The Triptych: Education, Guidance and Equal Opportunities

Introduction

It is with a very strong observation that I wish to begin this brief overview of the triptych Education, Guidance and Equal Opportunities.

According to UNESCO, 25% of young Africans are neither in education, nor in employment, nor in training.

"25% of young Africans are neither in Education, nor in Employment, nor in Training"

UNESCO

Source: Transforming learning and skills development in Africa: 2nd Continental report, produced jointly by UNESCO, UNICEF and the African Union

This is referred to by the acronym NEET, meaning Neither in Education, Employment or Training, concerning young people aged 15 to 29.

With an estimated population of 1.55 billion inhabitants, the population of young people in Africa (under 25) represents 60% of the continent's total population.

According to the United Nations and the World Bank, this youth population was about 226 million in 2015, or 19% of the world's youth population, and today it represents about 20% of the total world population (8 billion inhabitants).

In sub-Saharan Africa, estimates say that 70% of the population is under 30, and by 2050, more than half of the African population will be under 25.

It therefore seems obvious from these few figures that the "young continent" absolutely cannot do without quality education. However, whoever says education also says guidance and equal opportunities, the three notions being impossible to discuss one without the other.

After distinguishing between these different notions, we will try to get an overview of the situation in Africa.

I. Definition of the 3 notions by the UN and the World Bank

A. Education

According to the United Nations:

The United Nations considers education a fundamental human right essential for personal and collective development.

Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities stipulates that States Parties must guarantee an inclusive education system at all levels, aiming at:

• The full development of human potential and the strengthening of respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and human diversity
• The development of the personality, talents and creativity of persons with disabilities, as well as their mental and physical abilities, to their fullest potential
• Enabling persons with disabilities to participate effectively in a free society

Source: Article 24 – Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) – Department of Social Affairs (United Nations)

According to the World Bank:

The World Bank is committed to removing barriers to inclusive education so that the right to education is respected for all children and young people, including those from poor households, rural and remote communities, persons with disabilities, ethnic and linguistic minorities, indigenous peoples, refugees, sexual and gender minorities, and other marginalised or vulnerable groups.

Source: World Bank document on Inclusive Education

B. Guidance

The United Nations recognises that guidance is essential to help individuals navigate the education system and make informed choices about their future. The importance of guidance indeed appears implicit in the overall educational goals, the aim being to provide equal opportunities to all.

C. Equal opportunities

According to the United Nations:

Equal opportunity is a fundamental principle of the United Nations, aiming to guarantee that individuals have equal opportunities regardless of their social, economic or ethnic origin, gender or status.

This includes eliminating discrimination in education, employment and other areas, allowing everyone to realise their potential without unfair barriers.

According to the World Bank:

The World Bank defines equality of opportunity as a state of fairness where individuals are treated similarly, without being held back by artificial barriers, prejudices or preferences, except where particular distinctions can be explicitly justified.

This implies that success depends on individuals' choices, efforts and talents, and not on circumstances beyond their control.

These definitions underline the commitment of the United Nations and the World Bank to promoting inclusive and equitable education, guaranteeing equal opportunities for all, regardless of their origin or status.

II. An attempt to redefine the 3 terms

Education, in short, can thus be defined as the right of everyone to learn and train throughout their life, in order to develop their potential and talents and be able to participate fully in society.

A. Education

Education is the foundation of human and social development. It is not limited to the acquisition of academic knowledge; it also includes:

• The development of cognitive and social skills (critical thinking, creativity, collaboration)
• Training in citizenship and ethical values, to enable active and responsible participation in society (good manners, interpersonal skills)
• Equal access to knowledge (see the notion of equal opportunities)

B. Guidance

Guidance, for its part, represents the support that helps everyone make good educational, professional and personal choices, according to their abilities, interests and the opportunities available.

Guidance aims to support individuals in discovering their interests, aptitudes and vocations, in order to make informed choices in their academic and professional paths.

Here we have several dimensions attached to the notion of guidance:

• School guidance, which helps choose fields consistent with one's skills and ambitions
• Career guidance, which represents support towards jobs suited to talents and market needs
• Personalised guidance, which involves individualised advice, skills tests, mentoring and exposure to different fields.

C. Equal opportunities

Equal opportunities means guaranteeing that everyone has the same chances of success and the same opportunities without being limited by their origin, sex, economic or social situation, geographic location or any other unfair factor.

Three important dimensions emerge from this definition, in my view:

• Inclusive education: equitable access to quality education for all
• Equality in guidance: all pupils must receive suitable support, without discrimination
• Social and educational policies: scholarships, mentoring, support for disadvantaged areas

III. An assessment of the situation in Africa

Although these concepts advocate an unquestionable notion of social justice, and despite the considerable efforts made to date on the continent, it must be acknowledged that much remains to be done.

A. In education, we observe, to cite only these:

• Significant regional disparities between developed and least developed geographic areas. For example, in rural areas we sometimes see the absence of certain courses or even of schools altogether in some zones, making access to quality training more than difficult or even impossible despite pupils' motivation.
• Inequalities between public and private schools. We realise that these two systems represent two totally different worlds, with considerable overcrowding in public schools, access to teaching materials that is not always effective, and difficulty completing course programmes (annual syllabi) due to the factors mentioned above. Overcrowding also makes the conditions for teaching inadequate for teachers, not to mention the fact that many pupils from modest families do not always have all the essential books and school supplies.
• Limited access to quality education in certain contexts such as wars and insecurity, which discourage parents from sending their children to class even when teaching staff have the courage to open educational establishments.
• The digital divide, which becomes a non-negligible handicap in an almost fully digitalised world.

B. In guidance, we can mention:

The lack of qualified counsellors or the total absence of guidance counsellors in places, the absence of forums or fairs focused on training to give young people access to information on the different courses and careers, the lack of listing of high-demand occupations, which prevents guidance towards jobs in demand and thus creates a gap between training and labour market needs, gender stereotypes influencing the choice of fields, and the lack of resource persons from whom to obtain guidance information beyond guidance counsellors (students from backgrounds where those around them have not been schooled or undertaken any training).

C. In equal opportunities, we have for example:

The persistence of socio-economic inequalities, the stigmatisation of certain types of people and implicit biases in career guidance, such as those that lead to steering certain groups almost entirely towards vocational training and others towards general education.

Conclusion

What should be done, then, in the face of these challenges? The African Union is keen to fully achieve the objectives set by its Agenda 2063, entitled "The Africa We Want".

In education in particular, the institution that inherited the OAU, created in 2002, aims in its aspirations to build a prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development, as well as an Africa whose development is people-driven, relying on the potential of women and young people and caring for children.

It emerges from our analysis that the notion of education, although often reduced to the sole concept of school or academic training, takes on a broader dimension and concerns all social strata and all generations.

But then how can this be achieved?

This will be the subject of our upcoming exchanges within the Vox Futuri blog and the Vox Potentialis podcast, where we will try to bring, with the help of the various stakeholders, solutions to implement to raise higher and louder the voices of the voiceless…

Sonia BEGUIDE