Avinash Meetoo

From 26 to 28 November 2024, I was in Abuja, the vibrant capital of Nigeria, to participate in the Going Global Africa 2024 conference, focusing on the critical theme of The Future of Education in the African Continent. This event was organised by the British Council of Nigeria in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education of Nigeria. Roshan Teeluck, Freelance TVET Consultant at British Council Mauritius, and I formed part of the team to represent Mauritius during the conference.

On returning to Mauritius after the conference, I wrote this report for the British Council.

Day One – Tuesday 26 November 2024

10:30 – 11:00: Delegate seating, welcome, security briefing, cultural presentation

Roshan Teeluck and I arrived at the conference hall at 10:00 to collect our badges for the conference. There, we met, inter-alia, George Barrett, the Country Director of the British Council in South Africa as well as Nesma Mustapha, the Head of MENA Higher Education Insights and Student Mobility at the British Council in Egypt. The latter would be the rapporteur of our panel on the Future of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) which would take place on the third day.

11:00 – 11:45: Opening Plenary

Chairperson:
Maddalaine Ansell, Director Education, British Council

Participants:
Dr Maruf Olatunji Alausa, Minister of Education, Nigeria
Sir Steve Smith, UK International Education Champion
Dr Richard Montgomery CMG, British High Commissioner, Nigeria

All speakers spoke about the potential of the African continent, especially its large proportion of young people who need to be trained for the Jobs of the Future. This can be done through partnerships with established tertiary-level institutions e.g. British universities. Speakers also mentioned that, given the need for technicians, it is also important to develop a strong Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) ecosystem in the continent in the years to come.

11:45 – 12:30: The Future is Now: Realising the Vision of Africa’s Youth

Chairperson:
Lucy Pearson, Regional Director, Sub Saharan Africa, British Council

Participants:
Professor Address Malata, Vice-Chancellor, Malawi University of Science and Technology
Ahmed Alaga, Head of Partnerships, The African Talent Company
Temilade Salami, Climate Education Consultant, Ecochampions
Prince Louis Omolayo Adekola, Executive Director, Edvant Edge Africa

Professor Malata spoke about ways to bridge the gap between education and industry, promote leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation, address the gender gap and foster inclusion. She concluded by saying that it is important to rethink the education system for the continent. Speakers mentioned that education in Africa needs to be decolonised with the inclusion of indigenous and local knowledge in the curriculum. The skills of the 21st century are soft skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving, which therefore become core skills.

13:45 – 15:00: Maximising Impact through Tertiary Education Partnerships: What does it take to make these truly transformational?

Chairperson:
Sir Steve Smith, UK International Education Champion

Participants:
Chris Maiyaki, Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, Nigeria
Professor Colin Riordan, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer, The Association of Commonwealth Universities
Professor Olanike Adeyemo, Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Nigeria
Professor Dame Sally Mapstone, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, University of St Andrews

The conversation on how African educational institutions can better collaborate with their British counterparts continued. Speakers mentioned that different countries have different priorities and that a one-size-fits-all approach is not desirable. The participants reiterated that the inclusion of indigenous and local knowledge in the curriculum is of importance.

15:30 – 17:00: Preparing Young People for the Evolving World of Work: Employability, Entrepreneurship, and Enterprise Development

Chairperson:
Associate Professor Thea van der Westhuizen, University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Participants:
Simeliszwe Sibanda, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology of Zimbabwe
Andrew Bird, Chief Marketing Officer, University of Southampton
Ayansola Ayandibu, Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship, University of Zululand, South Africa

Discussions were about how having a clear vision and good leadership can solve the issue of mismatch between school leavers and industry. Paths forward include partnerships, evidence-based policymaking and community empowerment. It is important to create spaces where students can think and acquire core skills (a better term for soft skills). Moreover, students can obtain micro-credentials on various things to make them more “rounded”.

19:00 – 21:00: Welcome Reception, British High Commissioner’s Residence

Speeches from Dr Richard Montgomery CMG, British High Commissioner, Nigeria, Sir Steve Smith, UK International Education Champion, and Lucy Pearson, Regional Director, Sub Saharan Africa, British Council were followed by an extensive networking session.

Day Two – Wednesday 27 November 2024

9:30 – 10:00: Learning Labs: Knowledge diplomacy: Best practice in internationalisation

Participants:
Dr Samia Chasi, Manager: Strategic Initiatives, Partnership Development and Research, International Education Association, South Africa
Professor Olanike Adeyemo, Secretary to the State Government, Oyo State, Nigeria
Professor Neville Wylie, Deputy Principal, University of Stirling, UK
Professor Felix Maringe, Professor of Higher Education, University of the Wits and University of South Africa

Discussions were about models for knowledge production and knowledge sharing especially during times of crisis. Ways to break down the barriers created by hierarchies of knowledge which create polarisation and a “colonialist” mindset were explored. One issue is that Knowledge Diplomacy should not force universities to become political actors or diplomatic entities.

