EAC Urges Action as East Africa Reviews Education Commitments at Nairobi Conference

Macharia David 

Taifa news 

Education leaders from the East African Community (EAC) Partner States have called for stronger implementation of regional education policies, saying the region must now move from commitments and frameworks to measurable results for learners.

About 600 delegates from eight EAC Partner States are meeting in Nairobi from August 25 to 28, 2026, for the 2nd EAC Regional Education Conference at Safari Park Hotel.

The conference is being held under the theme, “Transforming Education in East Africa: From Commitments to Impact, Fostering Resilience and Future-Ready Systems for Sustainable Development.”

In remarks at the conference, an EAC representative thanked President William Ruto and the Kenyan Government for hosting the meeting, while commending Partner States, education institutions, development partners and other stakeholders for advancing the regional education agenda.

The representative said education and skills development remain central to East African integration, noting that the EAC Treaty provides for cooperation in education and training.

“The EAC has long recognised education and skills development as essential to regional integration,” the representative said, stressing that a more integrated East Africa must also develop its people and create opportunities across borders.

The Community has established several regional frameworks aimed at harmonising education systems and strengthening skills development. At the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) level, the EAC TVET Qualifications Framework has been developed and is awaiting approval.

The framework is expected to support greater recognition of qualifications, facilitate skills mobility and improve the alignment between training and the needs of the regional labour market.

The EAC, with support from the World Bank, has also developed guidelines for compiling education statistics to improve the availability of comparable and reliable data for regional policy-making.

The programme has further supported the revision of the primary school curriculum to include Statistics, with the aim of strengthening analytical capabilities from an early stage.

At the higher education level, the EAC is advancing the East African Common Higher Education and Research Area, focusing on harmonisation, innovation, partnerships and the mobility of knowledge and skilled graduates across the region.

However, the EAC representative cautioned that developing regional frameworks was not enough unless they translated into tangible improvements for learners.

“Our responsibility now is to ensure that these frameworks translate into better learning, stronger institutions, relevant skills and greater opportunities for East Africans,” the representative said.

Three priorities were highlighted for the conference: strengthening implementation, improving regional mobility and making education responsive to future economic and technological demands.

The representative said East Africa does not lack policy ambition, but needs clear implementation pathways, institutional ownership and measurable outcomes to ensure that regional commitments result in actual change.

Regional mobility was also identified as a priority, with the EAC seeking to make it easier for qualifications, skills, knowledge and talent to move across Partner States.

The conference is taking place amid persistent education challenges, including unequal access, learning gaps, teacher shortages, resource constraints and weak transitions between education levels.

The region is also grappling with skills mismatches and limited links between TVET institutions and industry, at a time when a rapidly growing youth population is increasing demand for employment, entrepreneurship and relevant skills.

The EAC representative said education systems must prepare young people for a changing future by strengthening analytical skills, digital competence, creativity, adaptability and problem-solving.

“The jobs and societies of tomorrow will require stronger analytical skills, digital competence, adaptability, creativity and problem-solving,” the representative said.

The Nairobi conference is expected to produce practical policy recommendations and implementation actions, strengthen regional consensus on education priorities, improve the use of data and support proposals for sustainable education financing and governance.

It is also expected to contribute to a conference communiqué or roadmap outlining agreed commitments, priority initiatives, timelines and next steps.

The conference builds on the inaugural EAC Regional Education Conference held in Arusha, Tanzania, in August 2024, with the 2026 meeting seeking to strengthen accountability and ensure that commitments made at regional and national levels deliver measurable impact.

The representative reaffirmed the EAC’s commitment to supporting education development and expressed optimism that the deliberations would translate into concrete action across the region.