AU Commissioner Stresses Need for Mobilizing More Resources to Improve Education in Africa   

Addis Ababa February 2/2024 (ENA)The African Union (AU) declared 2024 as the Year of Education because of the urgent need to mobilize more resources for improved access to quality learning across the continent, Education, Science and Innovation Commissioner Professor Mohammed Belhocine told ENA.

Africa comes from a baseline situation whereby poverty, nutrition, burden of debt, conflicts, and human-made or natural disasters are creating competing priorities for governments, the professor noted, adding that you may therefore somehow neglect some of these priorities when you have to deal with all these competing priorities.

"After COVID-19, we realized that not only the progress that was made has been somehow stopped, but the situation is compounded now. That's why this idea of having education as the theme of the year was put on the table because we think that with that we will be able to re-galvanize member states, the population and youth to think more about education," Professor Mohammed elaborated.   

Despite positive trends, many African countries struggle to meet the UN's Sustainable Development Goals for education by 2030.

According to him, the AU calls for regaining momentum and emphasizes education's role in development, aligning with Agenda 2063, the blueprint for Africa's future prosperity.

The AU's role lies in policy formulation, harmonization, and setting norms and standards, facilitating free trade and the movement of people. Initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area and harmonized recognition of qualifications, for instance, aim to enhance mobility and knowledge exchange, he pointed out.

The professor noted that the support of the AU will be in terms of policy formulation, harmonization of policies, setting norms and standards.

"For instance, we (Africans) need to have a harmonized system of recognition of diplomas and qualifications at all levels in all countries. And that's what we are developing as a Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation. We are trying to formulate policies, to formulate strategies, norms, and standards, which will help countries to see whether they are at the same level or if there are gaps." 

With regard to funding, Professor Mohammed stated that support through partners like the African Development Bank, UN agencies, and bilateral partnerships has been mobilized as the AU cannot fully depend on the contribution of member states.

The EU-AU Innovation Agenda and teacher training programs exemplify successful collaborations, he added.

"When we talk about resources, there is always the same situation. I mean, competing priorities are there. So to tell you that we have the necessary resources is not true, but we are trying to mobilize, we are also mobilizing resources through partners, through the African Development Bank, which is one of our key partners. But we have also cooperation and partnerships with many, many different sectors, starting with, for instance, UN agencies." 

Stating that the global call for increased funding and innovative solutions, potentially inspired by the Global Fund model for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, had gained traction, the commissioner extended similar calls on education to address the out-of-school crisis in Africa.

According to the commissioner, international norms in terms of financing have benchmarks. For instance, UNESCO wants countries to invest 10 to 15 percent of the national budget in education.  

But "if you look at the statistics, not all countries could reach that level. At the same time, because of the demographic burden that we have in Africa, we have a lot of young people in Africa. It's going to be the youngest continent in the world in the coming few years. It means that even when you have the political will and the political commitment to reach universal coverage in terms of education, you will run short of money because your GDP may not be sufficient in some situations."   

So, the issue  about how to better help these countries to get universal coverage of education and the idea of having better coordination in terms of funding by financial and by multilateral partners has now come to the fore.

Therefore, he gravely pointed out that "we can (now) think of a global fund which could help countries to reach universal coverage. And this is very important. As we are speaking now, the total young school-age population we have in sub-Saharan Africa in general is half a billion. And as we speak, 100 million of these children are not going to school or are not attending school. This is a huge mass of children."

This is  a big problem not only for our continent but also for the rest of the world, the professor said, revealing that the Union has supplemental funds to support what the countries are already doing. 

"And many of the countries are doing quite well, although some have not yet reached the level of 10 percent of investment. But most of them are doing their best to reach that benchmark." 

With 100 million children currently out of school, the AU emphasizes Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as a second chance. The African Strategy on TVET and partnerships like the German Skills Initiative for Africa offer training opportunities.

Stressing the need to decolonize history education, and recognizing the prevalence of colonial narratives in curricula, the commissioner stressed that the AU advocates for teaching real African history written by Africans.

A comprehensive work on African history by African scholars exists, and translating it into digestible curricula for all levels is a key objective, the professor stated. 

Commissioner Mohammed concluded by stressing the urgency of addressing the education crisis: "This is a huge problem for our continent and even beyond... These are the children who will try to cross borders... We need to show that there is an international idea to support what countries are already doing."

The AU's 2024 theme underscores the critical role of education in Africa's development and serves as a call to action for increased investment, collaboration, and innovative solutions to ensure quality learning for all.