UNESCO AND EDUCATION
….. Man has been endowed with the
innate desire for and the ability to acquire wisdom and learning and it is the
duty of leaders to inspire and guide our peoples in this quest…..
It is with the
deepest pleasure that We welcome the delegates, observers and officials who
have come to Our capital city of Addis Ababa in order to participate in this
conference of Ministers and Directors of Education from countries in East and
West Africa. The welcome which We extend to you is not only given on Our behalf
but on behalf of all of Our people, and We trust that you will fully enjoy,
during your stay here, the hospitality of Our country.
The conference which We are now
inaugurating, the first of its kind to be convened for this area of the world,
is of the greatest significance. The discussions which will be held here are
directly concerned with the educational needs and aspirations of the 127 million
people whose representatives have gathered together. It is important, and it
augurs well for the success of this conference, that it is sponsored by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, pursuant to
decisions taken at the tenth conference of UNESCO, held in Paris towards the
close of 1958. All of us are indebted to UNESCO for the services which that
organization has performed on our behalf.
You have before you for consideration a
report, carefully prepared by the UNESCO SECRETARIAT, dealing with the
educational needs of tropical African countries. From this report, it is
possible to gauge something of the greatness of the task with which the
educators of the African peoples represented here are now confronted. This is
not, of course, a matter which concerns only educators; the enormity of the
task of improving the educational level of the African peoples is and must be
of particular concern to those who have been called to the highest positions of
leadership. They bear the grave responsibility of ensuring that the youth of
their countries combine the highest moral values with the noble patriotic
sentiments in serving their country.
The total
population represented at this conference is estimated at some 127 million
souls. Much has been done to provide schooling for the many million children of
school-age, not all of which is fully indicated in the report. But when every
allowance has been made for the educational opportunities which exist outside
the regular governmental school system – and We would refer specifically to the
traditional and widespread efforts of the Ethiopian Church in Our land – the
fact remains that according to the figures secured by UNESCO there are as yet
no places in primary school for millions of boys and girls. To provide for
these children, more than 345,000 teachers must be recruited and at least the
same number of classrooms must be built. And the financing for these extensions
of educational opportunity must come, in large measure, from budgets which are
already fully extended to meet their country’s needs.
Human Potential
We have, of recent years, heard much of
the economic riches of our continent and of the benefit to ourselves and to the
world which will result from their exploitation and development. We have here,
however, another potential source of wealth which must not be neglected – the
benefit which will accrue to us and to the world if our children are granted
the tools of knowledge and are enabled to acquire the skill which may be
derived from education. These tools and these skills will help them as
individuals to realize their full intellectual, moral and cultural stature and
thus enable them as members of a society to contribute worthily to the building
of our human civilization. Man has been endowed with the innate desire for and
the ability to acquire wisdom and learning and it is the duty of leaders to
inspire and guide our peoples in this quest.
A study of the information
collected by UNESCO indicates that although the needs and the achievements of
the African peoples have varied according to the geographical, economic,
historical and cultural circumstances which are peculiar to each people and
which have conditioned the development of each country, yet there are many
elements which we share in common. It is in our interest to study and property
understand the varying problems which exist in the different regions of Africa
and seek together to overcome them in a spirit of co-operation, through mutual
assistance as well as through the efforts and help of those who are genuinely
prepared to aid us in our endeavours.
As one example of the difficulties which
have faced nations individually, We need only cite the situation which
confronted Us when, in 1941, We returned to Ethiopia to find an educational
system ravaged and destroyed by the Fascist invasion of Our country in 1935.
The educational progress of Our people was severely and sadly retarded by the
events of those years. The youth of Our country who had received higher
education prior to 1935 were decimated during the years in which the Fascist
invader ravaged Our land, and there was little indeed in the way of trained
human resources or existing facilities at hand to aid Us in the enormous task
which confronted Us. But, convinced as We were that in the education of our
young rested the key to Ethiopia’s future development, We determined that this
task would enjoy the highest priority in Our programme for Ethiopia’s progress.
