Advancing the education sector beyond COVID-19

Traditional teaching and learning practices have been less effective against the disruption to learning institutions resulting from the lockdown and social distancing protocols due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, learners, particularly in formal education systems without the necessary infrastructure to facilitate alternative means of learning have been the most affected and stand the risk of falling behind in their education.

Despite the disruption, the pandemic has revealed pre-existing inadequacies and inequities in education systems, highlighting the urgent need for innovations and adaptations of education systems to foster resilience in the face of further disruptions. In particular, the pandemic foregrounds the urgent need to innovate, invest in and leverage non-formal and informal means of learning in order to meet the specific and changing needs of the economies of African countries. Sub-Saharan Africa in particular has complex inadequacies to traverse and the policy suggestions in the Future Africa Forum Policy Brief will be particularly crucial to attempts by national governments to make education systems more resilient and equitable.

Education ministries, ministries of industry and commerce, development partners, the private sector, education entrepreneurs and other key stakeholders all have their respective roles to play in creating innovative pedagogies; life-long learning and equitable opportunities that will foster resilient and quality education. Blended and inclusive models for decentralised delivery; local ownership of learning; competency-based training which emphasises labour-market demand for skills and capacity building for private sector development are some key issues that need to be addressed in order to develop strong, resilient, equitable and quality education systems. Developing countries including those in Africa need to foster competitive education opportunities that are sustainable and can directly impact the trajectory of structural transformation on the continent in the medium to long term. An educated labour force will positively increase national GDP and productivity, opening up adjacent opportunities for exporting surplus national outputs thus stimulating economic activity.

To emerge from the covid-19 crisis on the front foot therefore, African countries must intentionally address their education gaps using context appropriate strategies. The prospects created by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the technology boom on the continent and emerging fora such as the African Free Continental Trade Area are all exciting opportunities and springboards for an education revolution in Africa that can catalyse the continent into sustainable long-term prosperity.