AFRICA/SOMALIA - Campaign for the schooling of one million children

Mogadishu ( Agenzia Fides) - Somalia, where only four out of ten children go to school, has one of the lowest rates of child schooling in the world. On the occasion of the recent International Day of Literacy, the Somali authorities launched a campaign for school education concerning a million young children in the Country. The project was presented in the capital Mogadishu, and in two other cities in the Country and will last for three years and has the objective of providing education to a quarter of children currently not in school. According to reports from UNICEF, among the supporters of the initiative, the campaign calls for the renovation and construction of free public schools and the training of teachers. The Somali authorities want to provide basic education for children between the ages of 6 to 13, including those displaced due to conflicts that involve the African country. Another objective is to facilitate technical training to half a million young people between 14 and 18 years of age, the age group most vulnerable to gangs of criminal groups in Somalia. The initiative, called "Go 2 school", coincides with the beginning of the school year in the Country. (AP) (Agenzia Fides 11/09/2013)