Poverty Key Hurdle for Education in Continent

from All Africa

The Nation (Nairobi)
NEWS
Nairobi

Increased poverty in Africa is a major hindrance to the development of education systems, a regional workshop was told yesterday.

The seminar heard that most poverty reduction strategies developed by most governments only focused on access and quality of education by students but not the need to change teaching methods to counter increased poverty.

The result was that there was little information on what improving the teaching methods can do in the war on poverty, Mrs Christine Panchaud of Unesco's International Bureau of Education said.

"The specific links between the curriculum and poverty has been less explored in spite of various agreements between education specialists and their respective governments about their influence on improving the living conditions of communities," said Mrs Panchaud.

She said there was therefore an urgent need for countries to reorganise the curriculum geared towards enabling children from poverty stricken areas to learn the necessary skills that would improve their chances of prosperity.

She was speaking at a regional seminar on Poverty alleviation, HIV and Aids and Inclusive Education at a Nairobi hotel. "

The five-day seminar, organised by the Kenya Institute of Education in collaboration with Unesco's International Bureau of Education, drew participants from Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda.

This is the first meeting of its kind to be held in Kenya.

Mrs Panchaud said that instead of forcing students to adapt to the education system, efforts must be made to make the system to be able to adapt to the students needs.

Education Secretary Prof George Godia said curriculum development should be geared towards producing learners who are equipped with relevant skills for development.