EDUCATION

Secondary Education Summit:Paul Kagame, Ellen Sirleaf, Mastercard Foundation President advocate quality secondary education

&NewLine;<p><strong><em>In this report from Virtual Summit with an accompanying title &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Youth Perspectives on Secondary Education in Africa”<&sol;em><&sol;strong> <strong><em> by the Mastercard Foundation&comma; President of Rwanda&comma; Paul Kagame&comma; former President of Liberia&comma;  Ellen Johnson Sirleaf including  Mastercard Foundation President and CEO Reeta Roy&comma; made special case for improved secondary education to ensure Africa’s young people have the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the workforce on the African Continent<&sol;em><&sol;strong><&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng">Secondary education<&sol;a> report findings indicate that changes in the nature of work are placing a premium on skills that help young people be adaptable&comma; resilient&comma; and creative problem solvers&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p><strong>Secondary education<&sol;strong> that provides relevant skills to young workers will help improve productivity&comma; particularly in the informal sector&comma; and will play an important role in driving long-term economic growth and reducing poverty in Africa&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Digitization&comma; automation&comma; and technological advancements are already changing the nature of work in Africa&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Young people must enter the workforce from secondary education equipped with the right skills&period; So&comma; strategic investments into secondary education can be a big part of ensuring young people and their countries emerge from the other side of COVID-19 stronger and more inclusive&comma;” said Mastercard Foundation President and CEO Reeta Roy&comma; as she welcomed audiences to the Secondary Education in Africa <a href&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;thisdaylive&period;ng">Virtual Summit<&sol;a> held earlier today to discuss the report findings&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Across the continent&comma; the youth population is growing and is expected to reach 456 million by 2050&period; This growth&comma; along with improvements in the number of young people enrolling in&comma; and completing&comma; primary education is increasing the demand for secondary education&period; Enrolment is expected to double by 2030&comma; representing an additional 46 million students at the secondary level over the next 10 years&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>This in turn requires an expansion in the education workforce&period; Over the next 10 years&comma; an additional 10&period;8 million teachers will be needed&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&nbsp&semi;Ensuring high-quality teachers are in classrooms is one of the most strategic investments a country can make to enable all students to develop the skills they will need for work and as citizens of a global world&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Reflecting on the data and findings within the <strong>Secondary Education<&sol;strong> in Africa report&comma; His Excellency President Paul Kagame of Rwanda underscored the need for cross-sectoral partnerships to achieve the report’s proposed recommendations&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Secondary school is the critical link that prepares young people to succeed in the workplace&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>This report sets out some key principles we need to take on board to adapt our secondary education systems for the future&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The report emphasizes the importance of constant innovation&comma; driven by data and the spirit of experimentation&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>This is where collaboration is essential between government&comma; the private sector&comma; and civil society&comma;” he said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>In her keynote address during the <strong>Virtual Summit<&sol;strong>&comma; which was attended by policymakers&comma; educators&comma; and young people&comma; former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf emphasized the importance of investing in relevant&comma; high-quality&comma; universal secondary education as a lever for advancing inclusion&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;There is no greater driver of inclusion than a quality education&period; And there is nothing that can more quickly devastate hopes for the future than to have it taken away&comma;” she said&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>President Sirleaf also reflected on her experiences leading Liberia through the Ebola crisis of 2014&comma; suggesting that prioritizing investments in education would be critical to enabling Africa’s recovery from COVID-19&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>&OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;After Ebola devastated Liberia&comma; forcing us to close our schools for many months&comma; we realized that we needed to place learning at the centre of the recovery process&comma;” she said&period; &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;As we recover from this current crisis&comma; it is my strong belief that collaborative partnership is key to reimagining a secondary education system that is fit for our future&comma;” she added&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The Africa report was released on the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng">Mastercard Foundation’s<&sol;a> website with an accompanying report entitled &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;Youth Perspectives on Secondary Education in Africa” that features the views and voices of a diverse range of young people&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Among them&comma; is Joseph Opoku&comma; who believes that &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;many young Africans consider secondary school to be a critical juncture in determining the road ahead&comma;” and that &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;young people want a secondary education that adequately prepares them for employment and&sol;or entrepreneurship&period;”<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>Drawing on a wide range of research conducted by scholars in Africa and globally&comma; the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;openlife&period;ng">Secondary Education<&sol;a> in Africa report offers examples of the positive change and sustained progress that has been made&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>It examines factors that facilitate reform and innovation throughout the education system across a range of areas such as curriculum&comma; teacher training&comma; flexible approaches&comma; equitable access&comma; and innovations in financing&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;&NewLine;<p>The report supports policymakers&comma; educators&comma; philanthropists&comma; and young people themselves to re-envision secondary education for the future and to consider actionable recommendations for getting there&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;

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