Sahel Leaders Commit to Ambitious Reforms to Support Access to Quality Education

The summit on education in the Sahel under the theme of "Shaping the Sahel’s future in today’s schools," was held in Nouakchott. President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger, heads of delegations of the Sahel and the Vice President of the World Bank for West and Central Africa attended the summit.

The attendees released a joint statement on the need of reforming the quality of education in the Sahel region. The "Nouakchott Declaration" identifies three fundamental objectives: improving the quality of learning, increasing girls' participation in secondary education, and strengthening the basic skills and literacy of young adults who have left school.

« I am going to work with urgency in rebuilding our educational system. The objective is to make the school a republican school as a place for integration of future generations, building strength and confidence to the youth. A youth that will be able to count its competences and assert citizen’s values to strengthen the state and society. Training in areas related to promising economic sectors will be a priority for young people, » said President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

« We are in a vicious circle. The more children we have, the less we are able to educate them, the less we educate them, the more children they will make in turn. In our social and economic context, these are driving factors for delays in development and growth, » said PresidentMohamed Bazoum of the Republic of Niger.

« Given the urgency of addressing the challenges of the education systems in the Sahel countries, we will intensify our support to the sector as a whole with a particular focus on equitable access to education and learning improvement. International experience shows that if reforms are implemented in a coordinated and inclusive manner, success is possible, » said Ousmane Diagana, Vice President of the World Bank for West and Central Africa.

Sahel leaders called for a long-term political commitment around three key gamechangers:

• Prioritize action and funding around measurable targets for reducing learning poverty, promoting increased participation of girls in secondary education, and strengthening basic skills and literacy among young adults who have left school;

• Improve teachers’ recruitment, training, and deployment, while participating in international programs for periodic assessment of academic learning and other types of learning outcomes;

• Increase the share of education in public expenditure and gross domestic product to reach the Sub-Saharan African average by 2030, while striving to improve the efficiency and quality of spending.