Brown aims to broaden schooling in poor countries

KAMPALA - Prime Minister Gordon Brown pledged on Friday to work to ensure that millions of children who do not go to school in poor countries in Africa and Asia get an education.

Britain wants leaders of the 53-nation Commonwealth, who are meeting in Uganda, to support the goal of extending education in Commonwealth countries to 30 million children who are missing out on primary schooling.

"It's my ambition ... to train up the teachers, to get the schools built, to make sure that every child in the world has the chance to get to school," Brown told pupils at St. Peter's primary school in Uganda's capital, Kampala.

The Commonwealth is mostly made up of former British colonies and includes developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

To back Brown's pledge, the government announced it would spend 106 million pounds over six years on education in Nigeria, where seven million children do not go to school.

The government also announced it would spend more than 50 million pounds over the next three years for scholarships and study awards to help young people go to university in the Commonwealth -- supporting up to 2,500 students and researchers.

The initiatives are part of Britain's commitment to spend 8.5 billion pounds of its aid budget over 10 years to help fund education in the poorest countries.

Britain is spending 15 million pounds in Uganda this year on funding education.

Brown said he wanted to create a situation "whether it's in Uganda or Tanzania or India, or whether it's in any of the countries in Africa and Asia, where every child has the chance of education. We are building a consensus in the Commonwealth that this has got to be done and done very quickly."

Brown was greeted by flag-waving children, whirling traditional dancers and a brass band as he took time off from the Commonwealth talks to tour St Peter's school, founded a century ago by Roman Catholic missionaries from Britain.

The school now teaches 2,500 boys and girls aged up to 15.

Deputy head teacher Josephine Kimera said the school's pupils had thought the Queen -- who is also in Uganda -- was going to visit, but said they were still excited by the prime minister's arrival.

Brown saw at first hand the school's problems with overcrowded classrooms. The school has 93 pupils per classroom. Kimera said the school also needed computers and Internet connections.