The UIS has partnered with the African Union in bringing the African continental education strategy, CESA 16-25, to the SDG 4 targets.
The African Union has been tasked with the Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want., a concrete manifestation of how the African continent intends on achieving the Pan African Vision of An integrated, prosperous and peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens, representing a dynamic force in the international arena within a 50-year period, from 2013 to 2063. UNESCO’s regional bureaus of Dakar and Nairobi, and the SDG4-Education 2030 Regional Coordination Group for West and Central Africa are paving the way forward for SDG 4 in the region.
To fulfil its promise to enable African citizens to be "an effective change agent for the continent's sustainable development" as intended by the African Union in the Agenda 2063, the African Union Commission (AUC) has elaborated the comprehensive 10-year Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25).
Summary Report of Africa Regional Technical Consultations on Regional Benchmarks for SDG 4 and CESA 16-25.
Benchmarks for SDG 4 Indicators: Methodological note
- Available in English
Benchmarks for SDG 4 Indicators: A Political and Technical Basis for Discussion
- Available in English, French, Arabic, and Portuguese
Establishing Regional Benchmarks for SDG4 and the Agenda 2063, a discussion paper
- Available in English, French, Arabic, and Portuguese
| SDG Targets | Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25) |
| 4.1 Basic Education | SO4: Knowledge, skills, completion rates at all levels |
| 4.2 Early Childhood Education | |
| 4.3 TVET / Higher Education | SO4: Knowledge, skills, completion rates at all levels |
| SO8: TVET; work and education and training systems | |
| SO9: Tertiary education | |
| 4.4 Skills for Work | SO8: TVET; work and education and training systems |
| 4.5 Equity | SO5: Gender parity and equity |
| 4.6 Adult Literacy and Numeracy | SO4: Knowledge, skills, completion rates at all levels |
| SO6: Literary programmes | |
| 4.7 Sustainable Development | SO10: Peace education and conflict prevention and resolution |
| 4.a Learning Environment | SO2: Infrastructure and learning environment |
| SO3: ICT to improve access, quality and management | |
| 4.b Scholarships | |
| 4.c Teachers | SO1: Teaching position |
Alignment and coherence between CESA strategic objectives and SDG 4 targets are necessary, but they are not sufficient to guarantee a common monitoring framework. Besides the alignment in high-level strategic objectives, a real correspondence between indicators is required to enable joint monitoring. Such alignment allows for a common understanding of the issues that are being monitored and by which metric, to reduce the burden of all individuals and stakeholders involved.
The following indicators are in both the CESA and SDG Frameworks:
| CESA Framework indicators | SDG 4 Framework indicators | ||
| Indicator number | Name | Indicator number | Name |
| 1.1 | Percentage of teachers qualified to teach according to national standards | 4.c.1 | Proportion of teachers with the minimum required qualifications, by education level |
| 1.4 | Percentage of teachers who have undergone in-service training | 4.c.7 | Percentage of teachers who received in-service training in the last 12 months by type of training |
| 2.1 | Proportion of schools with access to (i) basic drinking water; (ii) single sex basic sanitation facilities; and (iii) basic hand-washing facilities | 4.a.1 | Proportion of schools offering basic services, by type of service |
| 2.2 | Proportion of schools with (i) adapted infrastructure; (ii) materials for students with disabilities | ||
| 3.1 | Proportion of educational institutions with access to (i) electricity (ii) the internet for pedagogical purposes and (iii) computers for pedagogical purposes | ||
| 4.1 | Gross intake ratio to last grade of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary | 4.1.2 | Completion rate (primary education, lower secondary education, upper secondary education) |
| 4.4 | Percentage distribution of tertiary graduates by field of study | Distribution of tertiary graduates by field of study | |
| 4.5 | Proportion of children and young people (a) in grade 3; (b) at the end of primary education; and (c) at the end of lower secondary education achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading (ii) mathematics and (iii) science, by sex | 4.1.1 | Proportion of children and young people (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex |
| 4.6 | Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex | 4.6.1 | Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex |
| 5.1 | Gender parity index for gross enrolment ratio | 4.5.1/4.1.2 | Completion rate - Adjusted gender parity index |
| 5.2 | Percentage of female teachers | - | Percentage of female teachers by teaching level of education |
| 5.4 | Girls’ dropout rate per reason of drop out | 4.1.4 | Out-of-school rate, by sex |
| 5.5 | Percentage of girls enrolled to STEM | - | Percentage of graduates from Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics programmes in tertiary education |
| 6.1 | Youth literacy rate | 4.6.2 | Youth/adult literacy rate - Youth |
| 6.2 | Adult literacy rate | 4.6.2 | Youth/adult literacy rate - Adult |
| 6.3 | Participants in literacy programmes as a percentage of non-literate population | 4.6.3 | Participation rate of illiterate youth/adults in literacy programmes |
| 8.1 | Percentage of total enrolment in secondary and tertiary technical and vocational education and training | - | Distribution of enrolment by programme orientation |
| 8.2 | Percentage of TVET Graduates | - | Share of all students in vocational programmes, by level of education (%) |
| 8.6 | Percentage of TVET Graduates who have participated in Apprenticeships | 4.3.3 | Participation rate in technical-vocational programmes (15- to 24-year-olds) by sex |
| 9.1 | Number of earned doctoral degrees by field | - | Percentage of graduates by field of education (tertiary education) |
| 9.3 | Enrolment of students in higher and tertiary education per 100,000 | 4.3.2 | Gross enrolment ratio for tertiary education by sex |
| 9.4 | Inbound mobility ratio | - | Inbound mobility rate |
| 9.5 | Outbound mobility ratio | - | Outbound mobility ratio |
| 10.3 | Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development, including gender equality and human rights, (iii) Peace, Life Skills, Media and Information Literacy education, are mainstreamed in: (a) national education policies, (b) curricula, (c) teacher education and (d) student assessment | 4.7.1 | Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies, (b) curricula, (c) teacher education and (d) student assessment |
| F.1 | Public expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure | 1.a.2 | Proportion of total government spending on essential services (education) |
| F.2 | Public current expenditure on education as a percentage of total education expenditure by level | 4.5.4 | Education expenditure per student by level of education and source of funding |
| F.3 | Public expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP | FFA 2030 | Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP |
Other initiatives of UIS in Africa
- UIS joins ADEA and CIEFFA in the creation of the KIX Observatory on COVID-19 Responses in Educational Systems in Africa by providing technical support