Zambia hosted the 2023 High-Level Policy Dialogue (HLPD) in collaboration with the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) from 31 October to 1 November 2023 at Taj Pamodzi Hotel, in Lusaka. The conference was officiated by the President of the Republic of Zambia, Mr. Hakainde Hichilema, who was represented by the Minister of Education, Hon. Douglas Syakalima. The HLPD’s main target audience were African Ministers of Education, policy makers, educationalists, cooperating partners, and local non-governmental organizations. In attendance were 10 ministers of Education, namely from South Africa, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Ghana, Gambia, Lesotho and Zambia. A total of close to 300 international and national delegates were in attendance. The focus for the 2023 Conference was foundational learning, given the poor track record many African countries hold in this area.
The objectives of the Conference were to promote knowledge-sharing at the local, national, and regional levels on the continent.
The first day set the stage for the deliberations, with the Zambian Ministry of Education sharing the recent government actions to boost foundational learning with the introduction of the contextualized evidence-based Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) approach, knows as Catch up. VVOB, together with UNICEF and TaRL Africa is one of the main partners supporting the Ministry of Education in the roll out of the programme.
Renowned Foundational Learning Experts, including Dr. Benjamin Piper, currently the Director of Global Education for The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Dr. Obiageli “Oby” Ezekwesili, founder of the Human Capital Africa and former Minister of Education in Nigeria, underscored the importance of investing in evidence-based solutions that can be taken up at scale, with structured pedagogy and TaRL identified as things that do work.
Delegations from different countries, including Benin Republic, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritius, Senegal, shared how they are implementing foundational learning initiatives and experiences, emphasizing the importance of quality foundational learning for the achievement of quality education at all levels.
On day two, the delegates were exposed to Catch Up in the classroom, so they were able to see what the TaRL approach could look like also in their own context. VVOB supported the ministry to facilitate the visit to the 15 schools. During the visits, they were exposed to the critical aspects of the approach, namely the lesson procedure, the grouping, the data recording, the activities and teaching and learning materials, the classroom management, and monitoring and mentoring. The visits ended with the engagement of teachers and school management to get more insights into how Catch Up is handled by the school and school management.
The visits did not only allow the participants to appreciate the entire process of implementing Catch Up but also encouraged the visiting countries to begin thinking of how they could embark on similar interventions.
Appreciating the Programme and agreeing with the counterparts on the need for countries to be willing to adopt programmes that work, the Minister of State responsible for education in Angola, Hon. Pachecho Francisco, said,
The Conference ended with the presentation of a draft resolution on Foundational Learning which is yet to be finalized and the meeting was officially closed by the Minister of Education from Sierra Leone, Hon. Conrad Sackey. In his remarks, he quoted Whitney Houston's song - "The greatest love". Reiterating the importance of addressing literacy and numeracy challenges at the foundational level and urging policy makers to put in the child at the centre of development for any nation.
See 2023 ADEA Conference videos in action:
https://mega.nz/file/lDQnySBS#27IYgFBeM67yOL7J3zZKWP2bJS7EKYmWEcB35wjIaeE
https://mega.nz/file/sfYG2biK#YjxRrjhrr2ObU6tu9cHS61v6lPq6pRsc4aoiWgv2aAU
