President Calls on African Countries to Reimagine Educational Models, Approaches

Addis AbabaEthiopia’s President Sahle Work Zewde called on African countries to reimagine their educational models and approaches to accelerate the development of the continent.

In her speech at the launching of a report on education in Africa on the margins of the 36th African Union Summit today, the president said countries of the African continent need different approaches in terms of quality education.

“To transform the future, we need to rethink our educational models and approaches,” Sahle Work noted.

The continental education strategy for Africa was adopted by African Union heads of state and during the 26th ordinary session held in Addis Ababa in 2016.

However, the president stated that the continental education, both in terms of quality and accessibility, has remained far behind.

For instance, one out of five African children is out of primary school and almost six in 10 adolescents are out of secondary schools.

The proportion of young people not in employment, education or training in sub-Saharan Africa has worsened over the past 10 years.

This is because of there has not been renewal of education without addressing the root causes of education and social exclusion, the president pointed out.

Therefore, Africa needs to transform its education system to realize its ambitious agenda. urged.

“We must maintain vision of education as a public endeavor and a societal project that serves public purposes,” according to the president.

She also stressed the need for new force of governance that include all voices and decolonize the education policy of Africa.

This first edition, “Education in Africa – Placing equity at the heart of policy”, found that while

many countries are taking important and significant positive steps towards reaching this goal, too many children are still left behind.

It also found that the quality of schooling they receive varies widely.

The report looks at six key topics: Early childhood education, primary and secondary school, skills for work, teachers, education facilities, and means of implementation, and suggests that providing quality education for all children will require a complex set of interventions.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency