Learning levels are lower than previously thought: only 1 in 10 children reaches the end of primary school and achieves minimum proficiency learning levels in Africa.

A new Spotlight Report released by the UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report and the African Center for School Leadership makes the case for school principals and district officials to shift their priorities, moving beyond administrative tasks to focus squarely on instructional leadership to improve learning outcomes.

Insights from principals and educational leaders highlight what this looks like in practice, and the systemic challenges they face.

School leaders can bring out the best in teachers

The way leaders support teachers depends on the needs of their school, which they deduce through classroom observations and monitoring.

Surveys with principals across Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya, Morocco and Zimbabwe found that leaders use different strategies to support teachers’ work. In four countries, more than 80% of principals reported meeting with their teachers at least once a month.

In three countries, more than 80% of principals also visit classrooms at least once a week to appraise teaching and learning. Organizing coaching between junior and senior teachers is the most common form of professional development, mentioned by 51% of principals in Kenya and 77% in Côte d’Ivoire.

When instructional leadership is prioritized, real transformation can take place in schools.

Having the time to be an effective instructional leader requires a careful balance of the needs to report upwards to middle leaders such as district officers or pedagogical advisors with the core focus of their role: to improve learning.

This requires ensuring that administrative tasks do not overwhelm instructional responsibilities.

According to principals surveyed for the Spotlight report, administrative responsibilities take precedence over student learning in Morocco (63%), Cameroon (69%), Kenya (74%) and Zimbabwe (78%).

A focus on learning can be emphasized by district education officers and pedagogical advisors too.

At present, the report shows that the need for emphasis on instructional leadership and quality assurance from such system leaders is also often distracted by compliance and administrative issues.

School leaders can inspire and motivate school communities to help improve learning

When school leaders take the time to involve parents and the community in education, it can foster accountability, mobilize resources and improve decision-making processes.

As direct beneficiaries, parents and community members have a strong incentive to improve the quality and relevance of education.

When communities are actively involved in overseeing the quality of education and guiding the allocation of resources, school management can become more transparent, accountable and responsive, which can in turn help improve education outcomes.

Countries need to invest in the professionalization of school leaders

With such low learning levels on the continent, school leaders’ potential needs to be unlocked to carry out the important tasks mentioned in this blog.

This can only be done if they are recruited with fair and competitive selection processes and training, which is essential to help school leaders shift from management to instruction.

The need to invest in training is one of the core recommendations to emerge from the Spotlight Report. It shows that, currently, 35% of countries have competency frameworks, which shape selection, training and professional development and only 19% require principals to have prior training before taking on their role.

Minimum learning standards need improving

The lack of minimum learning standards in schools emphasizes the need to have strong leaders in place who can find solutions.

A new policy dashboard launched alongside the report maps policies and practices that support foundational learning. It shows that many school leaders are working in challenging conditions.

For starters, textbooks are scarce—in Cameroon, up to 23 students share one textbook on average, although Côte d’Ivoire has managed to ensure the provision of a textbook for each student.

Secondly, at least half of public primary schools are defined as being in ‘good’ condition in 7 of the 17 countries with data.

A further challenge is found in the fact that over half of countries still do not provide textbooks in children's home language, making early literacy acquisition hard.

Finally, while 81% of countries in Africa provide school meals, they only cover, on average, 43% of primary students, leaving many children too hungry to learn.

Despite these constraints, as the testimonies in this blog show, leaders remain committed to improving learning outcomes.

Their stories show that strong, instructional-focused leadership can overcome systemic challenges. It is this type of leadership that should be celebrated and encouraged so that we can transform the educational experiences of both teachers and learners.