The education sector has policies and priorities in place that will ably facilitate the domestication and implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), officials have said.

They said this, yesterday, during a consultative meeting with officials from United Nations as well as other development partners to discuss how to domesticate SDG 4 and look for ways it can be implemented within set period.

Goal 4, one of the 17 SDGs, seeks to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

According to Isaac Munyakazi, the state minister for primary and secondary education, the meeting aimed at building a common understanding of SDG for education 2030 and ensuring smooth mainstreaming of the goals into the national education system.

Officials said priorities that would help achieve SGD 4 include equitable access to Nine and 12-year basic education, improved quality and learning outcomes across primary and secondary education, improved relevance of education and training specifics to the labour market, as well as nurturing demand-driven TVET and higher education.

According to Munyakazi, enrolment rate in primary school stands at 98 per cent and more efforts are being undertaken to ensure those who dropped out are re-enrolled.

"The current five-year Education Sector Strategic Plan (2013/4-2017/8) highlights the key education priorities. In addition, a number of education policies have been elaborated and institutions established to fast-track and implement the policies,” he said.

According to Dr Celestin Ntivuguruzwa, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Education, more policies have been put in place to boost quality of schooling among the children.

Citing, among other policies, special needs education, sport, girls’ education, school feeding, teacher development management, teaching learning materials, and ICT in education, Ntivuguruzwa said if they are effectively administered, the road to achieving SDG4 would be smooth.

Rwanda hailed

Peter Wallet, UNESCO country representative, said Rwanda has made significant strides in promoting education for all and enhancing quality.

"I know (from this meeting) you will make the most of this process to begin the development of a roadmap for the interpretation and domestication of the Sustainable Development Goals in Rwanda and how this framework will have implications for Rwanda and its policy-making, planning and assessment for the next 15 years,” he said

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