Education tops agenda at UNESCO conference, Dukku presents Roadmap
By Rotimi Lawrence Oyekanmi
THE inviolable position of education as the foremost priority of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), was reaffirmed recently by its out-going Director General, Mr. Koichiro Matsuura.
As he spoke, with his characteristic measured tone for the last time as Director General, at the just concluded 35th session of the world body's general conference, Matsuura reported that while major advances had been recorded worldwide in the Education for All (EFA) campaign, there was still a long way to go in achieving the six Dakar goals, especially the goal on Adult Literacy.
The Dakar Goals refer to the World Education Forum, held in Senegal between April 26 and 28, 2000, during which various countries reaffirmed their commitment, through their adoption of the famous Dakar Framework of Action, to achieving EFA by 2015.
Indeed, contained in the 21st paragraph of Matsuura's address was the declaration: "What UNESCO stands for, first and foremost, is the right of every child, young person and adult to a quality education." While he admitted that his role as a global coordinator had not been an easy one, he affirmed that UNESCO had put in place series of mechanisms to maintain the global, political momentum on EFA.
His words: "there are many ways in which progress can be measured. One is the extent to which UNESCO has forged stronger international collaboration in EFA. The launch in 2002 of the EFA Global Monitoring Report has been instrumental in raising the level of education policy debate by providing hard evidence of where we are making advances and what needs to be done to reach the six goals by 2015."
Matsuura also observed that the extent to which national governments were giving priority to EFA was evident in their responses to the current economic crisis. His words: "In the face of reduced growth and shrinking budgets, developing countries have ring-fenced education spending as a fundamental investment that cannot be cut without putting long term development at risk."
He continued: "basic education has also been given new prominence in major international fora, from the G8 and G20 to the United Nations General Assembly and regional summits. It is nevertheless disappointing that while donors increasingly champion education in their communiquŽs as crucial to growth and development, this priority is still not reflected in their aids and budgets. This is a particular concern in the present economic climate, where developing countries will need increased international assistance to protect their education systems and safeguard access for the most vulnerable groups."
Matsuura announced that the organization's Executive Board has approved his revised proposed budget of $653million for 2010/2011. Out of this, the Education Sector would receive " a nominal increase of 8.8 per cent, including a four per cent real growth in its resources."
Meanwhile, the newly elected Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Mrs. Irina Gueorguieva Bokova has pledged to continue with the priority accorded to Africa by her predecessor (Matsuura), especially in the area of education. She also stated that having visited 12 African countries and witnessed extreme poverty that poor people were going through, it had become imperative for the world organization to assist the continent in the area of quality education and access.
Bokova, from Bulgaria, who is the first ever female to be elected Director General of the organization since its establishment in 1945, spoke at a briefing in Paris, France minutes after she was formally elected by member states. With Matsuura seated by her side, Bokova also pledged that more attention would be given to Vocational and Technical Education (TVE) in the African continent. Responding to questions from journalists, she asserted that a section had already been devoted to TVE in scheme of things by the organization, assuring that she would improve on what was already in place.
The Minister of State for Education, Hajia Aishat Dukku who represented the country at the conference, implored UNESCO to support the Education sector Roadmap, designed by the Federal Ministry of Education. Dukku made the request to Matsuura when she paid him a courtesy call in his office, and presented him with a copy of the document. The out going DG assured the Minister of UNESCO's continued support.
The Roadmap was put together by the Education Ministry to, according to the Minister, Dr Sam Egwu, revamp the country's education sector. During the meeting, Dukku acknowledged UNESCO' supportive roles for Nigeria, but she was quick to solicit for further assistance, especially in the implementation of the Roadmap. Matsuura, who had enjoyed a good working relationship with the Nigeria and was close to the former Permanent Delegate, Prof. Michael Omolewa, assured Dukku of UNESCO's continued support. He will be stepping out of office on in November, for Bokova to take over officially.
At the Ministerial Round Table on Education, Ministers of Education from member countries discussed what education should look like in the next 20 years. The meeting focused on three themes: Knowledge, values, competencies and Skills for Today's and Tomorrow's societies; Building Education Systems that are Inclusive, Equitable, of High Quality and Supportive of Sustainable Development; and Promoting Changes in Policies and Practices: the way forward.
The Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), Dr Nuru Yakubu, who was also at the conference, told The Guardian that the board has now developed over 300 curricula online, to be passed on directly to the students. He said this was done, when the board discovered that many Polytechnic teachers were keeping the curricula away from the students.
Besides Yakubu, other heads of parastatals under the Ministry of Education who attended include, Dr Ahmed Modibo Mohammed, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Prof. Godswill Obioma, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), and Dr Nafisatu Mohammed, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Nomadic Education (NCNE).
