Only education will do the trick
Jul 24, 2005
SIR — If you ever happen to come across any article on poverty, chances are that Africa will feature prominently in it. Africa is one of the two regions in the world where poverty has not declined in the past 20 years.
SIR — If you ever happen to come across any article on poverty, chances are that Africa will feature prominently in it. Africa is one of the two regions in the world where poverty has not declined in the past 20 years.
It has instead increased! Former World Bank President James Wolfensohn always emphasised the role of education in eradicating poverty in Africa. He talked about the world moving into a ‘knowledge economy’. A consensus of experts from the
United Nations Secretariat and the IMF who crafted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), again highlighted education as the pillar in the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger in Africa by 2015.
But amazingly, here we are in 2005 with ghost UPE teachers, ghost classrooms, ghost pupils, ghost soldiers, scandalous teacher-pupil ratios and, of course, intake reductions of government-sponsored students into Makerere University.
Nothing short of education will salvage Africa!
Andrew Akishule
Kampala
It has instead increased! Former World Bank President James Wolfensohn always emphasised the role of education in eradicating poverty in Africa. He talked about the world moving into a ‘knowledge economy’. A consensus of experts from the
United Nations Secretariat and the IMF who crafted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), again highlighted education as the pillar in the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger in Africa by 2015.
But amazingly, here we are in 2005 with ghost UPE teachers, ghost classrooms, ghost pupils, ghost soldiers, scandalous teacher-pupil ratios and, of course, intake reductions of government-sponsored students into Makerere University.
Nothing short of education will salvage Africa!
Kampala