EI Africa Calls for Bold Investment in Teachers at AU High -Level Partners’ Consultation
Addis Ababa, 13 February 2026 — Education International Africa (EI Africa) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening the teaching profession and advancing quality public education across the continent during the African Union’s High-Level Partners’ Consultation on the AU Decade of Education and Skills Development (2025–2034).
Dr. Dennis Sinyolo, Regional Director for EI Africa, commended the African Union for launching both the new Continental Education Strategy for Africa (2026–2035) and the Decade of Education and Skills Development (2025-2034). He stressed that real progress can only be achieved if Africa decisively addresses 3 major bottlenecks impeding the education sector, namely:
- inadequate investment in teachers,
- inadequate financing for education, and
- poor school infrastructure and learning resources.
These, he says, hinder the progress of SDG 4 in Africa.
He called on AU Member States to raise professional teaching standards, urging the continent to adopt a first degree as the minimum qualification for teachers, following the examples of South Africa and Ghana. He further highlighted that every African child deserves to be taught by a highly trained and professionally qualified teacher even though only about 60% of teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa are trained to national standards, stressing the urgency of recruiting and training more qualified teachers.
Dr. Sinyolo underscored that improving the professional status, salaries and working conditions of teachers restores their dignity, while stating that many African teachers earn as little as USD 100 per month.
Crucially, he called for stronger policy and social dialogue in the education sector, insisting that teachers’ unions must be fully involved in decisions affecting teaching and learning. “ Nothing for us without us,” he stressed.
Concerning education financing, Dr. Sinyolo urged African governments to meet or exceed the global benchmark of 6% of GDP or 20% of national budgets allocated to education. He also appealed to international partners to take heavy debt off African countries to ease the financial burden and help make room for education investment. He encouraged African governments to provide adequate standard infrastructure in every school which includes classrooms, laboratories, libraries and housing, especially for teachers in rural areas.
AU Commissioner Emphasizes Political Commitment
Earlier in the session’s opening segment, Professor. Gaspard Banyankimbona, AU Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI), framed the Consultation as a crucial moment to strengthen political will and galvanize partnerships for the Decade of Education and Skills Development. According to him, it is a platform to “focus on actionable pathways”. He stressed the importance of high-level coordination and collective leadership to ensure the Decade delivers tangible impact across Member States.
He reaffirmed the AU’s full dedication to the Decade, stating:
“On behalf of the African Union Commission, I wish to reaffirm our highest level of commitment to this shared journey, we do not seek and hope coordination, we seek a genuine transformative partnership to take the Decade of Education to a success.”
EIA’s Commitments to the AU Decade of Education
Education International Africa pledged to continue supporting the implementation of the AU Decade by engaging in advocacy and dialogue with the AU, UN agencies, and governments, build the capacity of teacher unions to participate meaningfully in policy formulation, support teachers to develop learning materials for disadvantaged schools in several countries, including The Gambia, Burundi, Kenya, and Zimbabwe, and promote regional and national social dialogue initiatives, which includes proposing an annual African Summit on the Teaching Profession (ASTP).