Caxito – The provincial governor of Bengo, Maria Antónia Nelumba, acknowledged Friday, in Caxito, the support that UNICEF has provided to the government of Angola in strengthening policies, programs and social services to ensure that children enjoy their rights and develop their potential.
When speaking at the 2nd validation seminar of the Angola Partnership for Education Pact, the governor stressed that the support is geared towards sustainable development objectives, with guarantees that every child has access to quality health and education services.
She recalled that Angola joined the Global Partnership for Education in 2022, which made it possible to apply for the available funding to promote transformation in the sector.
In this way, the provincial governor, went on to say that, the Angolan State has assumed the free education and teaching system, which according to Presidential Decree No. 32/20 of 12 August, translates into "exemption from any payment for registration, class attendance, school materials and social support for all students attending primary education in public institutions".
She said that the seminar comes at an opportune time, since issues regarding financing in the education sector have been the starting point for debates to define clear objectives with a view to complying with UNICEF recommendations in the country.
As an example, Maria Nelumba said, it was the holding of the 2nd Provincial Education Forum that defined complementary objectives at local level and that the indicators are now visible.
In turn, the UNICEF representative in Angola, Fábio Humanno, stated that the Global Partnership for Education is finalizing the application for a system capacity grant worth three million dollars to strengthen coordination.
He said that the document submitted at this meeting was drafted in a participatory manner under the leadership of the MED, with financial support from the Global Partnership for Education and technical support from UNICEF, with the aim of responding to the evaluation of the Angolan education system
According to the official, UNICEF recognizes the significant results achieved by the MED, by increasing the budget allocation for the education sector and the renewed focus on improving the capacity of teachers with the aim of producing better learning results.
Fábio Humanno called for the deepening of the process of dialogue and coordination of actions to make the Local Education Group an increasingly active and inclusive platform, in order to maximize the impact on expanding access and improving the quality of education for all girls and boys, children with special needs and other vulnerable groups.
The Local Education Group of Angola is made up of the Government, multilateral and bilateral organizations, development partners, civil society organizations and the private sector. FS/CJ/PA/TED/DOJ
