President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on African leaders to increase their investments in education.
According to him, a recent UNESCO and African Union research revealed that millions of children are not attending school. Speaking at the launch of the World Book Capital 2023 in Accra, the President stated that more has to be done in the educational sector.
“At the primary level, the report suggests that one in five primary-age children are not in the classroom. While six in 10 adolescents are out of school due to several interlinking factors.
Again, 58 per cent of upper secondary-aged children in sub-Saharan Africa do not attend school. This is the scenario completely unacceptable,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo described the World Book Capital 2023 as having great potential to contribute to education, culture, and wealth.
He called on international partners to leverage the diverse linkages to culture and education to deepen their collective actions in making progress on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
“It is with pleasure to join you to launch the UNESCO World Book Capital 2023. Winning the World Book title of Accra is not a mean achievement. It has great potential to contribute to education, culture, and the wealth of our nation.
It's also an acknowledgement of the giant strides Ghana and Africa are making to develop our book in creative industries as well as scale up the youth through the transformative power of reading for societal development.
“For us in Ghana, the Accra World Book Capital is more than a reading campaign. It's an opportunity for government and international partners to leverage the diverse linkages to culture and education to deepen our collective actions to make progress on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals”.
The President also called on the private sector and corporate organizations to provide financial support for the 2023 World Book Capital.
“I call on all stakeholders to come on board and support the program for maximum impact. Further, I call on the private sector, corporate organizations, the UN family, foundations, and similar institutions to support financially this exciting initiative that seeks to connect minds for socio-economic progress,” he appealed.