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The Third Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology (STC-EST III) organised in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 10-13 December 2019

Representatives of more than forty (40) Member States are taking part in the STC-EST III. Also in attendance are specialized institutions of the African Union: AU-CIEFFA, AUDA-NEPAD, IPED, AU-STRC, PAU, as well as partners’ institutions such as UNESCO, UNICEF, AfECN, Save the Children, AfDB, CEMASTEA, CAFOR, RUFORUM, GiZ just to name a few.

 

Prior to the Ministerial Session, the Experts’ Meeting (10 – 11 December 2019) kicked off with an opening session where Dr. Mahama Ouedraogo, Director of Human Resources, Science and Technology (HRST) at the African Union Commission, among others, presented the outcomes of the 1st Extra Ordinary Summit for the Committee of Ten Heads of State and Government Championing Education, Science, and Technology (C10).

In his key note address, the outgoing Chair of the STC EST III experts’ session, Prof Amadou Abdoul Sow, Director General of Higher Education at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation of Senegal, recalled the priority that must be given to Education in African countries.

Among other key issues, experts took note of the following:

  • The Outcomes of the Committee of Ten (C10), namely: the commitment of 1% GDP Allocation to Research & Development and 4 – 6 % on Education, rebranding and modernizing TVET sector, and the contribution of the private Sector and philanthropists.
  • One Million by 2021 Initiative; and
  • The Digital Transformation Strategy of the African Union.

The Parallel session on Education, made recommendations to the Ministers pertaining to the following items: Early Childhood Education and Development; Teacher Development; Home Grown School Feeding; Innovating Education in Africa; Quality Assurance and Harmonization of Higher Education, etc.

The Parallel session on Science and Technology made recommendations with regards to the implementation of STISA-2024 (2014 – 2018) and the 5 years action plan; the AU Kwame Nkrumah Awards for Scientific Excellence, the AU Research Grants, the Biodiversity Program, on the African Space Policy and Strategy, the STRC programme with special focus on African Scientific Research and Innovation Council (ASRIC); and the progress report of AUDA-NEPAD on Open Science and Space Weather.

The Ministerial Session (13 December 2019) is ongoing with key items on their agenda such as the Election of Bureau, the consideration of the Report of Experts as well as the consideration and Adoption of the Report and Decisions of STC-EST 3.

Full Reports and Decisions of Ministers for the meeting are available at this link.