High-quality education must be provided in Africa, because this will not only ensure proper living conditions for people in the region, but also prevent mass migration, said György Hölvényi, Christian Democrat MEP in a statement to MTI on Wednesday. The MEP said that the conference on education in Africa, which he initiated, was organized to discuss with senior officials of the European Commission and African experts how to provide adequate education for young people living in refugee camps, war zones and other crisis situations.
According to MEP György Hölvényi, the current education system in Africa does not provide a wide range of opportunities for people to acquire the right skills and qualifications.
“The importance of teacher training needs to be stressed: by 2030, some 2 million new teachers would need to be trained on the continent, taking into account demographic growth, just to maintain current levels of education,” he said.
He said that the church was responsible for 40 percent of education in Africa, which was “a kind of quality assurance”, but that churches could not count on EU funding, despite their public role.
“The European Union is happy to educate and explain what should be done in education in Africa, but it refuses to take into account the real possibilities,” he pointed out. He added that Wednesday’s conference was an opportunity for the EU to hear from local African experts about what real help they need.
The Hungarian MEP also said that at least 10 percent of EU development funds are allocated to support education in developing countries. Today, this percentage has reached 13%, which means around €7.7 billion. He pointed out that the 10 per cent spending on education is an encouraging start, but in order to make good use of this money, closer cooperation with local organisations, including religious organisations, is needed. “The role of religious organisations is particularly important in areas where public authorities are unable to provide basic social services,” stressed the Christian Democrat MEP.
