Between 2023 and 2025, the African education system is characterised by a mixed picture, combining quantitative progress with persistent structural challenges. Whilst access to education and literacy rates are gradually improving, the quality of learning remains a major concern. Indeed, only a small proportion of pupils achieve basic literacy and numeracy skills, revealing a crisis in academic attainment.
Africa’s education system underwent significant developments between 2023 and 2025, marked by both progress and persistent challenges. According to official data, the youth literacy rate in Sub-Saharan Africa reached approximately 77.5% in 2023–2024, while the adult literacy rate stood at around 64%, reflecting gradual improvements in access to education.
“It is strictly about evaluation. And I believe that PASEC’s mission is to assess the different education systems. This is a major challenge for the various education systems across countries. Assessment is not about rankings, as we have emphasized, but about enabling us to go further.”
Moustapha Mamba Guirassy, Minister of National Education – Senegal
However, the main challenge today concerns the quality of education. A UNESCO report published in 2025 revealed that only 10.8% of students achieve minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics by the end of primary school. This highlights a genuine learning crisis in foundational skills.
“WEDOSOFT was an education management system, probably one of the few of its kind in Africa, to the extent that it was adopted by UNESCO. I had the opportunity to deploy it in thirteen African universities under the organization’s auspices.”
Elijah Omwenga, Professor of Computer Science, University of Nairobi – Kenya
African education systems are facing a major teacher shortage, estimated at around 15 million positions that will need to be filled by 2030 in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, the African Union designated 2024 as the “Year of Education” to strengthen teacher training. In South Africa, despite the annual training of between 24,000 and 30,000 teachers, attrition remains high, with more than 32,000 teachers leaving the profession over five years, creating an imbalance between the needs of the education system and the available workforce.
“It is not easy to teach when classrooms are so overcrowded. It is extremely difficult. In some classrooms, desks are placed right in front of the door. It is very challenging.”
Sindiswa Wolfkop, Teacher – South Africa
Public investment in education remains a major concern in several countries, often standing below 4% of GDP, which limits the modernization of school infrastructure and improvements in teaching quality. Senegal, however, allocates a significant share of public spending to education, representing approximately 29.8% of the state budget (excluding debt servicing) and more than 7% of GDP.
