Linking Education and Employment in Africa

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More than six hundred delegates recently met in Burkina Faso to discuss education in Africa. The aim is to find ways to support economic growth by improving education and job training programs.The delegates included education ministers and representatives of civil society, business, labor and youth groups. The meeting, held every three years, is known as the Triennial. Ahlin Byll-Cataria is executive secretary of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa. His group organized the weeklong conference.He says there is a missing link between education and employment in Africa. For example, schools need to improve technical training for students who do not continue to secondary education. Mr. Byll-Cataria says educational programs need to be reshaped to better fit the needs of employers. He says this is already happening in some countries including Tunisia, where the association is based. "For instance, where they have to train engineers, there is a lot of discussion between the schools and the companies in order to know the demands of the company, to take them into account in the curriculum, and even in the management of the schools."In Mali, an association of artisans is working to improve the skills of mechanics, wood workers and tradesmen. That association has also helped workers and companies to win government contracts.Several West African countries are working together to develop a network of trade and vocational schools. The idea is based in part on a successful example developed by Nigeria. Mr. Byll-Cataria says educators are working to connect government-run school systems with other groups that are helping educate students. These include nongovernmental organizations, community literacy centers and faith-based groups. Among these groups are Islamic schools, or madrassas, that are expanding what they teach. Another subject for the conference was peace education. The idea grew out of the violence in Kenya related to elections in two thousand seven. The idea of peace education has since spread to countries including Rwanda, Somalia, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Liberia.New technology offers a way for Africans living elsewhere in the world -- the African diaspora -- to aid development in their home country. For example, a professor could use videoconferencing to teach a class back home. For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal.(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 16Feb2012)