Minister says all school-age children to be registered
Hargeisa, Somaliland, 22 June 2005 - Parents must register all school age children irrespective of gender and social class,” Somaliland’s Minister for Education Mr Hassan Haji Mohamoud told the Day of the African Child (DAC) celebrations held on 16 June in Hargeisa, capital of Northwest Somalia (‘Somaliland’). The DAC which was also marked in other locations in Somalia emphasized the need of Somalis to get children back to school with special focus on the needs of vulnerable children such as orphans and children of internally displaced communities. The Minister thanked UNICEF and other partners for the support they continued to provide to children and reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to ensure that every child including those of internally displaced persons (IDPs), marginalized communities and girls get an education. UNICEF Somalia Education Officer, Noel Ihebuzor said the organization would assist Somaliland children realize their dreams for a better future through education. Besides the public, the ceremony was attended by members of the Somaliland Cabinet and staff of development agencies working in Somaliland. UNICEF and the ministry are carrying out social mobilization as part of the Every Child Counts initiative that has the Back to School campaign as the cornerstone to ensuring children get an education. As part of the campaign, registration centres will be opened for parents to register their children for the school year that starts in September 2005. The Somaliland administration, UNICEF and NGOs will acontinue to support the construction of new schools and teacher training. ‘’For the most vulnerable children, UNICEF provides support through the alternate education programme. Currently in collaboration with the World Food Programme, it is running a school feeding initiative,’’ said Mr Ihebuzor. “It is our collective responsibility to make sure that vulnerable children also get the chance to pursue their dreams and goals.”
The celebrations for the Day of the African Child which kicked off the Back to School Campaign in Hargeisa included a procession led by a band and a float through the streets. A drama on girls’ education was staged by the Somaliland Culture and Sports Association (SOCSA). The Horn of Africa Voluntary Youth Organization Committee (HAVOYOCO) staged acrobatic performances. Though the circus has a female troupe, only the boys perform in public. A fifteen-year-old girl who attended the celebrations at Timacade Basket ball welcomed the Back to School campaign saying it was important to advocate for girls to attend school. A choir made up of orphans received applause from the crowd as they sang the Somaliland national anthem, a song dedicated to the Day of the African Child and another on orphaned children. About the DAC The Organization of African Unity (OAU- now the African Union) in 1990 declared 16 June 1991 as the first Day of the African Child, and enlisted UNICEF’s assistance in promoting commemoration of the Day worldwide. In 1991-1997, Field Offices, National Committees and Headquarters undertook a series of initiatives in support of the commemoration. Other partners have included: Heads of State and Government and First Ladies, Parliaments, Government Ministries, inter-governmental organizations, municipal authorities, non-governmental organizations, churches and religious groups, women’s groups and clan leaders, African embassies, private companies, and service organizations, schools, parent-teachers’ associations and teacher’s unions, youth clubs and scouts. Partly as a result of advocacy associated with the Day of the African Child, considerable advances have been made in advocating for the rights and needs of African children since then. There has been strong evidence of support for the World Summit for Children Declaration and Plan of Action, as well as for the enactment of legislation incorporating provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child into national statues. In many ways DAC has become a reference point for measuring the delivery of the promises made to children as Children’s needs and child rights are increasingly being seen as two sides of the same coin: needs are a direct result of the denial of rights.
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