Strengthening Teacher Workforce Development in Africa

Within the framework of the European Commission’s Global Gateway programme, the Regional Teachers Initiative for Africa (RTIA) represents a flagship cooperation project between the European Union, the African Union and international partners, aimed at strengthening the quality, inclusiveness and sustainability of education systems in Sub-Saharan African countries.

The initiative embodies a structured and dynamic partnership between the European Union (EU) and the African Union (AU), in which the EU and three of its Member States - Belgium, Finland and France - collaborate with the AU, African countries and UNESCO to promote the development of an inclusive, motivated and competent teaching workforce.

The project stems from the need to establish a structured and comparable mapping of teacher-related policies, in a context marked by structural shortages of qualified personnel, regulatory fragmentation and emerging challenges related to climate change, conflict, sustainable development and digital transformation.

The study, commissioned by UNESCO’s Section for Teacher Development, entails a broad analytical effort, covering 49 Sub-Saharan African countries and unfolding through intensive data collection, systematisation, analysis and consultation with regional stakeholders.

More details

Lattanzio KIBS contributes to the development of an in-depth mapping of teacher policies in Sub-Saharan Africa, with a specific focus on basic education. The intervention is structured around three levels of analysis: the policy context, including the mapping of institutional actors involved in the governance of the teaching profession; the content of policies, assessed in light of the nine dimensions of the UNESCO/Teacher Task Force Teacher Policy Development Guide; and the status of policy development, evaluated through a rubric that enables an assessment of the level of advancement of teacher policies in each country.

The analysis integrates, across all dimensions, considerations of equity, gender and inclusion, as well as the role of education policies in addressing emerging challenges such as climate change, conflict, sustainable development and technological innovation.

Project Impact

The project provides UNESCO and institutional partners with a robust and comparable evidence base on the state of teacher-related policies in Sub-Saharan Africa, strengthening their capacity to guide reforms, investments and support actions for national education systems.

The study’s findings contribute to a deeper understanding of governance dynamics within the teaching profession and help identify priority areas for improvement, fostering a more coherent, inclusive and sustainable approach to teacher workforce development in Sub-Saharan Africa. The analytical report, mapping update tools and online consultation events serve as an operational reference for policymakers and key stakeholders.