Education

ECOWAS adopts multi-sectoral approaches to solve the problems which retard the socio-economic development of the girl-child, women and the other vulnerable groups in member states

|  By Maureen Chigbo  |  Apr. 29, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT

A DOCUMENT that will be used for advocacy, sensitisation and resource mobilisation for the education of the girl-child and other vulnerable groups is one of the expected outcomes of the regional meeting of education experts on the issues this month. The document will be used within the framework of Millenium Development Goals, MDG and Education for All, EFA, goals and the African Union plan of action for the second decade of education 2006-2015. Education experts, representatives of member states and development partners attended the four-day forum which ended in Banjul, The Gambia, on April 19.

It was convened under the auspices of the ECOWAS Girls’ education programme, which is part of ECOWAS’ efforts to promote universal access to quality education and training opportunities as well as harmonise admission criteria into educational and training institutes in member states. The ECOWAS Girls’ education programme is designed to strengthen the operational capacities of national structures for the promotion of girls’ education by improving access, retention and completion.

The Banjul forum also proposed a mechanism for enhancing the inclusion of children, who account for more than half of the population of school age children, into formal education for the timely realisation of EFA and the MDG goals.

The forum, which is the third in a series of meetings on the issue, documented member states’ reports on policies, programmes, initiatives and activities for education of the girl child and other vulnerable children. The outcome of the meeting will be incorporated in the ECOWAS priority programme of Education of girls and other vulnerable children. The meeting also provided member states and partners the opportunity to share experiences and best practices on the ongoing and completed educational programmes and activities in the region.

It will help to chart the way forward towards achieving the MDG and Education for All goals as well as the AU Decade of education for Africa by 2015. ECOWAS is adopting multi-sectoral approaches to the plight of girls, women and other vulnerable groups in order to raise theirliving standards, ensure economic growth and contribute to the progress and development of the African Continent.

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