Asian experience to light the way
African visitors to Asia never fail to be amazed at the success of the most dynamic societies in Asia in being able to blend centuries-old values, traditions, love of the arts, culture and simplicity on the one hand, with modernity, technological revolution, relentless innovation in pursuit of perpetual self-improvement, and outward orientation on the other.
Indeed, it is this fusion of new and old that has ensured the preservation of the integrity of Asian societies in the maelstrom of sweeping economic structural transformation, and sustained fast economic growth over the last four decades.
What has made such success possible is their commitment to universal access to education, underpinned by a curriculum that has placed the right emphases on science and technology, excellence, innovativeness and creativity, as well as entrepreneurship and commercial skills, while remaining respectful of all aspects of culture, tastes, tradition and values that do not impede poverty-reducing modernization, development and economic growth.
Indeed, the deep commitment to universal education as well as to higher learning, science and technology, applied research, vocational training and apprenticeship, and the single-minded determination of individuals to excel in their chosen areas of specialization, drives today's phenomenal success of China, India, Japan, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea and Singapore in the global market.
Africa, on its part, had its priorities wrong with regard to human capital development, throughout much of the 20th century.
An African woman operates a computer in her office. |
It was not until the last 10 years, for instance, that all the 53 African states committed themselves to attaining universal primary school enrolment and, till date, only a fraction have made a firm commitment to working toward attaining universal secondary school enrolment.
While legitimate questions remain about the appropriateness of educational curricula in the formative primary and secondary levels, tertiary and vocational education has yet to be harnessed as an effective tool for development and wealth creation in Africa.
The chronic disconnect between the human resources created in these institutions and the skilled labor requirements of African societies with their limited absorptive capacity, has translated into the disturbing - and potentially destabilizing - phenomenon of high unemployment among highly educated graduates of secondary and tertiary institutions.
This has spawned a steady exodus of brain power and skilled labor from Africa to the rest of the world - especially to Europe, North America, the Middle Eastern oil-producing economies and, increasingly, to Japan.
It is impossible to attain accelerated and sustained development without a commitment to invest in human capital development on a universal scale.
To achieve this feat, however, a society must overcome formidable financing and organizational constraints.
While Africa's friends throughout the world - including Asia - should generously provide adequate resources upfront to help Africa extricate itself from the poverty trap, African countries have to accept the responsibility of putting in place an appropriate curriculum and shaping the values inculcated by their educational system.
Lessons from China
In this regard, there are worthwhile lessons that Africa can learn from the experience and approaches of Asian countries.
Modern-day China has been shaped by deep structural reforms aimed at achieving "the four modernizations": that of agriculture, industry, science and technology and the military, set in motion since 1980.
Over a period of 25 years, China has succeeded phenomenally in moving toward its goal of fully modernizing its economy and integrating it into the global economy.
Along the way, it has overhauled its agricultural sector, boosted productivity, attained a measure of self-sufficiency, ended hunger, and lifted hundreds of millions of peasants out of poverty.
Its industrial sector is gaining in international competitiveness, propelling China into the ranks of the most successful trading nations. It is also making steady breakthroughs in applied science and technology.
African decision-makers and all other stakeholders should take a keen interest in learning about how China has been able to program and implement complex reforms in the four sectors of agriculture, industry, science and technology, and security, and how it has tackled the same kind of constraints that have impeded African countries in their quest for accelerated development since the adoption of the Lagos Plan of Action for the Economic Development of Africa, 1980-2000.
AfDB
(China Daily 05/17/2007 page27)
