President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced a two-day conference on global partnership for education financing on July 25 and 26.
According to a statement sent to newsrooms by State House, Kenya will co-host the event with the UK.
President Kenyatta made the announcement on Saturday evening, February 6, during a virtual meeting of the 34th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
He explained that the aim of the education financing conference is to raise Ksh500 billion to ensure that all children, particularly those in developing countries, have equitable access to quality education.
Uhuru invited African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government to join the effort and commit to protecting education budgets in their respective countries.
He expressed the need for African Governments to invest more aggressively in improving education access and quality, including the area of teaching and learning technologies, to bridge the education divide.
“You will all agree with me that our children received the harshest brunt of the (Covid-19) pandemic; the lockdowns resulted in significant loss of income of the caregivers.
“We need to show up and hold our governments accountable in setting aside the adequate resources to ensure that all children, both girls, and boys and those in vulnerable situations, can go back to school and complete their studies,” President Kenyatta said.
The conference targets up to 90 countries and territories, where 80% of the world’s out-of-school children live.
It is expected that the funds will enable 175 million girls and boys to learn, reach 140 million students with professionally trained teachers, get 88 million more children, including 46 million more girls, in school and save Ksh1.7 trillion through more efficient education spending.
“Our children, are the future of this continent and we, as leaders, must guarantee a better tomorrow for them. We, as leaders today, must preserve and protect their wellbeing,” the President told the AU summit.
During the meeting, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South handed over the AU chairmanship to President Félix Tshisekedi of DRC.
Uhuru thanked President Ramaphosa, the outgoing AU Chairman, for steering the continental organization during the unprecedented period of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“You have ably shepherded our continent to respond to the pandemic in a timely and effective manner,” President Kenyatta commended his South African counterpart.
He also congratulated President Tshisekedi for taking over the chairmanship of AU, assuring him of Kenya’s full support.
“My delegation expresses full confidence in your solid leadership and ability to take our Union to greater heights,” President Kenyatta assured the Congolese leader.
