WORLD BANK: 20 % of its intervention in Africa devoted to education

The Senior Director, Education Global Practice, World Bank, Ms Claudia Costin, said on Thursday that the bank commits 20 per cent of its interventions in Africa to education.

Costin, who spoke as a panelist at the African Higher Education Summit in Dakar, said the bank had invested more than 600 billion dollars in education in the continent since 2000.

According to her, there is need for systemic approach to funding education so that attention will also be paid to basic education.

She said more funding was needed to raise the quality education in Africa.

“Africa needs to urgently build quality universities to raise a workforce that will remain in Africa.

“Going abroad should be an option not the best way to get quality post-graduate education; we must build capacity to check brain drain.

“Public funding is key for the survival of education especially, science and technology; no matter the cost, nobody should be prevented from accessing higher education,” she said.

She also said World Bank matched every dollar generated by the African Centres of Excellence with one additional dollar.

In his contribution, Prof. Rahamon Bello, the Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, said there was need for low interest loans for higher institutions to enable them develop their capacities.

He said that such facilities should be set up at national and regional levels.

(NAN)