UNESCO Director-General Ms Audrey Azoulay and H.E. Mr Tian Xuejun, Vice-Minister of Education of the People’s Republic of China signed an agreement on 16 October 2019 to establish a US$ eight million China funds-in-trust (CFIT) to support the development of higher technical education in Africa over four years.
The agreement ushers in a new phase of China’s continuous commitment to education development in Africa, following the successful implementation of CFIT Phase I & II in teacher training, initiated in 2012 benefiting 10 African countries.
With the new agreement, China and UNESCO joins hands to support higher technical education in Africa to build a technical and innovative workforce for national development. CFIT Phase III will enhance the capacity of higher education institutions to develop labour market oriented teaching and competency-based learning, and strengthen linkages between universities and industries. To ensure the sustainability of CFIT Phase I & II, China will also support the implementation of an exit strategy in continuous support to teacher education in Africa.
During the meeting, Ms Azoulay and Mr Tian reviewed the fruitful cooperation between UNESCO and China, covering a multitude of areas including girls’ and women’s education, teachers, quality assurance, artificial intelligence in education, and technical and vocational training. Ms Azoulay expressed her gratitude to the contribution from China and high expectation for the implementation of the CFIT III in support of the Education 2030 and African Union 2063 Agenda.