Access to universal quality education remains a challenge on the continent. With tomorrow’s leaders in the classroom today, nations are working towards ensuring their populations have 100% basic education. However, free basic education is a far reality and a joint effort is required by both the public and private sector to equip the future workforce. Affordable education is relative so what should form the basis of affordability? Is commercialising education the answer to delivering basic affordable universal education? How can the private and public sector work together towards meeting this goal?
We are witnessing a step-change pace of innovation in education across Africa and wider emerging markets. Through direct delivery, tech, finance and partnerships, new models are emerging that are having tangible impact on the availability, quality and relevance of teaching and learning. What shape is education innovation taking in Sub-Saharan Africa? Who are the driving forces behind it and who will be in the future? And how does Government view outside innovators and what are their respective roles in fostering innovation? Our session will explore diverse examples of how innovation is helping to shape the future of learning across the region. We will look at both the challenges and opportunities surrounding innovation in this sector and whether it will always operate at the margins of large public systems, whether it can help formulate new solutions at scale, and at its potential to identify leapfrog solutions.
Hear Minister Nimely and Shannon May talk directly about the formation of the Partnership Schools for Liberia program – an innovative new project designed to radically improve primary and nursery level education in Liberia.
Is there one holistic definition of 21st century learning? How can modern learning take place in a cultural sensitive context while shifting parent, teacher and learner expectations? How has globalisation impacted teaching and learning and what lessons can be learnt from other regions in adopting to a new way of learning?
Education in Sub-Sahara Africa is developing and offers growing investment opportunities for regional and international investors. However, there is a need to understand the different business models as well as required return on investment that investors are looking for in a sustainable education asset. What are the investor motivations and priorities when seeking out new assets? What are the main reservations regarding the education sector compared to other business sectors and which countries are perceived to be the most profitable to invest in and why?
The private sector is increasingly involved in education delivery across the continent and more innovative partnerships are coming into play. Greenfield, buy-out and shareholding investment have been recorded with social partnerships becoming popular. How do you determine the best investment model for your portfolio? Who has been leading the public private social partnerships and how can these partnerships be enhanced for better education delivery? What investment models have been seen to work well internationally that can be tailored to the different African regions?
With the adoption of 21st century learning, absolute assessments on set dates do not capture a learner’s true progress. Educators are beginning to transform assessments and evaluations by measuring student achievement through the year. Value added methods have proved successful in other regions and can be adopted to the African context. However, a set standard of assessment needs to be set to measure student progress. What standards are accurate measures – English proficiency, university admissions or skills based assessments? Will we see the eradication of absolute examinations in the future?