UNESCO | Education - Secondary education

Secondary education

Secondary education in Africa represents a major challenge, especially for girls. Although most countries of the region are still striving to achieve universal primary education (UPE), the stream of learners knocking on the doors of secondary schools keeps growing. At present, the gross secondary school enrolment rate exceeds 20 per cent in half of sub-Saharan African countries, yet remains below 8 per cent in ten of these countries.

Reform is needed to cope with growing demand. Key issues of access and equity should be addressed, as well as the relevance and quality of the programmes that are offered so that they are in tune with the educational needs and aspirations of African youth and the development goals of the continent. Other urgent issues include the lack of teachers, schools, equipment, laboratories and textbooks.

For a very long time, secondary education in Africa was � and still is � being left out of reforms that were introduced in other parts of the education system. Moreover, over the last decade, it has not attracted the same kind of active mobilization for its development as primary education and higher education.