Quality education imperatives for inclusive basic education: Moving beyond the rhetoric

Abstract

Although quality education is central to both international and national education debates and practices in most countries, there is a reluctance and lack of urgency in providing it for all. There are disparities in the policies, equity and provisioning strategies of basic education for all learners. Most South American and South Pacific countries are battling to realize the Millennium Goals regarding this matter. Some African countries are not progressing in this regard too. Those that are better off have not begun to monitor and evaluate the quality of their basic education except ensuring that teachers teach and learners attend classes. The only quality control and measurement is through examinations. This paper looks at quality in basic education for all as the controls that are within an institution of learning, the teaching and learning processes, and which entail amongst others, education for sustainability and indigenous knowledge systems. Hence, the argument that quality basic education for all should move beyond the rhetoric of educational policies to quality basic education practice.

Lwati: A Journal of Contemporary Research Vol. 4 () 2007: pp.24-35