IIEP-UNESCO Dakar celebrates its 20th anniversary

A look back at 20 years of action for education in Africa 

A few months later, a platform of expertise in education policy analysis – a first on the continent – was set up in Dakar, under the impetus of the French Ministry for Foreign Affairs.  This small four-person unit had the task of providing technical support to French-speaking African countries for conducting in-depth analyses of education systems, known as state reports on the national education system. This in-depth assessment of the basic education sector proved to be a crucial instrument for initiating the process of strategic planning in education. Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea were some of the first countries supported by the Pôle de Dakar, which reported to the UNESCO Regional Office for Education in Africa (BREDA).

Strengthening capacities

With around 25 African countries supported during its first ten years,  education sector analysis expertise was a central part of Pole’s mission and remains a focus of IIEP-Dakar today. From the outset, the Pôle de Dakar’s approach stood out for its interventions based on a national capacity development approach, working hand in hand with countries’ education ministries. Alongside the production of methodological tools and knowledge, the office launched its first training course in Sectoral Analysis and Management of Educational Systems in 2007  (PSGSE). This programme, delivered in collaboration with Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University, has since trained around 500 African education sector professionals and is now in its 14th year. 

New Milestones in 2013

In the early 2010s, as aid to the education sector underwent major changes, the Pôle de Dakar sought to bolster its institutional position and expand into new areas of action. This was encouraged by the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement, AFD) the office’s long-time partner and financing agency. On 9th October 2013, an agreement formalised its administrative links with IIEP-UNESCO, paving the way for synergies and new collaborations.  Like IIEP-UNESCO Buenos Aires, IIEP-UNESCO Dakar became the second regional office to be attached to the organization’s Paris headquarters.  Since this integration, some collaborations with African countries are carried out across all the three offices. The Dakar office was integrated into the headquarters’ funding framework in 2020, opening up new prospects for financing projects on the continent.

Vocational training, issues of education quality management and gender equality have become increasingly important to the office’s activities and staff. This process of diversification at IIEP-UNESCO Dakar, which began in 2015, is a direct response to Sustainable Development Goal 4 set by the United Nations in the same year: “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.”

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) 

With the launch of its platform of expertise in vocational training (PEFOP) in November 2015, IIEP-UNESCO Dakar contributes to joint efforts by African governments to promote youth employment and support growth in Africa. First as part of this initiative, and now beyond it, the teams develop and trial innovative approaches with countries, in collaboration with other public and private partners. The aims are to strengthen planning in this sub-sector of education and to facilitate TVET reforms in Africa.

Support for education quality management

Innovation is also the main feature of the programme to support quality management in basic education, launched three years later in collaboration with several French-speaking African countries. Since 2018, the teams at IIEP-UNESCO Dakar and country partners in the field have been seeking to provide concrete and coordinated solutions that respond to the critical crisis in education that threatens the continent’s future.

Gender equality in and through education

The Gender at the Centre Initiative is the other major pillar that reflects how the IIEP’s office for Africa has expanded. Launched in 2019 as part of the G7 summit and coordinated by United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), this programme aims to strengthen the capacities of eight sub-Saharan African countries to mainstream gender in the development, implementation and monitoring of education policies. As the technical lead of this initiative, the IIEP supports governments, delivers training courses and produces knowledge on the crucial issue of inclusion in African education systems.

The Dakar office now employs around 40 people, ten times more than it had when it was first established 20 years ago. In the aftermath of a global pandemic that has severely impacted already-stretched education systems, the IIEP’s activity in Africa is set to be stepped up even further across the continent. A key focus will be supporting the operational implementation of educational reforms and policies set out in partner countries’ education sector plans.

Five key challenges for education in Africa

With eight years until the 2030 deadline, funding for education,  quality learning, demographics, inclusive education and youth employment remain major challenges for the continent’s future. To respond to the continent’s growing needs in the area of educational planning and management, IIEP-UNESCO Dakar is now seeking to accelerate its impact on the ground by developing key partnerships with leading institutional and academic partners on the continent.