Update: Former Australian premier calls for stronger partnerships in education

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has called for increased partnerships among global partners in the provision of quality education that goes beyond the basic primary level. Gillard was today speaking at the opening of a two-day Unesco-Africa regional conference taking place in Kigali. The conference brings together education officials and other stakeholders from over 10 African countries ahead of the 2015 World Education Forum, which will be hosted by the Republic of Korea in May. The former premier is currently the chairperson of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), a multi-national effort working with 60 developing nations to enable all children including the poorest and most marginalised to attend school and receive a quality education. Gillard, who was appointed to the position in February 2014, said that to achieve the desired progress it would be beneficial to build a partnership of governments, civil societies, private sector and other stakeholders to build a robust education sector plan. “It is a year of strategic change for global partnerships in education so that it emerges stronger and more effective in the future. It is a year of strategic opportunities for the global education community as we work our way to ensuring that more children get better and longer access to education and schooling that doesn’t end at the level of basic primary education,” Gillard said. Education minister Prof. Silas Lwakabamba said Rwanda had made education for all a priority by making the necessary investments and forging the necessary partnerships. “As a member of the African Union and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) initiative, we recognise that the Education for All agenda and Millennium Development Goals related to education are likely to be achieved in full this year. We acknowledge the continued relevance for the education for all agenda,” he said. Lwakabamba noted that in pursuit of the education for all goal, Rwanda had gone beyond provision of basic primary education to provision of a 12-year basic education programme. He called for the development of new solutions that go beyond the ‘education for all’ agenda that will increase the depth and scope of education to the level required for knowledge based economies. Rwanda joined the GPE initiative in 2006 and, in 2012, it received the Commonwealth Education Good Practice Award for its Nine-Year Basic Education programme. Currently, the country is working closely with GPE to implement a new education strategy covering the period 2013–2018 which seeks, among others, to expand access to 12-Year Basic Education. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Update: Former Australian premier calls for stronger partnerships in education