“A NEW ERA IN PADHOLA: EDUCATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS THE

ENGINE FOR DEVELOPMENT”

Keynote Address to the 2nd annual Jopadhola Community Conference 2019 and
Launch of the Jopadhola Community Education & Scholarship Trust. Makerere
University, Kampala, 9.00 am, Saturday 31 August 2019

BY

Hon. Emmanuel Othieno Akika: Former Minister of State for Water and MP, West
Budama South 6TH Parliament (1996-2001)

My thanks go to the organizers of this conference for inviting me to address this

2nd Annual Jopadhola Community Conference on the chosen theme. I am
delighted that the Conference is being held in Makerere University, the center of
knowledge and learning.

The theme for this Conference is Education and Entrepreneurship as the Engine of
Development BUT, permit me to amend it to “Sustainable development. I have
chosen to do so in order to be in line with the current development thinking. Can
Education and Entrepreneurship Deliver?” The short answer is that, yes, it can –
and it must. I will start with education then come to entrepreneurship later.

We live in an age of turmoil and uncertainty. We need education to play its full
part in equipping current and future generations of citizens to rise to the
challenges which face our world. That means that education has a role to play,
not only in meeting the targets of the education SDG, but also in contributing to
progress on all the other SDGs. So, let’s consider the task ahead!
Education is an essential tool for achieving sustainability. People around the world
recognize that current economic development trends are not sustainable and that
public awareness, education and training are fundamental to moving society
toward sustainability. In this respect Uganda has put in place policies and
strategies aimed at providing every citizen at all levels with an education that is
holistic, relevant and of good quality. Issues of development have always been
around us. The concept of “sustainable development’ is not entirely new. What is
new is the challenge it poses to society (Jopadhola) and particularly to the
education system. How do we make sustainable development a living reality
among our people through education? Education for Sustainable Development
(ESD) is the answer.

I will therefore direct my comments to the overarching issue of how education

can contribute to achieving sustainable development. The fundamental premise
being that, no Japadhola should be left behind in development. The focus is to
achieve high human development for all in ways which don’t imperil our land
further.

Yes – Padhola is healthier, better educated, and wealthier than ever before, but
the inequalities between us are huge. An indispensable component to deal with
inequalities is quality education for all, enabling each japadhola to reach their full
potential and contribute to Padhola.

In the Commonwealth, it’s estimated that thirteen million primary school-age

children are not in school, and twenty million of secondary age aren’t either. Four
hundred million Commonwealth adults are illiterate. How do the statistics
compare with the situation in Padhola? Of course not any better, I think!
Each of those people has been left behind by the society of which they are part.
That isn’t good enough. Each human being denied education is a human being
denied opportunity – and is being denied the right to education enshrined in the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

While the world has made tremendous progress towards gender equality in
education, the girl child still faces particular barriers. Each year some fifteen
million girls are married before the age of eighteen – that’s estimated to be 28
girls every minute, or one every two seconds.

Many of these girls have not been able to finish their education. Early pregnancy
is among the leading causes of death for girls aged fifteen to nineteen worldwide.
And child brides face a significantly higher risk of contracting HIV.

But turn that around by enabling every girl to complete her education and make
her own choices about her life. That helps to:

–reduce poverty. UNESCO has estimated that each extra year of schooling is
associated with increased earnings of up to ten per cent.

– reduce maternal deaths, and reduce child mortality too. A child born to a
mother who can read is estimated to be fifty per cent more likely to live beyond
the age of five.

– Turn the tide on HIV – research suggests that women with post-primary
education are five times more likely to be knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS than
are women who are illiterate.
What these simple facts tell us is that education is a foundation for development.
Invest in it, ensure everyone has a right to it, and we enable people to live better
lives. Whole societies benefit too. That’s why no one must be left behind.

For those Iopadhola who have missed out to date, investing in basic literacy and
other skills will help transform lives.

There’s another major challenge too. We are bombarded now with information
about what is termed the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the potential for
disruptive technologies to change the world of work and services as we know
them. Technological change won’t stop – the issue is how to enable people to
take advantage of it and not be left behind in this new era.

We human beings have proved remarkably adept at adapting to previous periods

of technological change. For this one, the contribution of our education systems
needs to be at the forefront. People will need broad skills and high digital literacy,
and their capacity for innovation and entrepreneurship will need to be developed
further to create the world of work of the future.

Now Uber drivers face the prospect of being made redundant by the driverless
car, and lawyers, accountants, and service and manufacturing workers of all kinds
will see many of their skills replicated by artificial intelligence.

