The conference will cover the following key areas that contribute to reducing out of school children and improving learning:

• Curriculum Reform and Competency-Based Learning: This will focus on aligning curriculum with the demands of the future, including the 21^st century job market; promoting critical thinking, problem-solving, socio-emotional, and collaborative skills as well as literacy on environmental sustainability and climate change; and integrating local knowledge and cultural perspectives into the curriculum. The discussion will focus on transforming curriculum agenda in the continent through building a strong harmonization among curriculum, pedagogy and assessment.
• Teacher Development and Professional Support: Discussion will focus on improving the transparency and accountability in teachers’ recruitment and deployment, rationalization of teacher resources and quality and availability of teacher training programs; providing continuous professional development and support for teachers; and enhancing teacher retention and motivation. Further, reflections on issues such as ensuring decent working conditions and an enhanced status of the teaching profession, including through wages comparable with professions requiring similar levels of qualifications.
• Responsive Learning Outcome Assessment: Early and regular assessment of foundational skills is crucial to measure progress and identify the key gaps in learning, promote data driven decision making and effective education service delivery. The discussion will be centred around building robust, cost-effective, comparable learning outcome assessment tools, responsive to the continent’s needs, including learning measurements in emergency and crisis contexts.
• Promoting Impactful Practices at Scale to Elevate Early and Foundational Learning Outcomes: This thematic area will focus on strategic approaches and support mechanism for the education systems to fast-track the scaling up of evidence-based impactful practices and structured pedagogy.  
• Emergency-and crisis resilient education systems that are climate informed: Discussions here will focus on addressing the gaps in better preparedness and response to the growing frequency and scale of multiple types of crises on the continent and explore solutions, strategies and best practices to ensure continuity of learning for children and young people affected by climate disasters, protracted conflict and public-health emergencies. Moreover, discussions will focus on education, teaching and learning as an integral part of climate adaptation and mitigation efforts in the African contexts, relevant opportunities, partnerships and practices.
• Leveraging Digital Technologies for Education: This will focus on expanding inclusive access to digital learning through influencing digital learning policy, cost-effective and adaptive digital devices and infrastructure for learners and teachers and connectivity in schools; integrating digital tools and resources into teaching and learning; and developing digital literacy and skills among students and teachers.
• Inclusive Education and Equity: Discussion will focus on reducing OOSC by addressing the educational needs of marginalized and underserved communities, including the growing number of children affected by multiple types of crises, promoting gender-responsive and inclusive education strategies; and ensuring equal access and opportunities for all learners, including second-chance education and alternative learning.
• STEM Education and 21st-Century Skills: Discussion will focus on strengthening the quality and participation in STEM education; fostering creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurial mindsets; and preparing students for the jobs of the future.
• Vocational and Technical Education: Discussion here will focus on enhancing the relevance and quality of vocational and technical education; aligning with industry needs and labor market demands; and promoting pathways between academic, and technical, and vocational education.
• Financing and Governance for Educational Transformation: Discussion will focus on exploring innovative financing mechanisms and public-private partnerships; strengthening policy and governance frameworks to support educational transformation; and ensuring efficient and transparent resource allocation and utilization.