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Lovemore Chikova News Editor
When China decided to enter a period of economic reform and opening up in the late 1970s, the Asian country also made a deliberate and crucial decision to reform its education sector. Economic reform and opening up meant the start of industrialisation for China.

It was critical that the Asian economic giant realised at the opportune time that there was no way it could complete its industrialisation ambitions without the proper skills provided by its citizens.

That is why the country began shifting its focus in education to include the teaching of science and technology.

This pragmatic approach meant that China was to rely on its own skilled labour force to push its industrialisation agenda.

And this did not disappoint as China today stands tall among other nations as one of the most industrialised countries, mostly relying on its graduates to push the reforms forward.

Perhaps this is one of the most crucial lessons that African countries can take from China as they implement measures to achieve the African Union’s Agenda 2063 industrialisation project.

The fact that China has already pledged $60 billion for the purpose of industrialisation in Africa means the Asian economic giant is confident it can be done.

This confidence stems from the fact that the Asian country has managed to make it in industrialisation almost from nothing.

In fact, China was once in the same situation Africa is in — lacking the right ingredients for changing its fortunes, but perseverance and innovation paid for the Asian country.

If China could do it almost from nothing, it means Africa can learn a lot from there.

And one big lesson is that industrialisation has to go hand in hand with educational reform and the teaching of science and technology.

Without the right labour force with requisite skills, the money being poured in by China for Africa’s industrialisation might end up going to waste.

There is no doubt that scientific and technological advancement will help Africa fight its challenges by expanding industrial productivity.

Since the winds of independence started sweeping across the continent in the late 1950s, African education system has been geared towards producing graduates in the academic sphere.

This cost the continent an opportunity to teach science education and thus affecting most countries’ programmes of transformation.

But the game must change now because it’s no longer business as usual.

With China ready to partner the continent in industrialisation, it must be realised that progress will be sickeningly slow if the African governments do not re-consider their education system.

What is needed for African countries is a highly technical internal labour force which would easily complement the efforts being made by the Chinese government and put resources to good use in the industries.

That most African governments prioritised education soon after independence should be complimented.

But they made a mistake by adopting a system tailor-made for their former colonisers, who did not have a long-term vision for the continent.

The result is the presence of many graduates on the African market who are either not qualified to work in industries or who simply shun labour intensive jobs.

If Africa is to catch up with the rest of the world, realistic goals have to be set and these must be accompanied by effective implementation mechanisms.

Education reform and the emphasis on producing appropriately qualified graduates should be a priority.

The industrialisation process in Africa will attract large corporations from China, but it will be a dent on progress if the firms cannot find enough technically competent employees on the continent.

This means African education systems must start shifting towards producing graduates who are willing to create and produce in industries.

What distinguishes Africa from the rest of the world at the moment is its failure to include modern science and technology as a priority in the education sector.

With the changing status of the world and its increasing bias towards advanced technology, it is almost impossible to harness a country’s full potential without the requisite education.

It is welcome that some African countries are waking up from the slumber and are now popularising and valuing the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, otherwise known as STEM.

In Zimbabwe, the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development recently announced a package for pupils who choose STEM subjects at Advanced Level.

That the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education is also implementing a comprehensive educational reform which includes training in vocational subjects is another positive for the country.

When considered seriously, what Chinese leaders implemented in their education sector can be a great lesson for African countries as they move towards their own industrialisation process.

Chinese scholars credit Mr Deng Xiaoping for the opening up of the Chinese society in the late 1970s after he succeeded Chairman Mao Zedong as the country’s leader.

According to a Quick Guide on China’s economic reforms, Mr Deng recognised that there was no way the country could successfully implement reforms without developing science, technology and intellectual resources.

One of the first things he did was to make efforts to raise the society’s educational level and meet China’s new demands for labour.

The result of Mr Deng’s educational reforms resulted in the narrowing of the gap between China and other industrialised nations, as it could now rely on its own trained and skilled labour force.

It is clear that the modernisation of China has been going hand-in-hand with the modernisation of its education system so that it becomes biased towards vocational and scientific training.

But the Asian country continues to reform its education sector to suit new demands brought about by the industrilalisation process and the progress it is making.

The country is now being guided by its National Plan for Medium and Long-Term Education Reform and Development (2010-2020) which strives to make education relevant for a knowledge-based economy.

A perusal through the document shows that its main keys include a review of the challenges being faced in the education sector and identifying new priorities for reform.

The plan will help China reposition itself to satisfy its needs in the context of the changing status of the world economy.

The Chinese government has realised that despite its earlier reforms in the education sector, skilled and innovative professionals are still in short supply.

And this education reform plan is meant to ensure that training is intensified in those areas.

The plan also seeks to encourage more access to education, with pre-school and kindergarten enrolment expected to increase by 25 percent by 2020 to 40 million pupils.

Enrolment for higher education is envisaged to increase by 16 percent by 2020 to 35 million students.

The education reform plan recognises the huge gap between the Asian country’s vocational skills and its future needs. Learning from China’s experiences, African countries must start taking reform of their education systems seriously.

This reform should be continuous and designed specifically to meet the internal needs of each country for industrialisation.

China has already demonstrated its willingness to help Africa out of its problems and African countries must also be seen to be taking initiatives to complement this gesture.

Taking a leaf from how China has progressed over the years will be of much value to most African countries and this can start with the education sector.