24 March 2009 - New education strategies in North of Sudan to boost enrolment of girls and nomadic childrenTwo new strategies designed to increase school enrolment of girls and nomadic children in the north of Sudan will be launched tomorrow, as the Federal Ministry of General Education takes another step on the road towards the Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by the year 2015. The town of Ed Damazin, in Blue Nile State, will host the launch of the two strategies – highlighting the importance of rural states in promoting education for girls and nomadic children. Government enrolment figures for the northern states of Sudan indicate that girls’ enrolment in primary education stands at just under 66 per cent, while enrolment of nomadic children is only 32 per cent. The Girls’ Education Strategic Plan being unveiled tomorrow will increase awareness at community level of the importance of girls’ education, create opportunities for all girls to attend school over the next three years and increase demand for education through improved school environments. By promoting new partnerships in education, making education more affordable for families, increasing the focus on girl-friendly life skills, creating new school clubs and promoting accelerated learning for girls currently outside the school system, the Strategic Plan intends to bring an additional 1.35 million girls into primary schools by 2011. The Nomadic Education Strategic Plan, also being unveiled tomorrow, responds to the special educational needs of the estimated 500,000 nomadic children living in the northern states, and sets out to increase enrolment rates to 70 per cent by 2011, compared to current levels of 32 per cent. The Plan will also set out to strengthen the responsiveness of the education system and curriculum to the needs of nomadic children, and increase the number of trained teachers. Amongst the practical responses offered in the Plan for nomadic children is a shift from provision of mobile schools to on-site learning centres, as many children remain in one place for up to six months of the year. The Plan also emphasises the value of boarding schools for nomadic children, to enable them to continue learning even while their families are on the move and sets out to enrol a further 133,000 nomadic children in regular primary education. The importance of increasing perceptions of value of education amongst all families is also highlighted in the two Plans. The 2008 Baseline Survey of Education in the northern states, undertaken by the Federal Ministry of General Education, found that more than one-third of families who did not enrol children in school did so through choice, rather than because of any external obstacle. UNICEF’s chief of education for the north of Sudan, Ms. Cecilia Baldeh, noted that the plans also provided an opportunity to foster lasting partnerships in support of education saying “We call upon all partners, including civil society and the private sector to participate in the implementation of the plans.” The two strategic plans have been developed by the Federal Ministry of General Education with technical support from UNICEF and financial assistance from the Governments of Canada, the Netherlands and Norway.
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