42 African countries commit to end learning poverty by 2035 – EnviroNews

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Forty-two African governments have committed to an ambitious continental plan aimed at ending learning poverty by 2035, pledging increased domestic education financing, stronger accountability systems and the integration of artificial intelligence into classrooms as part of a renewed push to improve foundational learning.

The commitments were announced at the close of the third Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX2026) in Lilongwe, Malawi, where ministers, deputy ministers, permanent secretaries and senior education officials met for three days to review progress since the previous summit in Kigali in 2024.

Hosted by the Government of Malawi at the Bingu wa Mutharika International Convention Centre, the summit concluded with delegates endorsing a shared roadmap centred on ensuring that African children can read with comprehension, perform basic mathematics and develop critical reasoning skills.

The agreement comes against a sobering backdrop: across much of sub-Saharan Africa, up to nine in ten 10-year-olds are unable to read and understand a simple sentence or perform basic mathematical tasks, a situation education experts describe as one of the continent’s greatest development challenges.

Speaking during the closing sessions, Malawi’s Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Bright Msaka, said African governments must move beyond making promises and focus on implementing reforms.

“This crisis is not a failure of children’s intellect. It is a gap in how systems deliver,” Msaka said.

“We are not asking for more declarations. We are waiting to return to our capitals to chart, review and execute with fidelity.”

The summit adopted six priority areas that governments say will guide reforms over the coming years.

These include increasing political leadership and domestic ownership of education reforms; creating dedicated budget lines for foundational learning; strengthening data collection and accountability systems; expanding evidence-based teaching methods, including artificial intelligence and education technology; improving coordination among development partners; and ensuring better access to education for vulnerable and hard-to-reach children.

Delegates also agreed to strengthen mechanisms for monitoring implementation so that countries can report measurable progress when the next FLEX summit convenes in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in 2028.

One of the strongest appeals during the conference came not from ministers or donors, but from pupils at Malawi’s Nkwiji Primary School.

Addressing delegates, the children called on African leaders to provide learning materials in languages pupils understand, train teachers to teach according to children’s learning levels, make schools resilient to climate shocks and ensure children with disabilities receive equal access to education.

“Do not just exchange ideas; exchange promises,” the pupils told delegates.

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“Act for us; act with us to end learning poverty together.”

The conference also highlighted examples of education reforms already showing measurable gains.

Tanzania reported that its MEWAKA teacher coaching programme increased reading proficiency from 64 percent in 2021 to 90 percent in 2025.

Nigeria said it has expanded its Teaching at the Right Level programme to approximately 12,000 schools.

In Malawi, delegates heard that the government’s Building Education Foundations through Innovation and Technology (BEFIT) programme has reached nearly 890,000 learners while training about 17,900 teachers, although participants stressed that enrolment alone should not be the benchmark for success without corresponding improvements in learning outcomes.

Financing featured prominently throughout the summit.

Governments reaffirmed commitments to increase domestic investment in education despite growing fiscal constraints.

Sierra Leone said it now allocates 21 percent of national expenditure to education, while The Gambia has earmarked one-quarter of its education budget specifically for foundational learning.

Development partners also announced fresh financial commitments.

A new initiative known as the Foundational Learning Initiative for Government-Led Transformation (FLIGHT) was launched during the summit, bringing together US$35 million in philanthropic funding to support government-led education reforms rather than standalone donor projects.

The Global Partnership for Education pledged an additional US$37 million for education programmes in Lesotho, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, the World Bank reaffirmed continued support through its US$1.5 billion AIM4Learning programme, which forms part of the institution’s broader US$16 billion education investment portfolio across Africa.

Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), said increasing education spending alone would not solve the crisis unless governments ensured resources were used effectively.

“Countries are going through very tough fiscal pressure, but it is not just about getting resources,” he said.

“It is how we use those resources that matters. It is how we build continuity and embed accountability into our systems so that our children can be proud of their countries.”

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FLEX was established as a continental platform where African governments exchange evidence and best practices on improving literacy and numeracy among young learners.

The initiative began in Freetown, Sierra Leone, in 2023 before moving to Kigali, Rwanda, in 2024. Malawi hosted this year’s edition under the theme “From Commitments to Results: Delivering Foundational Learning at Scale.”

Organisers said progress toward the 2035 target will be monitored through quarterly meetings of the Africa Foundational Learning Ministerial Coalition ahead of the next continental gathering in Abidjan in 2028.

The summit was convened by ADEA in partnership with the Government of Malawi and supported by the African Union, the World Bank, UNICEF, the Gates Foundation, the Mastercard Foundation, the Federer Foundation and the Hempel Foundation, among other development partners.

By Jack McBrams, AfricaBrief