The African Dilemma

Not long ago, someone asked, "If we help the East African people to become better educated, are there worthwhile jobs available for them after they have finished school? What will they "do" with more education?

This is surely a valid question, and one that deserves a clear answer. It is also a question that is more complex than it first appears. In an effort to do justice to the complexity of this issue, I would like to try not only to give a direct answer to the question, but also share some reflections about our efforts at Growth Through Learning to enhance the educational opportunities of girls and women in East Africa.

First, I totally agree that one very important result that we expect from education is that those who benefit from education should be in a position to better their own lives and the lives of those around them. We rightly expect increased education to raise the standard of living, that is, to enable a people to provide for themselves more and better food, cleaner water, more adequate medical care, suitable clothing and suitable housing. My questioner asks, pointedly and honestly: will education bring this about in an underdeveloped part of the world like East Africa? Can we realistically expect there to be opportunities for the people we educate so that they can get better jobs and be better off? Will there be a sufficient infrastructure to empower the educated individuals, in turn, to assist significantly in raising the standard of living in East Africa? Or, is there a genuine risk of educating people beyond the opportunities for employment, and thus even worsen the situation by adding frustration to lack of opportunity?

I don't think there is a genuine risk here. The history of industrialized nations has shown that the level of education within a society has a direct bearing on its standard of living. Increased literacy and more universal education have a good track record in bringing increased opportunity and wealth to nations. Education, in fact, stimulates our imaginative and entrepreneurial instincts and thus tends to foster the creation of jobs that require ever-higher levels of knowledge and expertise.

In the U.S. we are continually pondering issues such as taxes, social security, costs of medical car, inflation, the stock market, worker productivity, early retirement, etc. What is it that we are looking for? Perhaps many different things. But it is clear that we continue to raise the bar in regard to what we expect; we want to push our humanity to its fullest potential.

What is the East African looking for? The same thing, but perhaps at a different level, or in a somewhat different way or direction. When I visited Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, in September of 1997, several young people approached me to learn more about Growth Through Learning, and to inquire about their chances for a scholarship. There was nothing more important to these young people than obtaining more education. They knew that their only hope for a better future was through knowledge.

This is just as true here as it is in Africa. However, the reality is that primary and secondary education here is not only free; it is required. There it is "required," at least through primary school; but it isn't free! And how can a family with 6-8 children send them all to school if their total family income is $300-$600 a year, and the cost of secondary school per child is $400-$800? If the parents cannot afford the school fees, uniforms, supplies, and transportation costs the answer is simple. The children, especially the girls, have to drop out of school.

But I haven't answered the question. "Will there be jobs available for someone in East Africa who is educated beyond the norm that now exists there?" Well...maybe yes, maybe no. The relevant point is that unless and until there is an educated work force, there aren't going to be many good paying positions!

During my research in late 1996 and early 1997 that led to the founding of Growth Through Learning, I e-mailed hundreds of people with an interest in East Africa. My basic question was this: "Is it feasible to create an educational scholarship fund for the people of East Africa?" The response was resounding--"YES!" There was only one dissenter. This man stated that "what the people need instead of education is foreign investment in infrastructure, plants and equipment." My response to him was, "Okay, that's needed too, but without an educated work force, who are you going to get to run your plants and equipment?" I never received a response.

Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Sure, build the communication systems, electricity generators, manufacturing plants, water purification installations, financial institutions, and whatever else is needed. Can they really be managed efficiently? Perhaps not, at least not yet. The required levels of expertise and work habits will have to be developed and nourished. That will take time. However, education and capital investment simply must go hand in hand.

While I was in Dar es Salaam I asked a Tanzanian friend to find me a furniture maker who could reproduce a beautiful chair that I saw at the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge. After returning home from my safari in 1996, I had drawn a full size plan of this chair and then made one as a wedding gift. Not having a tape measure, I had taken many notes, and the measurements were made using my body, belt, hand spread, etc. This was a great Chair! Later it occurred to me that if I could get the parts for this chair made at a reasonable price in Tanzania, I could have them assembled here and market the chairs in the United States. My Tanzanian friend's response...."I don't think you could obtain the quality that you would require."

Well, why not? Several reasons, I think. Electricity is not always available in Tanzania, even in the capital of Dar es Salaam. Secondly, most of the goods, at least those for local consumption, do not always require a high level of quality. But, think about it. If those very same craftsmen could be trained and lifted to a higher standard of workmanship, and were supplied with adequate machinery and electricity, their products would be readily salable in the world market; and they could be produced at very competitive prices.

Investment in education, and in the infrastructure of plants and equipment must be concurrent. How can a craftsman produce a chair commercially if he can't read the plan, or adjust and maintain his machinery? Because of the angles and the complex joinery that a chair requires, a basic knowledge of geometry and precise measurement is mandatory. It is a rather short leap to expand this example to all kinds of situations.

Recently, Growth Through Learning received a rather substantial donation. Along with the check was a note that read as follows: "Thanks for calling GTL to my attention. I read sometime ago that the best way to fight poverty in third world countries is to improve health and education for women of childbearing age. Thank you for taking up their cause."

From the beginning GTL has focused its work on the women and girls of East Africa, because we felt that they were in greatest need of assistance. But there are also perhaps other reasons for taking particular note of the role that young mothers in Africa play in the education of the coming generation. Are these young mothers perhaps most in tune with the elemental traditions of their people, and thus in best position to teach attitudes that will eventually allow a cooperative spirit to temper competition in the work-a-day world? And is it too far-fetched an idea to entertain the hope that we might learn from these people - even as we share with them our material resources?

Perhaps the bottom line in political and social economy is not money, however necessary money is for continued education. In our more reflective moments, don't we already realize that shared joy, equity, and loyalty in work dare not necessarily concede all rights to monetary rewards?

In its statement of mission GTL commits itself to encourage a cross-cultural exchange of ideas between countries. Part of the answer to the complex question that gave rise to this paper is that we need to help the people of East Africa with their education so that they, in turn, will be able to help educate us.

The world is too small for us to ignore the poor living conditions in Africa if we genuinely desire to forestall worldwide social and political unrest in the decades ahead.