From Schooling to Learning

Education is a universal human right, and most countries have passed legislation to make elementary education free and compulsory. Empirical evidence supports the positive effects of education on raising productivity, national income and individual earnings. The returns on investment in education are positive and sometimes higher than those on investment in its alternatives. Moreover, returns on education are greater in the less developed countries than in the developed ones and are also higher among women than men. Studies have shown that cognitive skills developed during schooling, as opposed to total time (in years) spent at school, are a better predictor of the contribution of education to economic growth and individual earnings.

Thus the expansion of provision to enroll more students in schools and tertiary institutions is just a first step, however essential. More important still perhaps is that students should acquire knowledge and master the skills needed to compete in the labour market and to enrich their lives.

What governs student learning? Do income levels determine levels of learning? Studies from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA ) show that, above an income of US$20,000 per capita, national wealth has little effect on variations in student learning. This may be why countries with the same income levels show varied student learning levels. Just as important, if not more so, are the investment targets of these resources and how the resources available are used to achieve varied strategies geared to the common aim of enhanced learning.