Despite recent progress, education in the region is in crisis: 80% of 10-year-old children in Western and Central Africa are unable to read and understand a simple text, and more than 32 million children remain out of school, which represents the largest share of all regions worldwide
This strategy envisions a region where all girls and boys arrive at school ready to learn, acquire real learning, and are ready to enter the job market with the right skills to become productive and fulfilled citizens.
To achieve this vision, the strategy proposes a framework structured around three domains:
- Strengthen strategic leadership for long-term impact
- Invest in high impact interventions around three pillars: a) improving teaching and learning;
b) widening opportunities; c) building job-relevant skills - Enhance implementation capacity for long-term impact.
The strategy relies on the available evidence and the operational experience to set priority interventions that represent a significant change with respect to business as usual.
It also sets guiding principles to operationalize the strategy at the country level, including the importance of results-based financing, multisectoral interventions, and country-specific tailoring.