What sort of education system is needed for the Africa of tomorrow? We need your contributions!

“Educating all our children must be one of our most urgent priorities. We all know that education, more than anything else, improves our chances of building better lives”. Nelson Mandela

Education is a key priority for the future of Africa – nobody would disagree with that. The Africans who responded to the Afrobarometer survey placed education among the top priorities for investment by their government. Enrolment rates in primary and secondary schools have increased between 2000 and 2012 in sub-Saharan Africa, from 60% to 78% for primary and 26% to 41% for secondary. These rates are likely to increase even further. As enrolment rates increase, and as a middle class emerges, who see education as one of the main factors in ensuring a successful future for their children and making them future leaders who play a role in developing their society, so a demand for a more qualitative education is increasing. The objective is not only to teach children “reading, writing and arithmetic”, but also to give them the tools to build their future.

But what are these tools, for the African continent? What type of education do these children need? What type of knowledge should an African education be based upon? International organisations are primary sources of information about education in Africa. They produce a great deal of data, essentially quantitative, intended to guide education policies, but there is little information about what players in this field think on the subject. What about the thoughts of those on the front line, those who are closely involved with the education community in Africa? The students, parents, teachers, company heads, employers…. those who are neither educational theorists nor statisticians?

We at Enko Education believe that we need to initiate a pan-African dialogue on the subject of education, so we’d like to invite you to propose ideas for articles on this subject, on the situation and issues relating to education in your country and the solutions that exist already, or those that could be offered. What is the ideal form or system of education that you would like to have access to, or be able to access for your children? Be idealists, realists, pragmatists. We want to give you a regular voice in our columns, to hear your analyses, your proposals and your arguments.

Come on, get writing! Send your contributions to contact@enkoeducation.com, with the subject line Blog Enko Ed!