THE Southern African Development Community ministers responsible for education have urged member states to increase investments in science, technology and innovation.
This forms part of the outcomes from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) ministers’ meeting held in Windhoek from 20 to 21 June. A statement issued by the SADC secretariat on Sunday said the ministers urged SADC member states to increase investments in the three areas of education by meeting the target of 1% gross domestic product allocation for research and development.
The ministers directed the SADC secretariat to work closely with existing national, regional, continental and global networks of science academies to support the region with knowledge production and scientific evidence-based policy advice towards the implementation of the Revised Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan 2015-2020. SADC ministers of education emphasised the importance of harmonising education policies in the region to facilitate the mobility of skills and labour.
The meeting also highlighted that the youth make up 76% of the SADC population, and there is thus a need to increase the uptake of technical and vocational education and training to support entrepreneurship and skills development.
The meeting further underscored the need to bridge barriers to industrial development such as infrastructure in relation to connectivity, and the need to address the skills gap in the region, while strengthening linkages between industry and academia in order to support industrial development.– Nampa
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