As EAC Continues Integration Push, Regional States Seek to Turn Education Commitments into Action

 By Faith wanza mueni 

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug. 28, 2026 — East African Community (EAC) Partner States are seeking to translate regional education commitments into tangible action as countries move to strengthen cooperation, harmonise learning systems and equip young people with skills for the changing labour market.

More than 600 delegates from the eight EAC Partner States are attending the second EAC Regional Education Conference in Nairobi, bringing together government officials, education practitioners, teachers, researchers, students, civil society organisations, development partners and academia.

The four-day conference, held from August 25 to 28 at Safari Park Hotel, is being conducted under the theme “Transforming Education in East Africa: From Commitments to Impact, Fostering Resilience and Future-Ready Systems for Sustainable Development.”

The conference builds on commitments made during the inaugural regional education conference held in Arusha, Tanzania, in August 2024, with delegates reviewing progress and identifying areas requiring stronger political, technical and financial support.

EAC Deputy Secretary-General Andrea Riik, who represented the EAC Secretary-General, said education remains a critical pillar of social and regional integration.

Riik said the EAC Common Education Area provides a framework for harmonising education systems and curricula while promoting the mobility of students, teachers and researchers across Partner States.

“EAC believes that East Africans can only integrate fully if we approach social integration through education, through health and many other aspects of social integration,” Riik said.

He said harmonised education systems would enable students to move between institutions across the region, pursue studies and have their academic credits recognised when they return to their home countries.

The same, he added, should apply to teachers, allowing them to work across Partner States and share their knowledge and experiences.

Riik said the initiative would ultimately promote job mobility and contribute to the development of a skilled workforce capable of driving regional integration.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for East African Community Affairs, ASALs and Regional Development Beatrice Askulwe, who represented President William Ruto at the conference, said the participation of more than 600 delegates demonstrated the importance attached to education in transforming East Africa.

Askulwe said the conference provides an opportunity for Partner States to share experiences, examine challenges facing their education systems and identify successful interventions that can be adapted across the region.

She called for greater innovation in education, saying learning systems must evolve to prepare young people for emerging opportunities and challenges.

The CS said the region should move beyond preparing learners only for employment and instead equip them with skills to create jobs and contribute to economic development.

“We are headed from a classroom to that innovative student who would not only work to be employed, but would work to create jobs for themselves and sustain themselves,” she said.

Askulwe said the experiences exchanged during the conference would help countries strengthen their learning systems while ensuring students can access education opportunities across the EAC.

Representing Education Cabinet Secretary Julius Migos Ogamba, Principal Secretary for Higher Education Dr Beatrice Muganda Inyangala said Partner States had made several commitments during the first conference, including increased investment in education, improved equity and expanded access.

Inyangala said the commitments included increasing budgetary allocations to education to 20 per cent of GDP and improving access for marginalised communities, refugees and girls.

“We have had commitments in the past. But the difference here is that we are working collectively and developing programmes that help us to implement the resolutions from this conference,” she said.

She cited Kenya’s Primary Education and Early Learning Project, supported by development partners, as one of the programmes aimed at monitoring learning outcomes in the basic education system.

The PS also highlighted the Secondary Education Quality and Equity Programme, which monitors changes in the education sector, including teacher deployment, teaching and learning materials and training of teachers.

Inyangala said education commitments must be matched with investments and programmes that deliver measurable outcomes and whose impact can be communicated to the public.

The conference is also addressing challenges posed by climate change, conflict, public health threats, technological disruption and rapidly changing labour-market demands.

Delegates are further exploring ways of strengthening links between Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions and industry, while promoting entrepreneurship, innovation and digital skills.

Harmonisation of TVET standards across Partner States is also expected to enhance the mobility of learners and workers and strengthen the region’s workforce.

The EAC says the conference is expected to generate practical policy recommendations and implementation actions, strengthen regional consensus on education priorities and improve the use of data to track access, equity, quality and learning outcomes.

The outcomes will inform a conference communiqué or roadmap outlining agreed commitments, priorities, timelines and next steps.

The meeting forms part of wider regional efforts aligned with EAC Vision 2050, the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 2026–2035), African Union Agenda 2063 and Sustainable Development Goal 4 on quality education.

With education increasingly viewed as a driver of social and economic integration, Partner States are now expected to turn the commitments made in Nairobi into concrete programmes capable of delivering a more inclusive, resilient and future-ready education system across East Africa.