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Education projects in Africa support the implementation of national reforms

Uudis

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Estonian development cooperation projects in Kenya and Uganda support the implementation of lasting, systemic reforms to educational organisations and teacher education, giving African youth better opportunities for the future.

Estonia’s contribution to education in Africa is diverse and impactful. By applying our expertise and innovative approaches, we can actively support the development of education systems in our partner countries. We pay special attention to professional development and improving teacher training to equip local implementors with the skills necessary to develop competency-based curricula and other important reforms. We encourage the improvement of digital competencies for both teachers and students to assist the education sector with adapting to modern demands.

“Through ESTEDEV initiatives, Estonia shares its knowledge and experience, focusing on strengthening local communities and implementing systemic changes,” said Kristi Kulu, ESTEDEV’s programme manager for Education.

Estonia also promotes data-based educational decision-making by fostering collaboration between researchers and policymakers. By providing opportunities for policy dialogues and sharing best practices, Estonia strengthens the educational research capacity of partner institutions.

In Africa, improving access to education helps reduce socio-economic gaps and allows young people to be globally competitive. Quality education also leads to declining unemployment rates and contributes to economic growth and poverty reduction. 

Teacher education as the backbone of the educational system

Kenya has launched a reform of the general education curriculum and a transition to competency-based curricula. Modernising the country’s education sector, especially in ​​teacher education, is a critical step towards improving the quality of education and ensuring it meets the demands of the 21st century.

Teachers play a central role in the education system, shaping the knowledge and skills of their students. Therefore, high-quality teacher training is essential for successfully implementing new curricula and innovations. Well-trained teachers improve students’ academic performance and help reduce educational inequality. The success achieved in Estonian education is primarily based on a strong focus on teacher preparation. 

“Teachers who receive comprehensive training and participate in continuous professional development are crucial to ensuring high-quality teaching, fostering students’ holistic development and inspiring them to love lifelong learning,” Kulu explained.

Tallinn University, one of Estonia's most important centres for teacher education, is implementing an ESDTEV-funded project to support the transition to competency-based curricula in Kenya’s teacher education system. This project will help adapt teacher education curricula to modern pedagogical trends and introduce innovative teaching methodologies, including digital pedagogy, to ensure that future teachers have the necessary competencies to cope with the challenges of the educational environment.

“I think such collaborative projects are very eye-opening for teacher education lecturers. They make us look at things from a completely different perspective, teach us to assess our strengths and where we have come in teacher education. But at the same time, notice what we could learn from our partners and what our role is in ensuring better education not only in Estonia but throughout the world. Educational innovation is not limited to the borders of one country – it is a joint effort for a better future,” said one of the project leaders, Katrin Poom-Valickis, professor of Teacher Education at Tallinn University.

ESTDEV’s project partner in Kenya, Embu University, values Estonia’s experience. Dr Ciriaka Gitonga, Dean of Education and Social Sciences at Embu University, shared her vision of the project’s future: "The Estonian-Kenyan partnership is not just cooperation but a transformative journey that will change the field. By the end of the project, we will design 11 prototypes of competency-based teacher education curricula that other universities can start using as models.”

ESDTEV connects Estonian knowledge to local needs

In addition to teacher education, ESTDEV supports the development of digital skills in African education systems and research capacity-building, an important prerequisite for making scientific and data-based decisions and shaping policies.

“We have shaped our common vision of modern education into a roadmap leading to a more relevant and practical education system. We can use Estonia's best practices and knowledge and adapt them to the unique educational landscape in Kenya to improve the quality and efficiency of teacher education,” Dr Gitonga said, highlighting the importance of such projects and close ties between the universities of both countries.

The cooperation between Tallinn University's Institute of Digital Technologies, NGO Mondo and Kyambogo University in Uganda will update vocational education providers' curricula and teaching strategies by integrating digital solutions with meaningful pedagogical approaches. The goal is to implement teaching based on principles and opportunities appropriate to the Ugandan educational context by training local teachers to be innovation leaders who can share knowledge with their colleagues, enable peer-to-peer dissemination of practices, and ensure the sustainability of these changes.

“I believe that such international collaboration helps to understand the broader context of educational innovation, where the concept of educational innovation finds a completely new meaning. Integrating digital technology into the education system is crucial to providing high-quality education, but we can say this from a very privileged perspective. It is precisely such projects aimed at development cooperation that help to understand what solutions are actually needed in the world’s education system,” said Linda Helene Sillat, Associate Professor of Learning Technologies and Head of the Centre for Educational Technology at Tallinn University Institute for Digital Technologies.

Local educational systems are one of the main focus areas for this year’s ongoing call for applications in the African region. ESTDEV finances projects that support the implementation of various educational reforms in priority countries.

Targeted, well-thought-out projects can bring about change with a lasting impact, also supporting the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals more broadly. Successful cooperation between our Estonian partners to date has already proven this, and we believe it will continue in the future.