This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.

Administrator J. Brian Atwood
U.N. Presentation on Education in Africa
Co-sponsored by the African-American Institute
New York, N.Y., March 9, 1998
U.S. Agency for International Development

It is a very nice to be here today. Thank you all for coming. Kudos to the African-American Institute and United Nation Development Program for working so hard to make this event possible. I have just had the pleasure of coming from an invigorating discussion about education in Africa at the African-American Institute, and could not help but be impressed by the commitment and vision of so many people working on this issue. I would also like to thank Mora McLean for the kind introduction, and I'm glad that we have gotten to spend the day together. We are here today to talk about Africa, and our timing is particularly appropo.

Later this month, President Clinton will be traveling to Africa. I will have the good fortune of traveling with him on what is really an historic trip. We are all very excited about this journey for a number of reasons. First, this will give millions of Americans a chance to look at an Africa that they know very little about. I think the media's focus on Africa will go a long way toward dispelling a lot of misperceptions about Africa and help convince the public that remaining engaged in Africa only makes common sense. Knowledge is the first step toward enlightenment.

Second, this trip will highlight what most of us already know: We are seeing a new commitment to reform in much of sub-Saharan Africa, and this commitment is making tremendous new breakthroughs in development possible across large parts of the continent. Yes, we do face very serious challenges in education, public health, in the environment and across a range of other issues, but never before have we been better positioned to deal with these issues. Africa has the potential to enter into an era of lasting dynamic growth and change.

Third, I am very pleased that the President is going to Africa because I think his trip offers a powerful testament to our Administration's continuing commitment to work in genuine partnership with those Africa nations willing to embrace democracy and open markets. Both the President and First Lady are deeply knowledgeable about Africa, and both understand how important development programs are to both the interests of Africa and the United States. I consider myself fortunate to serve as USAID Administrator under such forward-looking foreign policy leadership.

There is increased awareness that Africa is the world's last great developing market. A realization that Africa is now undergoing major political and economic changes that -- if supported -- can project sub-Saharan countries into the global economy in a positive way. For the first time since the 1970s, the continent as a whole has experienced two consecutive years of economic growth. World Bank forecasts continued growth of 3.8 percent a year over the next decade as African countries continue to reap the benefits of responsible economic policies.

That is why USAID's and other donors' role in Africa today is so important. Trade does not just happen.

Free markets do not simply materialize out of whole cloth. The enabling environment must be right before private capital begins to flow. That is why USAID is helping African nations liberalize markets, remove institutional and legal trade barriers, and foster cultures receptive to foreign investment. That is why we support programs that create broad-based economic growth and promote initiatives that increase economic productivity by investing in people through programs in education, health care, family planning and child survival.

Business leaders recognize the importance of assistance facilitating trade. They are well aware of the structural impediments that block more robust trade with Africa and want to see them addressed by African countries with assistance from the U.S. and other donors.

Global private investment has surpassed 200 billion dollars annually, but only about one percent goes to Africa. Private investors are still not entirely bullish about Africa. A recent World Bank study has shown that internal policies, transportation practices and transportation costs for African exports have been more important in restraining African exports than OECD country trade barriers. Internal institutional, policy and capacity reforms are the keys to facilitating the transition to a trade and investment relationship for Africa with the world economy.

We must be bullish on Africa, and we must be realistic. Serious challenges remain. Twenty-two of the world's 30 poorest countries are in Africa. A quarter of all African children will die before their fifth birthday from disease and malnutrition. HIV/AIDS infection rates are the highest in the world.

Clearly education is also a core issue at the center of Africa's development challenge. Whether it be strengthening democracies, helping countries in crisis, improving health or promoting economic growth -- none of these efforts will succeed without a strong foundation of education. As American President Thomas Jefferson said, "Nothing more than education advances the power, prosperity and happiness of a nation."

From almost every study we have seen, the role of education in advancing a country's economic and political fortunes is tremendous. The World Bank found that investments in education for girls had the single highest rate of economic and social return for any development investment.

Data shows that societies with literacy rates less than 70 percent simply do not grow and flourish. By the same token, when we look at the enormous progress that countries like South Korea made in the 1960s and 1970s, many of these advances are traced directly back to heavy investments in education and building human capacity.

While sub-Saharan Africa has made great progress in education, enormous challenges remain.

    Half of Africa's primary school-age children are not in school.

    Less than half of those entering first grade will complete their primary education. Many will drop out before they acquire minimal levels of literacy and numeracy.

    Few sub-Saharan countries have higher than 60 percent school enrollment. In Ethiopia and Mali, enrollment is below 30 percent.

    In most countries, far fewer girls enroll and stay in primary school than boys. In Benin, only 62 girls attend school for every 100 boys who are able to do so.

    Adult literacy remains at about 50 percent in Africa, compared to 64 percent in Asia and 84 percent in Latin America.

USAID has largely focussed its education efforts on improving basic education and encouraging countries to allow all their children access to an education.

