Biao, Idowu
3 Publications in AERD
Author Publications
Export PDFLifelong learning and African development
By Biao, Idowu
This article that is located within the alternative knowledge systems paradigm, discusses both the ancient and modern concepts of lifelong learning in relation to Africa's development It identifies ancient Greece's education and African traditional education as two ancient lifelong learning typologies relevant to the current discussion. Ancient Greece's education is a forerunner to modern education while African traditional education is one typology of education that remains relevant to African developmental aspirations. The modern concept of lifelong learning highlighted in this article is the one made popular by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The article reviews the socialisation processes and worldviews prevalent within the West and Africa alongside the 50%, 40% and 7% Africa's best primary, secondary and tertiary education success rates respectively and concludes that incongruity between the two socialisation processes and worldviews are responsible for this nearly two-century-old modest contribution of modern education to Africa's development. Consequently, the article concludes that only a combination of both modern and African lifelong learning would expedite Africa's socio-economic development.
Financing adult learning and education (ALE) now and in future
By Biao, Idowu
This article submits that while the world continues to view education as a human right, it also persists in depriving an important section of it - namely adult learning and education (ALE) - of adequate funding. Located within the lifelong learning domain, which facilitates both the resolution of challenges and adjustment to the vagaries of living throughout a lifetime, ALE is indispensable within the framework of the United Nations 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article identifies four factors which are currently responsible for the poor funding of ALE. These factors are: (1) the world's obsession with the provision of school education; (2) the lack of adequate instruments to work out ALE's returns on investment; (3) the hope that employers will ultimately supply ALE; and (4) the assumption that an expansion of formal schooling will eventually lead to the establishment of literate societies free of inter-generational crises. Since ALE is generally framed as a broad literacy education project, the author undertakes a review of literacy education costing. This leads him to posit that quality literacy education can be supplied at a unit cost ranging between USD 150 and USD 250 annually within any Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) country. Finally, the article offers four recommendations to increase ALE funding going forward.
Benin: Governance, lifelong learning and development
By Biao, Idowu
This article analyses and identifies the extent to which the different pre- and post-independence typologies of governance in Benin have facilitated the promotion of lifelong learning as instrument for development. Relying on the thematic content analysis method, the article identifies three themes and three main typologies of governance spanning the independence preparation period and post-independence era. Of the three styles of governance, only the Marxist–Leninist government succeeded in promoting lifelong learning by default. Lifelong learning being one type of learning that promotes the re-engineering of society through the constant dissemination of knowledge, information and know-how and through the constant retooling of the citizenry for purpose of investment of their talents in ever renewable ways, Benin is called upon to prioritise the promotion of lifelong learning soon. Specifically, Benin has been advised to restructure her national educational sector by bringing the whole sector under one Minister of Education with a view to enabling a seamless interaction across all sections of the national education. This restructuring as described in Figure 1 within the article, would facilitate timeous access to knowledge, information and skills that would enable individuals to participate in different sectors of the economy and thereby advance rapid national socio-economic development. © The Author(s) 2021.
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