Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain Across Africa and beyond, education systems are shifting to curricula designed to build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Competency-based curricula put learners at the center. They are meant to prepare students for a rapidly changing world, where success depends on the ability to adapt, think critically and solve complex problems. Unlike traditional curricula, which often emphasize covering content and memorizing facts, competency-based curricula focus on how students apply what they learn in real-world situations. For example, instead of simply recalling scientific definitions, students might be asked to use a concept to explain how diseases spread. Much of the discussion around this shift in education has focused on familiar challenges, including teacher preparedness, availability of learning materials, and how faithfully the curriculum is implemented.…