Open and Distance Learning Practitioners Sustain the Teaching of Technology Education Through Action Learning

Introduction: Unesco’S Report (2011): Education Counts

Open and Distance Learning (ODL) practitioners are modelling Africa out of chronic poverty by sustaining the teaching of Technology Education (TE) through Action Learning. The destiny of Africa is in the hands of its own people whom the majority are technologically illiterate and doing their little bit of good. Each one of us can do their little bit at their corner in support of the words uttered by Archbishop Desmond Tutu (in Brainy Quotes, 2016) who advised that ‘do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world’. Africans need to move the continent forward by taking it out of the economic quagmire it is in. This would be realised if the Education for All (EFA) movement which is a global commitment to provide quality education for all children, youth and adults could be supported the world over. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s EFA report (2011) under Education Counts tracks progress, identifies best practice, draws attention to challenges and promotes cooperation in favour of education.

Education counts as a results of its ability to help eradicate poverty and hunger. UNESCO report of 2011 declares that education gives people the knowledge and skills they need to live better lives. In the report it is further stressed that education can boost productivity and open doors to jobs and credit. Poverty is one of the main reasons children are being left out of school and this chapter is aimed to bring to surface on how the ODL practitioners can sustain the teaching of TE through action learning. The current global economic downturn is threatening to halt or even reverse EFA progress. More than ever, it is critical that we invest in the development of quality systems for learning throughout life. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights holds that every child and adult is entitled to education. UNESCO is committed to supporting countries to make this right become a reality for all. Considerable progress has been made since the world’s leaders were once committed to achieving Education for All in 2015. The question that is left hanging is that, did the Heads of State manage to achieve EFA in 2015 at their respective countries? Sustainable development affects everyone including Heads of State.