The East African Community (EAC) has renewed its push for coordinated education reform following a major regional conference in Nairobi, where governments and education stakeholders called for stronger cooperation, better learning outcomes, and increased investment in teachers & skills. The 4-day meeting brought together more than 600 education leaders and stakeholders from the EAC’s 8 Partner States to address persistent inequalities as well as emerging educational challenges.
Held from Tuesday, 25 to Friday, 28 August ‘26, the 2nd EAC Regional Education Conference provided a platform for governments, policymakers, academics, and development partners, besides civil society organizations, to assess progress since the inaugural conference in Arusha in ‘24. Under the theme of moving “from commitments to impact,” participants focused on developing practical measures capable of strengthening education systems while supporting the wider objectives of East African regional integration.
A central message from Nairobi was that education systems across East Africa must become more closely connected. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for EAC and Arid & Semi-Arid Lands, Beatrice Askul Moe, representing President William Ruto, stressed the importance of making systems more interoperable so that learners moving between Partner States do not face unnecessary disruption. She also urged greater investment in teacher preparation, professional development, and working conditions.
The Chairperson of the EAC Council of Ministers, Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister Rebecca Alitwala Kadaga, similarly highlighted the importance of harmonizing education policies, curricula & qualifications. Greater alignment, she argued, may help learners besides skilled workers move more easily across the region while ensuring education responds to the needs of an increasingly interconnected East African economy. Such cooperation also links education policy directly with the EAC’s broader integration agenda.
Foundational learning emerged as another major priority. The conference recognized continuing gaps in educational quality and called for stronger early childhood education and improved classroom practice as well as greater use of evidence. Participants proposed an East African Foundational Learning Initiative & an EAC Basic Education Council to improve coordination, peer learning & collaboration. A shared framework for mother-tongue besides bilingual transitions was also proposed to support children facing learning barriers.
Education financing was also placed firmly on the regional agenda. The preliminary communiqué commits EAC Partner States to progressively increasing & protecting domestic education financing towards a 20% minimum benchmark while improving budget execution, efficiency & equity. This commitment reflects growing recognition that ambitious reforms need sustainable resources. This commitment is especially important for foundational learning and for disadvantaged communities that continue to experience unequal access to quality education.
Teacher development is expected to remain crucial to implementation. Conference discussions emphasised that curriculum reform cannot succeed without adequately prepared educators. This is whilst regional cooperation could help create stronger professional networks. Earlier EAC initiatives have already sought to harmonise education systems & curricula across pre-primary, primary, secondary, teacher education, TVET, and continuing education, besides special-needs education, providing an institutional foundation for deeper cooperation.
Technical & vocational education and training (TVET) was another important area of regional action. The EAC has developed a TVET Qualifications Framework intended to improve recognition of qualifications and strengthen skills mobility as well as connect training more effectively with the regional labor market. Harmonized TVET policies could help address skills mismatches while enabling young East Africans to access employment opportunities beyond their home countries.
Higher education & research are similarly being positioned as engines of regional integration. The EAC is advancing the East African Common Higher Education & Research Area, with priorities including harmonization, innovation, and partnerships besides mobility of knowledge as well as skilled graduates. These efforts may strengthen collaboration between universities as well as research institutions. This is whilst helping the region develop talent capable of responding to technological, economic as well as social transformation.
The Nairobi conference ultimately shifted attention from policy commitments towards implementation. Its preliminary communiqué calls for measurable action, stronger regional ownership besides coordinated investment. This is whilst Uganda has agreed to host the 3rd EAC Regional Education Conference in ‘28. If governments translate the Nairobi commitments into national programmes besides regional mechanisms, education may become an even stronger foundation for mobility. Also, employment, innovation as well as integration across East Africa.
