Education And Development Of A Country

Development is defined in general as progressive change and growth. Development is thus a broad term that is used by different educationists in various ways. One such educationists, C. V. Good, defined development as changes, often growth, in structure, function and organization of an institution or country, which involve differentiation, complexity, integration, capacity, efficiency and maturity (Centre for Global Development, 2002). Development as a concept represents the application of progress as a general idea, especially in the political and socio-economic spheres of the nation. The relationship between development and education can, therefore, be argued to have evolved with the changing meaning of the concept of development. Whereas the traditional definition of development focused on the stage reached by national societies, contemporary concept of development focuses on theapplication of science and technology to production (Centre for Global Development, 2002). Subsequently, education, especially schooling, has been considered a pre-condition for development in contemporary policies.

Perhaps it was this modern connection between development and education that guided the formulation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). One of the MDGs suggested that states should ensure that there was universal education, marked by free primary education (FPE), is meaningful development was to be achieved by the year 2015 (Saleha, 2008). The rationale here was that education accorded people the capacity to have improved health, earn higher wages and experience economic growth, and achieve democracy and political stability (Centre for Global Development, 2002).

Democracy and political instability are perhaps the most important factors of foreign investment, which is essential for the ultimate development of a nation. Satisfactory wages and improved health leads to a happy labor force which is highly productive leading to economic growth. I, therefore, agree that education is the single most important factor in the development of a country.

List of References

Centre for Global Development (2002). Education and the developing world: Why is education essential for development? Rich World, Poor World: A Guide to Global Development.CGD

Saleha, P. (2008 June). Female education and national development: as viewed by women activists and advocates.Bulletin of Education & Research, Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 33-41