10:00 – 10:30: Learning Labs: Unlocking Africa’s youth potential through International Education Partnerships

Participants:
Kehinde Ayeni, Executive Director, LEAP Africa
Prince Louis Omolayo Adekola, Executive Director, Edvant Edge Africa
Rawan Taha, Decent Work and Economic Growth Ambassador (SDG8), British Council, Namibia
Femi Taiwo, Founding Partner, F.I.T Africa, Nigeria

Discussions were about funding mechanisms to ensure that universities train young people properly. Participants explored ways to make sure curricula is updated, make sure teachers are of good calibre and can adapt to new students, and make sure that alumni networks really provide value to freshly graduated students. An important topic was that universities need to let students discover their talent by providing platforms for young people to try new things.

11:00 – 12:30: Plenary – Partnerships for Progress: Equipping young people to change the world

Chairperson:
George Barrett, Country Director for South Africa, British Council

Participants:
Akpezi Ogbuigwe, Education for Sustainable Development Specialist, and Chairperson of Council of Earth Charter International, Nigeria, The Star Advantage Network
Linda Lindani, Entrepreneurship Programme Officer: TVETs, Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies
Colin Riordan, Secretary General and Chief Executive Officer, The Association of Commonwealth Universities
Kgothatso Masetla, TVET Student, Nkangala TVET College
Divine Kwadzodeh, Policy Advisor, Education Policy and Advocacy, All-Africa Students Union

Education in Africa tends to be focussed on the academic side and it is important to ask whether degrees being given are 21st century compliant? It was said that Africa (and African countries) have to achieve objectives which might be different from those of the UK. Consequently, foreign universities might need to change their “culture”. In particular, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) needs to be given more importance. Participants also spoke about environment, renewable energy and recycling jobs in the future as well as instilling core skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, leadership, communication, collaboration, time management, etc.

18:30 – 20:30: Connected Scotland Reception

With over 12,000 students from Africa having studied in Scotland, this networking reception jointly organised by British Council Scotland and Connected Scotland offered all delegates the opportunity to hear about Scottish universities and colleges and the strength of the education sector. It was also an opportunity to further network.

Day Three – Thursday 28 November 2024

9:30 – 10:45: Bridging the Gap between Higher Education and Industry in Africa

Participants:
Akanimo Odon, Head of African Strategic Partnerships, Lancaster University
Kehinde Ayeni, Executive Director, LEAP Africa, Nigeria
Prince Gideon Olanrewaju, Chief Executive Officer, Aid for Rural Education Access Initiative (AREAi)
Rose Dodd, Executive Director, The Education Collaborative, Ashesi University
Professor James Miller, Vice-Chancellor, University of the West of Scotland
Temilade Salami, Ecochampions Africa

70% of Africans are young. It is imperative that they are ready to be productive in industry and elsewhere. But industry should not drive education. Rather, universities should be purpose-led (for society as a whole) and create well-rounded people who can contribute to development in different ways.

11:15 – 12:30: The Future of Lifelong Learning (TVET)

Chairperson:
Roshan Teeluck, Freelance TVET Consultant, British Council, Mauritius

Participants:
Ayanda Makhanya, Programme Lead StartUp Academy, Allan Gray Makers, South-Africa
Joshua Valeta, Director of Open Distance and e-Learning, Ministry of Education, Malawi
Avinash Meetoo, Founder and Director, Knowledge Seven, Mauritius

Ayanda Makhanya and Joshua Valeta spoke about current initiatives in South Africa and Malawi to promote Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and education in general.

In particular, a new generation of entrepreneurs and startup founders, having been trained in TVET, are contributing to make South Africa more innovative. As these people are skilled, they can readily provide solutions to problems being faced by citizens there.

In Malawi, technology, and especially e-learning, is being used to transform. Technical and Vocational Education and Training. An interesting initiative is the use of electronic devices such as tablets by students but, contrary to many countries, course content which is relevant and updated on a regular basis is being developed.

My own intervention focussed on the Mauritian experience. In particular, I explained that it is important for policy-makers to have a clear vision of what the country needs to be in the next, say, 10 years. From this vision, growth sectors, enablers (such as innovation and technology, including Artificial Intelligence) and potential jobs identified. This can then drive policies in education to create a workforce which can contribute towards this vision.

I explained what emerging technologies might be useful in Africa in the short term and how Deep Learning can be very valuable for the creation of digital assistants for students, teachers, civil servants, those working in the private sector and citizens in general.

Based on my own experience in Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Mauritius, I explained how important it is for a country to have a critical mass of technicians as opposed to only having degree holders.

The session was followed by an extensive Q&A where the panelists spoke about digital public goods (based on open-source solutions) as well as career guidance structures to be put in place in a country to create its workforce of tomorrow.

At the end, I mentioned that it is never about hardware or software, but about people(ware). The No 1 asset of Africa, including Mauritius, is its people.

13:30 – 15:00: Final Plenary – Navigating change and preparing for the future: Re-imagining tertiary education in 2050

Africa will have hundreds of millions of young people in the near future. In most countries, they cannot be absorbed by the existing public and private sectors. Consequently, they need to be trained to be entrepreneurs, either at secondary level, at university level or at a TVET institution. How can we create a continent of entrepreneurs? Educational institution will need to adapt and innovate to become accelerators for the mind.

My takeaway

Going Global Africa 2024 made me really appreciate how dynamic and young the African continent is. There is a profound willingness from the people of the various African countries to do what is needed to reach another level of development by focusing on education. Creating a critical mass of educated and skilful people, having a good dose of creativity and entrepreneurial spirit, is key.