Thursday, December 5, 2019

BOTTOMLINE ARTICLES BY MARISEN MWALE




In economics.... we call it the multiplier effect... that's how I choose to perceive the impact of education on our economy. A citizenry's level of Education even at basic level is exponentially highly associated with its level of economic development even in GDP terms. Low literacy levels for any populace is highly linked with a country's poverty and underdevelopment. Why? In a nation that has high literacy levels, basic development interventions are easily adapted and implemented in all sectors that impact on or are highly indicators of overall economic development. Think of health interventions for example, a low literacy population would not easily adapt to health education messages for instance prevention of common communicable or even non-communicable disease like: malaria, tuberculosis, diarrhoea, cholera or even HIV with implications on the burden of health costs.
A country with low literacy levels among a majority of its population will therefore have to dig deeper into its national budget to cover health costs albeit on some infections and disease that can be prevented and mitigated easily in a high literacy populace. Similarly the same applies to agricultural interventions as well as interventions on environmental management linked to monitoring and checks on climate change and global warming among some. Deforestation and other aspects of environmental degradation are highly associated with poor literacy levels within a population anywhere in the world since such a population can hardly appreciate linkages for example between deforestation or even lack of environmental management through conservation agriculture for example and mitigating climate change.
Basic interventions in agriculture for instance maximization of yields through modern farming techniques and appropriate technologies can only be better appreciated and sustained in a populace with better literacy levels compared to one with such low levels. Even democratic principles such as human rights and responsibilities can better be appreciated by a literate citizenry in majority terms. That does not preclude demographic indicators of family planning and overpopulation management that can only be appreciated by a literate populace in majority terms with all these outcomes impacting on a nation's economic development in the final analysis.
 Logically therefore, Education is key to economic development of any nation and it does not come as a surprise anywhere in the world whether in Africa, Asia or Europe or the Americas that countries with above average literacy levels in their populaces have better economies in GDP terms a majority being middle or high income nations. What does this mean for Malawi? Malawi has for long been ranked lowly in economic development terms and is among the poorest nations if not poorest nation in the world. This is despite enjoying peace and stability since independence some 50 or so years ago.
It is paradoxical to be poor amidst a plethora of resources begging the million dollar question as to where our efforts are not met or rather where we miss the point as a nation? My argument as logically summed up in the forgoing is that of the missing puzzle in Education for our nation. The low literacy levels for a majority of the population in the country go a long way in compromising all sectors of development including the economy. If we were to invest highly in the education sector for our nation, for our children not only in quantities (access) but above all else quality or standards - in equity of access across the nation, we could go a long way in harnessing multiplier effect outcomes for overall economic development of our nation. Education again is key and perhaps the missing link in our vicious cycles of poverty and underdevelopment not only for Malawi in particular but Africa in general.
BY
MARISEN ‘MAESTRO’ MWALE

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