Over the past decade, there has been important progress in achieving the target of universal primary education. The total enrollment rate in developing regions reached 91 percent in 2015, and worldwide the number of children out of school has dropped by almost half. Still, disparities between children living in the poorest and wealthiest households and between those living in rural and urban areas remain high. How can these disparities be tackled to make education inclusive?
In this podcast, I speak to Pape Sow, a respected educator from Senegal who currently serves as USAID Regional Coordinator for the Young African Leaders Initiative on SDG #4: Quality Education. Pape has more than 40 years of experience advocating, designing and leading education reform across Africa in senior positions with the Senegal Ministry of Education and in international organizations.
Pape shares his thoughts on the need for an inclusive approach to education reform and the importance of moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. Listen to what Pape has to say about system strengthening, partnerships, building technical capacity, financing for education and leadership. You won’t want to miss his insights and perspective on education in sub-Saharan Africa and what needs to be done to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.
This conversation is the second in a series of candid discussions I’m having with cutting-edge thinkers in international development. You can hear it on SoundCloud or iTunes. Please join the conversation by leaving a comment or sharing the link on social media.