By Enyichukwu Enemanna
The European Union on Thursday, launched a €100 million intervention which seeks to boost education in Africa through the training of about 15 million teachers in the continent.
EU’s Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen during the project unveiling in Pretoria South Africa, said this initiative will be fully funded from the EU budget in empowering the world’s fastest growing youth population through quality education.
This flagship initiative under the EU–Africa Global Gateway Investment Package seeks to accelerate the training of teachers for Sub-Saharan Africa, targeting 15 million teachers benchmark for Africa by 2030.
The initiative according to Urpilainen will contribute to regional and national objectives by supporting and complementing national education and teacher reforms, offer opportunities for cross-country collaboration, partnerships, and peer learning in the region and with Europe.
The unveiling of the initiative had in attendance; the Minister of Basic Education from South Africa, the African Union Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ministers of Education from South Africa, Senegal and Botswana and representatives of EU Member States, UNESCO, teachers, and young activists.
Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen said: “I am proud to launch today, the Regional Teachers’ Initiative, a €100 million Global Gateway investment in quality education in Africa. We want to support our partners to have in every classroom a qualified teacher, a valued professional who can empower children and young people to thrive and develop skills for a future professional life.
“Together we can improve learning outcomes and accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4: Quality education for all. Education is the most powerful investment in our future, and teachers are key to it. We need more teachers and quality teaching.”
He said the initiative apart from targeting increase in the number of qualified teachers, also seeks to make teaching both an attractive job prospect for promising young professionals and a life-long learning experience.
The project lays emphasis on teachers working on basic education institutions acquiring and transmitting digital and green skills, that will enable students plug into the opportunities of the digital transformation, and engage them in the preservation of planet.
The Regional Teachers’ Initiative is open to all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa through continental, sub-regional and multi-country actions, and North African countries are able to participate in some activities, the organisers said.
The European Union and EU Member States; Belgium, Germany, Finland, and France, will work with the African Union and African countries, as well as UNESCO, to build up an inclusive, motivated and competent teacher workforce and harness the demographic dividend.
