Africa Day – Educating an African Fit for the 21st Century.

The Brilliant Citizen and the Economist Series

Brilliant Citizen: Hello, why do you look so good and happy today? No economic matters to worry about?

Economist: Hi, my brilliant citizen. There will always be economic matters, even in advanced economies. But today, I chose to reflect on the Africa Day.

Brilliant Citizen: Interesting, what is that about?

Economist: It is a celebration of Africa’s beautiful and diverse culture. A celebration of the progress and successes made, challenges faced and the future of the continent.

Brilliant Citizen: Good to note. I did not know there was a specific day to celebrate our African continent.

Economist: Yes, there is. It’s on the 25th of May, every year. This year is focused on “Educate an African Fit for the 21st Century: Building Resilient Education Systems for Increased Access to Inclusive, Lifelong, Quality, and Relevant Learning in Africa.”

Brilliant Citizen: That’s an interesting theme on Education.

Economist: Indeed, education is key for Africa’s growth. Unfortunately, the numbers are not good with 25% of school age children, out of school. Also, 9 out of 10 school children are unable to read and write!*

Brilliant Citizen: That is so worrisome, how does the continent grow if we are not equipping children with the right skills to create and harness opportunities?

Economist: We need to do better and it needs to be a combination of the government and other stakeholders.

Brilliant Citizen: I hear you; but I just feel like the continent is so far behind. It will be extremely difficult to catch up. Where do we start from?

Economist: I agree it looks like we are far behind but the first is the recognition of the problem. That’s a good starting place. I think we are getting there, even with this African Day theme on Education. It shows some recognition of the challenge.

Brilliant Citizen: If you say so, I am not sure we have not been great in identifying problems in Nigeria and Africa. The typical Nigerian can tell you all the problems in the world, but many times it ends there.

Economist: That can be true, except we need to be intentional about taking things forward and everyone playing our part.

Brilliant Citizen: Please let the government play its part first. Have you been to a government school? Most of them are not in good states. The high number of students to teachers, the facilities and tools being used to teach, the quality of learning is poor!

Economist: Yes, there is a lot of gap to be filled by the government. But many other things can be done without the government. Citizens like you and I can play our part.

Brilliant Citizen: How? Should we begin to build schools for students? The regular Nigerian is still trying to survive. How “we wan put education on top everything” (do we want to add education to all our responsibilities)?

Economist: A few things we can do; volunteer our time, donate learning resources and leverage technology.

Brilliant Citizen: Well, these makes sense. I like the part around leveraging technology. Tell me more…

Economist: We can use technology to reach more learners without necessarily being in their states or even countries. That’s the power of technology.

Brilliant Citizen: That’s true. We certainly can.

Economist: The first is to help the teachers and students be proficient in the use of technology. This may require being there in person though. Secondly, one can volunteer with organisations that provide online education resources.

Brilliant Citizen: I really like these practical ideas. But have you tried any of them before? I don’t want to say what I have in mind, because government can stop one from ..

Economist: (cuts in) Let’s leave government for a moment and focus on our contribution. Yes, I have tried some support ideas.

Brilliant Citizen: Really tell me about it?

Economist: About 10 years ago, I started the BeyondaDegree Foundation, which helps students to transit to life after school. We train them with the required skills (soft and technical) to get jobs or start businesses. Some of the skills taught include problem solving, teamwork, communication, presentation, financial analysis, data analytics, and preparing for job interviews/ internships amongst others.

Brilliant Citizen: Wow, really good to see. Well done, please how have you leveraged technology?

Economist: Great question. Initially, we used to have in person trainings, but COVID taught us to use technology and we have done all the trainings online since then. This has made us reach many more recent graduates and students across the country and even other African countries.

Brilliant Citizen: Oh, I love that, well done. You are already living the theme of this Africa day! Now, I am encouraged to play my part. I will think of the best way to support.

Economist: That’s good to note, you can join us at BeyondaDegree, you know.

Brilliant Citizen: Good shot, my economist, you have turned to an education champion and advocate! Well done.

Reference:

*Africa Day 2024: Celebrating Past Successes While Building Towards the Future article — Data Source, UNESCO and AU.