Ethiopian development seekers and agents at all stratumsshould identify the bottle necks of the nation’s innovation and work accordingly to realize the countries prosperity. Clearly and deeply understanding of the main causes and challenges of the country’s progress is a half way journey to the achievement of development goals.
There are plenty of factors which have been contributing to the backwardness of Ethiopia.To mention some of the development encountering factors let us discuss at least the following prominent issues. These are: nature and coverage of modern education, impact of cultural and religious aspects, and impact of non-visionaryand non-responsiblepoliticians.
For this article I would like to focus only on the first and we will discuss the rest of the two in the next consecutive articles.
The correlation between Modern education and development is beyond bearing. In this technological and challenging world development seeking apart from implementing modern, appropriate and effective education system will simply be night mare.Hence, the expansion of modern appropriateand effective education is a basis for developmentand insures prosperity in the country.
If effective education is expanded and implemented throughout the country,poverty will be reduced and prosperity willcome into existence in place.There is no country in the world having well educated communities but poor.
From the population,98 percent must be free from illiteracy.Communities hobbled by illiteracy cannot help development endeavors. The illiterate individuals usually stand up against the scientific solutions. To enumerate some of the side effects of illiterates:even they maytest dangerous elements up on themselves. They give less attention and value to the benefits of education. The non-educates always focus on discussing problems not on solutions. They cannot improve their production machines and techniques.
They cannot understand government plans and face great challenge to understand human and democratic rights. They kill each other for simple reasons and may fight fiercely but cannot plan to development. They mostly think about themselves and to the maximum to their families.
The ex-military regime of Ethiopia, though it had done great mistakes inmany aspects strived to emancipatethe Ethiopian people from illiteracy and ignorance through the“united development campaign “and later through the “campaign of basic education for all “. But these very important campaigns have been interrupted by political violence.
If the two campaigns have been continued and prolonged for more than 10 years,millions of Ethiopians had been freed from illiteracy and the nation would have been more advanced in socio economic aspects.
In this regard, modern education was mainly introduced by the colonial countries in Africa.Butmodern education was introduced in Ethiopia by the wise Emperor Minilik the second. However, like other developing countries the expansion of education in Ethiopia is insufficient and very limited.
The European colonizers deliberately limited the African countries educational expansion because theyknew that the educated society inquires truth and freedom. But in the case of Ethiopia the recurrent violence and instability are the primary obstacles for the expansion of modern education.
Another problem of Africaneducation was:the colonials had worked in Africa to expand their own intrinsic colonization mechanisms through education. They were not volunteers to show the truth in education and to teach the secret of science.Because African curriculum is imported, the nature of African modern education is not appropriate to the African over all contexts. Due to this main reason most African educated individuals are victims of foreign cultures and paradigms.
So,most of them are not capable to solve their communities’ socioeconomic problems. They study the concepts theorized by the whites and the formula formulated up on the actual development standard of the European countries. This kind of Knowledge does not use to Africa which is found at the crude level.This is the contradiction between African education and African communities.
Another defeat to African education is brain drain. Most African highly qualified scholars are interested to leave their country for good earnings and luxuries life style. Hence, most of African scholars are working in foreign countries. This situationhas double penalized Africans. First African communities and governments have invested too much to teach thesescholars.Second, those scholars who have been educated at the expense of Africans work for the non-cost sharing countries.
Another question raised about African education is some scholars work hard in politics to harm their motherland and communities.As tried to mention in the above, most of them flee to foreign countries for personal advantages.And another very astonishing issue is among these individuals some of them work against the stability, peace and development of their respective countries. This is a great failure for African modern education. When all these shortcomings are observed,some of the qualified individualsare unqualified in the real sense of educational qualification.
Therefore, Equipping the generations with appropriate and effective education and using the African mind to the African development is a big assignment for developing countries including Ethiopia.
Developed nationsin the first place have done this vital assignment before centuries. They have worked hard to expand scientific knowledge and technological skills properly to their generations. They have vigorously invested their financial capital on effective scientific knowledge and technological skills advancement.
But when we come to Africa and most Far East and Middle East countries, they are negligent foreducating their citizens in a proper way.In some countries there are religious extremists who are opposing girls’ education.
To conclude due to these and other remaining bottle necks, education is not source of solution as expected to be and highly defeated by the communities in Africa for many years. To Alter this great problem educated African individuals are expected to work hard to the emergence of appropriate, applied and effective educational system in Ethiopia.
The Ethiopian herald February 14/2021
