Student exchanges to bridge quality gaps in education, says Raila

Prime Minister Raila Odinga with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair after he presented him with the book, Best of Kenya, on Marchc 30, 2011 in Dubai, UAE. The two were attending a world education forum. Photo/PMPS

By NATION CORRESPONDENT
Posted  Wednesday, March 30 2011 at 21:46

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has called for increased exchange programmes between institutions in developed and developing countries.

Mr Odinga said this would help bridge gaps in access to quality education.

The Prime Minister, who was addressing the 2011 Education Without Borders World Forum in Dubai, UAE, said that although Kenya was struggling to provide universal access to education, quality remained a big challenge.

Advances in technology

He said whereas advances in technology had broken down barriers that once kept countries and markets apart, a divide still existed in access to quality education.

“Today, we live in a world where good jobs are no longer local affairs. This means a child learning in Kenya is directly competing with others in the United Arab Emirates, UK, US and China. This requires that children access the same quality of education,” he said.

Mr Odinga challenged global corporations looking for employees on a global scale to invest in quality education as a way of investing in the future of their businesses.

He said Kenya was putting emphasis on creating the physical infrastructure for learning and also providing incentives for pupils to remain in school.

He said the emerging world called for fundamental changes in education to ensure those graduating from schools were trade literate, sensitive to foreign cultures, conversant in different languages, technology savvy, capable of managing complex issues and are citizens who upheld high ethical and moral ideals.

“Business as usual cannot produce the desired results,” he said. The one-week conference was opened by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who said access to education alone was not enough if it lacked quality and relevance.