Although basic education has been a large component of our program, we also believe that higher education programs play a vital part in training Africa's leaders and building the institutional capacity to pursue a sound development agenda. We are proud to support the African-American Institute's African Training for Leadership and Advanced Skills, or ATLAS project, and the earlier African Graduate Fellowships Program, or AFGRAD, programs for higher education, as well as the fine work of a wide range of American Historically Black Colleges and Universities, land grant colleges, educations NGOs and our other partners doing such important work in education.

USAID is also working to provide linkages between individual U.S. colleges and universities and counterpart institutions in developing countries. For example, with USAID funding, the University of Florida has worked actively with Makerere University in Uganda to develop a very successful Human Rights and Peace Center.

We are looking to broaden partnerships between U.S. universities and community colleges and African universities in ways that will allow us to share faculty, develop curricula, share research results and explore university management issues. These partnerships are made easier by today's miracles of new technology.

USAID is funding the University of Ghana's internet connection through our Leland Initiative that is helping 20 number of African countries harness the internet as a powerful educational tool.

When you look back at some of the many alumni of these higher education programs, you see some of the leading lights of Africa today -- from Ministers, to agency heads, to university presidents to business leaders. Our earlier investments in building partnerships, strengthening higher education institutions and training exceptional individuals really is paying off. For example, graduates of USAID participant training programs have played a lead role in basic education reforms in Guinea, Mali and Namibia.

In many countries, reforms designed to promote and increase access to basic education have also been terrifically effective. These reforms have not only boosted literacy, but encouraged a sea-change in how these societies view themselves. In recognition of the critical role that education plays, USAID adopted human capacity development as a separate Administration goal last year.

Investments in universal primary education not only support increased productivity and incomes but also have important social benefits such as reducing infant mortality and slowing rapid population growth.

Research shows that the children of a mother who has even a single year of education has a 9 percent better chance to live to the age of five. Girls' education, also opens important doors in terms of understanding legal rights and access to credit.

Basic education is a public responsibility -- although communities, NGOs, and the private sector have important roles as well. Public spending on basic education needs to be a priority in countries that have not achieved near-universal enrollment at the primary level. In Africa, annual per-student expenditure in higher education is 40 times that of per-student expenditure in primary education; yet one-half of the children of Africa are not enrolled in primary school.

USAID has worked in partnership with African governments, other donors, professional organizations, and regional institutions to develop its approach to education in Africa. As with all of our efforts, supporting African ownership of the reform process is the key to its success.

Achieving systemic change in is extremely difficult. It requires fundamental reforms in education policy, resource allocation, institutions and operations. This often means changed roles for schools, teachers and communities. These complex social transformations must be negotiated on the ground, by those within the country. At USAID we see ourselves as a facilitator of this process, as a partner, not as a director.

USAID support for primary education in Uganda exemplifies the powerful results that can be achieved with strong African leadership and modest U.S. assistance. By the end of the 1980s, Uganda's education system had collapsed from protracted civil strife and economic deterioration. Uganda had the lowest adult literacy rate in East Africa.

More than half of Uganadan teachers were untrained, school infrastructure had completely collapsed and public expenditure on education was minimal. Only 53 percent of school-age children were enrolled, and about 50 percent of enrollees dropped out before mastering basic literacy skills.

In 1986, a new government came to power in Uganda and created an economic rehabilitation agenda stressing the importance of education.

USAID assistance was designed to facilitate the government's efforts to decentralize resources, strengthen management at the district and school levels and improve student mastery of basic literacy and math skills.

As a result of these efforts, books are more available in Ugandan schools than anytime in the last 20 years. Over 4 million textbooks, teachers' guides and materials have been distributed to schools.

Communities built more than a thousand new classrooms in 1995 alone. 4,000 head teachers have received school management training, while over 10,000 teachers have benefited from refresher courses.

The ultimate outcome of all these interventions has been an unmistakable improvement in pupils' performance. Pass rates have risen markedly for the third year in a row. Real teacher wages have risen 900 percent, from an extremely low base of $8 a month.

In 1997, President Museveni made a bold announcement of Universal Primary Education in Uganda -- allowing free education for four children in every family.

Overnight the primary school population of Uganda doubled -- to 5.3 million students -- with the vast majority of new students entering the first and second grades. Scenes of up to 800 first grade children sitting under a tree with one teacher were seen in many places in the country.

Universal primary education sent shock waves through the system in terms of capacity, and it is an incredible testimony to the dedication of thousands of parents, teachers, tutors, and administrators that the vast majority of students who entered the school system in 1997, remained there throughout the school year.

While the challenges of providing a quality education to all Ugandan children are many, all partners in this effort share an optimism that Uganda's incredible commitment to basic education will serve as a model of success for other African countries.

In education we see the foundation for Africa's future. It will be today's schoolchildren who are the entrepreneurs, inventors, statesmen and philosophers that guide Africa into the next century. We have entered a new era in Africa -- and I do not recall a time when the continent has enjoyed such promising leadership and spirit since the heady early days of independence.

We share a future with Africa -- a future of ties that grow stronger, not weaker. The Clinton Administration is deeply committed to a new and concerted international effort to make growth work in Africa. Thank you.

This is an archived USAID document retained on this web site as a matter of public record.

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