• Speaking on a presidential panel at the Global Education Summit in London, Uhuru said that African nations cannot achieve their set goals without education.
• Togo president said that quality early childhood education was critical and there is a need to increase access to it.
President Uhuru Kenyatta has led his African counterparts in rallying governments to invest more in education, especially in poor nations.
"If we all come together and raise our hands for education, we will be raising our hands to end poverty, and towards dignified living. We will be raising our hands to the future of this world," Uhuru said on Thursday.
Speaking on a presidential panel at the Global Education Summit in London, Uhuru said that African nations cannot achieve their set goals without education.
"Education is the foundation for life. We cannot achieve the goals of Agenda 2063 without giving our children the tools to help us achieve them," Uhuru said.
Uhuru added that Heads of State and Government must prioritise, protect, and increase domestic finance for education because it is the most sustainable source of funding for education.
"Despite our investment and even spending a quarter of our budget on education, we are still falling short and thus the need for this kind of initiative," Uhuru said.
He added; "You cannot develop a nation or a continent without giving our children the tools to enable us to achieve our development goals."
The President was joined by Presidents Nana Akufo-Addo (Ghana), Lazarus Chakwera (Malawi), Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria) and Faure Gnassingbé (Togo).
Their sentiments were also echoed by Rwanda President Paul Kagame in a video message played at the Summit.
"This summit is an important reminder that the ongoing COVID pandemic must not reverse the gains made in education access and quality, particularly in Africa," Kagame said.
The Summit co-hosted by Uhuru and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson aimed at rallying the world to raise over Sh500 billion by 2025 to support education in poor nations across the world.
Akufo-Addo said that there was a need for African countries to continue investing in all areas including education.
He added that his ambition is to expand quality education from primary to tertiary to drive economic and human development.
"To transform our economies we need universal education even to tertiary level and a healthy population. We spend 23 per cent on education and it is rising... But we must also invest in health. Lives and livelihoods. matter," the Ghana president said.
Buhari said that the need for education opportunities was clear to everyone and thus more must be done to increase both physical and intellectual infrastructures.
Chakwera said that Malawi was spending up to 21 per cent on education.
"... but it is not enough," he said.
Togo president said that quality early childhood education was critical and there is a need to increase access to it.
"We have to invest in pre-school years. If we can do more for pre-school education today, we will bring down dropout rates, and have a better educated and better equipped population tomorrow," Gnassingbé said.