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African nations urged to invest heavily in technical education

Xinhua, April 28, 2015 Adjust font size:

A global forum on higher education on Monday kicked off in Arusha, with the call for African countries to allocate more funds to uplift technical and vocational education in the region in their efforts to fight unemployment.

The forum dubbed "Learning together for Change: Advancing Education for All through Higher Education" involved more than 100 renowned academicians and educational researchers from African higher learning institutions and the rest of the world.

Addressing the forum, Tanzania's Vice President Gharib Mohammed Bilal suggested the need for countries in Africa to heavily invest in science, technology and innovation.

"If it is not properly planned ahead and managed, Africa's explosive population growth could become a curse," Bilal said, "The world is increasingly becoming technology-based. Our education systems must definitely respond to that, if we're to overcome future challenges."

"Quality Education for All (EFA) that extends beyond primary education to include secondary, tertiary and technical and vocational education is the best response to prevent such rapid population growth from becoming a curse," he said.

Bilal pointed out that in 2013 the population of sub-Saharan Africa was estimated to be 926 million and the projection is that by 2050 it will surpass 2 billion.

"In the same period the population of east African countries will increase 2.6 folds reaching 392 million in the next 35 years. If properly planned ahead and managed, such population growth could offer an enormous opportunity for the continent's economic growth," he said, adding that the population could stimulate productivity and economic growth by increasing domestic demand.

"This could accelerate local innovation and ultimately make the continent globally competitive and thereby benefit substantially from globalization," he said.

Marianne Granfelt, Secretary General of the Association of Swedish Higher Education (SUHF) said the conference is an important milestone towards achieving the right to education for all, as higher education and research plays a decisive role not least given the importance of teacher education in building societal infrastructure.

Burton Mwamila, Vice Chancellor of Tanzania's Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), said the forum was aimed at discussing on how Higher Education and research can contribute to the Education for All movement – a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children, youth and adults.

The forum which is expected to prepare a report that is to be forwarded to the UNESCO World Education Forum in Korea, May 2015, was organized by NM-AIST in collaboration with SUHF, a member of the International Association of Universities (IAU). Endi