The Minister for Education, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has been appointed by the Africa Union (AU) to lead a team of experts to reform education in Africa.
The Chairman of the AU Educational Committee, Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, former President of Nigeria, announced the new role of Dr Adutwum in Accra late last week.
The occasion was Foundational Learning Conference organised by Human Capital Africa (HCA) in Accra, recently.
The former Nigerian leader explained that Ghana’s education minister was chosen to lead the team of experts because of his vast experience and understanding of global education systems. This, according to him, would help the team come out with a blue print for Africa to get the best education that would help fight poverty and promote the development of the various countries.
Former President Obasanjo stated that since education was about life and death, there was the need for the leadership of Africa to attend to it as a life-long issue and not short-term.
He indicated that countries that do not take the issue of education seriously would find it difficult to transform their economies, as well as fight poverty among their people.
Obasanjo praised Ghana for the various interventions and initiatives put in place by the Education Ministry that are gradually shaping its economy and improving its educational outcomes.
He challenged African countries to take a keen interest in the welfare of their teachers by paying them well and also creating an enabling environment for them to operate effectively towards empowering their students with the requisite knowledge that would shape their understanding.
Dr Adutwum, responding to a question during a panel discussion, stated that there was the need for Africa to have an education strategic plan to improve upon the sector.
He explained that such a strategic plan would be able to help with a specific approach to individual nations, while some could emulate the best practices of countries doing well.
The Education Minister was optimistic that if all African countries come together to discuss their specific needs, it would be easy to group them for strategic planning and appropriate solutions prescribed for them.
The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Human Capital Africa, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, reminded the leadership of Africa that it was time they took a critical look at foundational learning, which was very critical for the continent to achieve quality education.
She appealed to all stakeholders to come together to support development of education on the continent.
Dr Ezekwesili lauded the various funding institutions the world over who were working very hard to support the development of education in various countries.
Background
Mr Olusegun Obasanjo, the former President of Nigeria, has played a significant role in African Union (AU) education initiatives.
He has been a strong advocate for education and has emphasized the importance of investing in human capital for Africa’s development.
Mr Obasanjo’s presence at the conference was informed by his conviction for leadership of the African countries to have a second look at the role of education in their transformation.
Some of the dignitaries who attended the conference were President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi, Jakaya Mrisho Kiawete, former President of Tanzania and Chairperson, Global Partnership for Education, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, former President of Liberia, representative of the African Union Commission, Aliko Dangote, Founder and President/CEO of Dangote Group.
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