DAR ES SALAAM, Aug. 27 -- FOR years, the conversation about education in East Africa has often centred on the need for more teachers. Classrooms need to be staffed, pupil-teacher ratios reduced and growing student populations matched with sufficient numbers of educators.

But as education systems across the region confront rapid technological change, artificial intelligence, climate disruption, growing diversity and new approaches to learning, another question is becoming increasingly important: Are East African countries preparing teachers well enough for the classrooms they are expected to lead? The challenge is no longer simply about having enough teachers.

It is increasingly about ensuring that those entering the profession have the ...