Better Education for All: Turning Commitments into Action

Last year, the African Union declared 2024 “The Year of Education.”  This was a crucial call to action for African nations to accelerate their efforts towards ensuring quality education for all, as a cornerstone for progress and development.

In this spirit, I’m thrilled about the recent approval of a new program, Advancing Innovative Methods to Promote Learning (AIM4Learning), which will benefit more than 70 million children in Eastern and Southern Africa. The program will use the latest innovations and technologies to enhance education quality while supporting the rapid expansion of school enrollment. It aims to significantly reduce the out-of-school population and push for greater enrollment of girls in secondary education. Additionally, AIM4Learning will collaborate with key sectors, including Digital and Energy, to ensure that new schools have power and internet access.

This 10-year program puts our recently launched Education Business Plan for Eastern and Southern Africa into action. Over the past decade, we have increased our education portfolio, allocating $7 billion for education financing in the region. Through our regional strategies and Education Business Plan, we aim to do even more by working closely with governments to improve education outcomes and tackle the systemic challenges holding back progress.

The call for turning commitments into action was heard loud and clear at the 2024 Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX). I was heartened to see policy makers, development partners and education actors assessing progress on education commitments, such as the Dar es Salaam Declaration, and exchange knowledge on tangible education solutions to pressing needs.

Technologies, innovative financing mechanisms, and the successful implementation of cost-effective and proven interventions have created unprecedented opportunities to transform how we deliver education at scale.

For example, in Rwanda, teacher reforms have contributed significantly to recent success in tackling learning poverty through increased teacher salaries, performance-based contracts, and regular evaluations along with large-scale classroom constructions that have improved learning spaces. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the elimination of school fees and improving resource management has helped bring 5 million out-of-school children into primary education. It was rewarding to see these improvements firsthand while in Rwanda and visiting DRC. In Ethiopia, a program aimed at improving early education through a play-based curriculum and targeted teacher training has benefited over 2.3 million children, resulting in an 88% transition rate to Grade 2.

These experiences coupled with our work in other countries point to three critical areas where actions must continue to transform education systems.

First, together we must enhance teaching effectiveness. Our analysis shows that by implementing proven solutions for teacher management and support, countries can recover billions in wasted resources and dramatically improve learning outcomes. While teachers represent 80% of education spending, their impact is often diminished by poor teaching conditions, inequitable deployment, lack of support, and high rates of absenteeism.

Second, our evidence demonstrates the critical need to ensure that the essential tools for learning are present in all classrooms. Our work in Rwanda and Tanzania shows that combining quality learning materials with intensive teacher training can create dramatic improvements in student outcomes. Supporting governments to provide these fundamental resources consistently and predictably must be a priority.

Third, our data indicates the urgent need to expand access efficiently and equitably. While many countries have admirably introduced fee-free education policies, the scale of expansion required is enormous – in Eastern and Southern Africa alone, we project a need to enroll an additional 51 million adolescents over the next decade. This requires innovative approaches to school construction, curriculum design, and service delivery.

We have identified the areas of success – now is the time to scale these up and transform commitments into action. It’s exciting to witness these commitments come to life, such as AIM4Learning! With Africa’s child population growing faster than anywhere else in the world, we must seize the opportunity to invest in the future of this generation, empowering children and youth to reach their full potential and contribute to the region’s development.