Greening Education in Africa

Africa stands at a defining moment. With its rapidly growing youth population, accelerating urbanisation, and intensifying climate challenges, the continent’s education systems must evolve to prepare young people for a sustainable future. The idea of greening education is not limited to environmental awareness; it seeks to transform the entire learning ecosystem—curricula, infrastructure, teacher training, and community engagement—so that education itself becomes a driver of sustainability and climate resilience.

According to UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership (GEP), this approach ensures that learners acquire the values, knowledge, and skills needed to contribute meaningfully to the green transition. It calls on schools, teachers, and communities to play an active role in shaping a more sustainable society.

The Urgency of Greening Education

Across Africa, the impacts of climate change are already disrupting education. Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, and flash floods frequently destroy school infrastructure or make classrooms unsafe for learning. A Reuters report in 2024 revealed that students in several African countries missed weeks of schooling due to extreme heat and environmental hazards. These realities highlight how climate change is not only an environmental issue but also an educational one.

At the same time, the continent’s growing investment in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and green industries presents immense opportunities. The African Centre for a Green Economy projects that Africa could create more than 3.3 million green jobs by 2030—if its education systems equip young people with relevant green skills. Integrating sustainability into learning can help bridge the gap between schooling and employability while driving inclusive economic growth.

Beyond employment, greening education fosters a culture of environmental citizenship. It instills respect for biodiversity, sustainable resource use, and community resilience. As UNESCO notes, sustainable education empowers learners to think critically about interconnected global challenges—from climate change to inequality—and to act as agents of change in their societies.

Progress and Challenges

African countries have begun to take steps toward greening education. In West and Central Africa, UNICEF’s Green Schools Initiative promotes climate-smart schools that incorporate sustainability into both teaching and daily operations. In Ghana, the GLOBE Programme and other “Greening Schools” projects equip students with tools to monitor weather and air quality, linking classroom learning with real-life environmental observation. Similarly, vocational education and training institutions are starting to embed sustainability principles into their courses. A study by the INCLUDE Platform found that some TVET schools now train students in solar installation, energy efficiency, and sustainable construction techniques, helping align education with emerging green industries.

However, these efforts remain fragmented and uneven. Many teachers across the continent still lack adequate training to teach climate or sustainability topics. According to UNESCO data, while 95 percent of teachers recognise the importance of environmental education, fewer than 30 percent feel confident delivering it. National curricula in most African countries mention the environment but often do not explore it in depth or connect it to everyday life.

Funding constraints also hinder progress. Schools in low-income and rural areas rarely have access to renewable energy, safe water, or eco-friendly infrastructure. Weak coordination between ministries of education, environment, and labour further slows implementation. The result is a patchwork of well-intentioned projects that fall short of transforming the system as a whole.

The Framework for Transformation

To systematise action, UNESCO’s Greening Education Partnership proposes four interlinked pillars. The first focuses on greening schools through the adoption of sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, and waste reduction practices that turn schools into living laboratories of sustainability. The second pillar seeks to green curricula by embedding climate change, biodiversity, and sustainability concepts across subjects, from science and geography to economics and civic education. The third targets teacher training, ensuring that educators gain the knowledge and methods required to teach environmental literacy effectively. The final pillar promotes greening communities, encouraging schools to act as catalysts for community-wide climate awareness, resilience, and innovation.

Together, these pillars provide a blueprint for African governments, NGOs, and private institutions to design coherent strategies that align education with sustainable development goals.

Pathways for Africa’s Education Systems

African policymakers and development partners can advance greening education by embedding green skills into vocational, agricultural, and entrepreneurial training. For instance, agricultural extension and youth programmes can teach climate-smart farming, soil conservation, and renewable energy applications in rural areas. In Ghana’s cocoa sector, where youth-led agribusiness initiatives are expanding, incorporating carbon farming and sustainable land management practices into training could prepare a new generation of green entrepreneurs.

Schools themselves can evolve into community climate hubs. A school equipped with solar panels, water harvesting systems, or a community garden not only models sustainability but also becomes a practical resource for surrounding villages. Partnerships between schools, local governments, and private firms could mobilise resources to replicate such models across regions.

Teacher capacity development remains pivotal. National education ministries should collaborate with teacher training colleges and universities to introduce climate education modules, while donor agencies and NGOs can support continuous professional development through short courses or micro-credentials in sustainability education.

Financing mechanisms are equally important. Blended financing—drawing from climate funds, private-sector corporate social responsibility programmes, and international development grants—can help scale green education projects. Ensuring equity in access is critical: rural schools, girls, and marginalised youth must not be left behind. Digital learning platforms, mobile classrooms, and local-language content can help bridge these gaps.

Conclusion

Greening education in Africa is both a moral and strategic imperative. It is about preparing a generation capable of confronting climate risks, seizing green economic opportunities, and sustaining the continent’s ecological wealth. The transition requires more than curriculum changes—it demands systemic transformation that connects education with sustainable development planning, governance, and community action.

By aligning with the Greening Education Partnership framework and integrating climate resilience into every layer of the education system, Africa can turn its schools into incubators of innovation, its teachers into sustainability champions, and its students into the architects of a greener, fairer future.