Government in collaboration with a group of former African leaders has issued an urgent call to action to combat Africa’s learning crisis on the continent.
The call was made on the sidelines of the Africa Union Mid-Year hosted by H.E.President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Dr. Obiageli Ezekwesili, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Human Capital Africa and Former World Bank Vice-President of the Africa Region.
The gathering brought distinguish leaders including former President Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria) Joyce Banda (Malawi), Jakaya Kikwete (Tanzania) and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia).
The meeting seeks to address education deficit as nine out of ten children can not read with understanding or solve basic mathematics by age ten which creates a fundamental barrier to achieving the continent’s social and economic growth and development.
In his opening remarks, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo-Addo said the continent is in learning crisis and leaders across Africa must collectively work to help address fundamental learning challenges saying the continent must establish accountability measures and peer review mechanisms to witness progress.
He said African leaders must shift perspective from short –term solutions to long-term investments in the future and however be committed to a comprehensive educational reform and development.
“Government in these regard is advocating for a continental commitment to transformative and enduring educational policies that will shape the future of countries and the citizenry at the upcoming African Union Mid Year Summit”, he said.
For his part, Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo said true development is inseparable from education adding that education is not merely important but a matter of life and death and countries without education will not be able to achieve human resource potentials.
He however advocated for lifelong learning from cradle to grave and explained that education should be a constant companion throughout the continent journey and thus urged President Akufo-Addo to champion and prioritize education at the upcoming AU Mid-Year Summit.
Dr. Obiageli Exekwesili, CEO of Human Capital Africa proposed that every President of the continent must become a Chief Learning Officer and make foundamental learning as the cornerstone of education, saying neglecting it’s tantamount to abandoning developmental goals and again used the occasion to thank African Leaders for their commitment in addressing learning crisis on the continent.
Report by Ben LARYEA
