Developing teachers’ competencies is essential to solving Africa’s educational problems — Obasanjo

Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged African governments to build teachers’ capacity and competences to address children’s learning challenges on the continent.

As they were at the forefront of education delivery, he claimed, teachers’ capacities and competences needed to be improved in order for them to effectively instruct students.

“Due to my own background, I attach importance to, not only to education, to all essential aspects of learning and teaching. Because if you want to learn and you do not have a good teacher that can make you learn and inspire you to learn, it’s a problem.” Mr Obasanjo said at the Human Capital Africa’s Presidential Media Briefing in Accra.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, former Tanzanian President Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, Minister of Education Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum, and other prominent figures from the continent’s educational sector celebrated the occasion.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, where nine out of ten children are illiterate by the time they are ten years old, the topic of foundational education was deliberated during the summit.

Governments frequently enact educational policies without taking into account the roles that teachers play in them, according to Mr. Obasanjo. This hinders the programs’ ability to function smoothly and have the desired overall impact on students.

He also called for improved learning conditions for learners, especially in the area of nutrition, where learners were provided one mid-day meal to enable them stay attentive in class.

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“When I was in secondary school, my school started what they called mid-day meal. And for some of us who came from poor homes, that one mid-day meal in the school was our main food. An empty stomach cannot learn much, if anything at all.” 

“The idea of one meal in the school can also help a lot in learning. It helps the health of the children and also provides an incentive for them to come to school and to want to learn,” he added.

Dr Obiageli Katryn Ezekwesili, Founder and President of Human Capital Africa, said without investing in foundational learning, Africa could not meet its continental developmental goals. 

She said investment in primary literacy and numeracy was needed to improve outcomes at all levels of education, saying, poor foundational learning outcomes translated into human capital deficit and weak labour markets.

“Foundational Learning skills did not only predict a child’s future academic success but also support a country’s broader economic development goals.” 

“The World Bank estimates that by 2030, the learning crisis in Africa will cost the continent over $300 billion annually, highlighting the immense economic implications of this issue.”

To address the lack of knowledge to protect the future of children on the continent, Dr. Ezekwesili asked African leaders to make concrete promises.

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