Education as the great equalizer, part V

June 14, 2010

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Kamalesh Sharma is the Commonwealth Secretary-General. I have read his speech at the Vice Chancellors Conference, organized by the Association of Commonwealth Universities, in Cape Town, South Africa that took place between 25 and 27 April, 2010, and focused on ?Universities and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

He said "&#&Higher Education&#& is crucial to meeting the MDGs" .

Referring to the words of Professor Mahmoud Mamdani of Columbia University he reaffirmed "&#&Higher education&#& is the strategic heart of education," and "It is where choices are developed."

Mr. Sharma said he also considers that &#&Higher Education&#& is "where the real skills and real motors for development are born," and that in today's information societies, "knowledge drives economic growth and development, and &#&higher education&#& is the main spring which generates this drive."

Kamalesh Sharma pledged that "the Commonwealth will do all in its power to press the case for &#&Higher Education&#& as an agent of change in meeting the MDGs".

Reading a working paper of U21Global about Poverty Alleviation through Access to Education, by Jeremy B. Williams and Habibullah Khan I found the following affirmations.

"While the provision of &#&elementary education&#& up to primary level is still considered vital for the reduction of poverty, there has been a slight change of emphasis of late in that it is now increasingly recognized that the second of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) - "universal primary education" - cannot be achieved without &#&higher education&#&. &#&Higher education&#& provides fundamental expertise to all sectors of society and the economy and this is why it must be a part of any realistic poverty reduction strategy."

Besides that this publication highlights the importance of new technologies as E-Learning as a vehicle for extending access to education.

&#&E-learning is&#& giving a significant contribution making the acquisition of knowledge cheaper and easier. Although there must be an investment on IT infrastructure acquisition and maintenance, training and technical support, &#&e-learning&#& is largely cheaper compared to standard classroom training. It is typically web-based and it has no location boundaries. Students are not required to assist to university, which may be distant or not. In an online environment the university comes to them. For the students it represents savings on time, travel costs, meals, etc.