The Education Above All Foundation launches a project to educate all out-of-school children in The Gambia

The Education Above All Foundation, one of the largest global organizations in the field of development and education, has launched a project to ensure that all children under the age of 18, who have missed primary education, reach school in the Republic of The Gambia, in partnership with UNICEF, with the support of the Qatar Fund for Development, and in cooperation with Government of the Republic of the Gambia. The Educate A Child program, in cooperation with UNICEF in the Gambia, has begun work to educate 66,765 out-of-school children in quality primary education, as UNICEF, along with the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education, will implement the project, which will extend for three years throughout the country, with the aim of ensuring that all children are enrolled. Out-of-school children in a good primary education, thus helping the country to make the out-of-school children ratio to zero. The project uses several innovative strategies including community engagement to increase demand for education services, cash transfer programs as an incentive, financial burden relief, and provision of bicycles to students who have to walk long distances to and from school. Moreover, there will be collaboration across different ministries to identify Registration and monitoring of out-of-school children in remote and difficult areas. Improving the quality of education will be supported through increased recruitment and training of teachers and the provision of appropriate educational materials. New classrooms suitable for people with disabilities and gender-sensitive toilets will be built. The Education Above All Foundation’s Zero Out-of-School project in The Gambia ensures that adolescents who have missed primary school have another chance to go back to school through an informal alternative learning program that leads to certificates and transition to higher school. Mr. Gordon Lewis, UNICEF Representative in the Gambia, stressed the need for children everywhere to enjoy the right to quality education, regardless of their gender, socio-economic status and physical and mental capabilities, noting that this project is an important step towards ensuring that all children go to school and learn. At the appropriate level, children have dreams to pursue and a future to build, and a good education is a stepping stone to success. For her part, Dr. Mary Joy Pigozzi, Executive Director of the Educate A Child Program of the Education Above All Foundation, said, "Aiming for zero out-of-school children is essential. We have promised Education for All for more than a decade."The project will ensure that students are supported to overcome barriers to quality primary education, and will also prove that countries like Gambia can deliver on their promise of providing education for all. Having achieved its goal of educating 10 million out-of-school children, Education Above All Foundation’s Educate A Child program continues its commitment to the education of out-of-school children by adding another strategy to finding innovative ways to enable every child to realize their right to a quality primary education. Getting out-of-school children to zero works with governments and other partners to ensure that no child is left behind when it comes to education.