BENEFITS AND NEXT STEPS FOR THE 2022 AFRICA TOP SCHOOLS REPORT & AWARDS

2022 AFRICA TOP SCHOOL REPORT

+10: EYES ON THE FUTURE

Did you know that 2022 marks 10 years since the publication of the ABR’s Africa Top Schools Report & Awards? Over the last decade, progress has been achieved in several key areas by awards winning schools: higher enrollment figures, higher school value to parents and students for reasonable returns on investment, unprecedented school plant upgrades, new campuses, move to sustainable schools improvement, and development strategies. More and more awards winning schools are improving the salary, compensation package, and condition of service of their workers; most essentially they are strict in the recruitment of new teachers that can add value to the mission, vision, and values of their schools.

However, only 300 top high schools are consistently good in Nigeria; we are looking for 1, 000 top high schools since 2012. There is the scarcity challenge of well-trained leaders and administrators for Schools in Africa. It takes a well-equipped leader to have a quality high school as an effective learning center. To improve the leadership lead of professional teachers who are promoted/ appointed Principals, the Africa Top Schools Awards team started the Africa Great Principals Academy in 2019. Physical training with attendant benefits of experienced sharing by participants is has been highly effective for the Africa Great Principals Academy. However, to reach a high number of interested participants, we will be offering an opportunity for a virtual learning edition in 2022. The 2022 Africa Top Schools + 10: Eyes on the Future Initiative will explore the key progress made and lessons learned from the schools’ development and improvement plan of awards-winning schools over the last 10 years. The 10^th year anniversary discussion will center on new ideas and aspirations of top schools, for the next 10 years. We will probe schools on the challenges of managing school enrollment and fears in a challenging economy. Especially, their survival strategies of the past three years; the Covid-19 pandemic challenge and the associated impact of currency devaluation, high inflationary trend, and job losses/ right-sizing of the labor force by leading companies. On a positive note, we will report on how Covid-19 ushered in a new era for how African countries deliver education.  We will also be featuring interviews with outstanding educators and leaders of major education associations/pressure groups in Africa.  There is a planned March 15-19, 2022 International visit to outstanding schools in Dubai. The 2022 awards ceremony and unveiling of the Africa Top Schools Report come up in Lagos on April 28 and in Abuja on April 29.