally-relevant solutions and creative combinations while focusing on programme development and knowledge creation.
The two-day event was attended by ministers and representatives of 17 countries, which represent 60% of the 61mn out of school children, apart from UN agencies, NGOs and private sector organisations.
The recommendations will be taken to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in St Petersburg, Russia and the UN General Assembly in New York, both in September, in addition to the World Innovation Summit for Education in Doha in October.
The consensus at the meeting has been to focus on programme development and knowledge creation, adapt and apply what is known, but not reinventing the wheel.
It was pointed out that not providing primary education costs poor countries multiple years of economic growth, it could result in a loss of GDP of up to 7%.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Sheikha Moza had announced that EAC, which has succeeded in providing quality schooling to 600,000 children over a period of just four months, is aimed at reaching 10mn children by the end of 2015.
The EAC programme is inspired by the Millennium Development Goals, which have been agreed at a global level, seeking to enable all children to access primary schooling by 2015. It is targeting 34 countries, which represent more than 70% of the 61mn children who are out of school.
To achieve the second Millennium Development Goal, namely to see universal primary education become an inalienable and a sustainable right, Sheikha Moza has suggested action at three different levels.
They are creating pro-active programmes that address the conditions and factors that prevent children from entering school, ensure children do not drop out of primary-level education and eradicate, once and for all, the phenomenon of out-of-school children.
Given EAC’s track record and Sheikha Moza’s vision and commitment, it is only a matter of time before the initiative achieves its goals.
As she pointed out “it is truly embarrassing that we live in a world where, on one hand, technical progress allows for so much advancement in education, while on the other hand, the humanitarian issue of children missing out on school cannot be addressed, or is ignored”.
Addressing the opening session of the High Level Strategic Meeting to accelerate efforts to reach out of school children, sponsored by the Educate A Child (EAC) initiative, Sheikha Moza, the chairperson of EAC’s parent body, Education Above All Foundation, reiterated that the EAC programme “will work for a world in which no child is deprived of his or her right to education, under any condition”.
The meeting has issued a call to adopt new approaches, locally-relevant solutions and creative combinations while focusing on programme development and knowledge creation.
The two-day event was attended by ministers and representatives of 17 countries, which represent 60% of the 61mn out of school children, apart from UN agencies, NGOs and private sector organisations.
The recommendations will be taken to the G20 Leaders’ Summit in St Petersburg, Russia and the UN General Assembly in New York, both in September, in addition to the World Innovation Summit for Education in Doha in October.
The consensus at the meeting has been to focus on programme development and knowledge creation, adapt and apply what is known, but not reinventing the wheel.
It was pointed out that not providing primary education costs poor countries multiple years of economic growth, it could result in a loss of GDP of up to 7%.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Sheikha Moza had announced that EAC, which has succeeded in providing quality schooling to 600,000 children over a period of just four months, is aimed at reaching 10mn children by the end of 2015.
The EAC programme is inspired by the Millennium Development Goals, which have been agreed at a global level, seeking to enable all children to access primary schooling by 2015. It is targeting 34 countries, which represent more than 70% of the 61mn children who are out of school.
To achieve the second Millennium Development Goal, namely to see universal primary education become an inalienable and a sustainable right, Sheikha Moza has suggested action at three different levels.
They are creating pro-active programmes that address the conditions and factors that prevent children from entering school, ensure children do not drop out of primary-level education and eradicate, once and for all, the phenomenon of out-of-school children.
Given EAC’s track record and Sheikha Moza’s vision and commitment, it is only a matter of time before the initiative achieves its goals.
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