The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has climaxed a pivotal national Advocacy Workshop in Benin for the implementation of its Benchmarks and Framework for the Recognition and Equivalence of Certificates” from May 28-30, 2024, in Cotonou, Benin.
This landmark event brought together key Educational Stakeholders in Benin under the leadership of ministry of Higher Education to discuss and strategize on the implementation of standardized educational frameworks across West Africa.
The workshop emphasized the importance of harmonizing educational standards to enhance the mobility and employability of citizens across the region.
Highlights of the Workshop include in-depth discussions on the ECOWAS Program on the Recognition and Equivalence of Certificates, exploring various aspects of educational standardization.
The main goal of the workshop is to introduce and facilitate the implementation of the published ECOWAS Program on the Recognition and Equivalence of Certificates.
It also sets the stage for the adoption of ECOWAS Educational Benchmarks and Framework in Benin, aiming to ensure that educational qualifications are recognized across the member states.
The workshop was opened by the ECOWAS Resident Representative in Benin Mr Amadou DI-ONGUE behalf on Commissioner for Human Development and Social Affairs Prof Fatou Sow SARR and the representative of the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Koladé Josué AZANDEGBE.
ECOWAS plans to continue sensitizing the member states on the implementation of the Bench-marks and Framework for the Recognition and Equivalence of Certificates.
ECOWAS was established through a treaty was signed by 15 West African Heads of State and Government on May 28, 1975 in Lagos, Nigeria and its region spans an area of 5.2 million square kilometers.
The Member States are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Senegal and Togo.
Considered one of the pillars of the African Economic Community, ECOWAS was set up to promote co-operation and integration, leading to the establishment of an economic union in West Africa to raise the living standards of its peoples, and to maintain and enhance economic stability, foster relations-among Member States and contribute to the progress and development of the African continent.
In 2007, ECOWAS Secretariat was transformed into a Commission headed by the President, assisted by a Vice President, and Five Commissioners, comprising experienced bureaucrats who are providing the leadership in this new orientation.
As part of this renewal process, ECOWAS is implementing critical and strategic program that will deepen cohesion and progressively eliminate identified barriers to full integration.
In this way, the estimated 300 million citizens of the community can ultimately take ownership for the realization of the new vision of moving from an ECOWAS of States to an “ECO-WAS of the People: Peace and Prosperity to All” by 2050.
