5.5. Gender, Education and Training Education remains a fundamental and universal human right and a pre-requisite for economic growth, human development and poverty reduction. The gender parity achieved in some areas in the education sector need to be sustained through addressing the factors that may reverse the status quo especially problems that result in school drop outs. At the same time, the new constitutional and the economic developments open to a broad spectrum of new opportunities for equal participation in the workplace, market place and governance structures. Increased attention to training and capacity building for all, particularly for women to enable them to fully take on these opportunities is imperative. These new gender related learning and skills development priorities have to be pursued through recasting gender policy and strategies. Policy Objective: To ensure equal access to education for boys and girls and their retention at all levels of education; and to ensure access to training opportunities for men and women to make possible their equal participation in the workplace, marketplace and in governance structures. Policy Strategies i. Conduct training and capacity needs survey and support the implementation of capacity building programmes to actualise the constitutional provision for equal participation in all social, economic and political spheres. ii. Advocate for, and support efforts to design and implement programmes aimed at creating an enabling environment for the retention of girls at secondary school levels particularly in rural and resettlement areas. iii. Establish mechanisms to encourage women and girls to study stereotyped science subjects and to take up training in technical courses. iv. Lobby for affirmative action aimed at encouraging enrolment and retention of females in vocational training institutions especially in male domains. v. Promote equal access to ICT by both boys and girls, and men and women. vi. Support initiatives for training and skills development to achieve the objectives of women’s economic empowerment and seek strategic partnerships to conduct training programmes to enhance the skills of women and girls in entrepreneurship, business leadership, self-confidence, advocacy, negotiation skills and financial literacy. vii. Advocate for and support inservice training and capacity-building programmes to prepare women to advance to positions of power in the private and public sector institutions and in political and other governance structures 17