Day 3
Education…Reflections
The disillusionment of working within the confines of a
corrupted macro-level climate is palpable when speaking with local and,
more-so, international NGO’s. What, then, I always ask, is the answer for the
students, the most vulnerable citizens who lack political voice (primary and
secondary level students), when changing the governmental-level
inclusive/extractive political institutions is a long term project? What is the
role of outside organizations? To give voice, to raise the level of collective
action of the marginalized, and to lower the opportunity cost for these
citizens in doing so. Keefer’s “voice surrogates” is a fitting term; how, then,
do we act as surrogates within the confines of disillusionment? Is there a role
for micro-level debate?
Disagreement with published figures, according to figures I
interviewed yesterday, have meant that the literacy rate in this nation for
students has actually decreased 10% in the last year (inflated initial figures,
to appease international donors, are the culprit). Who is to blame for this
preverbal dog and pony show? One thing that we can surmise, for sure, is that
basic education is, indeed, a heavily politicized issue in the developing
world; and this politicization is an
active engagement; and those who actively partake in the politicization of
education have no interest in education, itself; it is merely a power struggle,
and the issue at hand is inconsequential to those involved.
“…there are many who share our basic premise-that it is
possible to make very significant progress against the biggest problems in the
world through the accumulation of a set of small steps, each well thought out,
carefully tested, and judiciously implemented.” Banerjee/Duflo, Poor Economics
