Keynote Address by H. E. Prof. Sarah Anyang Agbor Commissioner for Human Resources, Science and Technology, African Union Commission.The Third Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology (STC-EST 3)
10TH TO 13TH DECEMBER 2019, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA

It is my honour and great pleasure to bring to you warm greetings from the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H. E. MR. MOUSSA FAKI MAHAMAT.

On behalf of the African Union Commission and on my own behalf, I am honored to welcome you to Addis Ababa, and to the Third Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology.

Allow me to express profound appreciation for the esteemed presence of the honourable Ministers; eminent participants from Members States, and our distinguished partners, particularly GIZ whose generous support has made this meeting possible.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The African Union’s Agenda 2063 is a roadmap for the social economic transformation of the continent in the next 50 years. None of Agenda 2063’s 7 aspirations can be achieved without quality, inclusive, and transformative education and training, as well as Science, Technology and Innovation.

Although more children than ever before are enrolled in schools in Africa, many children are still out of school. Being in school is not equal to learning and the gap between what our children and young people are learning and what our children, communities and economies need, is growing. The breadth and depth of this learning crisis on continent, means the conventional approach to education needs to be complemented by a more radical approach that focusses on enhancing learning outcomes.

About 46 percent of the increase in Africa’s labor force over the period from 2015-2063 will constitute young people aged 15-34. But these young people must access and obtain:
• Foundational literacy and numeracy skills,
• 21st century skills such as a problem solving, negotiation and critical thinking)
• Digital skills
• Job specific skills
Our children and young people require skills to unlock their potentials for innovation, inventiveness, entrepreneurship, employability and responsible citizenship.

This is why the AU Chairperson launched the 1Million By 2021 Initiative which sets to create direct opportunities for the development of young people in Africa, to actively and meaningfully drive the full realization of Africa’s Agenda 2063. The “1 Million By 2021 Initiative” aims to reach millions of African youth across the continent with opportunities and interventions in key areas known as the 4Es – Employment, Entrepreneurship, Education and Engagement.

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Realizing Africa’s potential and aspirations depends on the investments we make today towards the development of the continent’s children and young people. This indeed underpins the African Union’s prioritization of the transformative role of education and training in building human capacity, empowering our youth, women and marginalized groups. Through inclusive, equitable and quality education, we are sure of promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

The Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25), is a key policy tool for African Union’s Agenda 2063, aimed at harnessing inherent skills and human capital in Africa, as well as fostering the continent’s education revolution. An in-depth evaluation of the CESA is yet to be carried out, but the past years have shown significant progress in some key indicators of education and towards Agenda 2063. The current rate of Africa’s primary school enrolment is 80 percent on average, and the continent recorded the biggest increase in elementary school enrolment globally in the last few decades. Moreover, the Effective Transition Rate for Africa, from Primary to Secondary School, saw an improvement above 85%. Recently, Sub-Saharan Africa witnessed the fastest growth in its tertiary gross enrollment ratio at 4.3 percent annually, faster than the global average of 2.8 percent.

Although we need to go a long way in positioning TVET as a springboard for employability among youth with TVET related careers, there has been also new innovative ideas and processes to inspire youth to dedicate themselves to technical and technological careers and build a better future through development of vocational training systems, and transformation of the labour market to enhance youth employability. On this initiative, special emphasis was made on the critical role of the teacher in enhancing skills development.
May I also take this opportunity to congratulate The Republic of Namibia which was selected to host the World Skills Africa Competition to be held in October 2020. World Skills Africa 2020 presents an opportunity for African Countries to benchmark their vocational education and training systems with regional and global best practice hence promotion of skills excellence. I encourage all Member States to express interest, prepare and participate in the upcoming WorldSkills Africa 2020 that will be held from 25th to 31st of December 2020.

