Boosting Education

2016

There have been many theories given on how Africa should develop, regardless, this paper argues on why it is important to focus on education as one of the major tools to move Africa forward. It scrutinizes the current education systems in African countries and how they are not tailored to equip the African child with the mindset and skills required for leadership. Instead of waiting for aid and relief, this paper champions the need for Africans to arise and offer solutions to Africa\u27s problems. The challenge calls for stock-taking of the “state” of the different African countries so that the proper education system can be targeted to them. For Africa\u27s education system to respond to the needs of poor children and to contribute to wealth creation in communities and society at large, it needs to take poverty into special consideration when planning education services

1993

Focusing on the education situation in Sub Saharan Africa, this paper states that while education systems in the region are faced with tremendous problems, over-generalization should be avoided, because all the problems referred to are not equally serious, and they are more acute in some countries than in others. The analyses and comments in the paper relate to 47 countries in Sub Saharan Africa, covering almost all of the area concerned with the exception of South Africa. The paper is divided into 9 sections: (1) the evolution of overall enrollment figures over the past two decades; (2) enrollments at different levels; (3) the enrollment of girls; (4) teachers: number, training, and status; (5) higher education: costs, types of graduates, the brain drain, research; (6) the efficiency and evaluation of education systems; (7) the financing of education systems; (8) education and employment; and (9) external aid to education. When the overall data relating to the number of pupils enrolled in the region was examined, researchers noted the very rapid increase in pupil intake; in the 20 years from 1970 to 1990 the figure rose from 23.5 million pupils to 70.7 million. No other education system in the world has had to cope with such a growth. Education systems in the region vary considerably in size. Enrollment indicators vary from one country to another. If trends in some countries are not reversed, the majority of the populations of working age of the least educationally developed countries will be illiterate in a hundred years. (DK)

In general, independence marks the end of education provision oriented to the needs of colonial countries and the start of a more inclusive education system tailored to native traditions and needs. This article presents a retrospective overview of the development of education in Africa since 1960, when a large number of countries attained political independence. It describes the existing educational systems which were mainly inherited from the colonial period and discusses developments in education provision (expansion of enrolment capacities and levels of education), access, retention and completion in relation to factors such as teacher supply and with attention to gender. In light of the trends that emerge from this overview, the article further iden-ties the gaps and challenges to be addressed in order to make universal access to a good quality education a reality. The empirical contribution of this study is based on national data collected since the 1960s by UNESCO, especially its Institute for Statistics. This annual series of national data allows comparability of education access/participation, completion, quality and outcomes indicators over time.

2012

Looks at the need for quality education that will propel the African continent into the future. The assesment of theory and industrial needs are addressed in the light of future demands. Change of current educational practices and forcusting on future trends of economic demands is emphasised.

2016

There have been many theories given on how Africa should develop, regardless, this paper argues on why it is important to focus on educa on as one of the major tools to move Africa forward. It scru nises the current educa on systems in African countries and how they are not tailored to equip the African child with the mindset and skills required for leadership. Instead of wai ng for aid and relief, this paper champions the need for Africans to arise and offer solu ons to Africa's problems. The challenge calls for stock-taking of the “state” of the different African countries so that the proper educa on system can be targeted to them. For Africa's educa on system to respond to the needs of poor children and to contribute to wealth crea on in communi es and society at large, it needs to take poverty into special considera on when planning educa on services. EDUCATION: A PATHWAY TO AFRICA’S DEVELOPMENT Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous con nent w...

World Journal of Education, 2018

This article posits that schooling in Sub-Saharan Africa has so far failed to yield the results expected of it on two grounds. First, the population of persons accessing both basic education and other levels of education is negligible in comparison with those who ought to access them (1 out of every 4 primary school age children; less than half of the qualified secondary school students; about 7% gross enrolment within higher education). Second, schooling has failed to deliver the kind of socioeconomic development expected in the case of Sub-Saharan Africa as a high prevalence of poverty still exists and incongruity continues to exist between the education provided and the livelihoods of Sub-Saharan Africans. Using this poor educational and development performance as justification, a more utilitarian, relevant and sustainable approach to basic education and learning is recommended for Africa going forward. This recommended approach combines both the current school system with a special non-formal education system for the purpose of delivering basic education and learning in Sub-Saharan Africa in the twenty-first century.

Sub-Saharan Africa continues to fall behind other developing regions regarding educational attainment, despite recent progress in enrollment. This thesis examines a variety of external conditional factors that could contribute to a country's relative success, in terms of years spent in school using a prediction model that compares years enrolled in secondary education as a foundation to determine over-and under-performing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. By exploring various educational policies, historical patterns, and projects executed in Rwanda, South Africa, Ghana, and Botswana, this thesis sheds light on four main challenges that can impact educational attainment: ethnic and racial tensions, an acute shortage of learning materials and trained teachers, inappropriate curricula, and high costs of education. Some of these challenges have been met with an array of policies, with mixed results in terms of the soundness and fairness of policies as well as the effectiveness of implementation.

As we move to discuss the nature of development targets post 2015, it is timely to consider what lessons can be learnt from 50 years of experiences of attempts to link education and development in Africa. This paper offers a historical account of key themes in African education and development and raises questions particularly about who sets targets and priorities and for whom.

1970

Education in its widest sense is at cross roads of societal development and change. The key to understanding the situation of education is to recognize that it is neither an isolated phenomenon nor a dependent one; it receives and contributes, it creates and created. It is at its creative best when it is interwoven with the total socio-human knowledge environment of the future. Therefore, meaningful socioeconomic development without the right type and appropriate quality of education is a dictum because it is an indispensable safeguard for the full development of the human personality and the environment. However in view of the 21 st century, there is need to reposition education to measure up with occurrences of global development as a result of knowledge. Therefore this work reviews the knowledge-based economy, the 21 st century economy and education for change in Africa and Nigeria in particular.