Programme is yielding employability and skills benefits

UNESCO has supported 12 higher education institutions in six African countries to review curricula and engaged nearly 500 industry partners in labour market analysis and curriculum development to respond to skills needs for national development.

The initiative is part of the China Funds-in-Trust Phase III (CFIT III) project which was initiated following the signing of an agreement between China and UNESCO in October 2019 to facilitate collaboration between higher education institutions and industry partners. The aim is to enhance teaching focused on the labour market.

The CFIT III project implementation process was delayed by a myriad of challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent closure of institutions, sometimes also due to political, social or economic instabilities.

In response, a no-cost extension was approved by the donor allowing the project to be extended to December 2025 so that stakeholders have sufficient time to implement the planned activities and deliver quality outcomes.

The programme is being implemented in six countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Gabon, Senegal, Tanzania and Uganda.

Value of curriculum reviews

“With regard to the recognition conventions, UNESCO encourages governments and universities (at the operational level) to ratify the Conventions in order to facilitate academic mobility and inter-university exchanges, benefiting millions of learners.”

Professor Kuzvinetsa Dzvimbo, the chief executive officer of the Zimbabwe Council of Higher Education, said it is necessary for universities to review their curricula so that what is taught prepares students for the world of work in the present and future.

“For instance, in this country, universities continually review their curriculum so that we are in sync with the mandates of Heritage Based Education 5.0,” he said.

Zimbabwe’s new education model’s thrust, which was introduced when President Emmerson Mnangagwa succeeded Robert Mugabe in November 2017, is to produce entrepreneurs as opposed to job-seeking graduates.

Education 5.0 is a five-mission model of teaching, research, community service, innovation and industrialisation, established to move the nation forward towards an innovation-led and knowledge-driven economy.

“We also review our university curriculum so that we expose our students to knowledge and skills that prepares them for tomorrow’s world of work,” added Dzvimbo.

Benefits of the programme

A UNESCO spokesperson, in e-mail responses to questions by University World News, said that the CFIT III project contributes to strengthening higher education systems in Africa, expanding access to and enhancing the quality of higher technical education programmes that equip the youth with skills relevant to the labour market and to their individual needs for lifelong learning. In particular, he added, it focuses on disadvantaged young people to give them the same opportunities to enter working life.

The outcomes of the CFIT III to date are: skills development opportunities in science, technology engineering and mathematics (STEM) for 1,500 graduates; the training of about 800 educational staff on competency-based pedagogy for enhanced training delivery; curriculum reviews at 12 institutions, and engagement with 487 industry partners to gather information about the labour market and tracing graduates, said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson said the initiative has also reached more than 13,000 youths with skills development opportunities through capacity-development workshops, entrepreneurship challenges, awareness-raising campaigns and career guidance.

The spokesperson said the rapid technological advancements in automation, digitalisation, information and communication technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) require education to respond by upgrading the knowledge and skill sets of graduate students, particularly in STEM subjects, information and communication technology (ICT), and other digital technologies.

New training programmes

As a result of the curriculum reviews, new training programmes have been developed to respond to the technological development with active involvement of the private sector, particularly for emerging industries and skill needs in the area of ICTs, digital technologies and artificial intelligence, among others.

As an example, the Technical and Vocational Training Institute of Ethiopia developed its curriculum framework incorporating 21st-century skills, including AI for quality and relevance in planning, development, implementation, and evaluation.

The spokesperson said the CFIT III project is also gender-responsive in addressing the gender gap in higher technical education.

In line with that, partner universities are being supported to foster women’s leadership in the decision-making process, strengthen gender policies in STEM education, and STEM awareness-raising campaigns among girls.

For example, at the Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Côte d’Ivoire, a CFIT III partner university, female enrolment in STEM subjects rose from 7% to 20%-22%, which has been attributed to the programme.

“By supporting similar initiatives, the project contributes to shaping a higher education culture that is non-discriminatory, to increase women’s access to higher technical education and professional development,” the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson said most participating countries lack a national framework or guidance on conducting labour market analyses and curriculum development for higher technical education.

“The project, therefore, provides training for the faculty, including curriculum developers and teaching staff. A long-term professional development strategy will be developed and institutionalised by the partner higher education institutions for the sustainability of the results and continuous improvement of curriculum and programmes – beyond the lifespan of the project,” said the spokesperson.

The president of the College Lecturers Association of Zimbabwe, David Dzatsunga, told University World News that the collaboration between higher education institutions and industry are important as academics engage in innovation and, thus, create intellectual property which can only be mass produced by an industry which has the capital and capacity.

He said that, lately, there has been a paradigm shift in education to focus on producing goods and service.

“This shift acknowledges that university graduates should engage in innovation for purposes of industrialisation. Also, the job market requires new skills that dovetail with the technological shifts such as artificial intelligence and the growth of platform work,” he said.

Meanwhile, the UNESCO spokesperson said the United Nations agency was also promoting the ratification and implementation of the Global Convention on the Recognition of Qualifications concerning Higher Education and the regional Addis Convention for Africa, in order to support quality higher education on the continent.

The spokesperson said the two conventions are implemented together. While the Global Convention aims to promote recognition, mobility and inter-university cooperation among regions, the Addis Convention promotes this within Africa.

“The gross enrolment ratio in Africa is by far the lowest compared to other regions and the global average of 42%. Significant efforts have been made in recent decades by states and we must continue to support them: 3.75 million more students were enrolled in higher education in 2022 when compared to 2000. Female participation also increased four times more than in 2000,” the spokesperson said.

UNESCO requested that the information it provided be attributed only to the organisation or a ‘spokesperson’ without naming anyone in particular.