Members of Parliament (MPs) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom's Parliament on Wednesday, February 9, pushed for a declaration by President Uhuru Kenyatta to be implemented globally.
Speaking during the parliamentary West Worcetershire MP, Harriet Baldwin asked UKs Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, whether he would ensure that President Kenyatta's declaration is signed by all Commonwealth Heads of State.
Baldwin noted that all presidents of Commonwealth countries would assemble for an in-person meeting in London for the first time in four years during Queen Elizabeth's platinum jubilee. The lawmaker challenged Johnson to ensure that all leaders sign the declaration.
"Can the Prime Minister ensure that the global learning crises is high on their agenda and will he ask his amazing diplomats to ensure that every leader in the Commonwealth that sign up to the Kenyatta Declaration on Education," she noted.
Balwin's submission was unanimously supported by other lawmakers in the House of Commons. In his response, the Prime Minister admitted that he recognised the importance of education and would see that all parties inked the declaration.
"I think twelve years of quality education for every girl in the world is probably the single most transformative thing we could do to improve the world. I remember working with my friend, President Uhuru Kenyatta on the declaration, and we will ensure everybody at the Commonwealth signs up to it," remarked the PM.
In July 2021, President Kenyatta co-chaired the Global Education Summit in London, where he pushed for the commitment of the international community towards ensuring that children in low-income countries get an education.
Kenyatta also championed for nations to invest in education at domestic level, enactment of policies, incorporation of technology in learning and the education of the girl child for a better tomorrow
"Let us keep investing in education through increased domestic resource allocation. Let us continue to enact policies that support the education sector and strive to adopt digital learning technologies in our schools and let us ensure that all our girls get an equal opportunity to learn for the benefit of our future," noted President Kenyatta.
The programme dubbed the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) targeted to raise at least Ksh567 billion (USD5 billion) between 2021 and 2025. During the summit, countries committed Ksh454 billion (USD4 billion).
His declaration was endorsed by several countries who are partners of GPE who further pledged to commit at least 20 per cent of their national budget to education.
"I want to thank the Global Partnership of Education for providing a platform that will strengthen education systems and improve the educational outcomes for all children across the globe. Let us keep investing in education" Kenyatta stated.
