Ministers of Education from across Africa have actually made a landmark dedication to reinforce school management training as a specialised expert pathway, different from– but carefully connected to– the mentor profession.
The dedication was captured in the ministerial communiqué released at the 13th Conference and 15th Roundtable of the Africa Federation of Mentor Regulatory Authorities held in Gaborone from Might 5 to 6, 2026.
The communiqué acknowledged that effective school leadership plays a critical function in instructor retention, expert performance, improved learner results, and proficiency acquisition. It also shows a considerable shift in education policy thinking throughout the continent– moving far from viewing school leadership merely as an extension of classroom teaching, towards recognising it as an unique occupation requiring dedicated standards, specialised preparation, and sustained investment.
The development marks a significant policy advocacy turning point for the African Centre for School Leadership, which has regularly promoted the professionalisation of school management across Africa.
Representing ACSL at the conference were Dr. Leila Abdullahi and Chantal Kabanda Dusabe. Both officials engaged straight with ministers of education and policy stakeholders, presenting the case for school leadership as a specialised profession and drawing from findings consisted of in ACSL’s Continental Mapping Report on School Management Initiatives in Africa.
AFTRA, an intergovernmental body making up Ministries of Education and nationwide teaching regulative authorities across the African Union, offered a tactical platform for the advocacy engagement. By securing a ministerial dedication within the conference communiqué, ACSL prospered in positioning school management reform strongly within the continent’s policy and regulatory program.
The Gaborone resolution develops on growing continental momentum around school management reforms observed throughout 2025 and into 2026.
Previously in April, senior technical education authorities at the first International Conference of the Kenya Education Management Institute in Nairobi endorsed ACSL’s Continental Mapping Report and its suggestions for coherent and well-resourced school management systems.
Likewise, the francophone edition of the 2025 Spotlight Report Series– launched in cooperation with the African Union, UNESCO Global Education Keeping Track Of Report, and Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of National Education– enhanced the requirement for more powerful training management systems in French-speaking African countries.
In addition, the 2025 ADEA Triennale 2025 held in Accra recognized school leadership as one of the eight crucial pillars needed for changing education systems throughout Africa.
Observers say the current AFTRA communiqué offers school management higher regulative and expert legitimacy by recognising it as an expert track that should be governed by requirements and responsibility frameworks comparable to those guiding the mentor profession itself.
ACSL mentioned that it would continue tracking implementation of the dedication while supporting member states to translate the resolutions into actionable national policies.
The conference, themed “Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession: Implications for Africa,” was hosted by Botswana’s Ministry of Child Welfare and Basic Education in collaboration with the Botswana Mentor Professionals Council.
It was officially opened by the President of Botswana, Duma Gideon Boko, who required an unified continental technique to instructor advancement and professional standards. He stressed that African education systems need to adjust to evolving global realities which management at both school and system levels would be main to that change.
Botswana’s Minister of Kid Well-being and Basic Education, Kebuang Nono Kgafela-Mokoka, explained the hosting of the conference as a presentation of the nation’s commitment to the future of education in Africa. She emphasised the significance of collaborations amongst governments, regulative firms, and worldwide development partners in raising standards and changing the teaching profession.
AFTRA President Ebby Mubanga also reiterated the conference’s main message that no single African nation can independently reinforce the mentor occupation, noting that partnership, shared evidence, and sustained continental coordination stay vital for significant education transformation.