Education for underdevelopment?

There is an August 2015 publication on http://answersafrica.com that chronicles “10 Most Educated African Presidents”.

According to the report, at number 10 is Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia. She has an Associate Degree in Accounting from Madison Business College, in Madison, Wisconsin and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.

Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, the Togolese president, has a Bachelor’s Degree in Financial Management from the Sorbonne in Paris and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the George Washington University in the United States. He is at number 9.

Ibrahim Boubacar Keita of Mali is at number 8. Keita is said to have “studied at the Lycée Janson-de-Sailly in Paris and Lycée Askia-Mohamed in Bamako, continuing his education at the University of Dakar, the University of Paris I and the Institut d’Histoire des Relations Internationales Contemporaines (IHRIC; Institute of the Modern History of International Relations). He has a Master’s degree in History and an additional graduate degree in Political Science and International Relations”.

At number 7 is Ameenah Gurib (Mauritius), who holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry from the University of Surrey and a PhD in Organic Chemistry from Exeter University, England.

Ethiopia’s Mulatu Teshome is at number 6. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy of Political Economy and a doctorate degree in International Law, both from Peking University, Beijing, China.

Alassane Ouattara, the Ivorian president, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, and Master’s Degree and PhD in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. He is Africa’s 5^th most educated president.

Peter Mutharika of Malawi, at number 4, holds a Degree in Law from the University of London, Master of Laws Degree (LL.M) from Yale University, and Doctor of the Science of Law Degree (JSD) from Yale University.

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from the Mohammed V University at Agdal and a PhD in Law from the French University of Nice Sophia Antipolis. He is at number 3

Thomas Boni of the Republic of Benin, at number 2, holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from the National University of Benin, a Master’s Degree in Economics from the Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and a Doctorate Degree in Economics and Politics from the University of Orléans, France, and another Doctorate Degree from the Paris Dauphine University.

At number one is Pa Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe’s long-time president. Mugabe holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English from the University of Fort Hare, Bachelor of Administration (B.Admin) from University of South Africa (Unisa), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) from the University of South Africa (Unisa), Bachelor of Science (BSc.) in Economics from University of London, Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from University of London, Master of Law (LL.M) from University of London, and Master of Science (MSc.) in Economics from University of London, in addition to 14 honorary degrees from both local and international universities, out of which three (all from international universities) have been revoked.

The first striking thing from the report is that all of these heads of state have at least one degree from an overseas university, while the majority of them have all their degrees abroad. The second is that all of the 10 heads of state have at least one Master’s degree, while six of them have Doctorate degrees, with some boasting of even more than one.

The first question to ask is why all of these African heads of went to get degrees abroad. One answer may be that as at the time some of them went to school, their countries did not have enough facilities to help them achieve their educational aspirations. Another possibility is that it was in line with the thinking that higher institutions in the coloniser’s country would invariably be infinitely better than anything you would get in the colonised country. After all, the coloniser brought the education; he could have left the original in his home country and brought the imitation to the colonies.

Whatever the case, the other question is what these heads of state have done with the quality education they received, whether overseas or in Africa. Have these numerous degrees translated into good governance in their respective countries? Has their education brought about improved quality of life for their people in all ramifications? Have they replicated the quality of education they received elsewhere in their home countries through massive investment in schools? One would need further research to answer these nagging questions. But the fact is, as Teiresuas says in Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, “When wisdom brings no profit, to be wise is to suffer.

Education is no doubt a great tool for development. The great Madiba, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, reputedly said that education is the most powerful weapon with which you can change the world. “No country can really develop unless its citizens are educated. Any nation that is progressive is led by people who have had the privilege of studying,” he said.

Malcom X, the late African-American human rights activist, also said, “Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”

But when education fails to bring about development, it invariably brings about the opposite. Then, it boils down to education for underdevelopment, the title of a sub-chapter in Walter Rodney’s How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.