By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, July 15, 2026 - For years, education success in Africa has largely been measured by one statistic, how many children are enrolled in school. Today, however, policymakers are confronting a far more pressing question: Are children actually learning?
That question is at the centre of the Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX) 2026 taking place in Lilongwe, Malawi, where education ministers, researchers, development partners and policymakers from more than 40 African countries are meeting to assess progress in tackling one of the continent's biggest education challenges, learning poverty.
The conference is reviewing commitments made in 2024 to ensure every child acquires foundational literacy and numeracy skills by 2035.
Kenya is among the countries sending a high-level delegation to the summit, reflecting the growing recognition that improving foundational learning is not simply an education issue but an economic imperative.
Foundational learning refers to the basic literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional skills that children are expected to acquire during their first years of primary education, typically by the age of 10.
It means much more than being able to attend school.
A child who has mastered foundational learning should be able to read and understand a simple story, perform basic arithmetic, think critically, solve simple problems and continue learning independently.
Without these skills, every subsequent stage of education becomes significantly more difficult.
The World Bank and UNESCO describe this challenge as learning poverty, the inability of a child to read and understand a simple text by age 10.
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, the problem remains severe, with estimates suggesting that nearly nine in every ten children are unable to read with comprehension by the age of ten, making the region the global epicentre of the learning crisis.
Compared to many countries in the region, Kenya has built one of Africa's strongest education systems.
The country has achieved near-universal primary school enrolment, rolled out the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC), expanded access to digital learning and invested heavily in teacher recruitment.
Yet education experts increasingly argue that school attendance alone does not guarantee learning.
Many pupils still complete lower primary without confidently reading at grade level or solving basic mathematics problems.
Large class sizes, teacher shortages in some regions, learning disruptions caused by COVID-19, inequalities between urban and rural schools, and poverty continue to affect learning outcomes.
The shift to CBC itself was driven partly by the realization that education systems should focus less on memorization and examinations and more on ensuring children acquire practical competencies from the earliest grades.
This is precisely what foundational learning seeks to achieve.
The debate around foundational learning is often framed as an education issue.
It is actually an economic one.
Children who fail to master reading and mathematics in early grades are more likely to repeat classes, drop out of school, struggle to acquire technical skills and eventually earn lower incomes as adults.
For Kenya, which aims to become an upper-middle-income economy through manufacturing, digital innovation and knowledge-based industries, this presents a major risk.
A workforce lacking basic literacy and numeracy cannot fully participate in the digital economy.
Employers increasingly demand workers who can communicate effectively, solve problems, analyse information and adapt to changing technologies.
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Those abilities begin in the first years of school, not at university.
Research consistently shows that countries investing in foundational learning enjoy higher productivity, stronger economic growth and greater social mobility.
The meeting in Malawi goes beyond discussing classroom performance.
It seeks to answer whether African governments are investing in the right interventions to reduce learning poverty and whether those investments are translating into measurable improvements.
Delegates are reviewing progress made since the 2024 ministerial commitments while identifying practical strategies for accelerating learning outcomes despite shrinking education budgets and increasing fiscal pressures.
Among the key issues under discussion are teacher effectiveness, early-grade reading programmes, use of learning assessments, digital education, financing, accountability and ensuring that every child, not just those in well-resourced schools, acquires foundational skills.
Kenya enters these discussions with several advantages.
The country already possesses relatively strong education institutions, an active curriculum reform agenda, growing investment in education technology and one of the continent's most vibrant innovation ecosystems.
Earlier this year, Kenya also hosted its first National Foundational Learning Conference, signalling that foundational learning is becoming a national education priority rather than merely a donor-driven agenda.
However, improving foundational learning will require continuous teacher professional development, better classroom assessment systems, targeted support for struggling learners, stronger parental involvement and increased investment in early childhood education.
Technology can help, but it cannot replace effective teaching.
Similarly, curriculum reforms alone will not improve learning unless teachers receive adequate support and schools are equipped with appropriate learning materials.
For decades, Africa celebrated getting children into classrooms.
The next chapter must focus on ensuring that children leave those classrooms equipped with the skills needed to thrive.
As education ministers gather in Malawi, the conversation is shifting from "How many children are in school?" to "How many children are actually learning?"
That distinction may appear subtle, but it could determine Africa's economic future.
For Kenya, foundational learning is no longer simply an education policy objective.
It is the foundation upon which the country's future workforce, productivity, innovation capacity and global competitiveness will be built.
If Kenya succeeds in ensuring every child can read, write, count and think critically by the end of lower primary school, it will have achieved something far more valuable than improved examination results, it will have invested in the country's most important resource: its people.