The African Union Commission, through its Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI), has successfully concluded the Peer Review and Knowledge Exchange Meeting on Higher Education and TVET, held from 30 June to 2 July 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya .
The three-day continental forum convened representatives of African Union Member States, higher education institutions, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, Regional Economic Communities, development partners, industry leaders, research institutions, innovation ecosystems, youth organizations, and education experts .
Held within the framework of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 26–35), the Continental TVET Strategy (CTVET-34), the AU Decade of Education and Skills Development (2025–2034), and Agenda 2063, the meeting reaffirmed that transforming Africa's education systems requires a shift from fragmented initiatives towards integrated, future-oriented, and implementation-driven reforms .
Strategic Reforms and Key Focus Areas
Throughout the meeting, participants examined strategic reforms aimed at repositioning higher education and TVET as engines of industrialization, innovation, entrepreneurship, regional integration and inclusive economic growth .
Deliberations focused on Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET), Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), qualifications harmonization, digital transformation, Artificial Intelligence, labour market intelligence, entrepreneurship education, industry-academia partnerships, work-based learning, innovation ecosystems, sustainable financing, climate-responsive education, green skills, lifelong learning, and evidence-based policy making .
Member States presented promising national reforms demonstrating how strengthened governance, policy coherence, institutional coordination and closer collaboration between governments, industry, education institutions and the informal sector are creating more responsive, resilient and demand-driven skills ecosystems .
A recurring message throughout the forum was that peer learning and continental knowledge exchange remain among Africa's most powerful instruments for accelerating reform, enabling countries to learn from one another, adapt proven solutions to their national contexts and avoid duplication of effort .
Call to Action
Speaking during the closing session, Ms. Sophia Ashipala, Head of the Education Division at the African Union Commission, said: "Our responsibility now is to ensure that these innovations do not remain conference presentations, but evolve into national reforms, strengthened partnerships, scalable programmes and measurable improvements in learning outcomes, employability, entrepreneurship and economic transformation" .
The meeting concluded with a strong continental consensus that Africa's education transformation must move beyond policy dialogue to implementation; beyond isolated innovations to scalable national reforms; and beyond individual country successes to a coordinated continental ecosystem .
