Alternative Education and Return Pathways for Out-of-School Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa

Moses Ngware, African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC)

Africa’s share of the global youth population is expected to increase from one-fifth in 2012 to one-third by 2050. This youthful population is critical for sustainable development. In 2014, there were 25.7 million out-of-school youth (OOSY) of lower secondary school age, and 34.4 million of upper secondary school age in SSA. To harness Africa’s population for sustainable development, it is critical that this population accesses education and training. In this paper, we use desk-review approaches and the demographic surveillance data to examine: (i) the status of OOSY and reasons for being out-of-school; (ii) existing models for alternative provision of education and training for OOSY; and, (iii) pathways for out-of-school youth to return to formal education - especially lower and upper secondary. Our findings demonstrate that a lot of efforts have been put in place but more remains to be done. Based on the findings, we draw policy implications.