However, evidences show that we need to step along a long journey, and translate many ‘talks into walks’ to address the current challenges and utilize the opportunities on the continent. In reality, the recent expansion in enrolments masks huge disparities and system dysfunctionalities and inefficiencies. By the same token, there are still many young people, mainly girls and young women, rural youth, and people with disabilities lacking basic literacy skills, and opportunities despite several international efforts with a focus on education in Africa.

Statistics show that continued food insecurity directly affects 239 million Africans, with 30 to 40% of children under the age of 5 continuing to suffer from chronic under-nutrition at a critical stage for both survival as well as cognitive and physical development. Stunting indeed has neurological consequences that lead to cognitive impairments, which result to low education achievement. A child who is under-nourished is at a risk of suffering from cognitive and physical impairment, with an attendant impact on the quality of life as a child and later an adult within the society. Up to 18% of children repeat grades due to stunting; drop out earlier and attain fewer grades of schooling; get up to 3.6 less years of schooling. It is against this background that the AU Assembly decided to promote Home Grown School Feeding across Africa, and school feeding has become a key area in the operationalization of CESA. Moreover, the Science Agenda for African Agriculture (S3A) was developed by the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) in support of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Malabo Declaration committed to improving nutritional status, and in particular, the elimination of child under-nutrition in Africa, with a view to bringing down stunting to 10% by 2025.
According to UNESCO’s Global Education Indicators Report of 2019, the percentage of the population achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional literacy skills for both sexes is less than 50; and the percentage of primary schools with access to Internet for pedagogical purposes is only 25. Furthermore, the incidence of Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training has worsened in Africa, with an increasing rate of 27.73 percent. The African Completion Rate for Upper Secondary School has worsened slightly between 2013 and 2017, falling from 35.7 to 33.9 percent. The increase in African Enrolment in Secondary Technical and Vocational Education and Training is very low. Even for graduates, mismatch in skills is a big challenge in the continent. As a result, the Rate of Employment among Educated Youth decreased slightly between 2014 and 2017, with the rate in 2017 being 10.80 percent. The rate for females declined steeply, falling from 32.10 to 6.40 percent..

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:
The gains so far made in the development of education on the continent could be derailed if member states do not pay particular attention to factors contributing to high school dropout rates and the endangering of the lives of children and youths attending schools and universities. It is in this light that the AU’s 2020 theme on silencing the guns presents an exciting challenge for the protection of education from attacks and military use and during humanitarian situations. I am happy to state that since STC-EST2 in 2017 which called for more member states to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration and implement the Guidelines, among others, a commendable 10 more-member states have heeded the call in endorsing the Declaration making a total of 27- member states that have endorsed the Declaration to date. The stunt showcasing (outside the meeting hall) attacks on education is stark reminder for participants on the fate of our children and youths when proactive and preventive measures are not taken to protect education.

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen:
During the formulation and development of the African Agenda 2063, the Commission ensured that the blueprint is underpinned by Science, Technology and Innovation as critical enablers for the achievement of the Africa We Want! We elaborated a Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy, (STISA -2024), to accelerate the transition of African countries to innovation-led, knowledge-based economies through the deployment of STI across socio-economic development sectors. We believe that the continent requires a more responsive, stronger and more dynamic sustainable research enterprise that is important to its economies.. STISA-2024 identifies four mutual prerequisites for improving the STI capacities in the continent: namely, building and upgrading research infrastructure; enhancing professional and technical competencies; promoting entrepreneurship and innovation; and creating an enabling environment for STI development at the national, regional and continental levels.

Conscious of the fact that our countries are at different developmental levels, with differentiated financial, human capital, scientific and technological capacities, STISA-2024 identifies six multi-disciplinary socio-economic research priorities that address both the SDG goals and the Aspirations of Agenda 2063.The priorities span eradication of hunger and achieving food and nutrition security; prevention and control of diseases; Communication, both physical and intellectual; protection of African space; promoting living together and building communities; and the Creation of wealth

The strategy further promotes social transformation and economic competitiveness, through human capital development, innovation, value addition, industrialisation and entrepreneurship, thereby contributing to accelerating the achievement of Agenda 2063 and the SDGs. In pursuing this vision, the African Union emphasizes the importance of “building our universities as centers of excellence, as exemplified by the Pan African University.”

