African Union Hosts High-Level Partners’ Consultation to Accelerate AU Decade of Education and Skills Development (2025–2034)
Addis Ababa | February 24, 2026
In a significant move to fast-track Africa’s education transformation agenda, the African Union Commission Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI) convened a High-Level Partners’ Consultation on Accelerating the AU Decade of Education and Skills Development (2025–2034) on 13 February 2026 at the AU Headquarters. The consultation was held on the margins of the AU Summit 2026 and brought together key continental and global stakeholders.
The event assembled AU Member States, international organizations, development partners, civil society representatives, academia, teachers’ unions, and student bodies to align strategies and strengthen collective efforts toward implementing the AU Decade of Education and Skills Development (2025–2034).
Urgent Call for Coordinated Action
The consultation was officially opened by Gaspard Banyankimbona, Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI). In his address, he described the initiative as a decisive step toward transforming Africa’s education agenda from aspiration into coordinated and measurable action.
Citing findings from the latest State of Education in Africa report, the Commissioner highlighted a stark reality: nearly four out of five children aged 10 in Africa are unable to read and comprehend a simple text. He warned that this “learning poverty,” compounded by rapid population growth and inadequate financing, requires a shift from fragmented interventions to urgent, strategic, and systemic reforms.
“This moment demands bold action, deeper partnerships, and sustained commitment to equip Africa’s youth with foundational and future-ready skills,” he stated.
Three Strategic Frameworks Driving the Decade
The AU Decade of Education and Skills Development (2025–2034) is anchored in three cornerstone continental frameworks:
- Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 2026–2035)
- Continental Technical and Vocational Education and Training Strategy for Africa (TVET Strategy 2025–2034)
- Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy for Africa (STISA 2025–2034)
These frameworks collectively aim to transform Africa’s education and skills ecosystem by:
- Strengthening foundational literacy and numeracy
- Expanding access to quality Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)
- Promoting research, innovation, and higher education excellence
- Integrating digital transformation, artificial intelligence, and green economy competencies
The Commissioner emphasized that Africa’s youthful population—one of the continent’s greatest assets—must be equipped with 21st-century skills to compete and thrive in a rapidly evolving global economy.
Key Outcomes of the High-Level Consultation
The consultation produced several concrete outcomes designed to ensure coordinated implementation of the Decade:
1. Alignment of Interventions
Partners agreed to synchronize actions across foundational learning, higher education, skills training, and research in line with the Decade’s strategic pillars, minimizing duplication and maximizing impact.
2. Strengthened Governance
Participants endorsed the establishment of a Continental Steering Committee to ensure robust monitoring, coordination, and accountability mechanisms across Member States.
3. Sustainable Financing
Stakeholders stressed the need for structured and predictable financing, including operationalizing the Africa Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation Fund (AESTIF) to mobilize long-term investments beyond ad hoc funding cycles.
4. Enhanced Data Systems
There was strong consensus on investing in reliable education and skills data systems to strengthen monitoring frameworks and promote evidence-based policymaking, planning, and resource allocation.
5. Continental Dashboard
Partners agreed to develop a continental dashboard to track engagement, measure progress, and identify scalable best practices across Member States.
Commissioner Banyankimbona noted that improved data systems would not only measure performance but also identify successful interventions and ensure that programs respond directly to Member States’ real needs.
From Commitment to Implementation
In his closing remarks, Gaspard Banyankimbona reaffirmed that meaningful transformation cannot be achieved by a single institution acting in isolation.
“It requires a coalition of committed partners, aligned priorities, and sustained engagement,” he emphasized, urging stakeholders to ensure that commitments translate into tangible results—within classrooms, training centers, research institutions, communities, and workplaces across the continent.
The African Union Commission Department of ESTI will, in the coming months, consolidate consultation outcomes into coordinated action plans, clear implementation pathways, and strengthened monitoring mechanisms to enhance synergies, ensure coherence, avoid duplication, and maximize impact.
A Defining Decade for Africa’s Youth
With Africa home to the world’s youngest population and facing a rapidly evolving economic landscape, the AU Decade of Education and Skills Development (2025–2034) offers Member States a shared framework to act with clarity, ambition, and unity.
As emphasized during the consultation, the success of this Decade will depend not merely on policy declarations, but on sustained collaboration, innovative financing, robust governance, and measurable outcomes that improve learning, skills development, employability, and innovation capacity across the continent.
The commitments made in Addis Ababa now set the stage for a coordinated continental push to transform Africa’s education and skills ecosystem over the next decade.
