The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) has come and gone and a draft global plan meant to bring about a better planet was adopted by world leaders. But experts warned that new trade and environmental agreements alone won’t provide the solution.
In the view of Vinayagum Chinapah, a representative of Unesco, one of the reasons why poverty is rife in Africa is the absence of – or the difficulties of access to – education, as well as its total inappropriateness to rural realities.
A project to support the training of more than 5 000 rural primary school teachers in Mozambique and Angola is among three new initiatives announced by Unesco at the WSSD.
A report conducted by Unesco’s Institute of Statistics shows that teachers in these countries are generally poorly trained.
According to Unesco, currently only 50% of children in Mozambique and Angola attend primary school, with only 46% of them reaching Grade 5 in Mozambique and 34% in Angola. The new teacher-training programme includes 13 colleges, which are called Schools for Teachers of the Future.
Unesco estimates that the 5 000 graduated teachers will have a direct impact on the education level of half-a-million children and a further 2,5-million people in rural communities will benefit from the project, either directly or indirectly.
‘The teachers will play a key role in communities, mobilising families to face such development challenges as poverty, illiteracy, unemployment and poor health,†says Chinapah.
A two-day symposium entitled Education for a sustainable future: action, commitment and partnership, held during the WSSD fleshed out Unesco’s new vision of education.
Koichiro Matsuura, Director General of Unesco, says, ‘This new vision of education for sustainable development emphasizes a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to developing the knowledge and skills needed for a sustainable future, as well as the necessary changes in values, behaviour and lifestyles.
‘It requires us to reorient education systems, policies and practices in order to empower everyone, women and men, young and old, to make decisions and act in ways that are culturally appropriate and locally relevant to redress the problems threatening our common future,†says Matsuura.
Minister of Education Kader Asmal was among the delegates who attended the symposium. He believes the new vision of education applies to both developing and industrialised countries.
‘Many national education systems that are presently deemed effective tend to produce individuals geared to individual enhancement and pecuniary wealth maximization.
‘If we believe that education and learning throughout the world have neglected important areas of values and attitude, then we have to accept that education for sustainable development throws up significant challenges for developed as well as developing countries,†says Asmal.
Unesco has also joined forces with the world’s three largest university organizations: the 2 000-member International Association of Universities, the Comite de recteurs des Universities de Europe and a North American group called University Leaders for a Sustainable Future.
‘These organizations have agreed to restructure their courses to take into account and highlight the urgent need for sustainable development,†says Chinapah.