We take humble
pride in the accomplishments of the years since 1941, and Our heart is filled
with joy when We observe the fruits of Our efforts in the youth of Our country
who are succeeding in ever increasing numbers to positions of responsibility in
the life of Our nation. Hundreds of schools have been built; hundreds of
thousands of Our people have received the benefit of education. Although Our
country was unable to make free use of the facilities for higher education in
the metropolitan countries of Europe which have influen-ced the development of
schooling in certain areas of Africa, We have nonetheless been able to carry
out an extensive programme of foreign training in many countries of the world,
and We appreciate the scholarships which have permitted young men and women to
study abroad. In addition, We have built up here a system of colleges which, We
are happy to say, We are already sharing with students from Our sister countries.
We believe that the existence of these colleges, together with those parallel
institutions which are increasingly appearing in other parts of this great
continent may ease the problem of preparing a programme of education which is
designed specifically to meet the needs of our African peoples.
Sharing
Our efforts have not been directed solely
to the educational advancement of Ethiopians; We have, as well, not been
unmindful that all of us must share in the responsibility for the education of
all of our African brothers. We had this firmly in mind when We awarded 200
scholarships, a number, We would add, which was limited only by the budgetary
resources at Our disposal. We intend to continue Our efforts to extend all
possible assistance in this field. Surely, if we all resolved jointly to bend
our unsparing efforts to the achievements of universal education on this great
continent, we would in a few short years see results going far beyond what each
of us, acting alone, could attain.
Much has been done,
but much more remains to be accomplished. Even today, We reserve to Our Person
the portfolio of Minister of Education, and We shall never cease to devote Our
efforts and energies to the tasks and problems involved in the education of Our
people. We are confident that great things will be accomplished during this
conference. We know that you, too, share Our preoccupation with the educational
needs of peoples everywhere. We know that you share with Us the firm conviction
that as man’s soul and his ability to reason and to learn constitute the
distinctive marks of humanity, so the gifts of education and the development of
man’s intellectual capacity can create differences among men. We know that the
learning of the ages and the teach-ings of wise men who have lived throughout
the history of the world must no longer be denied to large numbers of the
population of the earth. We know that man’s physical needs and his intellectual
and spiritual strivings can only be satisfied through the medium of education.
It is not unimportant to observe the direct relationship that exists between
the standard of living of peoples in various parts of the world and the
educational level which they have attained.
Strength in Diversity
All African people, not only those
represented here, have had varying experiences and encountered varying difficulties
and trials in the search for education. But the very fact that our experience
has not been uniform can now become a source of strength to us as we undertake
the planning of a common approach to the education of our children. Each of us
has something to contribute. In the field of teacher training, for example, it
is possible that a common approach may be devised, especially for the
preparation of staff to serve in the higher levels of our schools and for the
imparting of those technical skills which are so essential for our developing
economies. In this connection, We would refer to the departments of our
Ethiopian colleges, to the University College of Addis Ababa, with its
faculties and sections concerned with Liberal Arts, Education, Law and Science;
to the College of Engineering; the College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts;
the Public Health College; the Institute of Building Technology; the Institute
of Public Administration and the Mapping and Geography Institute – all these
may well play their part both in the development of African higher education
and also in the implementation of plans for universal primary schooling which
may be drafted as a result of this present conference.
The agenda which
has been prepared for your meetings covers a very wide area. The facts which
have been gathered and the statistics which have been compiled indicate something
of the magnitude of the task with which we are faced, but from them we may also
derive some satisfaction and some encouragement in the knowledge of what has
been achieved, often against great odds, in the initial foundation of our
educational systems.
By working together as neighbours, by
making use of the resources which can be brought to bear through programmes of
national development, of mutual help and of international assistance, we may
face the future with confidence, secure in the knowledge that we can render a
good account for our days and for our labours.
It is not sufficient to pay only lip
service to the cause of our co-operation and unity. We must devise means of
effective co-operation which will enable us to mobilize our resources and
strengthen the basis for the limited industries which we possess and thereby
ensure our progress and, ultimately, attain well-being and self-sufficiency for
all. With-out education, we cannot hope to possess the technicians and experts
essential to the development of our economies or the doctors and nurses who
will safeguard the health of our people, nor can we achieve the other
conditions upon which our security and prosperity depend.
We shall follow with the greatest interest
the deliberations of this conference, and We pray that we may enjoy the
guidance and the blessing of the Almighty as we apply ourselves to the tasks
that now confront us.
Feb.
17, 1960.
Selected
Speeches of His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie – page 358 –
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