Access to education is a basic human right. It reduces poverty and child labor and offers the tools needed to succeed in life. Education serves as both a stepping stone and a foundation for life. More than 250 million children and youth do not attend school, nevertheless. Due to a poor learning environment, many students who do attend school fall short of meeting minimum standards in reading and arithmetic. Both the quality of education and access to primary schools are priorities for us. Our education programs will focus on increasing access to quality primary and secondary education and improving retention of school children in schools with a focus on the girl child. We promote access to quality education through the provision of adequate infrastructure in schools through the construction and rehabilitation of classrooms as well as the provision of sanitation facilities for boys and girls in schools. We build the capacity building of teachers through training to structurally increase access to education, particularly for girls, and enhance the standard of the learning environment. We improve the retention of school children through the mobilization of communities/parents and making them aware of the importance of, and right of children to education. We also build the capacity of CECs and local authorities through training and provision of necessary technical support to actively participate in the effective management of schools, challenging and informing them of their roles and responsibilities in education programming
