The Agence universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) in partnership with the AFD and the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs held an international seminar on educational research in Dakar on October 28 and 29, in collaboration with the Senegalese Ministry of National Education.

Organised as part of the APPRENDRE programme, the meeting brought together delegations from 24 sub-Saharan African countries around a central question: how to attract, train and retain teachers in the profession?

Presenting the results of the work, the coordinator of the APPRENDRE program, Adeline Fournier, praised the commitment of Senegal, host of the fourth seminar of its kind.

"It has been almost seven years since the program began collaborating with Senegal to improve the teaching profession and teachers' working conditions," she noted, emphasizing the country's central role in the project's implementation.

The APPRENDRE program, supported by the AFD and the French government, aims to be a sustainable mechanism for cooperation and pooling of knowledge between partner countries, ministries, universities and research institutes to better value the teaching profession.

Multiple challenges for quality education

Participants highlighted several priorities: strengthening the dialogue between research and political decision-making, contextualizing educational tools according to local realities, and integrating new themes such as mental health, transversal skills (soft skills), and digital, ecological, and social transitions.

"Research must inform public policy, and policies must be inspired by research results," insisted Adeline Fournier, advocating for increased cooperation between researchers and policymakers.

15 million teachers need to be recruited by 2030

One of the major findings of the seminar is the expected shortage of 15 million teachers by 2030 in sub-Saharan Africa.

"The teaching profession has lost its status and attractiveness; this is not a problem specific to Africa, but a global one," warned the program coordinator.

To meet this challenge, experts recommend a two-pronged approach:

Attract more young people and adults to the profession by making it more rewarding.

Retaining current teachers through ongoing training, improved support and career development opportunities.

A call to reconnect with the "meaning" of the profession

Presiding over the closing ceremony, the Minister of National Education, Moustapha Mamba Guirassy, stressed the need to restore a profound meaning to the teaching vocation.

"The teaching profession cannot be disconnected from the question of meaning. We must put the teacher back at the heart of society, as the pivot of development," he said.

In his address, the minister called for a reconnection between school, society and the educational mission, stressing that the overhaul of the Senegalese education system requires the appreciation of the spiritual and human capital of teachers.