More than 500 education leaders, including 30 African ministers and representatives from 39 countries, are set to meet in Kigali from November 11-13, for the second Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX 2024).
Hosted by Rwanda’s Ministry of Education, FLEX is the largest platform for advancing foundational learning across the continent.
This year’s conference will focus on scaling initiatives that address learning poverty, the challenge where children fail to meet basic literacy and numeracy milestones.
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The Minister of Education, Joseph Nsengimana, emphasised that the Foundational Learning Exchange aligns perfectly with Rwanda's vision for education, which is ensuring equitable access to quality education for every child.
"By bringing together representatives from across the continent, we can share knowledge, track progress on foundational learning outcomes, and foster collaborative engagement,” Nsengimana said.
"This event is an opportunity for Africa to unite on our goal for collective growth and to equip every child with the skills necessary to contribute to socio-economic development, in line with the Rwandan Education Sector Strategic Plan,” he said.
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Over three days, FLEX 2024 will bring together policymakers, development partners, and education experts to assess progress on foundational learning goals set at previous events, such as the Africa Human Capital Summit.
The conference will include panel discussions, roundtables, and informal dialogues for participants to share insights on foundational learning initiatives across Africa.
Participants will collaborate to develop strategies to achieve learning goals, promoting knowledge exchange to address the learning crisis.
The United Nations agency for education (UNESCO) and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) estimate that learning poverty rates in sub-Saharan Africa approach 90 per cent, posing a critical issue for the continent’s future workforce.
According to the World Bank, closing this gap could unlock $6.5 trillion in economic potential. However, a $97 billion funding shortfall threatens these efforts.
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Jean Claude Hashakineza, Director General of Education Communications at Rwanda’s Ministry of Education, told The New Times that Rwanda will share its progress in improving foundational learning outcomes, while also drawing insights from successful initiatives across Africa.
He explained that the upcoming conference will provide an opportunity to explore evidence-based approaches that can be scaled to improve pre-primary and lower primary education.
"As the host of FLEX 2024, Rwanda aims to foster commitments to specific, actionable steps for all participating countries and partners to adopt,” Hashakineza said.
This year’s theme, "Moving from Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning,” focuses on setting clear goals for 2024 and 2025 to which participating countries can commit.
"Education has been designated as the African Union’s theme for 2024, with foundational learning as a priority area. The UN General Assembly in September 2024 also focused on the importance of foundational learning. FLEX 2024 will review each country’s progress on initiatives that can be scaled sustainably,” he said.
He emphasised that key actions identified at the conference will be integrated into national, regional, and continental frameworks. FLEX will be held annually to track and share progress.
Rwanda targets to increase pre-primary enrollment from 39 per cent to 65 per cent over the next five years.
This goal, Hashakineza said, will be achieved by expanding school infrastructure, hiring qualified teachers, phasing out double shifts, and revising the curriculum to better support young learners.