My first Magazine EDUCARE MAGAZINE SPECIAL NOVEMBER EDITION 2019 | Page 13

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great schools award
Strong Links Between Engineering Faculties And
Industry Is The Key To Transforming Engineering
Education In Africa
For various reasons,
most African
Governments are not
providing the resources
needed to ensure high-
quality education that is
fit for purpose. This has
led to low skill levels
undermining economic
development and the
continent's global
competitiveness.
By JOSEPH MUTALE
Educare November 2019
“
Sufficient engineering capacity is
essential to the economic and social
development of any country. It is a
basic requirement for the provision
of infrastructure that enables better
healthcare, access to education and the
development of an attractive environment
for foreign investment. It is a key driver for
innovation and growth."
The value and importance of education,
in general, has long been recognized as the
key to sustained development and
prosperity of nation-states as well as for
individuals.
For various reasons, most African
Governments are not providing the
resources needed to ensure high-quality
education that is fit for purpose. This has
led to low skill levels undermining
economic development and the continent's
global competitiveness. Without high-
quality education, particularly in science
and engineering, it is not possible to achieve
sustainable development. While poor
governance is largely to blame for the
generally poor state of infrastructure in
most developing countries, I would argue
that poor education is at the core of this
state of affairs. With population growth in
Africa projected to double to almost 2.5
billion by 2050 (United Nations - World
Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision -
https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/publications/files
/key_findings_wpp_2015.pdf), without
innovation in the delivery of education it will not be
possible to cater for the burgeoning population in
Africa whose youths are projected to represent 37%
declining substantially.
But much remains to be done.
Globally, at least 263 million children
were out of school in 2016. This
includes half of all children with
disabilities in developing countries.
Furthermore, half of all children of
preschool-age – the most crucial years
for their cognitive development – are
not enrolled in early-childhood
education.
The situation deteriorates further in
conflict zones, where girls are almost
two and a half times as likely to be out
of school as their peers in stable
countries. And this does not cover the
estimated 617 million children and
adolescents of primary and lower-
secondary-school age – 58% of that age
group – who are not achieving
minimum proficiency in reading and
mathematics.
Image: The Sustainable
Development Goals Report 2018
To help close these gaps, the successor
to the MDGs, the Sustainable
Development Goals, also emphasizes
education. SDG4 commits the world to
ensure inclusive and equitable quality
education and promote lifelong
learning opportunities for all –
essentially to harness the power of
education to unlock every person’s
potential. Despite the scale of the
challenge and the diverse barriers that
can restrict and disrupt learning, we
know what an effective strategy would
entail.
First, to be a true force for change,
education itself must be transformed in
response to the realities of accelerating
globalization, climate change and labor
market shifts. While advanced
technologies – such as artificial
intelligence, cloud computing, and
blockchain – raise new challenges, they
may be able to play a role in improving
educational outcomes. Digital skills
must be part of any curriculum, and
new alliances with the tech sector –
which can provide valuable insights into
these topics – should be actively
pursued.
Second, an inclusive and lifelong
approach, focused on reaching the
most marginalized and vulnerable
populations, is essential. As UNICEF’s
Innocenti Report Card 15 shows, this
does not mean sacrificing high
standards. In fact, as the report points
out, children of all backgrounds tend to
do better when they are in a more
socially integrated school environment.
Such an inclusive approach will require
sharing best practices and investing in
what is proven to work. Meanwhile,
development partners must provide
long-term support that emphasizes
profile
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capacity-building and
institutions, and balances
humanitarian, economic, and
security imperatives.
For education systems and
services to be truly inclusive,
however, they must also leave
no one behind, such as
refugees. UNESCO’s latest
Global Monitoring Report
estimates that refugees have
missed 1.5 billion school days
since 2016. While eight of
the top ten hosting countries,
including several low- and
middle-income countries,
have shouldered
considerable costs despite
the strain on education
systems to ensure that refugees attend
school alongside nationals, most
countries either exclude refugees from
national education systems or assign
them to separate facilities. This
entrenches disadvantage and hampers
social integration. The two landmark
global compacts on migration and
refugees adopted by UN member states
last December point the way toward
addressing this challenge.
Achieving the needed educational
transformation will require far more
financing than is currently on offer. As
it stands, the global annual funding gap
for education amounts to nearly $40
billion. Closing this gap will require not
just increased domestic financing, but
also a renewed commitment from
international donors.
Everyone has the right to an
education. Upholding this right – and
achieving SDG4 – will require well-
designed strategies, coupled with a
prolonged commitment to
i m p l e m e n t a t i o n a n d e f f e c t ive
cooperation among all relevant
stakeholders. The UN and its agencies
will continue to support such actions, as
we strive to ensure that no one is left
behind.
Written by Amina J. Mohammed; This article
is published in collaboration with Project
Syndicate.
Educare November 2019