Maravi

Zim on course to reach education MDG - Mugabe

Zim on course to reach education MDG - Mugabe
By George Chellah in Harare, Zimbabwe
Monday August 27, 2007 [04:00]

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe has said Zimbabwe is on course in reaching the target for the United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) on universal primary education. And President Mugabe said government has placed great priority on education since independence and that the country's literacy rate currently stands at over 97 per cent for both boys and girls.

Meanwhile, President Mugabe has warned of life sentences for child sexual abusers. Addressing the 16th Children's Parliament - national Debate - at Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) on Saturday, President Mugabe said education remains one of the most important aspects of human development.

"For our young people to contribute significantly and effectively to national development, it is critical that we continue to give them access to good quality education," President Mugabe said.

"Since independence, government has placed great priority on education and our target on the United Nations Millennium Development Goal number two, which is designed to achieve universal primary education, is to ensure that by 2015, all Zimbabwean children, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full programme of primary education.

"We are indeed on course to the realisation of this target since our literacy rate is currently over 97 per cent for both boys and girls."

He said the value of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as tools for education and economic development continues to mutate and present ever-growing possibilities for students and the education system in general.

"To this end, our country is aggressively promoting a nationwide computerisation programme at our schools and tertiary education institutions in order to ensure that our young people are equipped with the computer skills that have become a requirement in many jobs on the market today," President Mugabe said.

President Mugabe further said that the health of young people was a crucial element that is inseparable from their ability to participate fully in national development structures.

"Government continues to provide resources to enhance the performance of our health delivery system in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals number four and six, which focus on reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health and combating HIV and AIDS, malaria and other diseases," President Mugabe said. "Significant achievements have been made in the elimination or decline in cases of polio, neo-natal tetanus, measles, HIV prevalence and the provision of safe water and sanitation in urban and rural areas."

President Mugabe also said Zimbabwe has enacted several legal instruments and articles to guarantee children and young people's rights in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural spheres.

Labels: EDUCATION, ZIMBABWE

posted by MrK @ 6:28 PM