Precursors to adjustment, revitalization and expansion: an under-the-carpet view of the education crisis in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

This paper reviews short-comings in the research base of the World Bank Report on education in sub-Saharan Africa, and highlights their implications for the possible uptake of Bank recommendations by African governments. It argues that the Bank Report reflects significant research gaps stemming from a lack of complementarity; selective inattention to certain types of information and knowledge; sweeping diplomatically sensitive categories of knowledge under the carpet; and a historical neglect of certain areas of research. Against this background the paper analyses some issues which need to be resolved to pave the way for meaningful adoption of Bank recommendations. These precursors include dilemmas relating to national ideology, liberalization and a growing marginalization of public education, as well as responses to changing values and social ethics and the need for initiative and creativity.