The last generation to learn the old way

MOST African governments have consistently failed to meet global and regional education funding targets to ensure quality public education, Human Rights Watch reported earlier this month. The 2025 theme for the Day of the African Child is “planning and budgeting for children’s rights: progress since 2010”.

- MIC MANN

Yet only one-third of African countries met the globally endorsed education funding benchmarks between 2013 and 2023. That dropped to just one-quarter by 2022. Fourteen African countries didn’t meet the target even once in a decade. This paints a sobering picture. But it doesn't have to be this way.

With more than 60% of the continent's population under the age of 25, the future is young and full of opportunity. Artificial intelligence is creating new pathways to reimagine education. We have the tools and talent to equip our youth for a bigger, brighter future. Education and learning are set to be fundamentally disrupted. But because education funding targets aren’t being met, we're already falling behind. The good news? The solution is within our reach and we can turn this around.