Urges CDC Gov’t to honour its human rights obligation
By Augustine Octavius,augustineoctavius@gmail.com
The Coalition for Transparency and Accountability in Education (COTAE) has advanced a five-count recommendation, calling on the Liberian government of President George Weah to honor its human rights obligation by adequately funding public education and regulating the involvement of private actors in the sector
The coalition’s National Coordinator, Anderson Maimen, noted that the current unregulated role of private school actors charging high tuition is totally unacceptable and needs an immediate action.
Addressing a press conference in Monrovia, Mr. Maimen pointed out that education should not be for profit making and those doing so should have no place in the sector.
The coalition national coordinator recommended that all on- going activities in the sector, including the Education Ministry, should be guided by local and international laws and policies governing the education including the Abidjan Principle.
He also recommended that the civil society organizations, the media and citizens should remain constructively engaged with the activities in education by demanding accountability from the government, and the fulfillment of the rights to education especially for the poor to lift themselves out of poverty
According to him, the Abidjan Principle, which was launched in February , last year, obligates governments to meet up with its responsibility to provide access and human rights of all to education
The Abidjan Principle highlights the human rights obligation of states to provide funding for public education and to regulate private involvement in education
The guiding protocols of the Abidjan Principle was launched in Ivory Coast in February 2019 following three years of participatory deliberation ,consultation and drafting process among educational stake holders around the world
The principles are based on existing human rights treaties, conventions including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights , the Convention of the Rights of the Child and the Convention Against all forms of Discrimination in Education; all of which Liberia is a signatory.
With funding from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, he went on, COTAE, a conglomeration of civil society organizations in the educational sector, has embarked on a massive campaign on the Abidjan Principle among state holders in Liberia.
Mr. Maimen noted that this campaign is intended to advocate for its recognition and full implementation by the Liberian government in line with its human rights obligation to provide equal access to education for all the people in the country.
The COTAE National Coordinator encouraged the government to respect , protect and fulfill the rights to education for everyone within its jurisdiction in accordance to rights to equality and nondiscrimination.
He maintained that it is obligation of the government to provide and prioritize the funding and provision of free quality public education to its citizens
Maimen expressed regret that the current support to the education which is below the minimum 20 percent of the national budget bench mark sent by the Global Partnership for Education is worrisome.
According to the 2019-2020 national budget, the government allotted about 83. 4 million United States Dollars, which is 15.8 percent of the 526 million United States Dollars budget is absolutely below the bench mark set by the Global Partner for Education and other international bodies.