Venue: Lagos Nigeria & Virtual.
Dates: September 20th- 22nd 2022
Organizing Companies: The Just Ibe Company, Arielle For Africa, The Association of African Startups.
ABOUT AFRICAN GOVERNMENT STAKEHOLDERS ENGAGEMENT FORUM 2022
The reason for our focus on the tertiary education enrolment is to even out the scales even with the implementation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which is set to benefit the youth. However, it will only benefit those who understand the agreement and have positioned themselves as professionals or entrepreneurs to reap the benefit of the agreement.
As a result, with the disproportionate enrolment, the lack of a unified standard for education and lack of focus on blue collar jobs and more hands on experience, the question then becomes the readiness of the African youth to build the ‘Africa we want’ in Agenda 2063.
Further, due to COVID 19, governments have been pushed to cut their budget for education. It is therefore our proposal to not only unify the education approach and standards, but to also implement digitisation for tertiary institutions across the continent. Fully online landing centers and institutes should be available to not only provide ease of access to education but closer interaction of the African youth.
The cost of not adopting a joint approach to education will lead to increased inequities with some African countries having more tools and skills than others as well as reduced job creation.
According to Bloom, Canning, and Chan (2005) higher education may create greater tax revenue, increase savings and investment, and lead to a more entrepreneurial and civic society.
In a recent speech, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan argued:
“The university must become a primary tool for Africa’s development in the new century. Universities can help develop African expertise; they can enhance the analysis of African problems; strengthen domestic institutions; serve as a model environment for the practice of good governance, conflict resolution and respect for human rights, and enable African academics to play an active part in the global community of scholars. “
Even as we go forward and create opportunities for education in the continent, it is also a requirement to build an enabling environment for graduates of these tertiary institutions.
This is to avoid statistics that suggests that up to 50,000 Africans who have secured Ph.D.s are working outside the continent (Cornish, 2005). This points to the environment or lack thereof for job opportunities and successful entrepreneurship.
In 2000 a report by TFHE argued that the quality of education provided by a Tertiary institution along with its availability to all groups is not only enabling but necessary for national competitiveness.
This therefore brings us to the goal of the conference which is to leverage not only national competitiveness but continental competitiveness.