Education will have a critical role to play in helping us ride the wave of these
changes. Not investing in education for this new world will see not only
individuals but also the whole of Padhola left behind. We owe it to ourselves to
give our people the best chance they can to be able to participate fully in the
economies and societies of the future.
The Ministry of Education and Sports as the lead ministry in education for
sustainable development has been championing the implementation of the
strategy. However, it should be noted that issues of sustainable development cut
across sectors. The three pillars: the economy, environment and society,
concern us all and cannot be left to the main stream education sector alone.

The Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) implementation strategy

presents the Jopadhola opportunity to take responsibility for development that is
sustainable. Education for sustainable development will enable all Jopadhola
understand and address issues in the three pillars of sustainable development
namely environment, society and economy. Environmental issues that are
increasingly affecting us include land degradation, climate change, and poor
waste management.

Social issues include human rights, population growth, security, corruption,

HIV/AIDS, urbanization. Economic issues include poverty eradication, economic
development and its ramifications, consumerism and effects of globalization.
Through Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), public awareness and
understanding of the concept of sustainable development will be enhanced
leading to a population that is active and responsible.

Key to the implementation of Education for Sustainable Development is the

clarification of values in the light of environmental sustainability, social
sustainability and economic sustainability. Development must take care of the
environment while ensuring that environmental resources are available for all
generations. The values of respect for human rights, dignity and equity should
form the basis of decisions and relationships.
In pursuit of economic growth, we should ensure balance and equity so that all
benefit. These values must be taught to all sectors and the public. All sectors
(Local councils, cultural institutions, women groups, youths, etc.) all need to take
action within their own contexts. This will enable our society to be reached
through various means of education while challenging people to critically look at
their unsustainable behavior. It is hoped that people’s perception and attitude
will be changed towards sustainable management and use of resources.

Defining Entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is a globally recognized phenomenon lacking a single precise

definition. From a practical standpoint, entrepreneurship is generally understood
as a process of creating new wealth; it involves the initiation of economic
activities in the form of a legal (formal) enterprise. According to (Beugre, 2017;
Kuenyehia, 2012. Entrepreneurship has also been defined as the individual’s
ability to translate ideas into action. Entrepreneurship involves creativity,
innovativeness and risk-taking, as well as ability to plan and direct action towards
the achievement of goals.

There is a growing interest in the role that entrepreneurship can play as a catalyst
to achieve economic and social development objectives. This includes growth,
innovation and employment, including both formal and informal economic
activities for the purposes of creating wealth. In turn, entrepreneurship can
contribute to economic development through high-growth enterprises or, as in
the case of necessity-driven entrepreneurship, through enterprises that can serve
as an important source of income and employment for vulnerable populations.
The variety of potential beneficial spillovers of entrepreneurship in turn focuses
attention on interventions that stimulate individuals’ decisions to become and
succeed as entrepreneurs.

A current focus of entrepreneurship is the role that mindsets and skills play in
enabling individuals to both recognize and capitalize on entrepreneurial
opportunities. My personal view is that several of these mindsets, types of
knowledge, and skills can be learned, in educational institutions and through
training programs within the broader discussions around entrepreneurship and
economic development.

Job creation touches the core of the most critical challenge that Padhola faces.
The urgency of it has become more obvious when one considers our own
demographics where the youths constitute the bigger percentage of the
population. Unfortunately, many of those who graduate from tertiary institutions
and some of those who drop out at the pre-tertiary level look forward to being
employed by government. Clearly, such mindset has little prospects since
government does not create wealth.

Secondly, population growth has outstripped job creation, thus, putting pressure
on governments. Indeed, in spite of increased access to education at all levels,
opportunities for employment have not kept pace (ILO, 2017). Most of our
graduates from universities and other higher institutions of learning find it very
difficult to get employment every year. The case for job creation is therefore not
only critical but also urgent.

MY view therefore, is to argue that job creation and sustainable development are
closely linked and for job creation to happen, knowledge of the primary catalyst
for entrepreneurial development is essential for understanding the
microeconomic foundations that will lead to growth and development in Padhola.

Entrepreneurship is a critical driver of job creation and is the largest single source
of new job growth in the world and therefore padhola cannot afford to remain
behind

In conclusion

I am excited by the drive of the jopadhola community to work for A NEW ERA IN
PADHOLA. I applaud the focus at this Conference on how education and
entrepreneurship can contribute to that. The challenges community faces are
great – and they can seem daunting. But we can’t walk away from them. Each of
us and each of our clans can make a difference for a better padhola.
Fundamental to making that difference is investing in education and
entrepreneurship as drivers of sustainable development. The impacts of that will
be felt far beyond measures of educational achievement, and entrepreneurial
success, important as they are. The knowledge and skills gained from this
conference should help the jopadhola achieve the vision of the 2030 Agenda for a
world without poverty, where no one is left behind, and where we achieve
progress within nature’s boundaries.

I wish you fruitful deliberations,

God bless Padhola!