Southern Africa: SADC Education Ministers Meet in Lilongwe to Follow Up On Policies and Implementation

15 June 2022
Nyasa Times (Leeds)
By Watipaso Mzungu

Ministers of Education and Training and Science, Technology and Innovation (ET-STI) under the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have converged in Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, to follow up on the policy decisions made and the implementation of on-going programmes and initiatives in the ET-STI sector.

Malawi's Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Agnes NyaLonje, is chairing the meeting, which will be preceded by the meeting of the SADC Senior Officials from 14-16 June 2022.

The meeting will feature parallel sessions hosted back to back, an exhibition and a virtual tour of the newly established Malawi High Performance Computing System.

Head of Communication and Public Relations at SADC Secretariat at Gaborone, Botswana, Ms. Barbara Lopi, told Nyasa Times on Monday that the joint meeting will mainly focus on priorities of the SADC Revised Regional Strategic Indicative Development Plan (RISDP) 2015-2020 and RISDP 2021-2030.

Lopi added that the ministers will also review the progress made on the implementation of the protocols on Science, Technology and Innovation and Education, respectively, which aims to foster cooperation and promote partnerships in the areas of science, technology and innovation (STI) and education in the region.

"Among key agenda items, the ministers will be appraised on the follow-up report on SADC Member States Education Sector Response to Covid-19, which is a survey on the impact of COVID-19 on the education sector in the SADC region during the second and third waves of the pandemic. Ministers will deliberate on the progress on the Educational for Sustainable Strategic Framework, and the SADC Qualifications Framework amongst others," she said.

Lopi further stated that the meeting will review the implementation of SADC Charter on Women in Science, Engineering and Technology Organization, aimed at strengthening the regions ability to collaborate in science, technology and innovation and promote women's access to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education.

It will also consider a number of policy instruments in the area of indigenous knowledge systems.

SADC is an organisation of 16 Member States established in 1980 as the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference (SADCC) and later, in August 1992 transformed into the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The mission of SADC is to promote sustainable and equitable economic growth and socio-economic development through efficient, productive systems, deeper cooperation and integration, good governance and durable peace and security; so that the region emerges as a competitive and effective player in international relations and the world economy.

Currently, member States include Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, eSwatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Read the original article on Nyasa Times.

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