October 129th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – Amid alarming rise of school dropouts among girls in South Sudan, the world’s youngest nation, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has stressed the importance of girl child’s education.
Delivering a keynote speech on the occasion of the International Girl Child Day marked on Thursday, the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay stated that, empowerment of South Sudan girls through education is imperative and it is also an important step towards development.
“Girls’ education is a fundamental right; it is also a powerful lever for development. Girls’ education is at the intersection of two of the most important challenges of our time: education and gender equality. A collective consciousness is rising to ensure that the right to quality education for all girls becomes a reality” she said.
The top United National agency official said the commitment by the world body should be the case for the locals to send their children especially girls to school.
“Strong signals of high-level political commitment were apparent at the United Nations General Assembly in New York a fortnight ago, as well as at the first G-20 meeting dedicated to education, held in Argentina last month. The recent Commonwealth initiative to establish a high-level Platform for Girls’ Education is an additional sign of this new global awareness,” she added.
According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the same issue remains challenging, as the studies put the number of school dropouts at more than 130 million across the world.
“The challenges are still immense. Worldwide, today, more than 130 million girls of school age are out of school. In addition, of the 600 million adolescent girls who will enter the labour market in the next decade, more than 90% live in developing countries and will work in an informal economy where unpaid work, abuse and exploitation are more prevalent,” she said.
The UNESCO said, it’s at the forefront working in collaboration with partners to ensure that a strong emphasis is put on an inclusive education for all.
“That is why UNESCO, the United Nations lead agency for education in the context of the 2030 Agenda, is working with the international community so that girls can benefit from 12 years of basic education free of charge,” she further added.
The UN official in light of concerns over gender equality said states should include in their curriculums issues such as genderived equality to educate the generations.
“It (UN) is committed to ensuring that States include in school curricula issues relating to gender equality, health and sexuality, so as to break with the social habits and collective representations that impede girls’ freedom and constitute barriers to their intellectual formation and social and professional integration. The integration of girls in the changing world of work includes in particular improved access to science and technology careers, where they are too often underrepresented,” she stressed.
