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Andrew Layman, CEO of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Last week I was privileged to have been invited to an international conference in Doha – the World Innovation Summit for Education (Wise).
It was a memorable experience and gave me a new perspective on education across the globe.
In a certain way, the problems we have with schools are insignificant when one appreciates that there are more than 60 million children in the world who do not have access to any education.
Many of these are refugees or members of communities which have been displaced by conflict. They include the rural poor, and most of them are in Africa and Asia.
Wise has introduced a Wise Prize for Education, an annual award to elevate the status of education and the people who lead projects that make a difference.
The winner this year was Dr Madhav Chavan, who has led a project in India to bring education to thousands of poor rural children. Focusing on literacy and numeracy, the Pratham Education Foundation relies on many women in communities who undergo regular training to enable them to teach the children to a satisfactory level.
Chavan has introduced the project to several other countries, notably South Sudan, where he identified a vast need.
While several speakers indicated that governments had to take responsibility for education, some of the most inspiring projects are done outside of the public sector. Indeed, the point was made that the world cannot wait for governments to innovate, to embrace technology, to elevate the status of teachers (which is necessary in almost all countries) and to achieve quality.
I found several things particularly interesting. A French professor said we would soon be educating a generation who will be alive at the turn of the century. And who knows what the world will be like then?
In every era, I suppose, the future has not been predictable, but the current pace of change and the major issues that are beginning to dominate the global paradigm mean young people are being educated for a future that cannot be predicted. This means the skills and attitudes that need to be taught must encourage adaptability.
I learnt about a successful project in Paraguay. The organisation concerned owns four schools and each of them manages several enterprises. The schools are self-sufficient because of the success of their various enterprises. Some are agricultural and some are related to hospitality.
Teachers guide and the students conduct the businesses. At the same time, their curriculum is that required by the state. The entrepreneurial aspect is additional, and students take it in turns to spend a week on entrepreneurial activities.
The schools are not pretentious, receive twice as many applications than they can manage, and all students find jobs when they leave.
Debates about the use of technology were interesting, mainly because, inevitably, they boiled down to whether successful education could be conducted through technology alone.
Generally, the experts felt that technology, although a valuable tool, should not replace a teacher.
There was a session on the use of computer games in education. The University of Coventry has a unit that researches and develops games that have educational value.
The quality of education is a global concern and there are few countries where teachers enjoy status and pay commensurate with the importance of their work.
The outstanding country for treating its teachers well is Finland, but teachers there are expected to be highly qualified and very motivated.
It was disappointing, I think, that governments were not far better represented. Among the 1 200-plus delegates were many kindred spirits and I had the impression that speakers were preaching to the converted.
The South African government was represented by the former minister of science and technology, Naledi Pandor.
Pandor was a member of the panel that selected the Wise Prize winner, and I suspect she has been involved in this wonderful organisation since she was the minister of education.
* Andrew Layman is the CEO of the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
