Luanda - The minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Maria do Rosário Bragança, on Friday in Luanda Province said that it is essential to raise the quality of teaching and learning in the country in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and realise the vision of the African Union's Agenda 2063.
Speaking at the ordinary meeting of the National Council for Higher Education (CNES), the minister pointed to quality education as the key to reducing poverty, fostering gender equality and promoting sustainable economic growth, adding that quality education creates fairer and more inclusive societies.
Maria do Rosário Bragança recommended taking advantage of the country's demographic advantage, providing robust educational opportunities that enable young people to realise their dreams and contribute significantly to the development of Angolan society.
She said that higher education is a strategic key for the development of a more prosperous and equitable society and, therefore, plays a main role in empowering individuals, offering them the necessary tools to innovate, create and lead.
The government official stated that universities, institutes and higher schools are places to practice creativity, innovation and to learn to develop critical thought.
In this regard, she expressed the government's intention to strengthen more the higher education sector in order to make it a more accessible, inclusive and high-quality subsystem.
She recognized the need to ensure the functioning of higher education in adequate, well-equipped facilities with modern classrooms, laboratories, library, digital resources and social support equipment, as well as the need to invest in the dignity of the teaching profession with decent working conditions and adequate remuneration, with a view to continuous professional development.
The ordinary meeting of the National Council for Higher Education was attended by representatives of the executive body with emphasis on the minister of education, Luísa Grilo, representatives of World Bank for Angola and São Tome, Juan Carlos, among others.
The meeting's highlight was the solemn launch of the Tertiary Education Science and Technology Project (TEST).
The event addressed the topic "financing of public higher education institutions, through results-based agreements".
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