By Rumbidzai Adebayo
“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed”
This first line of UNESCO’s Constitution makes a clear case for the role of education in building durable peace. Wars form in our minds as ideas. Education forges this mind and can be harnessed to mobilize actions for durable peace, including in Africa. Across the continent, as communities work together to accelerate progress, including achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and realizing the African Union’s Agenda 2063, it is critical to transform . Investing in education could provide young Africans with the skills to effectively compete in the job market, boost their livelihoods, turn them away from violence and build a more prosperous, secure and peaceful Africa.
In line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and , STEM education can boost Africa’s development through the power of science, technology, and innovation (STI). This can be harnessed to maximize Africa’s demographic dividend, growing an African workforce that can succeed at home and abroad. This enhances the continent’s capacity to address , including climate change, pandemics, food insecurity, inequality and poverty.?To maximize this opportunity, African countries must invest in quality STEM education to promote durable peace and sustainable development.
Turning population growth from liability to potential
Africa is experiencing population growth, with “” that can become a contributing to the continent’s growth or a “demographic threat” that could stress the job market and fuel instability. shows that the combination of these youth bulges and the lack of social services, including quality education and decent jobs, leads to conflicts, violent extremism and terrorism in Africa. This is the case, for example, in the .
An increasing number of “youth ” do not join the workforce, exacerbating poverty and leading to frustration, , , and . There is also a mismatch between the available skills and those employers require, contributing to an estimated of young Africans?entering the continent’s labour market annually (excluding North Africa) remaining unemployed and unemployable. High youth unemployment amplifies inequality and marginalization, making young people more susceptible to recruitment by extremist groups and involvement in armed conflict and terrorism.
Data from the show increased incidents related to political instability in Africa from 20,216 to 21,413 from 2021 to 2022. Similarly, in 2020, as young people took their frustrations out on an education system they no longer trusted as appropriate, incidents of unrest linked to protests against the educational system were reported in Africa, with more than education-related cases of violent demonstrations and mob violence.
As Africa’s unemployment rate rose from 6.5 per cent in 2019 to 7.1 per cent in 2022, more young people – about compared to in the Americas, Europe, and Central Asia – are also driven to the highly insecure informal sector to earn a living. These informal sector jobs provide low wages and offer little to no social safety nets, contributing to dissatisfaction. This fuels more instability and makes Africa more predisposed to conflict and insecurity.
Investing in STEM education to catalyze durable peace
Investing in STEM education can contribute significantly to building a skilled and employable workforce in Africa, increasing opportunities for young people to compete for quality jobs and growing related industries. Such an investment would turn Africa’s “youth bulge” into an economic dividend. As young Africans grow more prosperous, so too do their communities. This can reduce discontent and lower the risk of protests, political instability and conflict. In other words, investing in STEM education can build durable peace.
While STEM education offers graduates career options across multiple sectors, including health, agriculture, the food industry, energy, climate preparedness, etc., their broad skills extend opportunities beyond science or engineering. STEM education teaches students problem-solving and entrepreneurship skills. STEM disciplines are, therefore, essential to achieving the SDGs by offering the scientific insights, technological innovations, and problem-solving capabilities required to address complex environmental, social, and economic issues.
So, how should African countries invest in STEM education to build durable peace and accelerate the continent’s development?
Although most African Governments have developed policies and national plans to promote STEM education, a more systematic approach integrating dedicated resources for STEM education programmes in the national budget is essential. Promoting equitable access to quality STEM education across all school levels and improving participation, especially for women, girls, and underprivileged members of the population, can also be a catalyst for accelerating sustainable development and building durable peace.
STEM education should be equally accessible to out-of-school youths, whose frustrations could lead to unrest and conflict. Informal initiatives that teach these STEM skills to these out-of-school young people, such as the , should be promoted.
There are also inclusive innovation at universities to assist young graduates in acquiring practical skills that facilitate their transition to the labour market. For example, we have the in Tanzania, , and?the ?in Rwanda.
Increasing investment in STEM education enables African countries to share best practices and lessons learned, boosting the continent’s capacity to address regional challenges, including crises that could trigger unrest.?The role of partnerships with African training institutions, the private sector, and international entities in this exercise is critical, including with the African Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence (ARCAI), established with support from the UN Economic Commission on Africa (UNECA) to advance innovation?and job creation in Africa.
STEM education unlocks the full potential of Africa’s demographic dividend, increasing African leadership while providing . Therefore, by equipping young Africans with the skills to excel, STEM education can be harnessed to build a prosperous, stable, and peaceful Africa where guns are silent. Implementing policies promoting STEM education will create a skilled workforce and contribute to Africa’s economic and social transformation into a prosperous, stable and peaceful continent.