EDUCATION CHALLENGES FOR THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY:

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EDUCATION CHALLENGES FOR THE KNOWLEDGE
ECONOMY
Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba, Deputy
Secretary-GeneralLondon, 12th January 2009
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Agenda

• The Commonwealth Secretariat.
• COMSEC Education Agenda.
• Commonwealth of Learning.
• Commonwealth Universities Association.
• Challenge of Government.
• Private Sector Step-up.
• Commonwealth _at_ 60 Serving a New Generation.

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The Commonwealth in a Nutshell

• 53 Countries.
• 1 Community.
• Language, Law, Learning.

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Mission and Mandate

• We work as a trusted partner for all
• Commonwealth People as
• A catalyst for global consensus building
• A force for peace, democracy, equality and good
  governance
• A source of assistance for sustainable
  development and poverty eradication

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Celebrating Diversity

• Membership in every continent, involves many
  races, faiths, developing and developed nations.
• Languages and cultures 30 of the worlds
  population.
• Shared Values and Principles democracy, good
  governance, human rights and the rule of law,
  socio-economic development.
• Shared history, language, legal and
  administrative structures.
• Inner Strengths, sharing of experiences and
  lessons learnt.

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Dedicated Youth Programme

• Promotes the participation of young people in
  development, democracy, enterprise and
  governance.
• Empowers Youth to play an effective role in
  their communities.
• 4 Regional Centres
• Africa - Lusaka, Zambia
• Asia - Chandigarh, India
• Caribbean - Georgetown, Guyana
• South Pacific -Honiara, Solomon Islands

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COMSEC-Education

• Teacher Recruitment Protocol.
• Addressing Gender and Knowledge management.
• Boys Underachievers.
• Sector response to HIV AIDS.
• Good Practice Award.
• Collaboration, partnerships and active networking
  global players.

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Commonwealth of Learning Canada

• Policies Systems Open Learning.
• Distance Education.
• Online learning.
• Technology based training, e-training.
• Virtual University.
• Models and Materials, self replication
  sustainable.

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Commonwealth Universities Association

• 500 members, 6 continents.
• Comprehensive database.
• Networking.
• Benchmarking.
• Capacity development.
• Research and Analysis.
• Scholarships.

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Knowledge Economy Government Challenge

• Resource allocation
• Closing the Gap, knowledge, skills, performance
• Top down approach
• Scope and scale of Youth
• Millennium Development Goals
• Reliance on stakeholders to play their part.

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The Government and Private Sector Approach
Creating the Synergy

• Joint Private Sector-Governments intervention
  Recent Financial Turbulences Synergistic
  approach.
• Youth issues are multi-faceted and are
  deep-seated, joint approaches must be sought and
  resources harnessed for more effective
  result-based outcomes.
• Government creates an enabling environment.
• Private Sector provides the investment.
• A public private sector partnership.

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Workstation takes over Classroom
Source Limkokwing Website
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Industry approach
Source Limkokwing Website
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Curriculum Challenge SAMPLE

• Business Management and Globalisation,
  merchandising.
• Faculty of Design Innovation, packaging design.
• International lifestyle design, accessories,
  textile.
• Knowledge economy also needs traditional
  disciplines
• Arts
• Sciences
• Mathematics Management
• Striking the balance, creativity, responsiveness

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Strategic Alliances with Business

• Universities not just Government initiatives
• Strategic partnerships
• Priorities, Business/environment
• Short, specific specialization.
• Ready for Industry
• For Industry by Industry

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Private Universities risks abound

• Quality control.
• Cost control.
• Alignment with national vision/national
  priorities.
• Rationalising programmes.
• Comparing like with like.

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Knowledge economy

• Access and cost.
• Long distance training development.
• Flexibility of schedule.
• Own Pace, Own time.
• Re-training and re-skilling.
• Quick turnaround.

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2009-----60th Anniversary of the Commonwealth
serving a new generation

• Engaging Youth- Future Generations
• Governance
• Greater Commonwealth
• Consolidation of best practice
• Holistic, inclusive celebrations encouraged
  throughout
• Relevance and staying tuned to the current and
  future needs

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Commonwealth _at_ 60 Serving a new Generation
Education

• Advocacy.
• Brokerage.
• Capacity Building.
• Benchmarking and Good practice.
• Commonwealth Conference for Education Ministers
  50 years, Malaysia 2009.
• Tools, mechanisms, publications.

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• Thank You
• for your attention!