Ei-iE

African education union leaders have highlighted their commitment to reaching the targets set out in the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to quality education for all.

Leaders affirmed their willingness to help make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality at the Education International (EI) Africa Regional Committee (EIARC) meeting, hosted by the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) from 13-15 September, in Kampala.

Opening the meeting, the Minister of State for Labour, Employment and Industrial Relations of the Republic of Uganda, Herbert Kabafunzaki, highlighted that Uganda was ideally placed to hold a regional trade union meeting, as it is an International Labour Organisation (ILO) member, and has ratified and implements all ILO Conventions.

UNATU activities

He also congratulated UNATU, together with other public sector unions, on signing a recognition agreement with the government acknowledging its right to engage in collective bargaining.

UNATU is an important social partner in the spirit of tripartite dialogue, he said, insisting that, together, they have been able to address a number of challenges.

Kabafunzaki urged EIARC to discuss the welfare of teachers within the broad spectrum of the role of education in the socioeconomic transformation of Africa.

Challenges

EIARC President Wilson Sossion also addressed the meeting. “We are here to consider the challenges and realities in delivering quality education as enshrined in the SDGs,” he said.

He referenced SDG 4 and its target 4.6 on literacy – ‘By 2030, ensure that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy’ –, in light of the fact that Africa hadn’t achieved the Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals.

Calling for United Nations’ (UN) commitments to be reflected at national level and an increased investment in teachers, Sossion was adamant that “education should not be outsourced like it is happening in Liberia”. He also demanded sound labour practices and a fruitful engagement of trade unions, instead of the adoption of labour laws that are punitive to workers.

EI agenda

EI Deputy General Secretary, Charlie Lennon, gave an update to the meeting on latest developments. He also outlined EI’s work programme until the organisation’s next Congress, i.e. working on achieving the SDGs for quality education for all, countering the pressure on education systems from privatisation and commercialisation, and  enhancing the status of the teaching profession.

Lennon urged EI affiliates to take action by informing their memberships about the Education 2030 Agenda, setting priorities according to the most urgent SDGs and education targets in their respective countries, demanding the right to participate in SDGs discussions, and insisting on the integration of SDGs in national plans.

Other actions entail demanding adequate investment in education and teachers, being a watchdog for the implementation of this investment, and building alliances, he explained.

Emerging issues

Participants also discussed emerging issues and projects in EI’s African Region, including the upcoming 10th Further and Higher Education and Research Conference, to be held from 14-16 November 2016 in Accra, Ghana.