And now to Liberia: All 25000 university applicants fail
Posted: Tue Sep 24, 2013 7:20 pm
- or how Africa needs intellectualism...
http://www.voanews.com/content/liberia- ... 37581.html
The story is unbelievable to most, even for a country as small as Liberia, the idea that EVERYONE fails, is kind of unthinkable, that not even a single person gains entrance.
But this is not about Liberia, it is merely to discuss another thing. Although Liberia is in a unique situation because having been one of the most successful African countries some 50 years ago, the civil war and its horrors destroyed the country as much as any war can destroy a country. From prosperity it has gone to be one of the poorest countries in the world. Its literacy rate did not keep phase with the rest of Africa and it's now (2010 - http://www.factfish.com/statistic-count ... e,%20total) at only 60%! A staggering amount who cannot read a normal difficulty level book, and wouldn't surprise me if most of them can't even read a children's book. Liberia is an example however of a history of colonial and pre-colonial Africa that did not emphasize the value of reading, and the value of intellectualism.
Pssst! Please also consider reading the first comment in the original link, it provides valuable knowledge of the probable causes of failure.
Across Africa you'll not just find people who can't read, but I suspect a large portion has read fewer books than decades they have lived. Nearby Sierra Leone for instance only recently got its first national library, and the time it'll take for regional hub libraries to open in the country which'll be significantly appealing to a larger crowds of people is not something I'd expect too see much of within the current decade.
People who live in poverty and worry most about meals, clothing and housing, are not the ones who are bound to buy a lot of books or worry about reading. I think a large problem lays in the lack of investment in refining material. It's not enough to just teach people to read, you have to give them the opportunity to learn to be intellectual and explore great works of creativity. Reading material, but also videos (though books are more challenging to the mind), must be made available and the appeal must be made to children as well as adults to read and grow their intellects and empower themselves with imagination, facts, know-how, insights and more sophisticated discussion.
I think investment must be made in libraries on the country-side as well as small "corner-libraries" in school buildings, where exposure to readings from ones own culture, nation, country, as well as other countries, and the world literature at large, can foster a small but important social intellectualism that will empower people with alternative ways of thinking (not specifically "grandly" different ways, but everyday different ways) and inspiring good problem-solving as well as fostering beliefs based on facts and accuracy. As well it provides social cohesion and social understanding, as people read the same books or are exposed to traditions of writers that write similarly, and people can make reference that other people can understand.
I have great faith in this arrangement, as well as letting each country-side library have a single tablet of western quality (not any of those 50 dollars things) to let locals share and be exposed to high-tech. The tablets of course would have to be donated or bought by more resourceful agencies or governments and then further donated, but the point remains the same. Social intellectualism needs to be addressed as deep shortage in Africa, and early intervention, that means now, can make a big difference for later generations, and accelerate the growth nations, not just cultures, but nations (nation building is a recurring problem many places in Africa, there's a reason why they have civil wars and ethnic conflicts), across Africa, as people become a national community of shared intellectual power.
This said, it should also be considered that contests are held to promote national identity reinforcement and self-reflective intellectual achievement, as western ideas, however good, will always lack that perfection that a native can provide for his own people, if given the talent, the competence and the opportunity. Governments must sponsor the development of individuals who can lead their nations forward and shape a modern intellectual history of their countries, for instance, during the later times when aristocracy was still an important and central piece of Europe and its politics, it was customary to send off young men, almost entirely men, to different courts, countries and families to learn from differences and acquire highly praised knowledge or insight and especially experience and make acquaintances. In the 19th century the Norwegian government was deeply involved in the development of several domestic intellectual individuals by letting them travel across Europe to be exposed to other intellectuals and develop. Among such people I recently read about the world-praised composer Edvard Grieg (maker of "In the Hall of the Mountain King", a tune for which most of you would've heard) being one such person, and I also think it is highly valuable, but a risky investment, because like venture capital, you sometimes make mistakes, but when you do good: it can pay off tremendously, and those pay-offs those countries need to build their nations and an advanced intellectual community for which people can look up to and aspire towards as well as learn from.
http://www.voanews.com/content/liberia- ... 37581.html
The story is unbelievable to most, even for a country as small as Liberia, the idea that EVERYONE fails, is kind of unthinkable, that not even a single person gains entrance.
