Language of 21st century

The Recife meeting was a carryover from the work begun in New Delhi’s VigyanBhavan in 1993. Former Human Resources Minister Arjun Singh, had then saidthat the “countries represented here are not only the high populationcountries of the world, they are also representatives of the oldest and mostrefined cultures.” Creating a literate world was, in his words, “logicallyand morally a historic and epic task.” The minister had added that futuregenerations would not take a charitable view of any lapses or failures.Any progress recorded in the E9 countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt,India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Mexico and Pakistan) immediately affects theworld education scene. And little wonder, since with their 3.2 billionpeople they account for more than half of the world’s population. Besides,one fourth of their 15-plus people are still illiterate.

The countries are territorially large (Brazil, China, India) orterritorially dispersed (Indonesia) or densely populated (nearly all). Theirheterogeneous mix of peoples goes beyond the usual differences in gender andurban/rural communities to encompass a web of cultures, languages,historical legacies and contrasts in wealth and institutionalcapabilities.

Over the last six years, Education Ministers have met regularly in differentcities to review their progress and shortfalls in the worldwide struggle toachieve education for all. The meeting in Recife called by UNESCO, UNICEF,UNDP, UNFPA and the World Bank was the fourth of six conferences beingcurrently held. Each meeting has to make recommendations to the WorldEducation Forum to be held in Dakar at the end of April.

For all the points they have in common, a closer look at education in thesecountries throws up some deep differences. The overall figures given by theE9 are impressive: expanding education and literacy, training teachers,narrowing the male-female gap. All these have registered heartening growth.More. Some of the E9 have even surpassed the targets set for themselves incertain areas and are close to reaching universal basic education.

All agree that providing basic education would no longer be enough in a newenvironment. If poverty has to be fought with “passion andprofessionalism” in the words of the World Bank then teaching had to berelevant and of quality. People want more than literacy. They want to learnskills, survival skill, life skills. To do this, the mould of education hadto be innovative. No longer would 19th century education suffice for a 21stcentury world.

To be sure, basic problems persist in many places. For countries such asBangladesh, India, Nigeria and Pakistan, according to a synthesis reportprepared for the nine countries, literacy is mainly a question of attainingnational universal coverage. In a candid assessment of his country’sperformance, Bangladesh Minister of Education Abu Sadique acknowledged thatif literacy had risen from 35 per cent in 1991 to 60 per cent in 1997, “theconfluence of quality and quantity was missing.” Nigeria, despite advancesin all sectors of education “financial, social and pedagogic” wasstill beset with problems of low learning achievement, dropouts andinadequate technological capacity, among others. For India, in the words ofK.S. Sarma, Addl.

Secretary, Dept. of Education, the challenge of EFA was mainly a challengeof women and girls, and female education was a “development imperative.”Zobaida Jalal, Pakistan Federal Minister of Education referred to hercountry’s innovative packages and incentive programmes. Yet Pakistan, sheacknowledged, was lagging behind, “not for want of commitment but becauseof prevailing circumstances and economic stringency.” (Even China, in spiteof making education compulsory in 85 per cent of its territory, stated the“quality of its school teachers leaves much to be desired.”

For the others Mexico, Brazil, China and Indonesia which have forgedahead in terms of putting children in schools and holding them there tillthe end of the primary and beyond, the task is to bring marginalisedchildren and those living in far-flung areas of their countries intoeducation’s embrace.

The new tone in all this is a forward-looking agenda: “The economics of aglobal order depends on high quality education,” stated El Din, theEgyptian Minister. “Are we going to be second grade citizens in the globalorder or active participants”?

This new visionary agenda as enunciated in the Recife Declaration, definesthe contours of education in the new century. In today’s knowledge-based andknowledge-driven society, promoting “technological and life skills” is ontop of the line and it is towards this end that Internet and satellitesystems should be used. Furthermore, delegates called for “linkingeducation with the work force”, reaching children in remote regions andchildren with special needs, and, above all, instilling democratic values ofjustice, fairness and tolerance and equity.

The heat is now on to give children an education of quality. In Recife,these multiethnic and multiracial countries pronounced educa- education tobe “our biggest challenge and our biggest hope.” That hope is predictedlargely on how and how soon we learn the language of the 21st century, andlearn it well.

(Latika Padgaonkar is Information Officer, UNESCO)