Kenya urges youth to emulate Obama by realizing dreams

The president noted that under the Vision 2030, the government envisages a well-educated and skilled human resource base, which are critical factors towards the success of the vision.

"We have further sought to improve the access to higher education by encouraging private sector investments in the education sector. I am glad to note that we have witnessed keen interest by private investors in post-secondary education, including university level education," Kibaki said.

The government targets at attaining 80 percent mark both in adult literacy level and transition rate from primary to secondary education level by 2012, the president declared.

Kibaki said that the government has extended huge financial supports to primary school, non-formal school and adult education centers to step up the provision of education to adults.

The president noted that the crucial role education plays in development has compelled government to integrate adult education into the mainstream education system to ensure coordinated policy development and implementation to achieve the maximum utilization of both personnel and facilities.

"Adult and continuing education has, therefore, become part of the investment programs within the Kenya Education Sector Support Program which aims at giving every Kenyan the right to quality education," he said.

He said that the since the youth comprises the majority in the total labor force supply in many African countries, it was vital to pay special attention to the education of the young populace.

"Indeed, the youth between 15 and 35 years of age account for about 38 percent of our population. More importantly, the youth form about 60 percent of the total labor force in the country," he said.

Kibaki appealed for continued donor supports in various education programs in the country.

The president thanked UNESCO for sponsoring the forum and urged the organization to create more such opportunities for educators to review, plan and exchange their unique experiences.

Editor:Zheng Limin