By: Sulayman Darboe
MA Transnational Governance
Florence School of Transnational Governance
European University Institute
The international donor community says it is fatigued, governments say they are trying, but for research, millions of children are out of school in Africa, with many projecting that the situation could be worsened with the wild population growth trend. These children are married to the streets, farms, and markets. Many students in schools appear to be absent due to poor learning outcomes. The challenges they battle on a daily basis only put them in learning poverty. Although the continent is diverse in many ways, the challenges undermining the advancement of education, despite disparities among countries and geographical regions, are peculiar. In fact, there are very little differences in rural settlements in Africa in terms of their organisations and socio-economic activities. This is why, when a villager from The Gambia travels to a Ugandan village, they experience similar ways of life.
The challenges undermining the development of education in Africa, especially around access and quality, are multi-faceted. This list includes school shortages, a lack of enough classrooms in many built schools, inadequate learning tools and facilities such as books, pencils, laboratories, and technical workshops for practical-oriented subjects. Other challenges include teacher shortage and poor-quality teaching pedagogies, which result from inadequacies in recruitment and teacher training programs. Lack of incentives and proper remuneration is also an additional challenge. Furthermore, poor school leadership and management, inefficient stakeholder engagement, such as the involvement of parents, religious and traditional leaders, are another set of factors undermining educational development in Africa, particularly in rural areas. The widespread family poverty, outdated curricula of colonial origin, uneducated parental backgrounds, and political instability must equally be pointed out due to the undermining roles they play in advancing education and human development on the continent. Although the consistent advocacy by stakeholders registered great outcomes, socio-cultural factors such as early marriage and teenage pregnancy still continue to undermine girls’ education.
It is important to stress that despite all these challenges, many sources agree that Africans are better educated today than in the past and in fact making great contributions to the global workforce. However, the fact that millions of children are still denied access to education, with many more expected to join the list, should intervention efforts continue to slow while the population continues to grow, deserves urgent attention. By 2050, Africa is projected to be home to over 1 billion people. This projected growth is a cause for concern. It is very much wise to emphasise that the strength of every human population lies in its productivity, and no matter how fast and young a population grows, if not made productive, it only becomes a wasteful population. Whether one lives in the North or the South, no human population can be made productive without education. It is the fabric for a fulfilling social, economic, and political life. It is therefore alarming for Africa, with a rapidly growing population, to face challenges that undermine its productivity. To overcome the seeming impregnable educational challenges, ‘ all intervention efforts’ should prioritise the following.
Foremost, the continent needs increased investment in education to enhance infrastructure, such as schools, classrooms, and sanitation facilities. According to UNESCO, the spending gap for education in Africa stands at $77 billion, which is a result of limited investment. But where will the money come from? I would say that even though fatigued, the international donor community must exercise resilience by standing with a continent whose education, if not enhanced, could lead to regional and global crisis moving forward,, due to the globalised nature of the world. Over the years, support from the international donors has substantially fuelled educational development efforts on the continent. However, the fact that many economies in the continent are not diversified makes education sector financing difficult, with many countries making little GDP commitment. This necessitates increased external support as the resilience of the region’s domestic economies is still highly questioned.
Thinking sustainably, the continent must explore other strategies that are inward-looking, such as encouraging diaspora involvement in school infrastructure development, public-private partnerships, and setting up special departments in schools with the purpose of mobilising resources to complement the government’s GDP commitments. Furthermore, advocacy must still be seen as an essential tool for addressing socio-cultural challenges denying girls access to education. It is also pivotal for the transparency and accountability structures in schools to be enhanced, since many school leaders will divert school resources into personal projects. In The Gambia, many senior teachers will only marry a second or third wife when they are appointed principals. It is also important to highlight with emphasis that there should be an inclusive stakeholder involvement approach that accommodate all relevant parties including religious and traditional leaders considering the significant level of authority they possess in communities.
What must not also be ignored is the region’s internal conflicts, which stand as an important factor depriving millions of children from accessing schools. This demands dialogue both at the national, supranational, and various multilateral levels to bring lasting peace to the continent. Parental education programs should be introduced even in indigenous languages with the aim of achieving social and behavioural changes that could result in widespread parental support towards children’s education. To address learning poverty in schools, book clubs that encourage children to learn through fun activities should be promoted. It is also important for communities, particularly those in the rural areas, to attach collective importance to education and work towards domestic resource mobilisation to establish learning spaces that could facilitate learning through peer support. The traditional attitude of measuring the significance of children’s education based on employment outcomes in the continent, deserves attention as the empowerment and the sense of fulfilment that schools bring are often ignored.
In conclusion, while it is right to say that intervention efforts in advancing education in Africa, both in terms of access and quality, have resulted in great outcomes, the presence of millions of out-of-school children on the continent means more needs to be done, especially with the rapid rise in population. Although the international donor community wants to sleep due to fatigue, someone should whisper in their ears that sleeping at a time when the continent is undergoing swift changes in its demographics could plunge it into a foreseen regional and global crisis. Now, it could probably be a moment of scratching the head or roaming the room for solutions, but something must be done. Similarly, a scratch on the back for African governments to rethink education financing and management could be a game changer. Taking ownership of the challenges and exploring inward-looking strategies just as recommended could make a huge difference.
