Societal support key to sustaining learning in Africa
Public demand from a wide range of actors in society is key to sustaining progress on learning.
Political commitment to foundational learning is growing across Africa, highlighted at ADEA’s Triennale in Ghana, but lasting progress depends on mobilising broad community and societal support.
IPNEd’s panel showcased powerful examples of multistakeholder action, from parliamentarians and civil society groups to grassroots initiatives like Usawa Agenda and ARED, demonstrating how collaboration drives improved learning outcomes.
Sustained change requires diverse, long-term engagement, from youth, communities, and local leaders to policymakers, ensuring that progress in education continues beyond election cycles.
Political leaders across Africa are increasingly prioritising foundational learning, as seen in the commitments at ADEA’s Triennale in Accra, Ghana, last week.
But without broader societal support, strong commitment from the government alone will not be enough to sustain the commitment. Mobilising the community in favour of improved learning outcomes is therefore key to ensuring continuity and progress.
This was the core message of IPNEd’s session at the Triennale, which showcased multistakeholder initiatives from across Africa designed to mobilise community support for learning.
Driving up learning outcomes demands more than just politicians, it requires educators, providers, families, and administrators working together. If they don’t, education systems risk returning to business as usual, with lifelong negative impacts for today’s students.
Moderated by Joseph Nhan-O’Reilly, Executive Director of IPNEd, the panel included:
Hon. Harry Kamboni MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee for Education in the National Assembly of Zambia;
Dr. Lydia Wangui Chege, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Coalitions Manager at Zizi Afrique Foundation (Kenya);
Mr. Emmanuel Manyasa, Executive Director at Usawa Agenda (Kenya);
Ms. Awa Ka Dia, Programme Director at Associates in Research and Development (ARED) (Senegal);
Mr. Santos Akhilele, Senior Associate at Human Capital Africa (Nigeria); and,
Ms. Zeinabou Tina Idé, Africa Activist Manager at the ONE Campaign (Senegal).
Top-level commitment is only the start. A wider spectrum of actors must actively back it up.
Both Mr. Kamboni and Dr. Chege underlined the importance of involving parliamentarians and middle-tier officials - both politically engaged in different ways - to strengthen and maintain this support.
Grassroots community action is showing us the way forward.
From citizen-led assessments used by Usawa Agenda to advocate for evidence-based change, to ARED’s innovative bilingual model promoting African languages and culture, both organisations are showing how grassroots initiatives can help drive improvements in learning.
Giving a voice to civil society and community groups builds momentum, fosters local ownership and holds governments accountable to their promises.
Human Capital Africa's success in mobilising both high-level leaders and community chiefs reinforces this. The ONE Campaign is similarly engaging youth activists continent-wide to influence policy.
Progress doesn't survive an election cycle without sustained, diverse demand from youth, parliamentarians, middle-tier officials, communities, and local leaders.
If we want strong government commitment to translate into lasting, system-wide change, it must be matched by broad societal support.
