Accountability Tools To Resolve The Learning Crisis In Africa

Human Capital Africa convened Heads of State, Ministers of Education, business leaders, civil society organizations, and prominent African intellectuals at the Harvard Club in New York today. The event took place on the sidelines of the UN Transforming Education Summit in New York to call attention to the scale of the learning crisis in Africa, where 9 out of 10 children are unable to read with understanding by the age of 10.

The scale of the learning crisis in Africa is being more widely understood, with a range of international and African leaders making important commitments to prioritize foundational learning over the coming years. As these initiatives and interventions are implemented, an independent monitoring mechanism is essential to ensure accountability and provide the insights governments need to change and adapt.

As the continent most affected by the learning crisis, Africa is taking a leading role in designing and delivering solutions. The HCA Learning Scorecard ranks countries in SSA on the quality of primary education. Countries are scored on indicators in 6 categories including Enrolment, Completion, Learning, Resourcing, Remediation, and Socioeconomic factors. These represent the ability of the education sector to provide quality education to children at a young age to prepare them for a future of learning.

Speaking at the launch, HCA founder Dr. Oby Ekekwesili said: “It has been incredibly encouraging to see recognition of the learning crisis at this Summit and to see the level of commitment amongst African leaders, policymakers, and business leaders to address the generational challenge the learning crisis represents. This is a problem we are going to crack and I am totally committed to ensuring that we take the corrective measures necessary. To do this we need a common way to assess progress and guide decision-making. “

Commenting on Malawi’s participation in the inaugural scorecard, Minister for Education Agnes Nyalonge said: “We have adopted the HCA scorecard because we know that taking known and reliable data and using it to guide our actions means we are better able to develop policies and better able to implement them. Our number one reform is to focus on data-informed decision making and we are using it to guide our response.”

The President of Guinea Bissau, His Excellency Umaro Sissoco Embaló, speaking in his capacity as Chairman of ECOWAS reinforced his and the region’s commitment to take action saying; “9 out of 10 children cannot read a simple sentence by the age of ten, this is an issue of the utmost importance and Africa must not let itself be left behind. We are committed to taking urgent and decisive action to ensure all children develop foundational learning skills to realize their full potential.”

The importance of Foundational Learning to the business community was recognized by Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group of companies, who said in a message to the event; “This learning crisis is getting worse by the day and has consequences far beyond the classroom. By 2030, about a quarter of the world’s population under the age of 25 will be in or from Africa. So the economic prospects, not only of Africa but of the world, depend on the skills, capabilities, and productivity of our youth.”

The importance of education to Africa’s future prosperity was highlighted by Nathalie Delapalme, Executive Director of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation who said: “By the end of the century, Africa’s youth population will be twice Europe’s total population. Even if we are at low levels of foundational learning today, the fact that we can make progress creates hope, and that is so important if we are going to succeed.”

 Reinforcing the importance of addressing the learning crisis, renowned Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie said “Reading is magical. Marks on paper become stories in your head. Reading helps you to think critically and contextually, and enables reasoning. We cannot talk about our problems if we don’t understand them, let alone begin to solve them.