Diplomatist Magazine Africa Day Special 2018 | Page 57

scholars and NGOs. The use of MDGs and
EFA goals as parameters to guide basic
education programmes in Africa has resulted
in unexpected consequences such as countries
requesting more aid to meet their MDG and
EFA targets while neglecting other pressing
issues in Africa like access to universal health
care, and teacher training institutions racing
to meet MDGs and, thus, producing under-
qualifi ed staff to teach at primary schools.
Furthermore, as incomes rise across African
countries, the apparent failures of primary
education public schooling despite the
substantial cash injections from donors who
prioritised the meeting of the MDGs and EFA
goals have led many parents across Africa to
opt for private school education instead. The
irony, thus, is that private schools - be it at the
primary or high school level - are growing in
popularity as an alternative to public schools
in many African countries even though
donors, predominantly western donors, have
stressed commitment and monetary funds to
improve basic education in Africa.
Thus, a still inchoate basic education
sector in Africa faces the challenge of
refi ning the quality of education provided by
identifying and addressing the defi cit areas.
This is where some countries have developed
a niche for themselves as development
partners in Africa.
There is a saying in Africa, “to assist
an African child in education is to assist
Africa”. In this context, India has a lot
to offer in terms of sharing pioneering
education approaches that it has used in its
own education sector which have contributed
towards building a strong skilled labour
force in the country. To share such valuable
lessons with African states would do wonders
in terms of enhancing human resource
development in the continent..
India has also established scholarships
for African students and institutions as a
method to nurture cultural and educational
relations with Africa. There is an increasing
emphasis on three main components as part
of this knowledge partnership: providing
training in India, sending teams of experts
to partner countries and providing equipment
for project sites. Support for capacity building
in Africa is continuing; India has also taken
up larger issues at various multilateral forums
including the WTO and the World Intellectual
Property Organisation. The multiplicity of
fellowships and training programmes, in turn,
has led to the rejuvenation of India’s civilian
training programmes viz. Indian Technical &
Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC)
and Special Commonwealth Assistance
for Africa Programme (SCAAP) to offer
help to developing countries in Africa. The
programme takes into account the regional
groupings, such as the African Union
(AU), for which additional slots have been
made available. India also offers various
educational scholarships to students un¬der
21 different schemes.
Enhancing Academic Opportunities
The Government of India offers a number
of scholarships every year to international
students who wish to pursue their studies
in India. The offer of scholarships is sent to
the respective Governments through Indian
diplomatic missions abroad. Nominations are
received from the respective Governments in
the Indian diplomatic missions concerned.
The information on such scholarships and
schemes can be availed from the Indian
missions abroad.
The Government of India is offering
the Africa Scholarship opportunity through
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