BUJUMBURA, July 11th (ABP) – The FVS-Ami des Jeunes organized on Friday, July 5, in Bujumbura, an advocacy workshop for free and compulsory education for all in Burundi, on the occasion of the celebration of the African Children’s International Day, 2024 edition, under the theme: “Education for all children in Burundi: the time has come”.
The legal representative of the FVS-Ami des Jeunes, Mrs. Spès Nihangaza, said that this workshop was part of the theme “Let’s mobilize for compulsory education for all children” chosen by FVS-Ami des Jeunes, in order to promote free and compulsory education for all children in Burundi.
Education is one of the most effective ways to fight poverty, she said, indicating that educated people generally have better incomes and are in better health than uneducated people. The Burundian State has the obligation to guarantee the right to education for all children, Mrs. Nihangaza said.
Education has been free since 2005 in Burundi, she recalled, recognizing that this is a significant step forward for the country. Many children do not yet have access to education despite this free education, and this is a great loss for the country, she deplored.
Among the causes that prevent children from going to school, there is the precariousness of families. Many children are forced to work, from a younger age, to help their families survive. Their intellectual potential is essentially invested in the fight for follow-up and studies become secondary, she justified.
She added that there are also orphans living with tutors who have made them free labor. While children with the same age go to school, orphans must go to work in the fields and prepare food for the children of tutors who are at school, she further deplored. Many children under the age of 18 are employed as domestic servants or cooks in households in the capital Bujumbura and elsewhere.
To raise these cases of children without access to education, the legal representative of FVS-Ami des Jeunes declared that the Burundian State has the obligation to guarantee the right to education for all children. As for civil society organizations, they must get involved in the economic rejuvenation of the most vulnerable households to enable them, little by little, to take care of the most vulnerable children.
The FVS works so that all children can be educated based on the theme: No children on the street or at work during school hours, she announced, while inviting parents who have children with disabilities not to hide them at home, but rather to enroll them in school because they are like other children.