But this is not about Liberia, it is merely to discuss another thing. Although Liberia is in a unique situation because having been one of the most successful African countries some 50 years ago, the civil war and its horrors destroyed the country as much as any war can destroy a country. From prosperity it has gone to be one of the poorest countries in the world. Its literacy rate did not keep phase with the rest of Africa and it's now (2010 - http://www.factfish.com/statistic-count ... e,%20total) at only 60%! A staggering amount who cannot read a normal difficulty level book, and wouldn't surprise me if most of them can't even read a children's book. Liberia is an example however of a history of colonial and pre-colonial Africa that did not emphasize the value of reading, and the value of intellectualism.
Pssst! Please also consider reading the first comment in the original link, it provides valuable knowledge of the probable causes of failure.
Across Africa you'll not just find people who can't read, but I suspect a large portion has read fewer books than decades they have lived. Nearby Sierra Leone for instance only recently got its first national library, and the time it'll take for regional hub libraries to open in the country which'll be significantly appealing to a larger crowds of people is not something I'd expect too see much of within the current decade.
People who live in poverty and worry most about meals, clothing and housing, are not the ones who are bound to buy a lot of books or worry about reading. I think a large problem lays in the lack of investment in refining material. It's not enough to just teach people to read, you have to give them the opportunity to learn to be intellectual and explore great works of creativity. Reading material, but also videos (though books are more challenging to the mind), must be made available and the appeal must be made to children as well as adults to read and grow their intellects and empower themselves with imagination, facts, know-how, insights and more sophisticated discussion.
I think investment must be made in libraries on the country-side as well as small "corner-libraries" in school buildings, where exposure to readings from ones own culture, nation, country, as well as other countries, and the world literature at large, can foster a small but important social intellectualism that will empower people with alternative ways of thinking (not specifically "grandly" different ways, but everyday different ways) and inspiring good problem-solving as well as fostering beliefs based on facts and accuracy. As well it provides social cohesion and social understanding, as people read the same books or are exposed to traditions of writers that write similarly, and people can make reference that other people can understand.
I have great faith in this arrangement, as well as letting each country-side library have a single tablet of western quality (not any of those 50 dollars things) to let locals share and be exposed to high-tech. The tablets of course would have to be donated or bought by more resourceful agencies or governments and then further donated, but the point remains the same. Social intellectualism needs to be addressed as deep shortage in Africa, and early intervention, that means now, can make a big difference for later generations, and accelerate the growth nations, not just cultures, but nations (nation building is a recurring problem many places in Africa, there's a reason why they have civil wars and ethnic conflicts), across Africa, as people become a national community of shared intellectual power.
This said, it should also be considered that contests are held to promote national identity reinforcement and self-reflective intellectual achievement, as western ideas, however good, will always lack that perfection that a native can provide for his own people, if given the talent, the competence and the opportunity. Governments must sponsor the development of individuals who can lead their nations forward and shape a modern intellectual history of their countries, for instance, during the later times when aristocracy was still an important and central piece of Europe and its politics, it was customary to send off young men, almost entirely men, to different courts, countries and families to learn from differences and acquire highly praised knowledge or insight and especially experience and make acquaintances. In the 19th century the Norwegian government was deeply involved in the development of several domestic intellectual individuals by letting them travel across Europe to be exposed to other intellectuals and develop. Among such people I recently read about the world-praised composer Edvard Grieg (maker of "In the Hall of the Mountain King", a tune for which most of you would've heard) being one such person, and I also think it is highly valuable, but a risky investment, because like venture capital, you sometimes make mistakes, but when you do good: it can pay off tremendously, and those pay-offs those countries need to build their nations and an advanced intellectual community for which people can look up to and aspire towards as well as learn from.