The African Bureau for Educational Sciences (ABES) was formally established in September 1973 in Paris, during the 6th Congress of the then International Association for the Advancement of Educational Research (IAAER), and currently the World Association for Educational Research (WAER). The idea to establish an African Bureau for Educational Sciences dates back to 1961 in Addis Ababa and 1968 in Nairobi, when meetings of African ministers of education and planning expressed the wish to establish a permanent body that could group and co-ordinate the various institutions responsible for research and training in education in Africa with a view to promoting education and international co-operation. ABES became a specialised agency of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in March 1986. Its headquarters was transferred from Kisangani to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo in September 1987.

The four main objectives that form the basis of the ABES programme, are: to initiate and promote national and regional research in education with a view to help African countries in their educational reforms; to organise, through seminars, symposia and other conferences at national and regional levels, the training of researchers and trainers in education; to ensure the publication and dissemination of scientific information in education and training resulting from studies and researches in educational sciences; and to break the isolation of national centres and institutions for research and training in education in Africa by developing inter-African and international co-operation in education and training. All OAU member states are de facto members of ABES, although individual membership of states is required in order to establish more definite co-operation relations and to benefit from all its activities. This membership is acquired by signing or ratifying its charter.