Adopt policies to change low quality education
A former Head of State of Nigeria, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, has called on African leaders to adopt polices that will improve education on the continent to rescue it from the current state of backwardness.
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He said it was unfortunate that Africa’s educational systems continued to be of low quality, slowing its pace of development towards the emerging knowledge economy.
General Abubakar, who was delivering a paper at a special congregation lecture of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) Wednesday, said it was crucial for Africans to learn to adopt more proactive educational policies that would ensure a more prosperous future for the continent.
He spoke on the topic, “The role of education in developing society”.
He said while the world had turned towards a knowledge economy, it was obvious that sub-Saharan Africa had turned towards ignorance, thereby becoming a passive consumer of goods.
Standards
He identified the lack of infrastructure, quality teachers and investment, as well as gender biases, as having caused declining educational standards on the continent, leading to under-development.
He said it was sad that 33 million children of school age in sub-Saharan Africa, 18 million of whom were girls, did not go to school and only two/thirds of children who started primary school reached the final grade.
As a result, he said, primary school enrolment in African countries was the lowest in the world.
General Abubakar said despite the commitment made by African states in 2006 to spend one per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) on Science education, for instance, only a few countries had made any effort towards meeting that target.
Way forward
He stated that what Africa needed was a deliberate and conscious effort not only to meet that target but also begin to commit even more resources to education in general.
He, however, stressed that the struggle for education and development should be fought within the context of democracy.
“I personally believe the era of uncreative, authoritarian despotism is over in Africa,” he said, adding that the only future for the continent should be that of unfettered democracy, free, fair and credible elections of pluralism, tolerance, accountability, the rule of law and governance for sustainable human development.
Knowledge economy
General Abubakar called on the UEW to pioneer research into all aspects of the new knowledge economy in a manner that would quicken the process of rescuing the continent from its bewilderment and backwardness.
He called for a review of the university curricula and better co-ordination among governments, universities and industry in Africa to ensure a proper response to the continent’s problems.
The Vice-Chancellor of the UEW, Professor Akwasi Asabere Ameyaw, called for more funding for the universities to enable them to support the continent’s efforts to disentangle itself from poverty and deprivation.
