THE United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has applauded the country for having one of the highest net enrollment ratio in primary school on the African continent.
In a statement to commemorate the international day of education Unicef country representative Dr Tajudeen Oyewale said there is need to explore new innovations and developments in the education sector to attract more children to enroll in line with global enrollment standards.
The organisation’s statistics show that nine out of 10 children of primary school age in Zimbabwe are in school and the figure has remained stable in the last decade, which is a remarkable accomplishment.
“Zimbabwe has a high net enrollment ratio in primary school. Nine out of ten children of primary school age are in school. This is among the highest enrollment rates in primary schools on the African continent. This figure has remained stable in the last decade, which is a remarkable accomplishment. But our shared ambition is to do even more and reach universal enrollment of children in primary school,” said Unicef Dr Oyewale.
He said the Government has expressed its clear ambition to make access to basic education free for every child in Zimbabwe as of 2023.
“For that to happen more investment is required for basic education. Poverty and disabilities are among the main triggers for out-of-school children in primary school,” said Dr Oyewale.
In her policy document, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Eveline Ndlovu said Government remains committed to ensuring that there is access to quality, inclusive, relevant and equitable education by all children in Zimbabwe as enshrined in the Constitution.
“The Ministry’s key focus is thus to provide a sound foundation for the nation’s human capital development. We fully subscribe to the view that education is a fundamental tool for the sustainable development of our nation and so we strive to provide an educational product that will enable each of our clients to reach their optimal developmental potential and so as to collectively contribute to the Nation’s Vision of becoming an upper middle-income economy by 2030,” she said.
Minister Ndlovu said Zimbabwe is ready to partner with various education actors and stakeholders to assist the education sector. – The Chronicle
