BY SAMIE WAIKORI
Leader of the Official Parliamentary Opposition Group, Matthew Wale, says free education needs focus and reprioritization of priority, should the government want to pursue it.
Speaking on the second episode of Insight recently, Wale emphasized the need to shift government priorities in response to comments made last year by the education minister regarding free education, a policy adopted by CARE – a coalition of political parties headed by Wale.
Wale warns that in the years ahead, the country’s population is expected to surpass one million, with nearly half a million children projected to be in the school system.
“We don’t have enough classrooms for all those children, and the dropout rate remains high and could worsen. It may increase at a faster rate than we are building classrooms and training teachers,” he said.
He stressed that urgent action is needed to expand infrastructure and increase the supply of qualified teachers to meet current and future demands.
“Something must be done to boost both infrastructure and teacher supply to where we should already be.
“Then we can build annually according to growth rates. At the moment, the government does not have that plan,” he said.
Wale described the Education Minister’s views on free education as outdated and lacking foresight.
He suggested the minister is maintaining the status quo because the challenge appears too difficult, rather than exploring what is possible.
He added that both the minister and the government must ask themselves whether free education can be achieved, and be willing to make tough decisions by reprioritizing government expenditure to deliver on it.
Wale noted that this issue is not limited to the current administration, but also previous governments, which viewed education largely as a consumption sector rather than a strategic investment.
“When you see education only as an expense, that is where such statements come from. Education is certainly a public good, but it is also a strategic resource for the country and the economy.
“Only when we see it in that light will we understand what real investment in education looks like,” he said.
Drawing an analogy, Wale referred to the experience of KFPL in Western province, where more than a decade of tree planting eventually led to harvesting returns. He said free education should be viewed in the same way.
“If you invest in a child’s education over many years, when that person contributes to GDP, that is when the harvest comes.
“When we see it in that light, it makes sense to invest in it, even to borrow money for it because it will repay that borrowing in many ways,” he said.
He reiterated that free education is achievable but requires strong government commitment and public support to become a reality.
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