The executive director of the Sustainable Development Network, Liberia Incorporated (SDN-Liberia) has called on the government and civil society organizations to begin the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Danesius Marteh, [email protected]
Blamo Nimle made the call at the ninth graduation program of the St. Gabriel Catholic School in Parker Corner, Brewerville.
Nimle wants Liberia to take the lead in implementing the 17 goals because of the pivotal roles played by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and Foreign Affairs Minister Marjon Kamara, who was then permanent representative to the United Nations (UN).
But Nimle, who centered his keynote address on goal four of the SDGs, said the students were graduating from kindergarten in an historic year.
“It [that goal] says all of us must ‘Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning’. And the interesting thing is that our country led most of these processes that today the world has agreed upon.
“Madam Sirleaf co-chaired at the UN level and chaired in Africa. Our ambassador [to the UN] at the time now minister of foreign affairs, Marjon Kamara, led all of the African countries in New York to agree upon these things.
“So it tells you that as a country, we have a lot to do to make sure that whatever we agreed upon when that time comes, 2030, we will be able to say that Liberia did this and this is where we are,” Nimle told the audience dominated by parents, guardians, teachers and support staff.
Speaking to the graduates in Liberian English, Nimle urged them to be reminded of their marching song—carry your candle—to light their world as kindergarten education sets the basis for anyone to be a future leader.
He told the graduates that the president, ministers, legislators and other decision makers graduated from kindergarten.
Coincidentally, one of the 15 graduates is an Amara Konneh, who hails from Bomi County and not Gbarpolu County.
“Where is Amara Konneh? Do you know that the [immediate] former finance minister is also Amara Konneh? Tomorrow you could be a finance minister. And you (pointing to dux) could also be like Madam Sirleaf. So we must prioritize quality education for all of you,” Nimle envisioned.
He encouraged them to be respectful to their parents so their days maybe long on Earth and challenged parents and the media to commit themselves to this goal.
“The first place a child opens his/her eyes about education is at home. What do we do as parents? How well do we prepare the children before sending them to the teachers on campus?
“To the schools, some of the children aren’t academically good. So what can we do to make sure that this child who isn’t academically good can also be worthwhile in the society? I know Don Bosco used to have technical training. So we need to incorporate technical training into our curriculum.
“As a country and for us to reach to that level in 2030, we need to do the best we can and it is all of us—civil society and the media. We need to dedicate some of our air time to education programs for our children to learn at home, especially during vacation,” Nimle urged.
In a valedictory address, Hannah M. Gbaie called on parents and guardians to invest in education because “it is the lifeblood of a better Liberia”.
Fact and figure
According to the UN, enrolment in primary education in developing countries has reached 91 percent but 57 million children remain out of school and more than half of the children that have not enrolled in school live in sub-Saharan Africa.
An estimated 50 percent of out-of-school children of primary school age live in conflict-affected areas while 103 million youth worldwide lack basic literacy skills and more than 60 percent of them are women.
In adopting the SDGs in September 2015 at an historic UN Summit, the 17 SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development officially came into force on January 1, 2016.
The SDGs universally apply to all and countries will mobilize efforts to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change, while ensuring that no one is left behind.
Ten targets were laid down for goal number four to be achieved.
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes.
By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys have access to quality early childhood development, care and preprimary education so that they are ready for primary education.
By 2030, ensure equal access for all women and men to affordable and quality technical, vocational and tertiary education, including university.
By 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship.
By 2030, eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and children in vulnerable situations.
By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, nonviolent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
By 2020, substantially expand globally the number of scholarships available to developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing states and African countries, for enrolment in higher education, including vocational training and information and communications technology, technical, engineering and scientific programs, in developed countries and other developing countries.
By 2030, substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries, especially least developed countries and small island developing states
SDN-Liberia is passionately creating awareness and leading campaign efforts to ensure that the Sirleaf-led government and its successor will tie the national budget around the implementation of these goals.
Nimle recently participated in a seminar of national planning officers from ministries of foreign affairs, finance and planning, who are coordinating the mainstreaming of the SDGs into national planning, and civil society organizations in Dakar, Senegal.
The meeting brought together representative from UN country teams and senior level official from the African Union Commission, including Dr. Anthony Maruping, commissioner for Economic Affairs from June 21-22 at the King Fahd Palace Hotel.