China, Africa to boost education development

Greater collaboration designed to create workers in industries needed for growth

China will provide training for some 40,000 African teachers over the next three years, a senior official said, as an initiative on jointly promoting education development and cultural heritage protection was launched in Beijing last week, aiming to enhance cooperation in the education and culture sectors among China, African countries and UNESCO.

Action Initiatives on Collaborative Efforts for Education and Cultural Heritage Protection by China and Africa, along with other cooperative projects centered on educational and cultural exchanges between China and African countries, were announced on Friday during a high-level dialogue.

The dialogue on the sidelines of the 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation Summit, which concluded on Friday, gathered ministers from African countries, presidents of Chinese and African higher education institutes, and experts and scholars to share their experiences and seek collaboration in the fields of education and cultural heritage protection.

Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang hailed the significant achievements made through China-Africa cooperation in education and cultural heritage protection.

Ding, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said China will strengthen digital education cooperation with African countries, sharing high-quality digital resources to help modernize education in Africa.

The country will provide training for 40,000 African instructors over the next three years to help improve their teaching capabilities in African countries, Ding added.

Additionally, the China-Africa Universities 100 Cooperation Plan will be further advanced to deepen partnerships between higher education institutes, he added.

Chinese Education Minister Huai Jinpeng said the country is willing to work together with Africa and UNESCO to promote the sharing of digital learning experiences, uplift vocational education and develop teaching skills on the continent.

To that end, China will collaborate with African countries to establish a development center integrating the education of the Chinese language and vocational skills, a teacher education center and a digital education regional cooperation center, according to the ministry.

Educational cooperation has promoted the socioeconomic development of Africa, with students from 53 African countries studying in China, Huai said. More than half are studying STEM subjects, agriculture and medicine, he added.

Stefania Giannini, assistant director-general for education at UNESCO, said strengthening STEM education is essential, especially for African countries. The UNESCO Category-1 institute for STEM studies established in Shanghai will play a vital role in expanding education in science, technology, engineering and math, with a special focus on Africa, she said.

Muganga Didas Kayihura, vice-chancellor of the University of Rwanda, said the university has been cooperating with Chinese higher education institutes to cultivate talent in fields such as agriculture, science and technology, and artificial intelligence.

Many of the university's graduates have engaged in related industries in Rwanda, and educational exchanges of students and professionals are expected to increase in the future, he said.

Jin Li, director of the UNESCO International Centre for Higher Education Innovation, said efforts have been made to enhance the digital skills of university administrators and educators in African countries.

"Many of these nations are undergoing rapid transformations in higher education. There is a strong demand for both hardware and the development of knowledge systems," he said.

Jin, who is also the vice-president of the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, said the university has established smart classrooms in 17 African countries to facilitate the digital education of more than 20,000 students and teachers.

"We collaborate with advanced Chinese companies, including Huawei and BYD, to convert their donated resources into hardware equipment for smart classrooms in African countries," he said.

The university is also working with national education departments in Africa to support the trial use of smart classroom systems in leading institutions, he added.

Many African countries still face challenges in the use of smart devices, with a transition underway from traditional phones to smartphones. Deeper collaboration between Chinese companies and African educational institutions will be realized as digitalization spreads across the continent, Jin said.