UNESCO says education is vital for development
Regional, Education, 4/15/2000

UNESCO is collaborating with governments to identify solutions to crises, which hinder the progress of Africa's education systems, the organization's director general, Koichiro Matsuura, said Friday.

Matsuura told the pan-African news agency PANA that, in keeping with its mandate, the agency was collaborating with governments through the existing intergovernmental structures to identify solutions to these problems.

He was commenting on the tension within African educational institutions, which sometimes lead to incidents like the recent killing of 14 pupils by the police in Gambia, following student demonstration.

In an interview focused on the 26-28 April Education for All forum in Dakar, Senegal, Matsuura cited basic education development as the single most important first step in efforts to promote science and technology as the engine of sustainable development in Africa.

"UNESCO is prepared to assist African countries through its Priority Program for Africa to harness science and technology for development," he said.

He added that its priority areas such as basic education was also being enhanced further to boost the development goals of countries.

The conference will draw up a framework of action on basic education, identified as a key factor towards transforming the cultural, social as well as economic quality of life of the people.

The conference will seek to turn world attention to basic education which is key in raising the literacy rate of the over 880 illiterate adults, the majority of them women, in developing countries.

Matsuura said the content of education should be considered as effective if it responds to the development needs of respective countries without compromising on quality.

He said the International Bureau of Education in Geneva had been given the task of assisting member countries to improve their education content.

The bureau assists African countries with educational materials as well as in their curriculum development efforts to meet the demands of globalization.

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