But Africa’s future success in education is not yet guaranteed. Basic literacy skills have declined in four out of ten African countries over the last three decades. Even as participation grows, children still face low primary education completion rates – about 63%, compared to a worldwide average of 87%. Those rates are worse for girls. Around 50 million children remain out of school across Africa. These challenges are especially acute in sub-Saharan Africa.
There are also not enough teachers or classrooms for a continent where 60% of the population is under 25 years old. Africa needs at least 9 million new classrooms and 9.5 million additional teachers by 2050, according to UNESCO. And that’s only to meet the needs of school-age children and adolescents, it doesn’t address surging demand for higher education.
Progress in two areas could make a significant difference: teacher training and education technology. It would be short-sighted to pursue one without the other, and Africa has immense potential in both domains. Investment in teacher training, alongside measured technology deployment, must be supported by international collaboration, however. How this is achieved really matters.
As African education curricula, policies, expertise and technology develop, the standards and status of the teaching profession must also rise.
One important sustainable way to build up capacity is to invest in teacher training and empower teachers with technology, rather than using technology to displace their work. We have to raise quality as we scale-up.
Throughout Africa, digital literacy is becoming a core part of curricula and education policies, alongside fundamental literacy. It has to – governments in Botswana, Mauritius and South Africa have all placed digital competency at the heart of their education policies.
Indeed, when African teachers are empowered with technology – even relatively simple kit such as laptops and projectors, along with enduring essentials like textbooks – the expansion of networks and sharing of best practice is inspirational.
When COVID-19 forced the closure of schools in Eswatini, a southern African country, in March 2020, students needed more than apps to continue their education, even as the national telecoms provider allowed free and subsidised internet access for online teaching. Education leaders also had to address the digital divide in a country where nearly 70% of the population lives below the poverty line. Printing presses were redeployed so exercise booklets could be distributed with newspapers. Lessons were broadcast on TV and radio.
It was a simple, smart and scalable strategy. Most importantly, it worked. Many wealthy nations could learn something from Eswatini’s frugal innovation in the face of adversity. Similarly, when Senegal gave all children high-quality textbooks, it saw significant improvements in early-grade literacy performance.
A Guest Editorial