• Recognizing the vital role of education, students and their families in sub-Saharan Africa have begun to use educational technology to supplement formal schooling during times of disruption.
  • Mobile labs (mobile labs) bring science tools and techniques right to the school parking lot, allowing students to access experiences far beyond what many schools can provide.
  • In Chad, a mobile school gives nomadic children hope. Chad’s nomads make up nearly a tenth of the country’s population, and many children in the community receive little to no education.

Countries and organizations are taking notable steps to make inclusive education a success internationally, as well as in individual African countries. At the international level, countries have adopted several treaties to support inclusive education. Inclusion has become a global issue, while in different countries we can find many stated intentions and written policies to promote its achievement.

A few examples in Africa include the South African Department of Education White Paper 6: Special Needs Education – Building an Inclusive Education and Training System (2001), the Namibian Ministry of Education Sector Policy on Inclusive Education (2013) and the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Education National Inclusive Education Policy (2016 ).

According to UNESCO, current levels of access to education in sub-Saharan Africa are among the lowest in the world, partly due to a lack of physical resources. Unplanned learning interruptions also occur due to a variety of extenuating circumstances, such as labor disputes leading to teacher strikes, natural disasters such as hurricanes, and public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, which has disrupted face-to-face learning for to the whole world.

Such frequent interruptions are detrimental to student learning outcomes and the creation of a highly skilled workforce to drive economic development in the region.

Recognizing the vital role of education, students and their families in sub-Saharan Africa have begun to use educational technology to supplement formal schooling during times of disruption. Although physical resources such as classroom space are scarce, SAGE Journals predicts that by 2025, more than half of sub-Saharan Africa will have mobile coverage.

Mobile laboratories

African countries must adopt mobile science laboratories to effectively change the landscape of science education. Mobile labs are a strategy to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) careers. Mobile labs (mobile labs) bring science tools and techniques right to the school parking lot, allowing students to access experiences far beyond what many schools can provide. Mobile labs are less expensive than traditional brick-and-mortar labs.

According to Northwestern University news, on March 5, 2020, the Sasol Foundation in South Africa donated a mobile science laboratory to Northwestern University (NWU). To deliver hands-on science education to thousands of students across the North West Province.

When fully utilized, this state-of-the-art mobile laboratory can serve up to 30 schools per year.

“Sasol is committed to continuing to play its part in the socio-economic development of South Africa, particularly in the communities in which we operate,” said Vusi Kwane, Sasol Foundation CEO.

He said the impact of the mobile science labs, one of many key initiatives of the Sasol Foundation, had been positively assessed by an independent monitoring and evaluation agency in 2019. This confirmed that innovation is a critical piece of the puzzle in addressing the underdevelopment of STEM opportunities in South Africa.

“The mobile lab will promote science, technology, engineering mathematics and innovation by engaging communities in the Northwest through a variety of science outreach programs.

“The mobile lab will also allow the NWU Science Center to expand its capacity to support learning programs for teachers and students. Conducting science experiments in schools will reach more students, especially those in remote parts of the province,” said Professor Dan Kgwadi.

A mobile school for nomads in Chad

Meanwhile, in Chad, a mobile school gives nomadic children hope. Chad’s nomads make up nearly a tenth of the country’s population, and many children in the community receive little to no education.

About 7 percent of the Central African country’s population of about 16 million people are nomads. They move hundreds of miles from the south with their herds every year when the seasonal rains turn the semi-arid central regions green with fresh pastures.

This way of life is centuries old, but children of nomads do not have access to Chad’s formal education system. According to the Denmark-based International Working Group on Indigenous Affairs, less than 1 percent of nomadic boys and “virtually zero” of nomadic girls were not enrolled in school in Chad as of 2018.

According to an Aljazeera article published on September 12, 2022, teacher Leonard Hamaig was inspired to set up the mobile school when he saw children playing in a nomadic camp in Tukra, outside Chad’s capital N’Djamena, during school hours in 2019.

“When we started, we had almost nothing, not even a piece of chalk,” the 28-year-old recalled after a lesson in late August, during which the children diligently took notes in notebooks on their laps.

Almost three years later, his school – which follows the community as they move every two months or so – has 69 students of all ages and basic materials thanks to donations.

“They’ve never gone to school before, none of them … today they can write their name correctly, speak French, do sums,” Gamaig said proudly.