Bukola Olatunji
30 October 2007
Lagos — One of the key meetings of the 34th General Conference of UNESCO , holding in Paris, France was the Ministerial Round Table on Education that sought to establish the link between education and economic development.
The table, chaired by the Director-General of UNESCO , Koïchiro Matsuura, was round alright, with 96 Ministers of Education, including Nigeria 's and other delegates from Member-States of UNESCO , converging on it for two days, to discuss 'Education and Economic Development'. About 250 observers, representing other United Nations agencies, the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and non-Member States of UNESCO also participated in the Round Table.
The meeting was to generate recommendations for action by governments and development partners that might be taken up in policy-making processes and relevant international fora.
It was expected to, among others, achieve a commitment of the participants to support, develop and implement pro-poor public policies in education; share good practices and evidence about pro-poor educational policies and programmes through South-South and North-South exchanges; ensure that education for sustainable development actively shapes and orients teaching/learning processes at all levels of education and promote the role of education in economic development, national development and poverty eradication frameworks. It also sought to identify proven public policies and good practices, strengthen global consensus and provide a platform for greater cooperation in education.
In four sessions, the meeting examined different themes as follows:
- The right to education, where key contemporary issues (with particular regard to equity, quality, sustainability and partnerships) at the interface between education and economic development were reviewed.
- The right to development, reaffirmed the normative foundations of education and economic development, especially in terms of a rights-based approach and the criterion of equity;
- The direct and indirect contributions of education to economic growth, education and sustainable development, sought a fuller understanding of how education can contribute to the success of pro-poor public policy. Under the last theme:
- Partnerships for education and economic development, participants shared knowledge and experience about what pro-poor educational policy options are available and what works in practice.
In his Keynote speech, Matsuura stressed the importance of normative foundations of both education and development; investments in education to change policy; sustainability at the societal, community and individual levels; and partnerships that harmonise multiple stakeholders and resources. In focusing on the importance of education in sustainability, he highlighted the need to "call upon the young to think of the needs of future generations and to take better care of the planet." He added that "we should not forget that the provision of education itself is itself predicated upon the availability of economic resources."
The second keynote speaker and Secretary-General of the OECD , Angel Gurría agreed that productivity of public spending is a challenge that all countries face, but that his organisation found that "education was a more important driver of growth than business investment, population growth, or even price stability." He also suggested that African countries tend to pay more attention to basic education than higher education.
The South African Minister of Education, Mrs. Naledi Pandor , however disagreed with him during her intervention, saying that African countries have paid no less attention to higher education, but brain drain was the heart of the matter. According to her, "While countries in the West have rationalised their systems of higher education, they have found it very easy to attract our intellectual resources that we train at great cost." She therefore argued that what Africa needs is some form of compensatory support to train more people to cushion the effect of brain drain on the continent.
In his intervention, Pandor's Nigerian counterpart, Dr. Igwe Aja-Nwachuku drew attention to what he called systemic or inter-sectoral brain drain in the country. Here, teachers, for example, leave the profession for higher paying jobs in the oil and gas, as well as banking industries. The Federal Government, he said, was working hard to address this by making the teaching profession, especially at the tertiary level, which produces the teachers for all levels of education, more attractive.
It is important, at this point, to draw attention to the affirmation of the Ministers of Education, as contained in the communiqué and for which their countrymen and women must hold them accountable.
They reaffirmed their commitment to striving for an approach to education through which everyone has the opportunity to realise a right that includes a quality education, which is also the basis for the realisation of other rights, for social cohesion and for personal fulfillment.
According to them, quality education is inclusive, fosters equity and gender equality, and is a force for social stability, peace and resolution of conflict; and that learners enjoy safe schools and the full value of education, in its social, cultural, spiritual and personal dimensions, as well as its key role as a means of economic advancement.
Importantly, the Ministers concurred and committed themselves to offering, broad-based education, which serves to help counter extremism and terrorism by giving hope and life chances to young people, vulnerable to perpetrators of violence, conflict and other forms of exploitation.
In this era of globalisation, they will also ensure literacy and lifelong learning opportunities, which thrive on the free flow of ideas, empower people to address and manage change and take their place as citizens of the world.
The impact on education of mobility and migration - whether in search of opportunities or because of displacement - is the subject of special attention and international dialogue, and concerted efforts are made to counter the negative impact of brain drain.
Access to education will be addressed, and this right urgently realised, especially for the poorest and most marginalised, including more than 72 million children not in school and 774 million adults without literacy skills. All these related to the first theme of the meeting.
UNESCO , in a background note on the Round Table, stated that, over the past two decades, the economies of the world have become ever more integrated, with the production and exchange of goods and services taking on a truly global dimension. In this context, economic development is the principal means by which the nations of the world can participate in the globalised market and reduce levels of poverty; it is also one of the factors that contribute to improvements in the quality of life, enabling people everywhere, as Amartya Sen put it, to "enjoy the kind of life a person has reason to value."
The Round Table examined the links between education and economic development, with particular regard to public policies for achieving pro-poor growth in the overall framework of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the drive to eradicate poverty.
The Millennium Development Goals Report 2007 shows that extreme poverty is diminishing but that income inequality is increasing. Economic development is undermined by the lack of educational opportunities - as evidenced by widespread illiteracy, out-of-school children, working children and gender inequalities in access to school. In almost all countries inequalities in education are among the most powerful drivers of inequalities in income, health and opportunity, including opportunities to participate in society and influence political processes.
Education has the potential to act as an equaliser of opportunity, as well as a force for economic growth and efficiency. But that potential can only be unlocked through public policies that systematically remove the social, economic and cultural barriers facing disadvantaged groups.
In addition to being a human right in and of itself, linked to the full unfolding of human potential, education also contributes to open societies and societal change through the promotion of other human rights, tolerance, peace and disease prevention. These aspects are of particular importance for vulnerable and marginalised populations, and set the stage for a stronger, more stable and long-term framework for economic development.
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