Chapter Seven: Right to Quality Education in Africa: A Critical Tool for a Sustainable Development Agenda

Africa seeks to be a competitive global player through its comprehensive development agenda committed to by all countries on the continent for the ‘Africa we want’ in terms of the African Union Agenda 2063 as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Quality education that is also inclusive is therefore a vital and necessary tool to drive this development agenda. One of the greatest assets of the African continent is its teeming youth population whose education is the catalyst for Africa’s development. Yet, access and the quality of education in many countries on the continent remain very low when compared to other parts of the world. There have been significant strides made in ensuring inclusive and quality education, however, nearly one in three children does not complete primary education for a variety of reasons including costs of learning, accessibility and inclusivity that underscores the quality of received education. In the main, two main issues have been consistent in recreating the educational crisis on the continent; access and quality of education resulting in a vicious cycle of high youth unemployment rate. The high rate of unemployment threatens Africa’s capability to achieve its developmental objectives. South Africa is one of the countries with the right to education, yet the country has huge unemployment rate. Thus, with South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Nigeria struggling with endemic developmental challenges, meeting the targets of creating the ‘Africa we want’ and fostering a sustainable development agenda hang in the balance. There is an urgent need to address quality education as a central objective to realise a sustainable development agenda for the continent.