The Zambian Minister of Education, Douglas Syakalima; MP officially announced that the President of the Republic of Zambia, Hakainde Hichilema has accepted to be the Champion of Foundational Learning (FL) in Africa.
ADEA and other FL partners consider this as a major milestone in FL advocacy, and the push for improved education outcomes.
Mr Hichilema would be the first-ever Champion of Foundational Learning in Africa, a momentous achievement for Zambia and a significant stride towards improving education outcomes across our continent. ADEA, the Ministry of Education Zambia and African FL stakeholders consider this as a major milestone in efforts to address challenges in FL in Africa.
According to Honourable Douglas Syaklima MP, Minister of Education, Zambia, “We are honoured at the opportunity accorded to our country through our president, His Excellency, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, to champion the most essential part of learning on which all other learning are built.
Working in collaboration with ADEA, local, regional, continental, and international development and implementing partners, and civil society, the Ministry will support the President on this important mission. We ask you to work with us in spreading this foundational learning gospel all over the country and beyond. Let us work together to support our Champion.”
According to Albert Nsengiyumva, the Executive Secretary of ADEA, “President Hichilema will leverage his voice and influence to create visibility for prioritizing foundational learning at the regional, continental, and global levels, to demand critical actions from colleague Heads of Government and other stakeholders like development partners and civil society to address these challenges to ensure the learning future of African children. ADEA is pleased to be part of this milestone and look forward to working closely with Mr President, to address FL challenges in Africa.”
The Champion will raise the salience of foundational learning on the continent and help steer the continent towards a common goal: to improve learners' learning outcomes at the foundational level. These foundational skills are the building blocks upon which future learning and overall success in life are anchored.
Instructively, last November, at a High-Level Policy Dialogue Forum on Foundational Learning, organized by ADEA and hosted by Zambia, 10 Ministers and 11 Ministerial representatives from 21 African countries, issued a Ministerial Communique which contained five resolutions that the Ministers agreed to implement. One of these actions was to identify an African Head of State and Government as a Champion of Foundation Learning in Africa.
