Bureau of COMEDAF VI meets in Kigali ahead of Ministerial Conference on Education Post 2015
The Bureau of the Conference of Ministers of Education of the African Union (COMEDAF VI) met in Kigali on February 8, 2015, to discuss the African position on the global post-2015 education program.
The meeting was held the day before the Sub-Saharan African Regional Ministerial Conference on Education Post 2015 organized by UNESCO.
The COMEDAF VI session was attended by all Ministers of Education or their representatives from the following countries: Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chad, Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sao Tome & Principe, Senegal, Uganda, Zambia and Zanzibar.
ADEA participated in the meeting, along with ANCEFA CONFEMEN, PASEC, CEMASTEA, FAWE and UNESCO.
The meeting aimed at ensuring that existing continental frameworks such as the Common African Position and Agenda 2063 are taken into account in developing the continent’s strategy for education post 2015. It discussed key issues and agreed on essential elements that should feature in the strategy. These include the need for:
- having a comprehensive picture of education in Africa including success stories, needs and challenges;
- redefining the role of schools in an evolving world;
- redefining basic education as completion of secondary level;
- addressing Fragile States’ capacity to respond to commitments in education;
- greater investments in education;
- including African values in pedagogical approaches;
- a harmonized Education Management Information System (EMIS);
- enhancing African capacities to evaluate education systems;
- promoting Africa’s diversity and culture;
- enlisting parliamentarians to push for the adoption of adequate budgets to support education.
Ministers of Education and other stakeholders present at the meeting were invited to engage in the process of expressing Africa’s views in order for these to be heard in Incheon, Korea and in New York during the United Nations General Assembly that will adopt the Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
