Kenya's Education Minister, Prof. Sam Ongeri, told African education ministers meeting here 14-16 Sept. - to discuss the role of education in combating African conflicts - that a one percent share of the global military bu dget could spur Africa's efforts to achieve the UN goals of combating poverty.
'The one percent of the global military and arms expenditure in one year would be adequate to achieve the goals of the Education for All (EFA) goals. It would have a net effect in the quality of education in Africa be cause the one percent translates into billions of dollars,' Ongeri told journalists.
Education ministers from African countries that have suffered from conflicts are attending the meeting, convened by the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), an institution formed by the World Bank and major donors to bolster quality of education in Africa.
'The one percent of military expenditure is enough to bring all countries at the same level in education. We would have every child to be in school by 2015. This way, we would achieve the EFA goals,' he said.
Kenya's military budget currently stands at around US$500 million annually.
The minister said the education budget accounts for 6 percent of the country's overall wealth - known the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but the government was looking at chances of raising the budget to boost education.
Kenyaâ?s landmark introduction of compulsory free schooling in 2003 saw international donors flock back to Kenya to prop the provision of the free primary education. Kenya spends Ksh143 billion (US$1.9 billion) on educating some 8.64 million children.
But Prof. Ongeri, who oversees the execution of the countryâ?s single largest budgetary allocation, said the ministry was looking at ways of increasing this allocation in the 2010-2011 fiscal budget to enable the country to provide services to daycare schools for younger children.
Kenya is also battling an increasing number of children currently out of school and is deploying efforts to increase the national literacy rate from the current 62 percent in a country of about 40 million people to 75 percent, to move the country closer to achieving the UN's stated goals of cutting down extreme poverty.
'We want those who have slipped into illiteracy to go back to the system. We are aiming at between 75 to 80 percent literacy levels,' the minister told journalists. 'There are those who may not have reached the literacy levels. We want those still out of school to go back so we are able to achieve the EFA goals.'
Meanwhile, ADEA Executive Secretary Ahlin Byll-Cataria said the ministers were meeting to share the experiences of their respective countries in dealing with the effects of conflicts which, he said, had put the development of education in Africa at risk, further slowing down development.
'This initiative brings together countries to share experiences of dealing with conflicts and seek ways of using education to restore peace. The countries should learn from each other,' he told PANA.
Mombasa - 14/09/2009
By Kennedy Abwao, PANA Correspondent
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|