Falana seeks educational revolution in Africa

HUMAN rights activist; Femi Falana has called for educational revolution in Africa to help the continent transform the neocolonial and dependent economy in each of the countries to a knowledgebased one.

Expressing dismay that Africa is being left behind in the global educational revolution, the legal luminary argued that, “the main pillar of knowledge in most emerging economies is to have access to knowledge. These economies produce knowledge, use knowledge to create innovations, and these innovations finally become tradable goods.” Falana made the comments in a paper titled The Politics Of Education In The Developing World: The African Perspective delivered at the 1st convocation lecture Of The West African Union University, Cotonou, Benin Republic.

According to him, “It is undoubtedly clear that edu- cation in Africa has not benefited the people due to a number of factors. Educational authorities have failed to decolonize the content of the syllabus of education while the governments have refused to give priority to education.

“Consequently, there has been poor funding of the education which has resulted in lack of basic facilities and materials in schools”, he said.

While the rich have continued to educate their children in private schools at home and abroad, the children of the poor, Falana said, have been left to attend public schools, which are poorly equipped and poorly staffed. Thus, education is being used to widen the gap between the rich and the poor. Governments in Africa must remove children from the streets and enroll them in schools. Otherwise they will remain in the streets to commit crimes and cause political instability.”