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YES Moderator's note: the digest below is contributed from the OneWord
South Asia Education & Employment online discussion, operating parallel to
the YES e-group. A digest will be published on the YES e-group every two
weeks. The discussion is moderated by Mandate the Future. Please make
contributions to the OneWorld discussion through the site quoted at the end
of this posting.
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Thank you so much for your very valuable responses you have made so far.
Here I provide a summary of the major themes we have been discussing so
far.
1. Career Guidance as part of the education system:
Dharisha Bastians felt that there was very little guidance in terms
of career options and business discipline in the school system in
developing countries.
"Being 23 now, I still have only a vague idea about what career option I
should pursue, and which course of tertiary education I need to enroll in.
Perhaps some form of career guidance or aptitude test at school level would
assist young people to seek and find employment best suited to their
individual skills. However, the lack of this guidance tends to leave
students unsure of what career option to pursue even many years after
leaving school."
2. Challenges to the Education Establishment
Geetha Sharma believes that it is important to understand and
accommodate the challenges faced by the educators and institutions
alike.
"I feel that given the current trend of globalization in today?s world,
education institutions are among those that face the biggest challenges
in transforming /adjusting to the changing needs of the society.
And towards this, educators, first and foremost need to brace themselves
for such a transformation, which can only happen if they and we all
understand the various factors that impinge on the education
establishments. For instance, the tremendous pace of knowledge generation
and absorption into daily life has led to a virtual information burden for
both teachers and students."
3.Over-saturated Job Markets
Ahmed H. Ghazali is of the opinion that even employment oriented education
will not address the needs of graduates entering an over- saturated job
market.
"No discussion of employment for youth can undermine the level of
absorption in an economy. I personally fear the proliferation of education
in an environment which is already heavily burdened by unemployment and job
cuts. When managers with 20 years experience are laid off, there is little
room for inexperienced young graduates.
In Pakistan at least, there has been heavy investment in IT education
for a market that is saturated. Now these millions of software
engineers have nothing to do, since the market has been filled.
Businesses and educational/vocational institutions can help each other by
implementing concrete placement agreements that develop future executives
and employees."
4. Too Much Theory, Lack of Real Life-Guidance.
Ugandian Mary Kajumba felt that her country's education system was both too
theoretical and only preparing students for white-collar
employment, instead of teaching them to innovative about obtaining
employment after graduation.
"I can say there is still a gap in the education system because in
Uganda and developing countries in general, the education system is
mostly theoretical. The teaching mainly emphasizes subjects instead of
skills. Because there are many subjects studied, a student is not given
a chance to a student to internalize and conceptualize a particular
field of interest. Secondly, our education system prepares student for
white-collar jobs instead of preparing them to be innovative. If they
can restructure the education system say by introducing
entrepreneurship development skills at early stages so that students
come up with that business oriented mind, then one is able to finish
school and come up with innovative ideas of making money instead of
waiting to be employed"
Geeta Sharma responded to Mary Kajumba's comment with an Asian
perspective of the problem
5. Unemployment Linked to Pace of Globalization
"In the Asian context, would like to add here that this continent,
which has been the cradle of most ancient civilizations, is also host to
some of the fastest growing economies of the world. It is also is also
becoming a springboard for the global knowledge revolution in the context
of the Information and Communication Technologies. And one main reason for
the high number of unemployed youth is that the
skill sets required in the emerging knowledge intensive work places are
almost totally different from those that that they may imbibe in schools
and colleges. Unfortunately the education system does not equip the
students with such skills and is geared more toward memorized factual
and procedural knowledge. "
6. Other Factors Contributing to Unemployment
John Chacko does not agree that education systems are wholly to blame for
unemployment rates in the developing world, but believes that there are
many economic and social factors at play.
"It would be incorrect first, and unfair as well, to blame the
education system alone for that monster called unemployment. I would
think that employment is largely a function of the economy and
education is but one of the factors at play. Education is a two-way
street - it gives you an opportunity to learn and equip yourself to
face life and its challenges. But how much are you making of the
education you get? To a large extent, education is what you make of
it. We all have jobs - does the credit for that go only to the
education that we've had? I don't think so. Employment is also about
choosing your career path, spotting opportunities, picking up trends,
it's about initiative, drive and the willingness to work and get
experience...and why, even clout!"
7. European Perspectives
Franz Kerschbaummayr provides an insight to the kind of education
system that exists in Europe, and what he feels is lacking.
"In Europe there exists a division between north and south east and
west in respect of education. In the northwest of Europe exists the
historical grown model of professional formation through a combination of
work and school. In south west Europe this formation is done in school only
(Italy) or at work only, so the education is not as comprehensive as that
of the north whole story. According to my understanding there is one big
thing lacking in all educational
systems and this is education of character and of heart. "
8. Knowledge of Self and Society
Vandan says that although the ancient Indian education was centered
around the needs of the individual and the society, since colonization,
the education system has undergone changes that do not in fact cater to the
needs of Indian students and the society at large.
"India had been an education center since time unknown. the ancient
gurukula, was the best known education system to man, then. the success of
our education system came from the knowledge, of the self, and about life
around a person, and about the society he lives in. The education today in
India is mostly the left overs of the british empire.
we learn what they wanted to teach us, and they wanted to teach us, how to
follow and take orders. What is missing in our present education is : TRUE
KNOWLEDGE; if this knowledge is imparted, then indians would learn to live
in harmony with nature, and would reap the powers of the nature to his
advancement, and thereby a Golden Age would come again in India."
9. A Complete Change Necessary to Solve Unemployment Crisis
James Murua of Kenya where 5 million people are facing employment
believes that a complete break-down of the old social and educational
order is necessary to change the situation there.
"The whole system (not just education system) is built in such a manner
that you are either part of the elite employed or the you belong to the
downtrodden masses. The only hope for Kenya (and maybe other countries) is
to destroy the current system where the haves possess all whilst the
have-nots are looked down upon. We need to instill an entrepreneurial
culture in the people. Education is vital to this process. The more
subjects one learns, the more they have an idea of the environment they
live in."
Anuradha Edirisinghe
Moderator,
Mandate the Future
<rudes@mandatethefuture.org>
For more information on the OneWorld South Asia Education and Employment
online forum, visit www.learningchannel.org/discussion
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