“Teacher training, improving inclusiveness and matching skills with jobs” are the three aspects that the European Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, highlighted on 20 September in New York to ensure quality education for all in Africa, in partnership with UNICEF.
She was speaking at a High-Level meeting on ‘Re-imagining Education in Africa’ organised by the African Union Commission and UNICEF on the sidelines of the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA-76).
The meeting aimed to build momentum among public partners and other stakeholders to support an AU summit in 2023 focused on education and to support African countries’ efforts to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) by 2030, as well as the education goals of AU Agenda 2063.
“The EU is committed to innovative approaches to promote inclusion and equity in access to education. We must leverage the opportunities of digital innovations to reach girls and other underrepresented groups”, the Commissioner stressed.
She also recalled that the EU has increased funding for education to at least 10% of its external budget - “ essential funds to support African teachers and equip them with valuable skills, as well as to invest in higher education and vocational institutions to help young people prepare for the green and digital transitions”.
The Commissioner added: “The coming months will be crucial to forge deeper relationships between Africa and the EU ahead of the 6th EU/AU Summit”.
This summit, which is expected to lead to a new common strategy, is now planned for February 2022.
UNICEF has published a report entitled ‘Transforming Education in Africa’, making recommendations to African policy makers for long-term improvements, given that the continent will have one billion people under the age of 18 by 2050.
See the report: https://uni.cf/3AufPVP (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)