Lagos — Without universal access to Grade I or Primary 1 within the next two years, the goal of Education for All (EFA) by 2015 will not be achieved as school fees and sundry charges stand between school and no fewer than 100 million children worldwide, 77 million of them in sub-Saharan Africa. Bukola Olatunji covered an international conference that sought to remove these barriers
Twenty-three countries, 18 of them African have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring "that no child should be prevented from attending school in our countries because of inability to pay." The countries, which participated in the International Conference on the Abolition of School Fees: Planning for Quality and Financial Sustainability', that ended last weekend in Bamako, Mali also agreed "to work to make it possible for all children to go to school regardless of their family's ability to pay. We recognize the importance of thorough planning and sound policies to successfully implement the abolition of primary school fees." Details of 'The Bamako Statement of the Ministers of Education and Finance in Favour of the Abolition of School Fees', which UNESCO's Director, Division of the Promotion of Basic Education, Mrs. Ann Therese Ndong Jatta said must graduate to a strong commitment, is in the box below.
...