Ahead of the Transforming Education Summit, Robert Jenkins,听UNICEF Director of Education and Adolescent Development Programme Group,听spoke to journalist听Ray Mwareya, on behalf of听Africa Renewal. These are excerpts from the interview:
About 90 per cent of African children in school cannot read or understand questions related to a 150-word piece, which they should be able to do by age 10. How did we get here?
Let's start by acknowledging that the world was experiencing a learning crisis even before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, we had real challenges with learning levels around the world, including in sub-Saharan Africa. Before the pandemic, it was estimated that 52 per cent of 10-year-olds in low- and middle-income countries globally could not read.听
But indeed, the last two and half years have further exacerbated this global learning crisis, and now we have very high levels of illiteracy - estimated to be nearly 90 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa.
How did we get here?
How we got here is a combination of factors, but one challenge has been听the length of school closures. We see a correlation between those countries in which schools were closed for prolonged periods and higher levels of learning loss.听
The second reason is that, during the closures, we had the听challenge of having all children continue learning. This is despite best efforts by governments, the UN, including us [UNICEF], and other partners, to provide different ways for children to continue learning. These include IT-enabled learning such as online learning for children who were connected, but also lower-tech solutions like using the radio and television and delivering learning materials to homes.听
Yet marginalized children, particularly those living in poor areas, or those from poor countries, girls, children with disabilities, and those living in remote locations had听less access to remote learning opportunities听than the more advantaged children.听
听What can we do to help such children catch up?
Collectively鈥攇overnments, donors, the UN, and other partners 鈥斕齨eed to invest sufficiently in recovery education systems post-pandemic so that all children can catch up, return to their learning and be successful. There is a need for large-scale support to enable education systems to recover.
We need to do this in a way that transforms education.
One lesson from the pandemic is that there are听amazing innovations听out there and听听lot of new partners are interested in supporting education.听
I think there is also a renewed听sense of appreciation for the role that schools play听in children's lives.听
It is critical to ensure that children and youth realize their full potential to be the engine of growth and change. And how does one realise their full potential? It is by acquiring the full range of skills so that they can contribute to society.
What are some examples of solutions in Africa and what makes them work?
We have several exciting initiatives in Africa that are showing the way for other countries within and outside of the continent to respond to the crisis and transform education.听
For example, we have an initiative called听, which is an approach to structured pedagogy or supporting the delivery of learning to children in a very supportive and structured way, based on the latest evidence so that early grade reading skills, numeracy, etc., can accelerate and children can acquire these skills by the time the rest of the curriculum kicks in. It also entails training and supporting teachers sufficiently with learning materials, coaching, etc. And they are showing promising results.
We had an assessment of learning in听Ethiopia听that led to additional teacher support, training and material provisions to teachers to enable them to do a continuous assessment of learning across the country, and therefore able to provide differentiated support or support that is tailored to each child so that they can be successful.听
Malawi听also has an amazing initiative in which remedial education, meaning catch-up programmes, assists children who have fallen behind due to the pandemic or other reasons receive extra support.听
There is a similar approach in听Zambia,听teaching at the right level catch-up programme, on a large scale, reaching 1,200 schools and over 300,000 children.听
We need a pipeline of quality teachers to support education recovery. Where are they going to come from?
I think teachers are going to be at the heart of any recovery or transformation education system, and the level of support to teachers is going to be critical. Over the last two and a half years we've recognized how much we appreciate teachers. So, we are encouraged by countries increasing support for teachers but also having a pipeline of teachers.听
The future of education rests in today's youth.听We need to ensure that the teaching profession is attractive and that it is accorded the level of respect and support consistent with the critical role teachers play in communities and in the future of our children.听
There are some innovative programs for teachers to upgrade their skill sets. We need stronger and more comprehensive pre-service, top-up and in-service training to encourage the youth to enter the teaching profession.听
The听Transforming Education Summit听is going to be a milestone. Heads of State and government from around the world will share best practices, take stock of the current state of education and spark a new era of work in education to enable its transformation.
This brings us to the Transforming Education Summit. Why is the summit important for Africa?
The听Transforming Education Summit听is going to be a milestone. Heads of State and government from around the world will share best practices, take stock of the current state of education and spark a new era of work in education to enable its transformation.听
Specifically, we will encourage a focus on foundational learning, recognising the statistics that we discussed earlier, in addressing the challenging situation that children are in. We will recognise the importance of foundational literacy and numeracy. This means being able to read and write and do basic math.
Importantly, we will focus on the social and emotional well-being of children so that they feel safe and can therefore come to school psychologically willing to learn.听
So, we will have a better understanding of how initiatives are implemented at scale so that all countries can respond to the current crisis and transform their education systems.
By 2050, 1 in every 4 people on the planet will be African and about 50 per cent of the African population will be 25 years or under. How can we ensure these children are ready for the future?
Well, it's an incredible resource that Africa has, an incredible source of energy. We all recognize that young people are catalysts for change, positive growth, and innovative ideas. They bring new perspectives. So, it's exciting for the future of Africa.
It is critical to ensure that children and the youth realize their full potential to be that engine of growth and change. And how does one realise their full potential? It is by acquiring the full range of skills so that they can contribute to society. That requires a focus on foundational learning, foundational skills, like I've mentioned, but also transferable skills鈥�21st-century skills like problem-solving and creative thinking.听
What gives me hope is the renewed appreciation for education and schools, and the importance of children's learning, which the impact听of the pandemic has inspired.
Digital skills听are critically important as we move into fast-changing economies and a globally connected world.
And then we have听job-specific and entrepreneurial skills. Many of the jobs of the future that young people in Africa will go into do not exist today. They will come from an entrepreneurial spirit, and no听听cohort can do that better than the youth.听
So, I'm excited by the statistics you mentioned. If we all work together to enable them to learn and acquire the right skills, the future will be bright.
What gives you hope about the future?
What gives me hope is the renewed appreciation for education and schools, and the importance of children's learning, which the impact of the pandemic has inspired.听
We now have听renewed partnerships听with parents, with children themselves, communities, governments, the private sector, non-governmental organisations and academics.听
We have a听global coalition听at all levels, inspired to respond to the education learning crisis, but also in a way that transforms it.听
We are at a crossroads; it鈥檚 up to us to decide which path we should take. I think we will choose the path that supports our children to realise their full potential.
