Prof. Sarah Agbor, the commissioner for human resources, science and technology, African Union (AU), says the union will continue to facilitate education among youth in Africa.
She spoke in an interview during the 72nd Foundation Day and Convocation ceremony of the University of Ibadan.
She said the youth who make up “70 percent of the continent’s population” need good training for development.
Agbor said AU will continue to achieve the right goals and get the right things done for Africa.
‘Our youth are our demographic dividend; it makes up more than 70 percent of our population.
“So if we do not provide skills and competencies for the future of work, who else can do it? It can only be done through education.
“We believe in education and the power of education to transform the world and lead us to sustainable development for the Africa we want by 2063, because tomorrow belongs to those who have prepared for it today,” she said.
Agbor noted that the union has come up with a continental strategy called the Continental Education Strategy for Africa, embedded in the 50-year blueprint of Agenda 2063, divided into five phases of ten years each.
‘Each phase has a continental strategy that we need to implement to improve the development of early childhood education, higher education and curriculum development.
“We need to change our curriculum to address the future of work so that we do not have graduates with certificates, but do not have jobs. They become job seekers rather than job creators.
“Then we have STEM – Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics – this is very important for the future of work.
“You’re talking about digitization, scientific technology innovation, their foundation must be on STEM.
‘Then we have ICT, the transformation we’re talking about about virtual education, and so on we turn on ICT.
“We also have higher education, lifelong learning and the culture of reading. Africans have to learn how to read and we hardly read.
“We want to watch videos on the internet all our lives, and so on, we need to change the paradigm,” she said.
The AU commissioner also said ‘Africa Union is set to bridge digital divides and invest in green energy to promote distance education.
Vanguard News Nigeria