The government of Rwanda, alongside Djibouti, Zanzibar and The Gambia have partnered with global education foundation, Education Above All (EAA), as part of the journey to secure universal primary education. The development was announced today during this year’s WISE Summit on education in Doha, as leaders discussed strategies to attain Zero Out of School Primary Children (OOSC) in their countries. The focus, according to the foundation, is set to be on the most vulnerable such as domestic workers, children with disabilities, and refugees. “Indeed access to education is critical,” said President Paul Kagame, who addressed participants of the meeting virtually. “And education is not just about memorization…it is about equipping children with positive mind-sets,” he said. The head of state emphasized that “if we are to see tangible results and ensure that we build an effective and productive workforce, quality should also be going hand in hand with our objectives,” adding that partnership with education above all will be a catalyst for this. Kagame told participants that having every child educated will attract further investments to equip our citizens with the necessary skills to compete in a global economy. “We are already seeing this happening with the Hamad Bin Khalifa Universitys proposal to start a masters a degree programme in cyber security on the campus of the University of Rwanda.” Hamad Bin Khalifa University is a Qatari university. He also encouraged other countries to join the efforts so that no child is left behind. Reports indicate that while education is key to achieving the SDGs set out by the United Nations, many countries have still not reached universal primary education. As it stands, more than 59 million primary-aged children are out of school worldwide. “The sustainable development goals among them goal four on education cant be limited to wealthy countries otherwise, it will not be inclusive and equitable,” he said. The four countries mark the first countries in the world to join EAA’s global Zero OOSC campaign, initiated at the same WISE conference, two years ago. “We welcome these governments in joining the journey to achieve Zero out of primary school children and call on more countries to partner with us,” said Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, Chairperson of EAA and UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate. According to Nasser, the reasons children are not enrolled in education are complex but the challenge is great, and that it requires co-operation. “Our work, alongside our partners, shows that it is possible to make a difference. Education is the key to a better, more stable and more prosperous world. We must educate every child at the primary level, no matter their circumstances, gender or geographic location,” she stressed.
