West African Catholic Bishops (RECOWA) Urge Government Support for Public, Private and Faith-Based Education: "Investing in Education Is Investing in the Future of Africa"
Catholic bishops of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) have urged governments to promote the flourishing of young people by creating institutional frameworks that enable public, private and faith-based educational institutions to contribute to the continent's development, in a final communiqué issued after a four-day gathering and reported by ACI Africa on November 8, 2026.
During the gathering, participants examined activity reports and adopted resolutions to strengthen the functioning of the rectorate and the various units of the Catholic University of West Africa (UCAO). The communiqué was addressed to government leaders, educators, students, families, benefactors and the wider Christian community. RECOWA members urged students to love their homelands, cultivate a deep attachment to Africa, and prepare to contribute to the continent's development and quest for sovereignty through work, competence, integrity and a sense of the common good. They encouraged families and benefactors to persevere in the efforts and sacrifices required to support young people's education, saying, "Young people are a true treasure for our families, our Churches and our continent."
The bishops also called on the Christian community to pray for and support the Church's educational ministry and Catholic institutions of higher learning so they can fulfil their mission of serving the integral development of the human person. Entrusting the future of UCAO and African youth to divine providence, they said, "Investing in education is investing in the future of Africa."
Source: Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 西非贝宁一所小学课堂，摄于1997年（资料图）A primary school classroom in Benin, West Africa, 1997 (file photo) — Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
