Putting Education at the Heart of the AU-EU Partnership for a Better Future
Accra, June 02, GNA – The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded the learning crisis in Africa
by severely limiting access to education. By early April 2020, the crisis had left more than 20
million pre-primary, 160 million primary, 56 million secondary, and eight million tertiary level
learners out of school, with no access to continued learning and teaching facilities across the
continent.
People are the most important of all resources. In the next 15 years, 450 million young Africans
will be looking to either find or create a job for themselves. Will they be able to build a career in
one of the emerging sectors? Will they have the right skills and competences to meet the evolving
demands of the labour market? The answer is yes – yes, the action is taken now.
It is crucial that to invest in the future and allocate adequate funds to education today, enabling the
necessary reforms. The European Union (EU) intends to increase spending on education in partner
countries covered by the International Partnerships portfolio from seven percent to 10%. The
African Union (AU) encourages its Member States to increase their budget allocations for
education, and to improve overall domestic resource mobilisation. Mobilising more resources and
improving spending are central to quality education systems and to improving resilience to future
shocks.
There is also a need to innovate the development, provision and delivery of education at all levels,
taking advantage of digital learning. The Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25)
emphasises the need to harness the capacity of ICT to improve access, quality and management of
education and training systems in Africa. There is no doubt that digital learning opportunities have
immense potential to transform education and training through greater accessibility, affordability,
and relevance. Furthermore, hybrid learning models and the application of modern technologies in
other aspects of education beyond delivery is essential to guarantee the quality of learning, while
reducing inefficiencies.
Partnerships will be another key part of the solution – including partnerships with civil society, the
private sector, and global education partners. In the new EU–Africa Strategy, under “Partnership
for sustainable growth and jobs”, the European Union aims to focus on education, skills, research
and innovation in Africa. This means improving access to inclusive and equitable quality education
for all.
Partnerships will be sought for developing innovative approaches and improving learning outcomes
that can meet future demands, including in emerging fields, such as the digital sector and green and
climate-friendly technologies. The EU will focus on supporting the availability and quality of
teachers at all levels of education – it is estimated that around 17 million teachers will be needed in
sub-Saharan Africa by 2030 to achieve universal primary and secondary education.
The EU is committed to working with its Member States in a “Team Europe” spirit to deliver
maximum impact. In Mozambique, for example, the EU and Member States are preparing an ‘E-
YOUTH’ Initiative, which will help better match competence-based vocational education and
training with the needs of the market, so that young Mozambicans can access jobs more easily. The
Initiative will also empower girls and women by supporting them to enter Science, Technology,
Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields of study, and by promoting coding.
Promoting innovations that safeguard gender responsive education and education for refugees,
persons living with disabilities and special needs, and those living in underserved communities
should also be prioritised in order to ensure these children are not disproportionately affected by
the current changes in education delivery. Adopting sustainable innovations in education delivery
and management in Africa means improving education quality for all, so that everyone can reach
their full potential.
The education event “Building Skills for the Future » hosted by the AU, EU and UNICEF on 20
April, marked a major milestone in the partnership of the EU and AU, and in their joint work on
education. They fully agreed on the importance of quality, inclusive and equitable education for all,
at all levels, and the critical importance of increased investment and partnerships in achieving that.
Their joint actions will focus on strengthening education systems at all levels. They will pay
particular attention to protecting the gains that Africa has made in addressing the learning crisis, to
addressing inequalities in access and learning, and to matching skills with jobs. They will seek to
harness the potential of digital learning and to build digital competencies, while bridging the digital
divide.
Decisions on the future relationship of the two continents will be taken the EU-AU summit, but this
could, however, be said today: Education will be a top priority of the EU-AU partnership, as the
foundation for a successful, prosperous and sustainable future for both continents.
