Students from Ole Tipis Girls School attend the Youth for Climate Action summit at Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) in Nairobi, Kenya, on Sept. 7, 2023. (Photo by John Okoyo/Xinhua)
The African Union (AU) has launched a campaign to expand opportunities for girls to access education on the continent.
NAIROBI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- The African Union (AU) has launched a campaign to expand opportunities for girls to access education on the continent.
Simone Yankey, the acting coordinator of the AU International Center for the Education of Girls and Women in Africa, announced on Tuesday evening that the year-long advocacy exercise aims to mobilize African nations to achieve 100 percent enrollment of girls in schools.
"The campaign also calls on African governments to uphold their commitments to educational funding and gender equality by ensuring that a minimum of 20 percent of national budgets is allocated to the education sector," Yankey said virtually during the launch in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya.
Catherine Muraga (R), managing director at Microsoft Africa Development Center, holds a model of a four-wheeled machine in Nairobi, capital of Kenya, on Feb. 11, 2023. (Photo by Fred Mutune/Xinhua)
She said that 2024 has been dedicated as the year of education in Africa by the AU, noting that the campaign has already identified champions in each AU member to spearhead gender-responsive reforms of the education sector to ensure that schools provide equal opportunities for boys and girls.
Yankey added that about 60 million girls are out of school in Africa due to various socio-cultural and gender-related challenges.
Ann Gachoya, deputy director of education at Kenya's Ministry of Education, said that the AU campaign aligns with the country's commitment to addressing educational inequities and ensuring that no girl is left behind, highlighting that Kenya already devotes more than 20 percent of its public budget toward education. ■
