The Millennium Development Goals have a strong focus on primary education. The Education for All targets agreed in Dakar in 2000 are broader. They cover not just access to education – both for children and adults – but also quality.

Education is the fundament for progress in any country. For SNV, education is a priority because of:

• the broadly acknowledged importance of education for poverty reduction and sustainable development and its linkages with health, income and employment; 
• the opportunities it provides for contributing to international development goals (like the Millennium Development Goals) as well as human rights agendas.

SNV focuses on better management for effective education (skills and training, infrastructure and support). Another focus is on better accountability (eg. by involving citizens in the operation of schools). We also aim to strengthen the enabling environment (reform champions, decentralisation, effective teachers’ unions, etc.).

SNV works on education in Africa (Kenya, Mozambique, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Niger, Burkina Faso, Benin, Guinea Bissau and Ghana) and Latin America (Bolivia, Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Peru).