Educationists and development practitioners last week criticised African governments that prioritise the military in their budgets ahead of education saying this threatened regional integration.

Zimbabwe is among countries that have been criticised in the past for devoting a large proportion of their budgets to the military ahead of education and health among other competing needs.

Analysts say this has contributed to the collapse of Zimbabwe’s education sector, once regarded as among the best on the continent.  

Participants at a panel discussion at the Africa Day celebrations organised by The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) said it was saddening that funding for education was not prioritised despite its capacity to propel the continent’s unification project.

The discussion was part of commemorations to mark the 46th anniversary of the African Union (AU), which brings together 53 countries on the continent.

“For a long time now we have been urging governments to give us just 25% of their military funding and see how we can transform the education sector,  Matlotleng Matlou, the chief executive officer for the Africa Institute of Southern Africa (AISA), said.

“But those calls have been falling on deaf ears for most governments, including those whose countries are not at war.” Matlou debated the theme “Unifying Africa Through Education and Culture” with six other panellists from various regional education institutions.

These included Enver Surty, South Africa’s deputy minister of education and chairperson of the Conference of Ministers of Education for Africa (Comedaf).

Among other recommendations for improving education in the region, the panel urged African ministries of education to insist on more resources for the establishment of first language-based education and also an education system centred on African values.

In an interview on the sidelines of the event, Surty said African governments were committed to improving education but their efforts were being derailed by a myriad of problems, among them lack of competent and qualified teachers, language barriers and lack of resources and good infrastructure.

Nepad chief executive officer, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, said it was crucial for Africa to acknowledge its past and heritage.

Mayaki said there was so much to be researched and learned from the continent.

He said it was unfortunate that despite the availability of a great deal of information, this was not being shared widely among citizens of the continent.

The resolutions from the panel discussion would form the basis of a Nepad Legacy Project which is expected to benefit in particular the continent’s youth.

(Source)