African Union Concludes 6th Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology with Strategic Declarations for the AU Decade of Accelerated action for Education Transformation and skills Development
The African Union Commission (AUC) successfully convened the Ministerial Session of the 6th Ordinary Session of the Specialized Technical Committee on Education, Science and Technology (STC-EST 6) on 6th November 2026 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Preceded by an intensive Experts’ Session from 2nd to 4th November 2026, the high-level meeting brought together 32 African Union Member States comprised of ministers, senior government officials, technical experts, regional economic communities (RECs), and international partner organizations under the theme: “Accelerating Africa’s Human Capital and Innovation: Resilient Education, Science, and Technology Systems for the AU Decade of Accelerated Action for Education Transformation and Skills Development (2025 – 2034).”
Delivering the opening address on behalf of the AUC Chairperson, H.E. Prof. Gaspard Banyankimbona, Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (ESTI), emphasized the urgency of translating continental commitments into adequately financed national actions. “Africa’s socio-economic transformation under Agenda 2063 hinges fundamentally on our ability to build resilient, adaptive, and inclusive education and innovation systems,” stated Commissioner Banyankimbona. He outlined five priority areas for collective action: strengthening foundational learning and teacher development; linking skills and research to productive employment; establishing an integrated African higher education space; promoting African scientific leadership; and securing sustainable domestic financing.
Representing the outgoing STC-EST 5 Bureau, Hon. Bright Msaka, Minister of Education of the Republic of Malawi, highlighted key institutional achievements from 2024 to 2026. He underscored progress in operationalizing the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 2026–2035), the Continental TVET Strategy (CTVET 2025–2034), STISA-2034, and the operationalization of the African Education, Science, Technology and Innovation Fund (AESTIF). Hon. Msaka reaffirmed Malawi’s political leadership in championing Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) following the successful hosting of the 3rd Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX 2026) in Lilongwe.
In accordance with Rule 16 of the Rules of Procedure of the STC-EST, consultations among Regional Deans established the new rotational leadership Bureau for STC-EST 6 to serve a two-year mandate:
Chairperson: Northern Africa, Consultations ongoing
1st Vice-Chair: Eastern Africa, United Republic of Tanzania
2nd Vice-Chair: Western Africa, Republic of Sierra Leone
3rd Vice-Chair: Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
Rapporteur: Southern Africa, Republic of Malawi
The Ministerial Session formally adopted major decisions and endorsed key strategic implementation roadmaps across foundational learning, higher education, TVET, and gender equality:
Endorsement of CESA 2026–2035 & CTVET 2025–2034 Implementation Plans: Ministers officially endorsed the phased implementation plans for CESA 26–35 and CTVET 25–34 as the continental roadmaps for transforming education systems, calling upon AUDA-NEPAD and Member States to align national policy frameworks and expand the Africa Critical Skills Bank (ACSB).
Adoption of the African Continental Qualifications Framework (ACQF): Adopted as a 10-level continental reference framework to enhance transparency, comparability, and recognition of qualifications, facilitating seamless learner and worker mobility across Africa.
Establishment of ACHEA & PAQAA Statutes: Endorsed the Declaration establishing the African Common Higher Education and Skills Area (ACHEA) and approved the Statutes of the Pan-African Quality Assurance Alliance (PAQAA) for submission to AU policy organs.
CESA Indicators Framework & Continental Education Data Portal: Endorsed 60 standardized indicators aligned with SDG 4 to reduce reporting burdens, requesting the AUC to establish a continental digital reporting portal and CESA Policy Dashboard in collaboration with UNESCO-UIS and GEMR.
Bujumbura Declaration & Gender Framework (GF4CESA): Endorsed the Bujumbura Declaration from PANCOGEd 2, institutionalized PANCOGEd as a biennial AU platform, and adopted the Gender Framework for CESA 2026–2035 to embed gender equality in education planning and budgets.
African Declaration on Reversing Brain Drain: Endorsed the African Declaration on Reversing Brain Drain and Fostering Talent Retention to create enabling research and employment environments for African talent.
Ministers also approved strategic decisions to strengthen African research sovereignty, frontier technologies, and green innovation under STISA-2034:
STISA-2034 Implementation & Science Granting Councils: Welcomed the STISA-2034 Implementation Plan, urging Member States to allocate 1% of GDP to R&D and position Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) bodies as primary execution vehicles.
Declaration on Transformative Research Collaboration: Recommended the adoption of the African Declaration on Transformative Research Collaboration to establish equitable, African-led research partnerships responsive to continental priorities.
Responsible AI Governance & Youth Competition: Cleared five sectoral AI publications for national adaptation and called for parliamentary dialogue, digital literacy, and youth participation in the Presidential Youth in AI and Robotics Competition.
Continental Semiconductor Strategy: Requested AUDA-NEPAD and the Africa Semiconductor Technical Advisory Group (ASTAG) to formulate a comprehensive continental semiconductor strategy and implementation roadmap to 2034.
Source: au.int
