Comments on: Harnessing religion to improve education in Africa

By: Duncan

Duncan — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 09:00:47 +0000

thanks for clarifying John, especially as I just haven’t had time to respond on this

By: John McLaverty - Oxfam Youth & Schools team

John McLaverty - Oxfam Youth & Schools team — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 08:53:16 +0000

‘Send My Friend to School’ isn’t an Oxfam Campaign. It’s managed by the Global Campaign for Education, an international campaign whose UK membership consists of 27 INGOs, trades unions and civil society organisations. Oxfam actively participates in ‘Send My Friend’ as we believe strongly that every child has the right to receive a quality education. The schools resources are written by a number of coalition members, including Oxfam.
How to best achieve education for all raises challenging questions. Reclaim Education dismisses the impact of writing to MPs and attacks ‘Send My Friend’ as ‘neo-colonial’. I would argue that, within the UK, young people’s sustained participation in keeping the issue of education for all at the front of MPs minds has been an important factor in shaping DFID’s leading role within global education and has helped bring millions of children into school. Campaigning here in the UK is reflected by similar GCE coalition campaigns in over 120 countries in the global south, where young people and civil society are demanding the right to go to school from their governments. Rather than being ‘neo-colonial’ the UK campaign is part of a wider global movement of ‘active citizens’ sharing the same goal.
Active citizenship most certainly involves young people developing a critical awareness of why children aren’t in school. Reclaim Education’s comments add valuably to this debate. However I wouldn’t wish this to be a static debate. The world has changed since the zenith of structural adjustment in the 1980s. The introduction the MDGs and PRSPs in the early 2000s shifted the nature of conditionality towards combatting poverty and now the global financial crisis is asking serious questions of the neo-liberal world order and its paradigm for development.
Change also occurs between countries as well as over time. Some countries have been much more successful in overcoming poverty and meeting the MDGs than others. These are the ‘effective states’ and neo-liberalism isn’t so rigid that these effective states can’t find democratic space to bring about lasting changes.
Finally factors such as gender and disability can be either more or less significant as barriers to education, depending on the particular country and the context. It is just as inaccurate to stress gender is the only cause of not receiving an education as it is to dismiss it altogether. Kaltume is growing up in northern Nigeria, a region where a disproportionately large number of girls don’t attend school. This is a fact and should be addressed in an honest and balanced way.
So the arguments cut many ways and are complex. Reclaim Education draw conclusions from only a tiny number of the learning and campaigning resources produced over a number of years by the Global Campaign for Education. However I hope we can all agree that continuing to promote learning, debate and action among young people about the universal right to education are important elements of the ‘real education’ that Reclaim Education advocate.

By: Elly

Elly — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 15:40:56 +0000

Re: Ken Smith (16)

Eton might guarantee an excellent ‘academic’ education but letters after your name are not all that matters.

Many people do not worship the fact that children can jump through hoops like circus animals.

I want my children to go to a school where they receive a good all round education, including mixing with people from a diverse range of backgrounds. Something they would not find at Eton.

In the quote you refer to I guess those parents also feel there is more to education than grades.

By: Reclaim Education

Reclaim Education — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 10:53:25 +0000

Elly I fear that Oxfam do not feel that UK children should be learning about SAPs, IMF policies and the like.

Oxfam want UK kids to understand that ‘we’ are the saviours not the perpretrators of far off problems – its a far better publicity and donation gathering message. Duncan, please prove me wrong!

By: Elly

Elly — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 08:54:11 +0000

Also, I was wondering if Oxfam could give us the link for their educational resources on SAPS. I can’t find them.

By: Elly

Elly — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 08:38:11 +0000

I agree. As teachers we seem to be saying to the children that “yes, there are serious problems in the world but as long as you wear a silly hat and raise money – or maybe even write to your MP and ask them to give even more money, then it’s all ok.”

Why aren’t we teaching them the underlying facts so they can decide if they are happy with the status quo or whether they want to challenge it when they grow up?

By: Reclaim Education

Reclaim Education — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 22:58:04 +0000

Ref posts 12, 14 and 15:

The “send my sister to school” teaching resourcce is on page 7 of the magazine:

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/teachersupport/the_big_picture/files/big_picture_summer_2011.pdf

Kaltume (the girl in the picture) summarises her lack of enrolment as stemming from the restrictions placed on her by her African family, society and education system.

There is mention of gender, but no mention of the macro economic policies and IMF led constraints that have enforced the cut backs in investment in education and led to dropping enrolment.

So Oxfam is teaching UK kids that what needs to change is the African society, family and education systems’ attitude towards gender and that SAPs have nothing to do with it.

Oxfam is teaching UK kids that they can ‘make a difference’ by lending their support to the western NGO campaign to socially engineer gender relations in Africa.

Oxfam is teaching kids that the solutions lie in this neo colonial approach, rather than in addressing the blatant trade, political, economic and power imbalances.

As a teacher I don’t need Oxfam lending its support to the neo-liberal status quo in this way and I would much rather Oxfam supported the teachers in providing real education rather than distorted realities aimed at gathering support for its publicity campaigns. Otherwise, Oxfam should leave the job of educating to the educators.

There is no malice whatsoever in these earnest comments and I would really like my point of view to be challenged. Please look at the article and see what you think.

By: Ken Smith

Ken Smith — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 15:51:44 +0000

“Most parents have seen official state schools as unattractive options at best, and often resist efforts to enrol their children”

I’m very surprised at this. I would have thought parents would have bent over backwards to have pupils sent to exclusive colonial schools that more or less guarenteed a good education and job. I’d join the Church of England in a flash if my children could go to Eton.

By: Duncan

Duncan — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 09:01:35 +0000

spam filter rather than evil imperialist INGO conspiracy – wd you mind resending, please?

By: Reclaim Education

Reclaim Education — Mon, 09 Jul 2012 08:46:35 +0000

It appears that my second comment was moderated out of the debate. If that’s the case, I’d be very interested to know why as it was an earnest, serious and measured contribution.

I’d also appreciate robust criticism of my point of view – I hope Oxfam espouses the principles of free speech and debate (or is your distaste for Voltaire that deep?).

I’m confused about why Oxfam is happy to criticise the involvement of others in African organisations in African schools, but unwilling to accept criticism of its role in UK schools.