Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo says Ghana's Education Minister, Dr Yaw Osei Adutwum, has been tasked to lead a team of education experts on the continent to assist the African Union's (AU) with its education reforms initiative. He explained that with Dr Adutwum's experience and understanding of global education systems, leading the team of experts could help the team come out with a blueprint for the continent to get the best education that would help fight poverty and promote the development of the countries. Mr Obasanjo, who is the Chairman of the African Union Educational Committee, disclosed this at a Presidential Media Briefing conference on Foundational Learning organised by Human Capital Africa (HCA) in Accra. The event, which had the theme' Prioritising Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to achieve African Union Agenda 2063 goals', attracted educational stakeholders across the continent. Some of the dignitaries who graced the conference were President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, Joyc e Banda, former President of Malawi, Jakaya Mrisho Kiawete, former President of Tanzania and Chairperson, Global Partnership for Education, and Board of Directors, Ellen Sirleaf Johnson, former President of Liberia, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, founder and CEO of HCA, among others. Mr Obasanjo said since education was about life and death, there was the need for the leadership of African countries to attend to education as a life-long issue and not short-term. He indicated that countries that did not take the issue of education seriously would find it difficult to transform their economies as well as fight poverty. The former President praised Ghana for the various interventions and initiatives put in place by the Education Ministry, which were gradually shaping its economy and improving educational outcomes. Mr Obasanjo challenged African countries to take keen interest in the welfare of teachers by paying them well and creating an enabling environment for them to operate effectively towards empowering their students with the requisite knowledge that would transform the continent. Dr Adutwum said there was the need for the African continent to have an education strategic plan to improve education on the continent. He explained that such a strategic plan would help countries develop specific approaches to tackle their education needs and challenges. The Education Minister said when all African countries came together to discuss their specific needs, it would be easy to group them for strategic planning and appropriate solutions prescribed for them. Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Human Capital Africa, said it was time the leadership of the African continent had a critical look at foundational learning which was overly critical for a good foundation towards quality education. She appealed to all stakeholders to come together to support education development on the continent and said that it should not be left in the hands of only politicians. Dr Ezekwesili lauded the various fun ding institutions the world over for working extremely hard to support the development of education in various countries. Source: Ghana News Agency