Nsibambi (right) is welcomed in London by Doris McEachern, an educationist

By Vision Reporter

COMMONWEALTH leaders should advocate for policies that guarantee access to education for all people, with emphasis on vulnerable groups like women and those living with HIV/AIDS, President Yoweri Museveni has said.

Museveni, in a keynote speech delivered by Prime Minister Prof. Apolo Nsibambi at the 5th Pan-Commonwealth forum on open learning at the University of London, UK, said the organisation’s human resource of about two billion people was a big potential for development.

“Countries like Namibia that have adopted open schooling for formal, non-formal and informal sectors have a lot to teach us,” the President said.

According to a statement from Nsibambi’s office, Museveni said human capital development was one of the critical causes of economic progress, adding that India had been able to shift more than 400 million people to the industry and services sectors partly because of her education system.

He noted that Uganda’s education sector had played a big role in sensitising the population on peaceful co-existence.
Museveni also challenged the over 700 participants from 70 countries to explore ways of using distance and open learning to address challenges of poverty, environmental sustainability and health care.

The Commonwealth secretary general, Sharma Kamalesh, also highlighted the need for quality education and use of ICT, noting that 18 member countries were failing to achieve universal primary education.