Since its inception in 1990, Education for All (EFA) has encountered its fair share of obstacles to achieve its six goals by 2015. Most recently, these challenges particularly unique to Eastern Africa were addressed during the Second Eastern Africa High Level Forum on EFA from July 9-10, 2013 in Kampala, Uganda.
Regional Ministers of Education identified a total of thirteen main challenges prevalent in the region, including the lack of empirical policy development, planning, monitoring, and evaluation along with overall cooperation critical for effective implementation.
The heart of the discussion at the Forum laid on the EFA Acceleration Framework, also known as the “Big Push,” which contains additional five courses of action that are to expedite the EFA process. Other topics evaluated the progress and results brought about by EFA as well as Eastern Africa’s post-2015 agenda.
The Forum has culminated in the Kampala Commitment, a collective pledge signed by ten Eastern African countries: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania (Mainland) and Zanzibar, and Uganda. The Commitment’s purpose not only serves the achievement of EFA but also the post-2015 agenda for Eastern Africa. The ten countries will continue their cooperation till June of 2014, through comprehensive national assessments leading up to a final review of their progress.
The Forum first started in 2011 under the Mombassa Call for Action. This year, it was hosted by the Minister of Education and Sports of the Government of Uganda, supported by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa and Uganda National Commission for UNESCO. The Republic of Rwanda will host the third one next year.
Creative Commons Love: United Nations Photo on Flickr.com
