He noted that the so-called “Asian tigers”—Thailand, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines—have illustrated dramatically how education can serve as the bedrock for capital investments, economic planning, industrial know-how and creativity, all of which has led to diverse economic opportunities for the majority of the populations in those countries. The success of the Asian tigers, he added, was the result of a quarter-century commitment to education.
Looking forward, Moseley said the international community faces two broad challenges in educational development. The highest priority is to reinvigorate the effort to build education in primary and middle schools in the 100 countries that haven’t broken through poverty and institutional constraints.
The second challenge is to absorb the lessons from those countries that do have high-quality education systems to make sustained economic growth and social and political development a wider reality. He cited educational success stories that are worth studying in Brazil, South Korea, India, Ghana, Uganda and Central America.
Moseley’s schedule is busy and full. In a typical month, he is on the road for about a week, often on overseas trips to examine programs, attend conferences, and consider partners for AED projects.
In addition to his work at AED, he is also the chairman of the Basic Education Coalition, the vice chairman of the Coalition for American Leadership Abroad, and serves on the boards of the InterAction and the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign.
The Basic Education Coalition is a group of 19 humanitarian and development institutions working to ensure that the world’s children receive a quality basic education. Coalition members operate programs in more than 100 countries and work in education as well as other areas of development. They advocate doubling U.S. funding for basic education to $800 million from all accounts, with $600 million from development assistance.
Moseley argues that modest, targeted and project-based U.S. investments can help other countries develop their education systems. He pointed out that the goal of getting all children into school is hindered by a worldwide shortfall of about $5.6 billion a year.
Moseley said there has been a drop in education funding as part of development aid because of the demands of other priorities such as HIV/AIDS. “It is perhaps ironic that as global education needs became clearer, and as we developed a better understanding of how to invest successfully in education, actual levels of investment as a proportion of development assistance declined,” he said.
Moseley strongly supports the U.N. Millennium Goals, which would give a full primary education to all girls and boys by 2015 and eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005 and for all levels of education by 2015.
“With regard to universal primary education, the good news is that the number of out-of-school children is declining. Nearly 20 million more children are in school, but the pace remains too slow to achieve universal primary education by 2015. Today, 250 million children between 5 and 17 work and consequently don’t attend school,” he explained.
Moseley is especially passionate about the need for educating girls. “Educating a girl is like dropping a pebble in a still pond—there are ripples. Research shows that improving female education is one of the most effective development investments that countries and their donor partners can make,” he said. “Regarding girls’ education, there are so many barriers in a lot of countries. We know development occurs on a long-term basis when boys and girls are educated equitably and consistently. It translates into both health outcomes, better education and the next generation is more likely to be educated. A long-term investment in girls education can make an enormous economic difference.”
Moseley is convinced that the American people support generous support for global education programs—more so than their leaders realize. “There is a growing level of understanding when you get beyond the Beltway about what can happen when you invest in people—invest in education, invest in health. Foreign aid is never popular and domestic needs are high on everyone’s agenda.
“But people realize that some level of engagement overseas is important, especially when it goes to the poorest and most disadvantaged nations. There is a sense of responsibly, and the public wants to help people build their capacity in education and health.”
John Shaw is a contributing writer for The Washington Diplomat.
