|
|
|
The topic of
“Poverty, education and employment”
The economic and social situation
of the African populations was severely degraded in spite of the
starting of several programs and projects. This new form of
poverty appeared in rural, urban and peripheral areas, and has
affected very strongly the most vulnerable groups like women,
young people, children, disabled persons and old age people. deserves a deep consideration in a context of globalization, mainly in Africa SYLLA ASTOU NDEYE - FEMNET - Senegal Lifelong learning should be developed in African countries according this concept’s definition that was mentioned earlier. In certain societies, education is secondary because of the severe poverty issues that are present in some areas. Girls are most affected since they are considered as source of income, and so they perform housework in family homes and other similar jobs. They drop out of school very early and, in some societies, they don’t receive any education at all. The schooling of girls in the rural sector is always encouraged but poverty conditions don’t allow them to respect its continuity. Regarding this subject, education and employment are linked, for one side, to be able to fulfill the citizen duty fully and, particularly, to be able to satisfy their specific needs and strategic interests. We can establish several approaches to unite the three concepts in this current context, in which poverty, education and employment represent a whole. In the field of education for adults it is necessary to analyze the methodology to use according to the environment. Example of a project titled:“Fundamental basis for the future leadership in Africa” in which it was foreseen the training for development of the person and the leadership. · The perspective of the project about leadership has its starting point in the Development of the Person, to set the basis of the development of leadership. This is based in the conviction that for an individual to be transformed into an efficient leader, it is imperative that this individual is a leader and an efficient administrator of self. The modules about the Development of the Person prepare the individual to be more resolute in a personal level, and to be more efficient in the professional level. This way, the training on personal development that is offered to the beneficiaries of this program includes among other things modules about positive mental attitudes, vision, goal setting and development of self confidence. · The psycho-social component of the personal development and leadership development is an essential dimension of our program too, particularly in countries torn apart by war, or in areas with long standing conflicts like Casamancia in Senegal. The leaders belonging to all social levels will incline towards the theme related to the impact of war in the development of the person (self esteem and motivation). This way, the Project has incorporated a psycho-social dimension that is essential for the therapy and for the process of consensus building directed to psychologically affected people. This is part of the program for the development of the person and leadership created for these countries. In fact the project has integrated the psychological contribution in leadership development in countries destroyed by war, in order to reflect the specific social features of the African culture.
ADULT
EDUCATION AT WORK IN POVERTY REDUCTION
A critical perspective on history
will show that a systematically imposed process of deliberate
“poverty induction” has been at work for much longer than the
weak and half-hearted attempts at “poverty reduction” in more
recent history (Bhola 2004).H.S. Bhola Professor Emeritus (Indiana University) Models of Poverty Reduction in Vogue Poverty reduction (or poverty alleviation, or poverty eradication) today is on the development agendas of all developing countries, with hardly an exception. However, the model of poverty reduction proclaimed in a country may be a neo-liberal model, planning to reduce poverty through modernization and industrialization under free market conditions to produce “national wealth” which will “trickle down” to the poor to redress their conditions of poverty and penury in the long run! These models have already accumulated a dismal history of failure in several countries where these were applied. Hybrid model that join the pursuit of “national wealth” with “peoples’ prosperity”, with the state playing a progressive role to regulate the market, and assure economic justice for the poor are now appearing on the scene in several developing countries. Training for Work is Part of the Logic of Poverty Reduction Work comes to be at the center of most models of poverty reduction. In this regard, it should be noted that most of the Third World economies are three simultaneous economies in one: (1) Formal-corporate economy, (2) non-formal intermediate economy, and (3) informal-subsistence economy Bhola 2007). Preparation for work in the formal economy with rudimentary basic education joined with some vocational education can leave those in the non-formal and informal economies mostly neglected. The challenge is of course, to produce opportunities of work with wages and self-employment to the teaming millions of the poor to help them earn livelihoods to support their families. Capturing the Logic of the Models of Poverty Reduction The first and foremost task for adult educators who want to work in the area of poverty reduction in a particular country or region is to articulate the model of poverty reduction as proclaimed, as well as of the model of poverty reduction as in process the two may not always be the same. Together these models should define the set of social and educational intervention that adult educator should plan to make in the lives of individuals and communities they may have chosen to serve. The interventions needed for social transformations, will always include two strategies, used in synergy: (1) the instructional, and (2) the structural. It is well known that while adult literacy / adult education is necessary, it is not a sufficient condition for social transformations. It should be obvious to everyone that educators in their instructional role can only expect to instruct and educate. Structural change is for the politicians and administrators. However, all is not lost; and educators can have considerable indirect influence on the structures at various levels. At higher levels of social systems they can organize to influence the policy makers and leaders of civil society organizations, sometimes even international organizations for pro-poor structural changes. At the grass-root levels they can join their instructional role with activism making people aware of the networks and structures that oppress them and learn to participate in their own behalf to protest for change in those structures. Thus, the overall challenge will be to work both for Consciousness-raising and raising incomes for people in all the three economies and at the same time building new and innovative structures of lifelong education for lifelong learning. Not Waiting for Ever! Structural strategies tend to have a calendar of years and years. At this historical moment we also need strategies that are immediate and direct in helping the poor on the verge of starvation, as for example: Age old pensions and cash transfers to the needy in several developing and developed countries; loans without collaterals as in Bangladesh through Grameen Banks (The Economist October 21st, 2006, p.78); Bolsa Familia (Family Fund) instituted in Brazil as an anti-poverty scheme offering “conditional funds transfer” programs (The Economist, February 9th 2008, 39-40); and in India the cancellation of the debts of 30 million small farmers adding to some 15 billion US dollars to provide immediate relief (The Economist, March 8, 2008, Page 7). Adult Educators have a great role here to help the poor use these opportunities in processes that are generative rather than as mere relief. Bhola, H.S. 2004, Adult education for poverty reduction: political economy analysis from a systems theory perspective. Adult Education for Development (DVV), 62, 13-24. Bhola, H.S. (2007). Capacity Building for Three Simultaneous Economies: Seeking Poverty Eradication for Sustainable Development in India. Manpower Journal (Quarterly Journal of the Institute of Applied Manpower Research). Vol. XLII, No. 1 (January-March 2007), pp. 1-18.
|