dyton mupawaenda
Rumbidzayi Zinyuke-Senior Reporter
Government has launched five new grants to the tune of US$48,8 from the Global Partnership for Education, which are expected to support inclusive and transformative education in Zimbabwe between 2023 and 2026.
The funding, which includes the System Transformation Grant worth US$24,8 million, the Girls Education Accelerator (US$12,4 million), the System Capacity Grant (US$2,9 million), the Programme Development Grant (US$0,2 million) and the Multiplier Funding (US$8,6 million) all have particular attention for the most vulnerable children and focus on improved functionality and safety of schools, enhanced foundational literacy and numeracy for all girls and boys and increased equity-focused leadership of the education sector.
The grants were launched under the theme, “Towards an inclusive and transformative reform agenda for equitable access to quality relevant education in Zimbabwe”.
Speaking at the launch of the GPE grants in Harare yesterday, Primary and Secondary Education Minister, Dr Torerayi Moyo, said the launch underscored the fundamental role that education played in socio-economic development, both nationally and globally.
“The theme also draws attention to the key role played by inclusive and rights-based planning in advancing each nation’s journey towards the attainment of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and in particular SDG 4 as captured in the pledge to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for al by 2030,” he said.
“Education is a key tool in the attainment of other goals hence failing to make adequate investments in education puts the success of the entire developmental agenda at risk.”
Minister Moyo said the programmes were a major drive for education funding, grounded in the new reality and strengthened by the common narrative in the GPE Compact document.
The GPE is the largest global fund dedicated to transforming education in lower-income countries and is a unique, multi-stakeholder partnership.
It is funded by various countries including the United Kingdom, Canada and others in the European Union, among others, and brings together developing country partners, donors, multilateral agencies, civil society organisations, private sector, and private foundations to get all children into school for a quality inclusive education.
The programme has supported Zimbabwe through the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education with grants since 2013 and since then, over US$75 million has been received to transform the lives of children throughout the country.
Through the new funding, the programme will support the developmental projects lined up for the education system in the country while contributing to reaching the goals of the Education Sector Strategic Plan (2021-2025) and Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy (NDS1).
All the GPE programmes are implemented under the leadership of the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education, with further roles being played by UNICEF, which is the grant agent for four Grants (SCG, STG, PDG and multiplier), while Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) is the grant agent of the Girls Education Accelerator (GEA).
UNICEF representative, Mr Daouda Diop, said a long and arduous road had been travelled to develop the GPE Compact partnership before the approval of the major grants launched yesterday.
“As we continue to celebrate the support of Global Partnership for Education to the Education sector in Zimbabwe , we also call upon other bilateral donors to come in and close the gap in addressing some of the pressing issues in education sector, such as foundational learning, education of children with disabilities, teaching and learning materials, blended learning inclusive of distance learning, infrastructure, disaster risk management and resilience, monitoring, quality assurance and inspection,” he said.
He said the GPE was a good example of partnerships that worked and pledged UNICEF’s commitment to continue ensuring children in Zimbabwe, including the most marginalised girls and boys, have access to inclusive, quality equitable and relevant learning opportunities and called upon the Government to continue to increase domestic spending on education, progressively providing basic State-funded education.
UK Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Peter Vowles, said the GPE had contributed to the largest expansion of primary and lower secondary education schooling in history since its inception.
“As we all know, there is nothing more inspiring than a good teacher, we remember the brilliant Maud Chifamba, who taught herself and achieved great things and is still achieving great things. But her case is exceptional.
“Around the world there is an acceptance that if you build up the capability of teachers, that impact can be life changing. And that is what the GPE is doing.
“The main focus of the coordinating agency is to support effective dialogue between the development partners and the government to make sure the funds released by the GPE compliments the Government of Zimbabwe’s investment in education,” he said.
Canada Ambassador to Zimbabwe, Mr Adler Aristilde, said his country supported the GPE through a funding of US$300 million over five years, including US$50 million soft-earmarked to girls’ education.
“Access to education and learning is a top priority for Canada. Through the GPE, we are proud to partner with donor countries and agencies in Zimbabwe and support the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education in ensuring that the most vulnerable and marginalised children have access to quality education and learning, regardless of gender, nationality, ethnicity or socioeconomic status,” he said.
Online Reporter