UNICEF: Africa not meeting commitment on child education - June 17, 2024

Daybreak Africa - VOA Africa

Africa commemorated the Day of the African Child Sunday. The day had its beginning on June 16, 1971, when thousands of South African students in Soweto Township marched and demanded to be taught in their own language, not the Afrikaans language of apartheid South Africa. Police responded and killed hundreds of students. The theme of this year’s celebration is: “Education for All Children in Africa: The Time is Now. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has released a report which shows that most African countries are not meeting their commitment to allocate 20 percent of their national budgets on education. Sacha Westerbeek, UNICEF’s chief communication officer, tells VOA’s James Butty, African governments should recommit to making education a budgetary priority.