As per the tradition of the CSO Forum, children aged 10–17 from the five regions of Africa met for the CSO Children Forum on Saturday, 21st September, to discuss accountability in the Education Sector in Africa. In most countries in Africa, education has been compromised due to the lack of enough accountability by the duty bearers and the lack of enough monitoring by different child rights stakeholders. 2024 being an year of education, as CSOs, we acknowledge the importance of education as a fundamental right and a key in shaping our future and empowering us to contribute to our families, communities and countries, as highlighted under Article 11 of the Children’s Charter and we believe that everyone responsible for education, from teachers to governments, must be held accountable to ensure that children receive the free, fair and quality education they deserve.
The 25th Civil Society Organizations (CSO) Forum and the 44th African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) session culminated in a powerful Children Outcome Statement, underscoring the urgent need for enhanced accountability in upholding children’s rights, with a pronounced focus on education. This statement reaffirmed the imperative of ensuring every child’s right to quality education as a cornerstone for their holistic development and empowerment. It called upon governments, stakeholders, and civil societies to prioritize policy implementation, resource allocation, and monitoring mechanisms that ensure accessible, inclusive, and equitable education for all children, especially those marginalized or in vulnerable situations. By fostering collaborative efforts and holding authorities accountable, the forum emphasized the necessity of creating an enabling environment where every child’s potential can be realized, thereby affirming education as a fundamental right and a catalyst for sustainable development across the continent.
In their presentation, the children from Africa recommended the following:
- » Enforce laws that ensure every child has access to education.
- » Make education free so that all children can go to school and get an education.
- » Allocate enough resources to Education and make sure there is availability of reporting
- mechanisms.
- » Build enough schools and libraries to help the children know how to read and write.
- » Employ enough trained teachers and motivate them.
- » Ensure that teachers respect our rights and treat us with dignity. All teachers should be held
- accountable to ensure every child feels safe, valued and encouraged to participate.
- » Provide the learning materials, including books and technology, that we need to learn and thrive.
- » Create safe school environments so that we feel safe when we are at school. We want to be able
- to learn without fear. We desire schools that are free from violence, bullying and any form of
- discrimination.
- » Listen to our voices and include us in making decisions about education.
- » Enact policies that punish people who deny children’s access to education.
.
Click the link to read and download the full outcome statement: Outcome Statement