In 1967, Tanzania’s first president, Julius Nyerere, said that just because pre-colonial Africa did not have

schools, that did not mean children were not educated: “In the homes and on the farms they were
taught the skills of the society, and the behaviour it expected of its members,” he wrote in his paper,
Education for Self-Reliance. “Every adult was a teacher to a greater or lesser degree . . . this lack of
formality may have made education more directly relevant to the society in which the child was growing
up.” Today, education is touted as the single most important tool to transform the poorest countries in
the developing world into prosperous economies — but the need is not just for schooling but for
education that is appropriate to the challenges young people will face in the 21st century. In Sub-
Saharan Africa, schools often ignore the reality that the vast majority of pupils will never have a formal
job. They are more likely to be self-employed workers — most of them in agriculture or food
distribution. Educating these young people using the western model — to pass exams, write a CV and
apply for a formal job — is wildly inappropriate. The problems are complicated. The rush to universal
primary education has not always had positive results. Many countries try to achieve this goal without
building more schools, meaning teachers can face class sizes of up to 150, at which point the priority
becomes crowd control. Then there are teachers, who are intermittently paid low salaries and are often
absent. Corruption persists. At a World Youth Congress in 2012, a young Nigerian reported that in her
country parents who want their children to succeed must pay a bribe to get them into the school of their
choice, another to get into the desired class and another for a desk near the front. More bribes are
needed to get homework marked, to sit an exam and, of course, to ensure top marks. Corruption takes
other forms — from teachers stealing money from school budgets, to turning a blind eye to rape and
sexual abuse. So what needs to change? First, the curriculum. Literacy and numeracy are required but
students also need to learn entrepreneurship — spotting new ways of generating income. When young
people are working, their taxes fill treasuries. Ill-educated youth drain economies and threaten security.
An easy way to teach large classes is to use peer-to-peer methods: the teacher finds about 10 capable
students in each class and gives them basic lesson plans to teach to 10 more pupils. The success of this
method is proven: the peer-teachers gain self-confidence and the peer-taught rarely fail. Another option
is to create more self-financing schools. Projects such as Teach a Man to Fish, and its parent organisation
Fundación Paraguaya, have shown that encouraging young people to start businesses in school, or to
assist in running school-based businesses, has benefits. The school earns money, students learn business
and teamwork skills. Then there is digital learning. While not a cure-all, getting computers into schools is
an important part of tailoring education to job opportunity. As internet connectivity spreads,
opportunities grow. Pupils should be involved in decision making about the curriculum and the
appointment and assessment of teachers. Rights for girls are crucial. Arresting rapists, providing proper
toilets and changing attitudes towards girls education is just the beginning. The challenge Nyerere
identified is pertinent today. Nothing will change until education is made relevant to the lives and
aspirations of the children it aims to teach.

https://www.ft.com/content/e00fe68c-8cb3-11e7-9580-c651950d3672