Education in Africa cannot be over-emphasized as it is undoubtedly the most important factor to consider if we have to develop and advance as a continent. However, most children in some parts of Africa still do not have access to education at all.
It is interesting to note that “more than 150 million children ages 3 to 5 do not have access to pre-primary education, including more than 80% of children in low-income countries”(source: GEM Report: Education for people and planet: creating sustainable futures for all (2016),p.428). It is also a fact that “more than half of children who have not enrolled in school live in Sub-Saharan Africa” (source: http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/education).
In this regard, it can be seen that redefining education in Africa is essential in achieving economic growth, stability and social inclusion since it grants families from very poor backgrounds the opportunity to make life better for themselves through education. It can be noted that countries where there are high literacy rates prosper more than countries with very low literacy rates. This is because the world is in a technological and innovation stage where the bulk of the workforce must be literates and computer adaptive.
The problem of lack of education is gradually waning in Africa as more people are getting enrolled in schools, particularly females. Nevertheless, access to education does not automatically result in quality of education and educational relevance. One of the many challenges we face with education in Africa is the lack of educational relevance to the needs of our society. Our education is not tailored to solve the problems that we face in our society. Little has been done to revise the educational structure and curriculum that our fathers used in their days. We are still copying the western style of education which is relevant to them but of no use to us in Africa. A typical example is that, we are still teaching young kids in Africa the letters of the English alphabet by telling them “A- stands for Apple”. Now a child in a rural part of Africa whose family cannot afford a three square meal per day, may not have the luxury of adding fruits as dessert, not to talk of seeing or eating an apple which is an imported exotic fruit! Such a child cannot appreciate and understand what “A- stands for Apple” mean, as opposed to his peer in the western world who constantly has apples at home and sees apples of different shapes, sizes and color at the grocery store. Our secondary education produces people with “head knowledge” but no practical skills. We have people who can solve the most complicated algebra and logarithms but cannot do and understand rudimentary calculations bordering on Return on Investment (ROI) and calculating their tax returns!!!
I believe the way forward in redefining education in Africa is to become more instrumental in being agents of change that drastically raises awareness through advocacy by pressuring governments and relevant institutions in taking a critical look at our educational system and curricular. This can be done by enlightening the youth and in turn mobilizing them to use the various social media outlets and pressure groups to push for a change!!
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