1. About AU-IPED

The Pan-African Institute for Education for Development (IPED) is a specialized institution of the African Union (AU), tasked with the responsibility to function as Africa’s Education Observatory. It plays a central role in ensuring quality, responsive, and inclusive education development in Africa, grounded in sound, accurate, and timely information. IPED contributes to the collective continental goals of human resource development and intellectual capacity-building.

2. Historical Context: Timeline of IPED's Evolution

• 1961
  Ministers of Education and Scientific Research expressed their intention to establish an institution capable of developing their countries through education.
• 1973
  The African Bureau of Educational Sciences (BASE) was established, transforming the ministers’ vision into reality.
• 1975
  BASE became operational and was hosted at the Faculty of Educational Sciences of Kisangani, Zaire.
• 1986
  BASE was recognized as a Specialized Agency of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at the 43rd Ordinary Session (CM/RES.1032 XLIII). Its missions included:
  • Promoting and encouraging scientific research in education.
  • Harmonizing intervention programs in education development.
  • Organizing documentation and reporting to Member States on educational experiments and outcomes.
• 2001
  During the XIIIth Ordinary Session of the Executive Committee of Ministers of Education, BASE underwent thorough restructuring and was renamed the Pan-African Institute for Education for Development (IPED).
• 2006
  IPED was formally recognized as Africa’s Education Observatory under the African Union Commission.

3. Vision and Mission

Vision:
To be Africa’s leading center of excellence for education research, policy development, and strategic support in transforming education systems.

Mission:
To function as Africa’s Education Observatory by strengthening education systems across the continent through high-quality data, sound research, capacity development, and collaborative partnerships - aligned with the goals of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) and the Continental Education Strategy for Africa 2016–2025, 2026-2035 (CESA 16–25, CESA 26-35).

3. Core Objectives

AU-IPED fulfills its mandate through the following objectives:

• Information Collection and Dissemination: Collects, preserves, analyzes, and shares data on education development across Africa, helping build a comprehensive and updated continental knowledge base.
• Support for Policy Adaptation: Assists Member States in updating their education policies to reflect global and continental shifts - including technological, economic, cultural, and geopolitical changes.
• Knowledge Exchange: Serves as a continental platform to share trends, practices, and innovations in education policy and planning.
• Evidence-Based Policy Development: Enhances the capacity of stakeholders to develop and evaluate policies by promoting interaction among researchers, decision-makers, and practitioners.
• Statistical Development: Coordinates the organization of educational statistics and the development of indicators to support monitoring and evaluation processes.
• Continental Monitoring and Reporting: Produces Africa-wide reports on the status of education and training and supports tracking the implementation of key AU education programs.

4. Programmatic Areas of Work

AU-IPED’s work is organized into six key programmatic areas:

1. Education Management Information Systems (EMIS): Strengthening national systems for the collection, analysis, and use of education data for planning and monitoring.
2. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in Education: Promoting the integration of technology in data systems and learning environments.
3. Education Planning and Policy Support: Providing technical support to governments in policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation.
4. Capacity Building: Building institutional and human resource capacity to enhance national education systems.
5. Partnership Development: Galvanizing technical and financial partnerships to support education reforms and implementation of national sector plans.
6. Support for Sector Plan Implementation: Working alongside countries to operationalize their national education strategies.