Perspectives on lifelong learning in Africa

Abstract

There are very few books and journal articles written on lifelong learning in Africa compared to other parts of the world where lifelong learning has already become a discipline of study in universities and as a framework for socioeconomic and political discourse. Skills in knowledge economies and citizenship education are some of the areas where lifelong learning is increasingly utilised as a framework of discourse. The OECD has produced several publications on lifelong learning, mainly emphasising that the competitiveness of the club of rich countries will only be sustained if there is investment in lifelong learning (see e.g. OECD 2000, 2004, 2005, 2007). There are also many exchange programmes and scholarships such as Erasmus Mundus that clearly emphasise lifelong learning. Olivier Sagna (2005) in contextualising lifelong learning in Africa with practical examples from Senegal has captured this succinctly in saying: ‘The importance of the concept of lifelong learning for the world of the twenty-first century is forcefully captured in a memorandum published by the European Commission in 2000 in which the vision of education and training presented therein features a combination of initial and in-service training, formal and non-formal education, self-directed learning, learning through practice and experience and wholly or partly ICT-based distance education designed to benefit learners not just at the level of occupational skills, but also in regard to their own personal development’ (p. 51). Yet in Africa, these opportunities are lacking, and students are even unwilling to apply for scholarships which are open on the theme of lifelong learning.