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Investment in Innovation, Research and experimental Development does have a positive impact on economic development as well as on human well-being. But the average R&D intensity, that is, the Research and Development expenditure as percentage of GDP of Africa remains low. Presently, it is at less than 0.5% of GDP, far below the world average of 2.2 % of GDP, and calls for more efforts particularly through African internal funding mechanisms. A study conducted by the African Observatory for STI (AOSTI) on knowledge production revealed that the African Union produces only 2% of the global knowledge and less than 1% of the world’s patents. This study further showed that collaboration between African countries in R&D is infrequent, occurring only in about 4 % of scientific publications. That low level of scientific collaboration reflects the intra-African trade figure of 17% of exports, which compares unfavorably to the figures in Asia and Europe, which are 59 and 69% respectively.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen;
These pictures are real-life scenarios we are faced with, that make this STC on Education, Science and Technology momentous and crucial. It is therefore encouraging and heartening that Honorable Ministers in this august session will consider implementation reports of STISA-2024, efforts in supporting research and innovation, emerging technologies, the African Innovation outlook; priority setting for science, technology and innovation aligned to AU Agenda 2063; updates on the African Space Policy and Strategy, as well as international cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation. Member States, Regional Economic Communities and Development Partners will also be engaged with sharing and discussing their activities and programmes in Science, Technology and Innovation.

Allow me to once again convey deepest appreciation to the Member States as well as our numerous partners who continue to support the development agenda of the African Union.. We attach great value to the continuation of these mutually beneficial partnerships, and encourage more partners to be involved in the various CESA clusters and STISA networks with the objective of promoting ‘DELIVERING AS ONE’ to the AU Agenda 2063. These clusters and networks will ensure that all agencies and departments supporting the programmes collaborate in order to enhance efficiency and effectiveness of operations while building coherence and sustainability. The AU cluster offers an agreed overall framework for mobilizing key stakeholders towards our common vision. This is anticipated to enhance alignment and harmony in the activities of stakeholders as well as facilitate the identification and deployment of effective governance synergies. Indeed strategic partnerships and collaboration at the bilateral and multilateral levels are essential for jointly solving global challenges. We have to forge strong partnerships, driven by our shared values and policy objectives and deliver results on the ground.
There is no doubt that mobilizing domestic excellence and financial resources as well as leveraging external support and collaboration are vital for the unlocking the potential of youths for innovation, science Technology.

Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen:
In conclusion, I must state and reiterate that if we are to contribute to achieving Africa’s inclusive growth and sustainable development, we need to identify the critical transformative pathways that can lead to sustaining the progress and the achievement of the goals we have set for ourselves for the benefit of African citizens. Education’s contribution to AU’s 2020 theme of silencing the guns is one way of doing so.

In line with the foregoing AU frameworks and the Chairperson’s 1 Million By 2021 Initiative, emphasis on our work should be around connecting the DOTSS in Education; where;
D – digital connectivity
O – online platforms and learning
T – teachers as facilitators
S – safety in school and online
S – skills for which are foundational and job oriented
I call upon all of us here today to embrace DOTSS as our minimal package for towards a transformative education agenda for the continent. An agenda that offers a COMPHEREHENSIVE, EFFICIENT and SOLUTION ORIENTED approach to bridging the school to work transition gap.

I therefore call upon Member States and Partners for the following;
1. Accelerated implementation of DOTSS at Member States level
2. Partners to align and support the implementation of DOTSS at the continental and Member States levels
3. AUC to provide guidelines, tools and partnerships to facilitate DOTSS implementation

In the same vein, the implementation of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25) and the Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA-2024), require dynamic stock-taking and the outcomes of this session will form the basis for recommendations, to be submitted for consideration particularly by the AU 2020 Summit.
With these remarks, I wish you a successful STC-EST III Meeting.

Thank you!