Innovate Education. ACCRA, Ghana — The future success of the African continent lies to a large degree in its ability to hone the skills and talents of its ever-growing youth population. However, some argue that the current education system in Africa uses outdated methods and is not preparing children for the future.
“Quality education still remains an illusion to many of Africa’s youth,” said Matthew Opoku Prempeh, Ghanaian minister of education, during the Accra edition of the World Innovation Summit for Education earlier this month.
Access and quality of education must go hand in hand, the minister stated, noting that an estimated 90 million African children are currently out of school.
“Quality without access will lead to inequality and exclusion; access without quality will limit the potential and would not bring [about] the desired results,” Prempeh said.
Experts at the summit acknowledged that the rise of automation and technological advancements require an updated skill set.
Stavros Yiannouka, chief executive officer at WISE, argued that “we cannot continue along the same path — the traditional industrial model of education.”
