In spite of this difficult context, all countries in sub-Saharan Africa succeeded relatively quickly in setting up various alternatives to traditional in-class teaching. A recent memorandum by IIEP-UNESCO Dakar, based on a survey in 34 sub-Saharan African countries on distance education in the context of COVID-19, presents their successes, limitations, and prospects in order to capitalize on the lessons of this unprecedented crash test.

To solve this challenge, the IIEP-Pôle de Dakar is launching a new support programme backed by the Agence française de développement: strengthening capacity for quality management in basic education. A first circle of 6 countries[1] is directly concerned with structured support including technical cooperation, training, methodological tools, production and knowledge sharing.

The teacher issue is fundamental to the success of the international community’s commitments to education. The recent Education 2030 framework for action refers explicitly to the issue by committing to “substantially increase the supply of qualified teachers, including through international cooperation for teacher training in developing countries.”