Education stakeholders urged to empower youths

Media in Education Trust Africa country manager Bukelwa Ntlabati has challenged the country’s education stakeholders to commit to improving lives of youths.

She made the remarks on Wednesday at Bwaila Secondary School during a jamboree on integrated service delivery in education under the theme Improving the Lives of Children and Youth through Future Life Now project aimed at equipping secondary school students with knowledge and skills to eradicate new infections by 2030.

Ntlabati encouraged education stakeholders to join hands in tackling sexual and reproductive health, HIV prevention, gender equality and climate change issues.

She said: “We encourage education stakeholders present here and the community out there to work for the benefit of the youth to become role models in the 21st century generation.

“Youth empowerment is vital for the country’s development as such there is need to promote sustainable empowerment practices for them to excel.”

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) schools health and nutrition director Virginia Kachigunda stressed the need for stakeholders to step-up efforts to implement the Future Life Now project to eradicate challenges facing the youth.

“Oliver Tambo, son of Africa, said and I quote: ‘The children of any nation are its future and the country’s future belongs to children. If the country does not embrace the youth, it has no future’” she said.

Central West Education Division representative Joyce Hamsin said Future Life Now project is crucial in equipping the youth with knowledge and skills beneficial for them to improve their lives.

“As a division, we will try to work collaboratively with stakeholders for the smooth implementation of the project,” she said.