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The achievement of Aspiration 1 of Agenda 2063 for “A prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development” requires that Africa makes significant investments in education with the aim of developing human and social capital through an education and skills revolution emphasizing innovation, science, and technology.
Even with a substantial increase in the number of African children with access to basic education, a large number still remain out of school. This reality calls for concern.
There are many barriers to education for low-income households. The issue was raised in 2022 at global level by the UNSG, Antonio Guterrres during a Summit on Transforming Education, amidst many other serious global issues. The Summit pointed out that education is serious crisis, and progress towards the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education (SDG4), needs to be enhanced. That is why the UNSG wanted to impulse “a one-in-a-generation” opportunity to address this global education crisis by renewing collective commitment and joint action.
The AU, through its Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA), is vying to expand access not just to quality education, but also to education that is relevant to the needs of the continent given that the continent’s population is rapidly increasing. The CESA aims to reorient Africa’s education and training systems to meet the knowledge, competencies, skills, innovation, and creativity required to nurture African core values and promote sustainable development at the national, sub-regional and continental levels.
The key objectives of CESA are to:-
It is worth recalling that, at the dawn of independence, incoming African leaders were quick to prioritize education on their development agendas as governments began to build schools and post teachers even to the farthest corners of the continent. Children began to fill the classrooms and basic education was under way. Attaining universal primary education, OAU Member States maintained, would help post-independence Africa lift itself out of abject poverty. Consequently, according to a statement by UNESCO which is tasked with coordinating international cooperation in education, science, culture and communication, Africa’s primary school enrolment rate is above 80% on average, with the continent recording some of the biggest increases in elementary school enrolment globally in the last few decades and more children in Africa are going to school than ever before.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).
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